The seasoned lover of management books will certainly recognise 'Start with the end in mind' as the second of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Dr. Stephen Covey. Personally, incidentally, I find it the strongest and most important of the series.

'Start with the end in mind' was conceived by Covey as a rule for leading a more efficient life as a person and as a professional.

But when creating a new presentation, this is a golden rule too.

• What do I want to achieve for myself by giving this presentation?
• What do I want to achieve for my audience?
• What do I want my audience to take away from my presentation?
• …

Before you begin building the presentation, answer these questions. You will see that the build-up of your presentation will look different. The storyline will take on a different, more powerful structure.

At the start of your presentation you can also sound out your audience's expectations. Write these on a flip chart and close your presentation by going through them again. Which expectations have you answered and which are left over? Can you still answer them or use it as input for your next presentation. In this way your presentation becomes ever stronger in content.

Close your presentation with a summarising slide. The points on this 'nutshell' are the most important parts - the 'take aways' - that you have determined beforehand. Those are the elements you want to give the audience and that they must remember. This works with an inspirational keynote but just as well with a pitch or sales presentation.

If you think carefully beforehand about how you wish to close the presentation, you build up its storyline differently. So: "Start with the end of your presentation in mind"Harald DumoulinStoryteller SmartPresentations Sales presentation - Company presentation - Keynote Presentation - Events