How to Prepare a Speech: 10 Components for a Memorable Project Presentation Speech

Knowing how to prepare a speech is something everyone should have a clear grasp of, whether they’re leading a company or just starting out in business. 

The claim that public speaking is people’s number one fear has been comprehensively debunked, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. However, with a well-prepared speech, you can get the confidence to engage, impress, and convince your audience into action. 

Here, we’re going to look at effective project presentation techniques that deliver every time. Starting with how to prepare a speech, we’ll then look at the structure of a project speech and finer details such as how to use visual aids in project presentations. 

Making an impact is crucial in securing deals and repeat business, so join us as we share the 10 components of a memorable project presentation speech. 

1. Define an objective and put it at the core of your speech

What is the first step to preparing an effective speech? Working out the why, of course.

An objective is the cornerstone of any prepared speech that gives you a coherent line to base the rest of our components on. It is a focal point that keeps your audience engaged, which is vital when you’re taking up their valuable time. 

Start by asking yourself “What do I want my audience to do at the end of this project presentation?” The answer could be to sign up for a subscription, persuade their superiors, or make a purchase. Anything in your presentation that doesn’t help to achieve your goal is surplus to requirements and should be removed. 

Pinpointing your goal is half the battle when learning how to prepare a speech, and you don’t have to do it alone. Ask for honest feedback from colleagues or even use an AI assistant as your co-author to solidify your objective and keep your speech on track.

2. Hook your audience from the start

One of the greatest components of a successful project speech is a strong introduction. In a world where people’s attention spans are rapidly decreasing, an early dopamine hit is essential to engaging your audience in your presentations. 

Let’s run through a few top tips for a memorable project presentation intro:

• Start with a hook. Usually a surprising fact, a provocative question, or a compelling anecdote, your hook should pique curiosity. 

• Hammer home the importance. Explain why your topic is important, playing on your audience’s pain points to get them emotionally involved. 

• Present a preview. Outline the structure of your presentation, showing attendees what to expect and giving them a mental framework to follow along. 

Collaborative documents are the ideal canvas for crafting ideas. Share them with a trusted inner circle and build an attention-grabbing message while cutting out all the excess fluff.

3. Make an emotional connection through storytelling

No guide on how to prepare a speech is complete without storytelling: The art of turning abstract data, concepts, and ideas into something tangible and engaging. 

To make things easier, here are the key elements of presentation storytelling:

• Identify your core narrative. At its most basic, it delivers a success story of how your project has helped a client. Yes, you can also work on more high-brow, metaphorical concepts, but if you veer too far away from your main goals, you risk losing attention.

• Create relatable characters. When preparing for a project presentation speech, make sure your audience can picture themselves in your characters’ shoes, whether they’re real or hypothetical.

• Follow a simple narrative arc. Structure your story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. There’s no need to make things complicated; start with the problem, introduce your solution, and conclude with a positive outcome. 

• Make it memorable. Instead of finishing with a generic “…and then business went well”, try something along the lines of “Sarah was able to claim the client that she had previously lost due to her inefficient workflows.”

There’s always room for visual aids in project presentations, with slideshows or short videos adding a good deal of focal points to create lasting memories.

4. Build credibility with data displays

Yes, we’ve told you to transform data into stories, but that’s just the beginning. When thinking about how to prepare a speech, you have to pre-empt questions and be ready with answers. 

Questions will undoubtedly revolve around costs, performance, and return on investment, and that’s great because you can use data to build trust. It is evidence that supports your claims and nudges your audience toward making a decision. 

Gather trustworthy data from your current client base and display it on slides you can share later. This will be your visual reference point to take relevant questions. Be sure to use charts, graphs, and infographics, rather than simple text to transmit information more efficiently.

The data you choose should all be relevant to your audience, such as:

• Marketing campaigns lead to a 30% increase in leads

• Sales intelligence reduces time-to-sale by 22%

• Companies achieved a 33% rise in project completion rates

These stats will immediately turn claims into compelling arguments for your customer to make a purchase. 

5. Pack in sleek, effective visuals to enhance understanding

We’ve briefly covered how slideshows and infographics can lift your storytelling and data displays, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

You can really unleash your creative side with visual aids in project presentations, and it all helps you make a bigger impact. Visual elements enhance engagement, improve understanding, and increase retention better than text or voice alone.

Here’s how to prepare a speech that uses visual aids as an advantage.

• Choose the right type of visual aid for the scenario. Charts, graphs, images, infographics, videos, or even comics can leave a lasting impression, but the format needs to suit the content.

• Keep it simple. If you go overboard with your visual aids, it clutters your materials and draws attention away from more effective project presentation techniques. 

• Use high-quality imagery. There are enough tools out there now to create professional-looking slides — there’s no excuse for low-quality images. 

• Use visuals as a supplement, not the main focal point. Even if you find super-engaging visual aids, they should still serve your main objective, not the other way around.

A well-placed series of visuals is indispensable to engaging your audience in presentations, but you need to experiment and practice to refine your technique. 

6. Define problems and offer solutions

You don’t have long to impress your clients, so if you’re wondering how to prepare for a speech that gets results, don’t neglect a problem-solution framework. This system is great for flaunting the benefits of your project and doubling down on your strategic thinking skills. 

The idea is simple. You define multiple problems that you can address and then present viable solutions. As you check off your clientele’s list of questions, you drive towards a deal more quickly. 

While the structure of a project speech will remain the same, one of our top tips for a memorable project presentation is to personalize your problem-solution framework. 

A brief bit of market and customer research can identify specific pain points that you should focus on during your limited time. These are some of the more psychological components of a successful project speech that can be game-changers, even when your presentation isn’t going particularly well.

7. Grab attention and don’t let go

Here, we’re going to look at how to prepare a speech that engages your audience throughout. Like many components of delivering a project presentation speech, this involves two-way communication that helps your audience understand and retain the information you want to convey.

To hold that valuable attention, incorporate the following elements when preparing for a project presentation speech:

• Questions. Ideal for waking people up and keeping them on their toes, questions also make your audience think and engage with your content.

• Polls or surveys. Perfect for honing in on opposing ideas among your audience. Maybe you have a solution to unite them.

• Multimedia elements. Make them short and snappy, but videos, audio, imagery, and games are ideal for breaking up the session and securing people’s attention.

• Discussion groups. These help to give people the confidence to answer your questions, having already shared ideas in a smaller group. 

Mix and match these key elements of presentation storytelling for an engaging speech, start to finish.

8. Speak with clarity and enthusiasm

Moving away from the structural elements, improving speaking skills for presentations is a fundamental part of conducting a great speech. Sure, it might seem that public speaking is a natural talent that some have and some don’t, but we have a few tips on how to deliver a project presentation speech even if you have no experience.

• Avoid jargon and complex terms that your audience is unlikely to understand. Of course, you should still avoid patronizing people by explaining simple terms within your industry. 

• Shorter is better when it comes to sentence construction. This isn’t a literary competition, it’s a project presentation speech.

• Stick to the point when pitching your project. No matter how interesting or funny your anecdotes are, if they don’t contribute to your overall goal, leave them out.

Remember that improving speaking skills for presentations takes practice, so don’t hesitate to rehearse with your team or record yourself and watch it back with an analytical eye.

9. Leave them with something to remember you by

We’re not suggesting you do anything unprofessional, but if you want a second date with potential leads, you need to leave a lasting impression. 

Here’s how to prepare a speech with an ending that resonates with your audience long after you’re done talking.

• Remember that core objective! Signing off with a joke or a personal story is great, as long as it doesn’t distract from your goal.

• Summarize your main points. After a lot of finer details, a quick recap of what you’ve discussed helps to keep it fresh in your listener’s mind. 

• End on a positive note. An inspiring quote or a thought-provoking statement can encourage further reflection. Just keep it relevant and avoid cheesy lines. 

This is your last chance to make an impact, so make it count!

10. Push for the next step with a compelling call to action (CTA)

Without a convincing CTA, the rest of your knowledge about how to prepare a speech is null and void. Your killer presentation will exist like a snapshot in time, and you’ll wonder why you’re not making any progress. 

Even after the most memorable project presentation speeches, an audience is going to check their emails, send a text, and then rapidly disappear back into their busy life. That’s why the onus is on you as the presenter to open up the pathway for attendees to follow. 

You need to make it clear what you want people to do next. “Put your email into this form for a free demo”, “Contact me for a one-to-one consultation”, or “Sign up now for a discount” are all great hooks to inspire action. 

As a cheat code, your CTA should:

• Be clear and specific

• Highlight the benefits of your product

• Create a sense of urgency

Bitrix24: Making your presentations possible

Now you know how to prepare for a speech, but have you thought about all the additional extras?

Bitrix24 offers a single platform where you can:

• Schedule meetings with potential clients

• Run video conferencing presentations for remote audiences

• Collect lead details and open contact through a CRM

• Refine your speech with an AI-powered assistant

• Monitor success rates with built-in analytics

Ready to get serious about project presentation speeches?

Sign up for Bitrix24 today.

FAQs

What are the must-have elements for any project presentation speech?

A project presentation speech must have the following elements:

• A clear objective

• An engaging introduction

• Storytelling aspects

• Supporting data and evidence

• Effective visual aids 

• A problem-solution framework

• Audience interaction

• Clear and concise language

• A strong conclusion

• A compelling call to action

How can you engage your audience during a project presentation?

To engage your audience during a project presentation:

• Ask questions

• Encouraging participation through discussions and polls

• Use interactive elements like live demonstrations

• Incorporate brief breaks for interaction in small groups

This keeps the presentation dynamic and ensures active involvement from the audience.

What techniques can improve the effectiveness of a project presentation speech?

Techniques to improve the effectiveness of a project presentation speech include:

• Using clear, jargon-free language

• Leveraging visual aids to illustrate key points

• Incorporating storytelling for emotional connection

• Presenting data for credibility

• Using a problem-solution framework to address specific pain points