Whatever you communicate, make sure your meaning is crystal clear. Clarity is the foundation of persuasion.

People must UNDERSTAND and RELATE to what you're saying in order to act. If there is any point in your presentation where someone may become even slightly confused you are at high risk of disconnecting from your audience. (A disconnect is the precise moment where someone stops listening.) So as you craft your main thoughts, here are some things to do which will ensure clarity:

• Identify and eliminate any of your company jargon.
• Include specific words and phrases that your audience (or their industry) uses.
• Simplify complex or technical subject matter (add examples for extra clarity)
• Prepare short answers to questions (one word answers/ ten second answers).

Also, make sure that your thoughts are in a logical sequence. Here's why: Persuasion is all about constantly moving the audience interest forward by building on your last point, but when you have a connecting thought out of sequence you lose your momentum, and often your audience too!

All the raw material you will need to compile your presentation can be found in the Basic Ingredients section which you completed in your Foundation.

As you detail the main thoughts (either in point form or verbatim) identify where one section ends and another begins (a section may be as basic as a different train of thought). At each of these points it is absolute critical that you have a logical connecting thought! When you are finished, list all these connecting thoughts separately for easy reference; they provide you with an excellent roadmap of your presentation which helps when rehearsing.

Next: the Presentation Moving Ending
Start: Sales Presentation Self-Assessment

For additional help, refer to the best-selling book "So Your Foot's In The Door...Now What?"