What audiences remember (and what they forget)

People forget your slides and remember how you made them feel. A week after a presentation most audiences can recall one idea, one story and one emotion — if you are lucky.

So design for that. Decide in advance which single idea you want remembered, which story will carry it and which emotion you want people to leave with. Everything else is supporting material.

Repeat your key idea at least three times, in slightly different words. It feels redundant to you because you wrote the talk; it feels like clarity to the audience.

And put your best material at the end. The final two minutes are disproportionately remembered, so don't close with 'any questions?' — take questions, then close with your story.