Many brilliant theatres, cinemas, and novels follow the time-tested formula of the three-act structure to build a story. Also adopted in presentations, the three-acts are often: the set-up, the confrontation, and finally, the resolution.

However, today we’ll take the same operating system a step further in XMind. We share with you how XMind features like the Outliner and Pitch Mode goes hand in hand with strategies and techniques mentioned in Carmine Gallo’s book The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs. Build an effective and powerful presentation with minimal effort; XMind helps you deliver more than expected.

Having a breath-taking story is only one of the three steps to winning over your audience. Gallo categorized the story-telling essentials in the first act. Then, the presentation and delivery come after the story—turning your presentation into one that will last in the audience’s memory. Lastly, it is to refine and rehearse, ensuring everything is on point. From inception to execution, deliver all your ideas with XMind.

I The Making of Great Presentations

The storyboard approach advocated by Cliff Atkinson, the author of Beyond Bullet Points, stresses the importance of having a script before quickly jumping into the arrangement of your presentation file. The author stands that writing ahead expands your visual possibility. On top of this statement, writing with XMind will further explore and unleash your creativity. When working with traditional presentation software, creators’ thoughts tend to follow the framework provided. The conventional bullet point layout makes it hard to think outside the subordinate nature between topics and bullet points. On the other hand, mind mapping is best known for its flexibility. It not only makes complex ideas easier to understand, using short and accurate words in your mind map also significantly improve communication effectiveness, avoiding lengthy explanations.

One of the essential elements in great presentations noticed by Gallo is using “headline-like” wording to grab your audience’s attention. A memorable, subject-verb-object sequence gives a reason for the audience to listen. Gallo gives examples from America’s most popular newspaper:

Besides keeping the subtopics concise and accurate, it is also essential to remember not to insert an excessive amount of key points in your presentation. Keep in mind your audience is consuming words, your speech, and pictures all at once; sensory stimulation and internal digestion all at work goes without saying will require a lot of effort. Make it easy for both you and your audience by only keeping three or fewer main passages in your presentation.

An effective presentation appeals to all kinds of audiences. Have your product on hand for kinesthetic learners (to feel and touch), and insert pictures for visual learners to effectively interpret information. XMind equips a range of markers and stickers that helps you enhance and emphasize your ideas. It also allows you to insert pictures of your own easily. The adaptability is on point, even for GIF files.

Use the Zen Mode in XMind to help you get in the zone while planning for your presentation. Zen mode equips handy tools like timer and Dark mode to empower your concentration at anytime of the day.

II Deliver the Experience with Pitch Mode

A great presenter is mightier with Pitch Mode. With a simple click, you’ll get an elegant and intricate presentation generated for you. No need to spend time deciding which font to use or what type of transition works best; Pitch Mode presents the optimal arrangement for your ideas.

The aesthetic in Pitch Mode circles around simplification, a concept of Zen, an effective way to express beauty and covey powerful message.

To prevent the scattering of ideas, Pitch Mode will return to the main topics before the speaker can jump to another key point. So that the audience can easily follow the logical relationship among the topics. All you need to do is focus on your thoughts, and Pitch Mode handles the rest.

By default, bullet points are presented one by one, or you can jump to desired topics by moving the mouse around to make other subtopics appear in gray.

Also, find in settings to change the background color of your presentation, or pitch animation-free.

III Unveil the Magic Curtain

XMind Share is more than sharing. Unveil the magic curtain and present your ideas to others on the web version of XMind! Access and pitch without downloading the software with XMind Share.

Rehearse with the Outliner feature in XMind. After the writing is rehearsing, then the grand finale of presenting. The Outliner feature in XMind presents your content in an orderly manner, perfect for when you want to see the entire outlook of the presentation. Get a sense of the presentation order, the flow, the wording, and make adjustments to the texts here to ensure everything is just on point.

A clear logical structure, compelling data, and empathic sharing of experiences are all important ingredients for a great presentation. All of this takes a lot of time to think about and organize, but XMind can make the process more enjoyable and efficient.

All in all, the main character in a presentation is the speaker. The previous work and effort put into preparing a powerful presentation should give you enough confidence. Remember to smile and put on a show! :)

Reference:
Gallo, C. (2017). The presentation secrets of Steve Jobs: How to be insanely great in front of any audience. McGraw-Hill.