A lot of presenters use slides like they are scaffolding, they just sit on top of them. But what if they disappear? Would you be able to go on with your talk even if your slides were not there.

Some will say that the solution is to memorize your presentation, but my advice is not to go word for word. What, then, is my solution? It’s to memorize only the structure of your presentation. And you don’t even need to commit it completely to memory because you can cheat, you can take a piece of paper and write down the sequence of your talk, and keep it in your hand just to be extra sure. In this way, you can go on even if your slides completely disappear.

Once you’ve done that, look for some recurring words and phrases and make sure that you repeat them consistently. This is what linguists call framing. And this is how you help your audience to better understand and memorize your key phrases and concepts.

Summary:

• Commit to memory the sequence of your presentation and just in case, cheat with a piece of paper.
• Frame the main concepts of your presentation by repeating them in a consistent manner