There are four kinds of talks: to inform, to get action, to convince, and to entertain. Each has its own characteristics so you must consider which kind you’re going to be giving before you write it.
Never attempt to give a talk to entertain unless the occasion clearly calls for it and you have enough interesting, original material to pull it off. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make all your talks entertaining; but giving an entertaining talk is completely different from giving a talk designed solely to entertain. Talks to entertain are appropriate on occasions such as retirement parties and wedding receptions. The best talks to entertain are stories involving you and other people in the audience, particularly the guest of honour.
A talk to inform does just that. The audience leaves the room knowing more than they did when they entered it.
A talk to convince not only involves imparting information, but also entails getting the audience to agree with your point of view, so you have to provide compelling evidence backing up your position.
A talk to get action has three ingredients, You have to tell the audience what it is you want them to do and also what will happen if they don’t. The third ingredient is to make it easy for them to comply. Suppose you want an audience of a hundred people to write to their member of parliament about a particular issue. At the back of the room there should be twenty clipboards, each with five copies of a letter and five ball point pens. Tell the audience that all they have to do is sign the letters and you’ll mail them. Point out that because there are five signing stations there won’t be any long lineups. Also tell them that after they sign the letter they can keep the ball point pen.
In simple terms, the three most common types of talks can be illustrated as follows.
To inform: “There’s a flight to Montreal at 5:30 this evening that has space available.”
To convince: “You should book it because it’s the only flight to Montreal this evening”
To get action: “If you don’t take this flight you’ll have to stay here overnight at your own expense.”
Deciding what kind of talk you’re going to give is the first step leading to a successful presentation.