In the past, presentations often displayed factual information as a series of bullet points. Increasingly, skillful presenters are shifting their attention from disseminating facts to designing experiences that address the diverse needs of their audience and the many channels of communication available for conveying ideas. 

Mission. A meaningful mission is at the core of an effective presentation. Will you involve the audience in questioning, thinking, inferring, and reflecting? When selecting content, consider the spectrum of purposes. Is the presentation intended to entertain, emote, inform, instruct, challenge, engage, provoke or persuade? A diagram of a hand might be used to inform, while an image of a sick child might be used to persuade. Select content that matches the mission. Do you want participants to enjoy or take action?

Examples. Engaging examples bring life to a presentation. These include stories, experiences, anecdotes, and varied resources. Will the presentation contain known, familiar, comforting, connected, modified, different, atypical, or unique examples to convey ideas and information? While Dorothea Lange's Migrant Woman is a well-known image that an audience would recognize, people don't generally think about a female astronaut such as Jerri Cobb when they consider the early space program. Select examples that meet the needs of the audience. Do you want people to think "in the box" or "around the edges"?

Opportunities. Organized opportunities to extend the presentation experience include connecting to an online version of the presentation materials, sharing additional resources or participating in online discussions associated with the topic, or providing options for participants to take action and learn beyond the scope of the presentation. Select technology-rich tools and resources to promote interaction and collaboration. Do you view the presentation to be the end or the beginning of a larger experience?

From elaborate social networks to vivid virtual worlds, tomorrow's presenters will have increasingly sophisticated technologies available for communicating ideas. However the key to an effective presentation will continue to be how these tools are applied to meet the needs of the audience.