Create mental bookmarks for your audience

I love reading books. Especially physical books. (Remember them?)

If you are going to read a physical book, you will undoubtedly want to use a bookmark so that you know exactly where you stopped when you put the book down.

It might be a scrap of paper. It might be a treasured bookmark that you have had for years. (When my daughter Alex was younger, she received a leather bookmark from Colombia with the image of a jaguar on it and she has been using it for almost 20 years now.)

Whatever you use, you want to know exactly where you are in the book.

𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼

Similarly, audiences want to know exactly where they are in your presentation.

When you are giving a presentation, be sure to give your audience clear signals about where you are in your talk. These mental “bookmarks” will help people follow along and stay oriented.

Here are several examples of mental bookmarks that will help your audience follow along:

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

• “Now that we know the problem, let’s talk solutions.”
• “This brings us to the heart of the matter.”
• “Here’s where things get interesting.”

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

• “We’re halfway through our journey together.”
• “This is the turning point.”
• “Here’s the piece that connects everything.”

𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗵𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀

• “Here’s what most people don’t understand.”
• “Let me pause here and ask you something.”
• “I want you to remember this above all else.”

𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

• “So what does this mean for the company?”
• “Let me bring this back to why we’re here today.”
• “Here’s how this fits into the bigger picture.”

𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀

• “Here’s the bottom line.”
• “If you take away only one thing today … ”
• “We cannot forget this point.”

𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀

• “Fast forward six months.”
• “Here’s what happened next.”
• “The outcome surprised everyone.”