1) It's not that you can't speak, it's that you "lack a logical framework to articulate it."“
This is the reality for many international students:
The PPT is finished, the charts and graphs are included, and the references are all ready, but I get stuck as soon as I stand on the stage.—Because all they have in mind are "content points," but no "narrative path."
The essence of a PowerPoint presentation is a "cue card," while the essence of a presentation speech is to "guide the audience through a journey."
What you need is not more fancy words, but a structure that allows you to keep talking:What to say first, why to say it, how to transition, and how to conclude?。
This is also what many people search for. how to structure a presentation speech Reason:
It's not about memorizing templates, but about turning "PPT pages" into "storylines that can be told."
2) Deconstruct the logical structure of the presentation: Turn the PPT into a "retellable line".“
Below is a very practical structural breakdown:Opening → Map → Step-by-Step Introduction → Summary and Recap → Conclusion and Q&A。
You can think of it as: each slide of the PPT should answer a question and be related to the previous slide.
A. Opening (Establish the objective within 30 seconds)
The opening wasn't a rambling self-introduction, but rather it immediately conveyed three key points to the audience:
- What topic are you talking about?
- Why it's worth listening to
- What can you gain from listening?
Common logical sentences:
- “"Today I'm going to talk about ___, focusing on ___."”
- “"This topic matters because ___."”
- “"By the end of this presentation, you'll be able to ___."”
Common misconception among international students: Reading the title page directly.
A better approach: Start with a "problem/phenomenon/controversy" to draw the audience into the same context.
B. Agenda / Roadmap (Roadmap: Telling the audience how you're going to speak)
This step solves the problems of "audience getting lost" and "you forgetting your lines".
The structure can be explained in one sentence.
Colloquial expressions:
- “"I'll start with ___, then move on to ___, and finally I'll talk about ___."”
- “There are three parts to my talk…”
C. Body (The main body: each part uses the same method of propulsion)
The main suggestion is to use a reusable formula that allows you to "automatically generate narration" for each paragraph:
Point → Evidence → So what → Transition
You can explain each page (or each set of pages) in this way:
- Point: What is the conclusion to be presented on this page?
- Evidence: What data/theories/case studies do you use to support your claims?
- So what: How does this contribute to your research question?
- Transition: How does it lead to the next page?
Super useful spoken English connecting phrases:
- “The key takeaway here is…”
- “What this chart shows is…”
- “So what does that mean?”
- “This leads us to the next point…”
You'll find that a good speaker isn't someone who "talks a lot," but rather someone who can explain the "conclusion of this page" and "its relationship to the next page" on each page.
D. Mini-summaries (Paragraph summaries: a summary after each section)
One of the most common problems with international students' presentations is that they "break down" midway through their presentations.
The solution is to use 1-2 sentences at the end of each section. mini summary。
Colloquial summary sentence:
- “So, to summarize this part…”
- “The main point from this section is…”
E. Conclusion (Ending: Responding to the opening promise)
The ending shouldn't just be a simple "thank you," but rather it should bring the audience back to your main storyline:
- What questions did you answer?
- What were your core findings?
- What suggestions/insights/limitations are there?
- What's next?
Commonly used phrases:
- “To wrap up, the main findings are…”
- “In short, ___.”
- “One limitation is…, and future work could…”
F. Q&A (Questions and Answers: Provides a discussion entry point)
The Q&A section is not just about "Welcome to ask questions," you can actively guide the discussion.
Sentence structure:
- “"I'm happy to take questions."”
- “"If you're interested, we can also discuss ___."”
3) Suggestions for more conversational and natural expressions (student-friendly version)
Many people's inability to speak isn't due to poor logic, but rather because they've written their speeches like academic papers. You can immediately improve by following these three principles:
Principle 1: Use short sentences + active voice
Breaking long sentences into two makes them easier for the audience to follow.
- Essay style: "This study aims to investigate the relationship between..."“
- Spoken style:“In this study, I look at the relationship between…”
Principle 2: Use "direction words" on every page.“
The audience understands the content based on the signal words, not on how much you've memorized.
List of commonly used signal words:
- first / next / finally
- The key point is…
- What this means is…
- Based on this…
Principle 3: Don't memorize a script, memorize the "paragraph structure".“
You don't need to memorize it word for word; you just need to remember four things for each paragraph:
- What is this supposed to prove?
- What evidence did I use?
- What is the conclusion?
- How to transition
4) DiffMind How to transform your PowerPoint presentation into a logically structured and engaging presentation?“
If you're stuck on "I have a PPT, but I don't know how to present it," DiffMind's value lies in transforming your page content into a narrative structure and helping you organize the order of your presentation.
4.1 Generating a presentation script from PowerPoint (turning a slide into an oral presentation)
DiffMind can automatically generate corresponding presentation drafts based on the content of your PowerPoint slides, for example:
- Title page → Opening sentence + Thematic significance
- Charts page → “What does this chart tell us?” + Key data interpretation
- Methods page → Explaining the process in a more conversational way
- Conclusion page → Three key points summary + next step
What you get is not just "words", but...Page to speakThe draft.
4.2 Optimize the order of expression (to make it easier for the audience to follow)
Many PowerPoint presentations follow a "writing order," but presentations require an "auditory order."
DiffMind can help you check and make suggestions:
- Should we provide the definition first and then the data?
- Should we pose the question first and then explain the background?
- Does the chart explanation lack a concluding sentence?“
- Is the transition abrupt (why does the previous page lead to the next page)?
The result is: your speech is more in line with... how to structure a presentation speech The logic of the audience, not the logic of the author.
4.3 Help simulate the logical flow of the story (identify key points like in a rehearsal)
You can think of your presentation as a "route," and DiffMind does the following for you:
- Simulate an audience by asking questions: What is the takeaway on this page? Why is it important?
- Identify sentences that are prone to stuttering/tongue twisting and provide more colloquial alternatives.
- Compress the content according to time constraints, retaining only the most important points to discuss.
- Output practiceable "paragraph cue cards" (not verbatim transcripts).
This way you're not practicing rote memorization, but...Logical restatement ability。
5) A ready-to-use presentation speech template.
You can use the template below as a general framework (it can be used for class presentations, group presentations, and thesis proposals). Simply replace the content in brackets with your own topic.
【Opening】
- “"Hi everyone, today I'm going to talk about (topic).”
- “This matters because (why it matters / real-world context).”
- “By the end, you'll know (What the audience will learn).”
【Roadmap】
- “"I'll cover three things: first (part 1), then (part 2), and finally (part 3).”
【Body – Part 1】
- “Let's start with (point 1).”
- “The key takeaway is here. (mini conclusion).”
- “This is supported by (evidence: data/theory/example).”
- “So what this means is (meaning/impact).”
- “Now, let's move on to (transition).”
【Body – Part 2】(Same structure reuse as above)
【Body – Part 3】(Same structure reuse as above)
【Conclusion】
- “To wrap up, the main points are: (1), (2), (3).”
- “Overall, this suggests (final message).”
- “One limitation is (limitation), and the next steps could be (future work).”
【Q&A】
- “"Thank you for listening. I'm happy to take any questions."”
