How to Design the Main Body of a High-Impact Presentation — Structure, Stories, and Hooks for Modern Business Audiences

Most presenters build their slides in chronological order: opening, content, close.
High-level communicators do the opposite. They:

1. Start with the close — to clarify the single key message they want the audience to remember.

2. Then design the main body — to build a logical, compelling case that supports that key message.

3. Finish with the opening — to break through distraction and grab attention immediately.

In a 30–40 minute presentation, you can realistically deliver 3–5 strong points to back up your main assertion. The main body is where you “do the heavy lifting,” so design it strategically, not randomly.

Mini-Summary: Begin with the end in mind; then build a main body that supports one clear, memorable key message.

The main body of the talk has three core responsibilities:

• Present your strongest arguments, not every possible argument.

• Highlight your “diamonds”, not bury them in noise.

• Make it easy for the audience to follow and care.

Many presenters overload their talks with data, sub-points, and side stories. The result? Genuine insights get “trampled into the mud” and go unnoticed.
Instead, identify your most powerful evidence and give it “pride of place” near the front of each chapter.

Mini-Summary: The main body should showcase your best ideas, not hide them in a flood of information.

Attention spans are shrinking. Even in leadership and executive settings in Tokyo, Osaka, or global hubs, your audience is busy and easily distracted.

In a 30–40 minute business presentation, aim for:

• 3–5 key points (chapters)

• Each chapter supports your central message

• Each chapter contains at least one strong hook and one strong piece of evidence

Trying to cover 10–15 points will only dilute impact and confuse decision-makers.

Mini-Summary: Less is more; 3–5 well-supported points beat 10+ lightly-developed ideas.

Statistics and facts are necessary—but they are not enough. People don’t remember spreadsheets; they remember stories.

To make the main body memorable:

• Turn data into narratives with people, places, and time (“who, where, when”).

• Use settings your audience recognises—industries, cities, seasons, or contexts they know.

• Aim for vivid scenes your listeners can picture in their minds.

Remember: your presentation competes with professionally scripted films, shows, and online content. Your audience is used to world-class storytelling. If you show up with only dry text and charts, your personal and professional brand will suffer.

Mini-Summary: Transform data into stories so your main body connects emotionally and sticks in memory.

Think of your presentation like a well-structured novel:

• Each chapter flows logically into the next.

• The audience can always see “where we are” and “where we’re going.”

• Transitions are smooth, not abrupt.

Design your chapters so that:

• Each one builds on what came before

• Each one deepens understanding or shifts perspective

• Each one brings the audience closer to your final conclusion

If the logic jumps around, your audience will stop trying to follow—and quietly reach for their phones.

Mini-Summary: Strong chapter flow keeps your audience mentally “on the journey” with you from start to finish.

Hooks are attention-grabbing statements that make people lean in and think, “I need to hear the rest of this.”

For example:

“Losing ten million dollars was the best education I ever received in business.”

Immediately, the audience wants to know:

• What happened?

• How did you lose that money?

• What did you learn?

• What happened next?

You should:

• Scatter powerful hooks at the start of each chapter

• Vary the pace—sometimes raising energy, sometimes lowering tension

• Avoid one flat, unchanging delivery throughout

Hooks don’t happen by accident; they must be consciously designed.

Mini-Summary: Hooks reset attention and make your audience hungry for the next part of the story.

When the main body is just:

• A list of bullet points

• Dry statistics

• Dense trade data

…you waste your best opportunities.

For example, speeches packed only with trade figures and no stories quickly become forgettable—even if the content is technically important. The audience hears numbers, but feels nothing.

Poorly crafted main bodies:

• Encourage multitasking and disengagement

• Damage your credibility as a leader or expert

• Miss the chance to connect data with human impact

Mini-Summary: A weak main body can turn even important content into a missed opportunity.

You already have a strong opening that grabs attention. The main body must keep that attention. To do that:

• Break content into clear chapters

• Put your best evidence near the front of each chapter

• Convert data into stories with people and emotion

• Insert designed hooks that make people want to hear “what comes next”

• Vary energy and pacing throughout

If you execute this well, your audience will be “on the edge of their seats.” If not, they’ll escape to the internet.

Mini-Summary: A well-designed main body turns initial interest into sustained engagement and lasting impact.

• Design the main body after the close and before the opening, so it directly supports your key message.

• Limit yourself to 3–5 strong, well-evidenced points in a 30–40 minute talk.

• Turn data into human stories and use hooks to maintain attention.

• Poorly designed main bodies damage your brand; carefully crafted ones elevate your leadership presence.

If you want to design powerful, story-driven presentation structures for leadership, sales, or client-facing situations across Japan, Request a free consultation to Dale Carnegie Tokyo to explore our presentation and executive communication training.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both Japanese and multinational corporate clients ever since.