Designing The Main Body Of Our Talk

In some recent episodes we looked at how to open the presentation. Today we are going to look at designing the main body of our talk. The design process of our talks is counterintuitive: we always start with the end, then do the main body, and then design the opening last. The close defines the key message we want to impart. The opening breaks through all the competition for the audience’s attention. The main body is where we make our case—so it has to be well planned.

What’s the best way to design the main body of a presentation?

Design the main body as chapters that prove your key message, using only the strongest supporting arguments. In a thirty to forty minute speech you can usually cover three to five key points that back up your key assertion—so the body should be built like structured proof, not a stream of thoughts.

Do now: Write your close in one sentence, then create 3–5 chapter headings that directly support it.

Why do you start with the end before building the body?

Because the close defines the key message—and the body exists to earn that close. If you don’t lock the ending first, your evidence becomes random material you like, rather than proof that persuades. When the close is fixed, the body becomes a sequence of chapters that make your conclusion feel logical and inevitable.

Do now: Draft the final 20 seconds first. Then build the body backwards so every chapter earns its place.

How much evidence should your main body include?

A lot—but only your strongest evidence. You will always have many choices about how to support your argument, but you have limited time, so only choose the strongest possible content.

I support the Japan Market Expansion Competition (JMEC) here in Japan and advise teams on their business plans. Often there are real gems—actual diamonds—in the main body, but they are being trampled into the mud because the structure hides them. We have to identify the strongest points supporting our contention and give that evidence pride of place, so the listener gets the point immediately.

Do now: Rank your evidence. Put the best “gem” first in each chapter—never bury it at the end.

How do you stop the audience working too hard to follow you?

Make it effortless to understand your logic—because concentration levels are dropping. We should never make the audience work hard to understand what we are saying. Audiences have decreasing levels of concentration, so we need to get the gems up the front and hook their interest early, to keep them with us for the rest of the talk.

Do now: After every chapter, add one sentence that explains why the next chapter logically follows.

How do you make the chapters flow like a good story?

Like a good novel, chapters must logically flow into each other—and your navigation is critical. If the audience can’t follow your line of reasoning, even good content feels messy. The way you guide listeners is the invisible structure that keeps them moving with you.

Do now: Write a one-line “bridge” between chapters that states: “Because of X, we now need to look at Y.”

Why are stories essential in the main body (not just facts and statistics)?

Because people won’t remember dry statistics—but they will remember a gripping story. Using stories to illustrate points is a must. Facts alone won’t stick. To make stories work, include people, places, and seasons—preferably those familiar to the audience—so they can picture the scene in their minds.

Do now: Convert one data point into a 20–30 second story with a person, a place, and a consequence.

How do you keep the main body from dragging (and stop people grabbing their phones)?

Use pace changes and design hooks—because you’re competing against professional storytellers. The audience is used to a steady diet of films, videos, and novels crafted by highly paid teams whose job is to keep attention locked. If we can’t match expectations, our personal and professional brands are damaged.

Each chapter needs a change of pace—raise energy, lower tension, shift rhythm—just don’t stay at one speed the whole time. Then add hooks that jag curiosity and make people want the next sentence. That doesn’t happen by chance; it must be designed.

A power hook example: “Losing ten million dollars was the best education I ever received in business.” Everyone instantly wants to know what happened, why, and what changed next. Scatter hooks like this throughout the chapters, and the body stops being a drag. Miss them, and the audience will reach for their phones to escape to the siren call of the internet.

Do now: Plant 3–5 hooks across the main body (about one every few minutes). If there are no hooks, you can feel where attention dies.

What’s the biggest mistake people make in the main body?

They dump dry data instead of engineering engagement. The main body does the heavy lifting to make your case, but many speakers just read out statistics. A cautionary example: I once had to read Australian Ambassador Ashton Calvert’s speech in Japanese as he couldn’t make the event. It was a classic tale of trade statistics and no stories, and while the content could have been made far more engaging, I couldn’t depart from the script without consequences. It was an opportunity gone begging—and a lesson for preparing my own talks.

Do now: If a chapter is “all facts,” force yourself to add one story that makes those facts matter to humans.

Conclusion

The main body occupies most of your talk and does the heavy lifting to make your case—so craft it as chapters plus strongest evidence, delivered through stories, with pace changes and hooks scattered throughout. The main body has the advantage of following your grabber opening, so you already have attention. Don’t blow it. Keep the hooks coming and keep the audience with you right through to the end.