Scoping out the “take-away” statement. Reducing the inversion factor for presentation recall

Some call it a “take-away,” while others call it a “trailer” or “theme statement.” It´s a technique that drives home the message of each slide in a briefing. Whether it´s a proposal or an informative briefing, the take-away leaves the listener with a single emphasis for each focal point. Briefings have been technically enhanced with Power Point presentations and computer graphics. But we need to stay in tune with the basics regarding content and purpose. The take-away focus is an enhancing skill for helping the engineer, or technical communicator, produce professional presentations. Equally as important as the effect on the listener is the effect on the author in preparing the briefing. The author must answer the question, “What is the message that I want to leave with the audience?” This forces the briefer to examine whether each bullet leading up to the take-away is supportive and each slide congruent with the overall theme. The author discusses strategy for giving a presentation involving the use of take-aways. The author discusses how to overcome distractions, how to structure a briefing, and how to support the central theme