The Message Planner

Speaker Compass is unique with a built-in message planner and mnemonic rehearsal system. This post is about the Message Planner. Find a different post which describes the Rehearsal system.

The PRODUCTS tab of Speaker Compass is where the Message Planner is found. The four types of product categories are:
1) Physical - like books.
2) Digital - like videos or online courses
3) Presentations - like Keynote addresses
4) Workshops - longer training sessions over several hours or days.

The Message Planner can help you plan workshops and presentations.

Each Presentation is composed of Elements. Think of Elements are points in a keynote message, or even the actual Power Point or Keynote slides.

Elements are reusable. You may have a lesson or set of slides that are used in various presentations. To re-use an element, duplicate it and assign it to a different presentation. Since theElements are each copied into a new presentation, you can edit the Element without affecting other presentations it may be included it.

For example, I tell a story of Sue, the college graduate applying for a teaching job. I use two slide graphics in this part of the presentation. Each of them is considered an Element. The first slide starts the Sue story and the second ends it. I use this story not only in my short twenty-minute presentations, but also in my longer 60-minute Keynote. So I duplicated the Elements to use in the other presentation.

On the Product screen, if Presentation or Workshop is selected as the Product Type, then a Presentation portal will show a scrolling window of all the Elements in the selected presentation.

Click on the These Elements button to open a larger separate window to edit a presentation.

These Elements window has two views: List and Detail. You may toggle between them at any time, or click on any Element in list view to switch to a Detail view of the selected Element.

The List view shows the Element Name, the Series Name and Number (which can be used to identify certain Elements as a group,) like my Sue Story, which uses two slides.

Enter the estimated time in minutes for an Element and you can view an estimated cumulative time for the entire presentation. The memory Cue column is for listing a short phrase to help you recall the Element. For example, I enter the phrase Sue Standing to remind me of the college graduate standing before five men during a job interview.

And there's a container field where you can store any image. You could store the actual Power Point or Keynote slide in the field, or any other image. To store an image in a container field, right-click into the field (on a computer) and select an image. Right-click and select Cut to remove it.

Those are all the columns in the Elements screen related to the actual presentation. The three remaining columns are Step Number, Step Description, and Step Image, which are used in the Journey window to help you memorize your presentation.

There are three other control columns: The first column on the left is the Sort column. The numbers in the sort field control where the Element appears in the list.
The double arrow button is used to move an Element up or down one position. And the Delete button will remove an Element from a Presentation, (but not delete it completely.)

The Detail View is where you can create and edit the content of an Element. The fields Name, Time, Series Name and Number, Sort, and Memory Cue have already been mentioned. There's also a large container field for the image to be used for the Element.

The Transition In field is a good place to write the exact sentence you want to say to introduce an Element. Use the large Message box to type in any notes, stories or lessons that make up the Element. Use the Transition Out field to record the last sentence you'll say for the Element.

There are two organization controls to help with aesthetics and outline of the Elements. The four color controls can be used to change the color of the Name of the Element. Choose Blue, Green, Red, or Black. And, if you just want to give a heading to a section of the presentation, click the Section Title check box. The words in the Name field will be highlighted yellow to mark a distinct section of the presentation.

The lower right corner of the Details window records the Journey and Step name which is described elsewhere in the post about the memory system.

Also, note the Print button at the top of both the Details and List windows which will allow you to create a printed copy of your presentation.

To be notified when Speaker Compass is ready, CLICK HERE!