Remember the movie, Donnie Darko? The most beautiful word in the world – “cellar door”? While cellar door may not be YOUR most favourite word, ‘segue’ is a word we find particularly lyrical on the tongue, yet in practice segues are seldom lyrical when used in presentations which is why we are writing this guide to support you!
For those who are less familiar with the term, a ‘segue’ is a smooth, uninterrupted transition from one idea, topic, scene, or piece of music to another. The term originates from the Italian word segue, which means “it follows.” So what does a segue have to do with presentations you may ask?
Far too often we witness presenters moving from one slide to another using the same phrases, the worst of these being “on my next slide”. Choosing varied and meaningful transitions not only makes your verbal narrative more dynamic, but provides necessary context for your listener.
If you are feeling at a loss for creative transitions, this quick guide should give you some inspiration for more interesting ways to introduce the next series of information as you unpack your content and move from one slide to another.
When using transition statements, remember to sound natural. Don’t just read the phrase. Work to make these statements a natural part of your speech.
Be sure to keep varying your phrases, repetition is deadly! Avoid using the same transition repeatedly which is annoying on the ear and causes you to appear unprepared.
Consider your timing before and after your transition phrase. Pausing allows your audience to mentally switch gears and focus on the new information you are about to share.
For a simple, logical progression
Use these phrases to signal you are moving to the next point:
- “Moving on to our next point…”
- “This brings us to…”
- “Next, let’s take a look at…”
- “Following on from that…”
- “Let’s now turn to…”
- “The next aspect to consider is…”
When you are adding detail or elaborating
Use these when the next slide expands on the point you’ve just made.
- “To build on this point…”
- “Let’s drill down a little further.”
- “To put this into more context…”
- “What this means in practical terms is…”
- “Expanding on that idea…”
To introducing evidence, data, or an example
Use these to signal that you are about to support your statement with proof.
- “Let’s look at the data.”
- “A good example of this is…”
- “The numbers here tell a compelling story.”
- “To illustrate this, let’s look at a case study.”
- “What does this look like in practice?”
- “As you can see here, the research supports this…”
When contrasting or changing a perspective
Use these when you are about to present an opposing view, a challenge, or a different angle.
- “However, that’s not the whole picture.”
- “On the other hand, we need to consider…”
- “Now, let’s look at this from a different perspective.”
- “In contrast to what we’ve just seen…”
- “The other side of this is…”
When shifting to a new major topic
These are for more significant shifts in your presentation, like moving from the “problem” section to the “solution” section.
- “Now that we’ve established [Topic A], I’d like to shift our focus to [Topic B].”
- “This concludes our overview of the market. Let’s now explore our strategy.”
- “So, that covers the challenges. Now, let’s talk about the solutions.”
- “Keeping that in mind, let’s move on to the financial implications.”
To summarise a section and move on
Use these to wrap up a section before starting the next one.
- “So, to quickly recap, we’ve discussed A, B, and C.”
- “In essence, what all this means is…”
- “With that foundation in place, we can now look at…”
- “So, the key takeaway from this section is… Now, let’s see how this applies to…”
To highlight a key point
Use these to draw special attention to the information on the upcoming slide.
- “What follows is a crucial point.”
- “And this is the most important part…”
- “If you remember only one thing from this section, it should be this…”
- “I really want to emphasise the finding on this next slide.”
To explain the “So What?” (Implications)
These phrases connect your point to its consequence or relevance for the audience.
- “So, what does this mean for us?”
- “The key implication of this is…”
- “Why is this important? Because…”
- “The bottom line here is…”
We hope you find these tactics helpful and remember the more you use them, the greater your repertoire will become. Begin by selecting a few and incorporate more gradually and we are confident that soon you will be impressing your audience with your diverse and dynamic narrative!
