What Is the Body of a Presentation [And How to Write It Effectively]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
A few weeks ago, our client Sallie asked us a question while we were helping her team build their quarterly review deck. She said,
“I get how to start and end a presentation, but what exactly goes into the body of a presentation?”
Our Creative Director replied,
“Everything that actually makes your story worth listening to.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on many presentation bodies throughout the year, and in the process, we’ve observed one common challenge: people either overload the middle with too much data or dilute it until there’s no substance left.
So, in this blog, we’ll talk about what is the body of a presentation & how to write it effectively that holds attention, drives clarity, and makes your audience actually care about what you’re saying.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
But before we get into the "How" let's cover the "What"...
What is the Body of a Presentation
The body is where your main points live. It’s where your message earns trust. Every graph, quote, and insight belongs here because this is where your audience either buys into your story or quietly zones out.
Here's Why You Should Write the Body Before You Touch the Design...
1. Design can’t fix a weak story
Pretty slides can’t disguise unclear thinking. If your message doesn’t hold up, no layout will make it land.
2. Your logic controls attention
When your ideas don’t flow clearly, the audience checks out, even if your slides look great.
3. A strong body guides the design
Clarity in content makes design decisions easy and intentional, not random.
When the body works, everything else falls into place naturally. It’s where real communication happens and where your credibility takes shape.
How to Write the Body of Your Presentation
Let’s get one thing straight, we’re not going to assume what kind of presentation you’re building.
Maybe you’re pitching investors, sharing quarterly results, onboarding new hires, or unveiling a product. The kind of deck doesn’t matter here. The principles we’re about to talk about apply to every presentation that has an audience and a purpose.
Because here’s the truth: no matter how many slides you have, the body of your presentation has one job: to move your audience from “Okay, I’m listening” to “Alright, I’m convinced.” That’s it. Everything else is just style.
So, let’s break down how to write a body that actually works.
1. Start with your core message
Every strong body starts with clarity (not slides, not visuals, not even bullet points) just clarity. Before you write a single line, answer this: What do I want my audience to understand, feel, or do after this presentation?
If you can’t put that answer into one sentence, your body is already in trouble. Because the body isn’t about dumping everything you know, it’s about supporting one big idea through clear, logical storytelling.
Let’s say your presentation is about launching a new sustainability program. The core message might be: We’re making sustainability a business priority, not just a PR statement. Everything that comes in the body should reinforce that — through data, initiatives, and outcomes.
When the body is built around one message, everything flows. Your structure becomes cleaner. Your design decisions get easier. And most importantly, your audience actually remembers what you said.
2. Break your narrative into logical sections
The human brain doesn’t like chaos. It loves order. So, your presentation body needs structure, not in a rigid, textbook way, but in a way that guides attention.
Think of the body as a series of stepping stones. Each stone takes your audience one step closer to your conclusion. Depending on your purpose, those stones could be:
Problem → Insight → Solution (for pitches)
Goal → Strategy → Results (for business updates)
Past → Present → Future (for progress stories)
Why → How → What’s Next (for conceptual topics)
The sequence you choose depends on your story, but the goal stays the same: flow. When your ideas move naturally, people stay with you. When they don’t, you lose them, slide by slide.
One practical trick we use in our agency: write your section headers before you create any slides. If those headers alone tell a story, your body is already on the right track.
3. Support every point with evidence
People don’t remember opinions. They remember proof.
That’s why every major point in your body needs something that validates it (data, visuals, testimonials, comparisons, or real-world examples). But here’s the key: don’t flood your slides with raw information. Use just enough evidence to make your argument believable.
For instance, if you’re claiming a strategy improved sales, show one clean chart that visualizes that growth instead of dumping ten data tables. Let your slides breathe. The goal isn’t to show everything you have; it’s to make the audience believe what matters most.
The strongest presentation bodies strike a balance between logic and emotion. Numbers build trust, but stories build connection. Use both. A statistic gets your audience’s brain working; a short story gets their heart involved. Together, they make your point unshakable.
4. Keep transitions natural
Writing the body of a presentation isn’t just about what you say (it’s about how smoothly one point leads to the next). Your audience shouldn’t feel like they’re jumping between unrelated slides.
Each section should end in a way that hints at what’s coming next. For example:
“Now that we’ve seen where the challenges lie, let’s talk about how we’re fixing them.”
“We’ve explored the numbers. But here’s what those numbers actually mean for us.”
These simple bridges keep your narrative connected and prevent that awkward stop-and-go rhythm that kills attention.
If you’re building a team presentation, make sure each speaker transition also fits this flow. The body should sound like one unified story, not a playlist of disconnected voices.
5. Cut the noise
The best presentation bodies are not the ones packed with the most information (they’re the ones with the right information).
Here’s a good rule: if a piece of content doesn’t directly support your core message, it’s filler. Cut it. It might be interesting, but if it doesn’t serve the main idea, it doesn’t belong.
Most people underestimate how powerful editing is in the writing stage. The more you trim, the more your key message shines. A focused body feels confident. A cluttered one feels desperate.
In our experience, clients often think they’re adding value by adding more detail. But clarity doesn’t come from more content, it comes from better focus.
6. Write like you’re explaining, not performing
One of the biggest mistakes we see is people writing their presentation body like it’s a script for a stage performance. But presentations aren’t theatre. They’re conversations: visual, structured conversations.
When you write the body, imagine explaining it to a smart friend who doesn’t know your topic. Use natural language. Replace jargon with clarity. Keep sentences short. When your slides read like how you’d actually speak, your delivery feels authentic and confident.
That’s what keeps people listening — not big words, not corporate tone, but real clarity.
7. End the body with a turning point
Before your conclusion, the body needs a moment where everything clicks (where your audience realizes why your message matters).
This is the “aha” moment. The part that connects your evidence, logic, and emotion into one clear takeaway. Maybe it’s when you show how your solution solved a real problem. Maybe it’s a powerful insight that reframes the entire discussion. Whatever it is, build toward it.
Think of your body like a story arc (setup, tension, and resolution). The end of the body is where you resolve that tension and prepare for the final message. It’s not the end of the talk, but it’s where your argument reaches full strength.
Writing the body of a presentation is like building the foundation of a house. It’s invisible once the design comes in, but it’s what holds everything together. When you do it right, the design phase becomes a joy instead of a struggle. You’ll know exactly what belongs on each slide, what deserves visual emphasis, and what can stay off-screen.
So, before you even touch design, invest your time here (in the writing, the flow, and the structure). Because once the body is right, your presentation stops being a collection of slides and starts becoming a story worth paying attention to.
How to Test If Your Presentation Body Works
Once you’ve written the body, it’s essential to test it before diving into design. One simple way is to read it aloud as if you’re presenting. If your story flows naturally and each point connects to the next, you’re on the right track. If you stumble or feel lost while speaking, your audience will feel the same.
Another effective method is to ask someone unfamiliar with the topic to summarize your key points after going through the slides or outline. If they can clearly explain your main message and supporting ideas, your body is working. If they struggle, it’s a sign to tighten, reorder, or remove sections until the story becomes unmistakable.
How to Design Slides Around a Strong Body
Once your body is solid, design stops being a guessing game. You’re not trying to make slides look pretty, you’re translating your story into visuals that make it easier to understand.
1. Let content guide visuals
Your slides should reflect your narrative. Big ideas get breathing space, supporting evidence gets charts or simple graphics, and transitions get clean slides with minimal text. Design serves meaning, not decoration.
2. Use hierarchy to lead attention
Highlight the most important points with size, color, or placement. Supporting details stay subtle. Design should direct the eye naturally through your story.
3. Keep it simple and focused
Avoid flashy fonts, loud colors, or unnecessary animations. If your body is strong, subtle design speaks louder. Data should be visualized to clarify, not overwhelm.
4. Respect rhythm and whitespace
Alternate between text and visuals to give the audience time to process. Whitespace isn’t empty, it emphasizes what matters and makes your slides feel confident.
A strong body makes design intuitive. When your content is clear, every slide, chart, and visual element becomes purposeful instead of random.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.