roads. you cannot get lost. but when you give a presentation, how can your audience know where they are? how can they know the structure of your presentation? how can they know what is coming next? they know because you tell them. because you put up signposts for them, at the beginning and all along the route. this technique is called 'signposting' (or 'signalling').
during your introduction, you should tell your audience what the structure of your presentation will be. you might say something like this:
"i'll start by describing the current position in europe. then i'll move on to some of the achievements we've made in asia. after that i'll consider the opportunities we see for further expansion in africa. lastly, i'll quickly recap before concluding with some recommendations."
a member of the audience can now visualize your presentation like this:
introduction
welcome
explanation of structure (now)
body
europe
asia
africa
conclusion
summing up
recommendations
he will keep this image in his head during the presentation. he may even write it down. and throughout your presentation, you will put up signposts telling him which point you have reached and where you are going now. when you finish europe and want to start asia, you might say:
"that's all i have to say about europe. let's turn now to asia."
when you have finished africa and