AI as your presentation coach: Exploring different ways to organize ideas

Objective

Before preparing a two-minute oral presentation, you will use AI to explore different ways of organizing your ideas. The goal is not to change what you want to say, but to think more carefully about how you can structure your speech to make it clearer, more engaging, and easier to follow.

Step 1: Create your own structure (no AI)

Choose a general topic (e.g. sports, holidays, music, technology, food, etc.).

First, write down keywords and key concepts only. Do not write complete sentences or paragraphs.

Then, organize your ideas into a structure for a two-minute presentation without using AI.

Step 2: Ask AI for three alternative structures

Once you have selected and organized your ideas on your own, ask an AI tool to suggest three different ways of organizing the same keywords and concepts.

Compare your original structure with the AI-generated alternatives. At this stage, the focus is no longer what to say, but how to organize, justify, and improve your discourse.

Step 3: What did the AI do differently?

Work with a partner. Show your partner your original keywords and the three structures suggested by the AI.

Discuss the following questions:

• Which structure was most logical?
• Which one was easiest to remember?
• Which one sounded most natural for a presentation?
• Which ideas did the AI move or prioritize?

Be prepared to share your conclusions with the class.

Step 4: Identify the organizational pattern

Together with your partner, decide whether any of the AI-generated structures follow one of these patterns:

• General idea → Specific aspects → Conclusion
• Past → Present → Future
• Problem → Causes → Solutions
• Problem → Causes → Effects
• Advantages → Disadvantages → Opinion
• Facts → Examples → Conclusion
• Personal experience → Reflection → Advice
• Compare → Contrast → Preference
• Personal opinion → Reasons → Conclusion

You may find that different AI structures follow different patterns.

Step 5: Choose and justify

Select the structure that you think works best and explain why. Use some of the following sentence starters:

• I chose this structure because...
• It is easier to deliver because...
• The audience can understand my ideas better because...

Step 6: Can you improve the AI?

The AI structure may be good, but can you make it better? Together with your partner, evaluate whether you can:

• Remove unnecessary sections
• Change the order of ideas
• Add examples
• Simplify the structure

Remember: AI can suggest ideas, but you are the one who decides how to communicate effectively.

Final reflection

At the end of the activity, be ready to answer:

What did you learn about organizing a presentation, and how useful was AI in helping you improve your structure?