How to use flagging in a speech

Written By Jo L

When you’re delivering a speech or presentation and you’ve got a lot of material to sift through, a useful tool to use is something called, ‘flagging’.

Flagging is verbal cue that you give your audience to give them the heads-up that something important is coming up and they should tune in. At any point in time during your presentation, people can get distracted by their phone, the person sitting beside them, or simply their own thoughts. Yet still, while they’re working on sending out a tweet, they’re still passively receiving information from you.

If you preface an important point with a flag, odds are, it’ll prompt that distracted person to look up and pay attention.

Here are a couple of examples:

Key information

  • “If there’s only one thing you take away from this presentation, let it be this…”

Laundry list

  • “The top three ways to increase viewers to your YouTube channel is by, one…”

This tool can be helpful when introducing key points, as well as reviewing them at the end of your presentation. Use sparingly for maximum effect.

Jo L