Each presentation is a learning opportunity for your audience. They may be revisiting familiar concepts and ideas, or they may be exploring uncharted territory. But for everyone seated in front of you, your presentation is an opportunity to learn something new or reinforce previous learning.

In the middle of the last century, a college professor by the name of Benjamin Bloom, led a group of his colleagues in examining how people learn. One of their most useful observations was a classification system used to examine various types of learning. In their study of university students across the United States, they found that learning falls broadly into three categories:

You need to think about the objectives of your presentation in terms of what you want your audience to learn. Learning to appreciate abstract expressionism or fine wines is a much different experience from learning how to swim or how to do your annual tax return. Let's focus on the first two of those categories and begin with the knowledge domain. Bloom and his colleagues defined a hierarchy of understanding that moves from basic, elementary stages of learning to highly advanced levels. As you establish your objectives for a presentation, think about which of the following levels of learning might be most appropriate for your audience: