Amara's first draft of her pitch deck said the cleaning cost $16 on one slide and $15 on another. A judge noticed straight away. One tiny mistake made the whole plan look careless. Professional writers almost never publish a first draft. They revise it, edit it, proofread it, ask for feedback, and only then share it. This lesson walks through that process, and then through presenting your work out loud.
Revising: the big picture
Revising means improving the big things: the ideas, the order and what is included. Check your draft against four goals.
| Goal | Question to ask | Sole Revival fix |
|---|---|---|
| Clarity | Will my audience understand it on the first read? | Replaced "turnaround time" with "ready in 2 days" |
| Accuracy | Are all the facts, numbers and names correct and the same everywhere? | Fixed the price to $15 on every slide |
| Accessibility | Can everyone read it, including people with disabilities? | Darkened grey text, added alt text and captions |
| Effectiveness | Does it achieve its purpose with this audience? | Moved the before-and-after photo to the top |
Editing and proofreading checklists
- Is each sentence short and clear?
- Did I cut words that add nothing?
- Did I use the right business terms and explain new ones?
- Is the tone right for the audience?
- Are headings and points in a logical order?
- Spelling, including names and Canadian spelling (colour, centre)
- Punctuation and capital letters
- Numbers, prices, dates and times match everywhere
- Links work and contact details are correct
- Fonts and colours are consistent
Using feedback selectively
Feedback is helpful, but you do not have to use all of it. Using feedback selectively means choosing the comments that help your text meet its purpose for its audience. Give more weight to comments that several people make, comments from people in your target audience, and comments that point to a fixable problem. If one friend dislikes your brand colour but everyone else reads the flyer easily, you might keep the colour.
- Collect all the feedback in one place.
- Group comments that say the same thing, and count them.
- For each comment, ask: does acting on this help my purpose and audience?
- Make the changes that pass the test, starting with the ones most people mentioned.
- Thank the people who gave feedback, even for comments you did not use.
Publishing and presenting to inform and persuade
Publishing means sharing your finished text with its audience. Digital tools make it easy: a slide app, a free design tool, a word processor, a website builder or social media. Keep it accessible when you publish. Save documents as an accessible PDF with real headings, add alt text to images, turn on captions for videos, and write image descriptions on social posts. Choose the channel your audience actually uses.
| Technique | What to do | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Voice | Speak loudly enough for the back row; change your tone to stress key words | A flat or quiet voice makes listeners tune out |
| Eye contact | Look at different people, not at your slides or cards | It builds trust and shows confidence |
| Pacing | Speak a little slower than normal; pause after big points | Pauses give listeners time to think |
| Visuals | Few words per slide, big images, high contrast | People cannot read and listen at the same time |
| Handling questions | Listen fully, repeat the question, answer briefly; if you don't know, say you will find out | Calm, honest answers make you more believable |