Business Presentations

A Presentation is a formal talk

addressed to one or more people
and presents ideas or information
in a clear, structured way.

Public speaking is speaking

formally to a group of listeners
 Differences
• To give the audience • To give the audience
what they know they what they believe
need they want
• Generally • Mostly heterogeneous
homogenous in terms • Do not much details
of their knowledge • Less information
• Complete details • Only a general
about the topic understanding of the
• More information and topic is expected
thorough knowledge
 Reasons

• To influence important decisions

• To attract media and public attention
• To establish an image
• To explain the importance of
organizational change
• To dispel rumours
• To present findings before a committee
 Planning
The contents of your speech and
how you deliver it are based on 5
important factors:
• Occasion
• Audience
• Purpose
• Thesis
• Material
 Occasion
The factors that contribute to the
occasion are the facilities available
for your presentation, time and the
context of your presentation
Facilities-Venue, seating, light,
projection facilities, ventilation,
acoustic provisions etc.
Time-time of the day and the
duration of the talk(business
presentations are brief)
Facilities-Venue, seating, light,
projection facilities, ventilation,
acoustic provisions etc.
Time-time of the day and the
duration of the talk(business
presentations are brief)
Context-events surrounding the
presentation-the team members‟
views
 Audience
Begin preparation by considering
the positions/ranks of the members
Specialists-interested in technical
details
Non-experts would be bored by
technical details
Some may appreciate humour,
some may insist on formal
presentation, some may prefer
electronic presentations
Age, sex, cultural background, and
economic status, of the members
of the audience
The sensibilities of the audience
must be considered to insert jokes
The economic status must be
understood
 Purpose
To inform-to explain for informative
purpose
To persuade-sales presentations
by the marketing executives to
convince the audience
and to entertain
Formulate the specific purpose
statement with the four „wh‟-
who, what, when and where
 Thesis
The central or core idea of the
presentation is referred to as the
thesis statement, a single
statement that summarizes your
message. All ideas should
contribute something to the central
idea
 Example-if the purpose statement
is “I want my project team
members to change over to the
new technique” the thesis satement
would be “recent advances have
changed the course of our project.”
 Material
Collection of material requires
some research.
Text includes the series of steps
involved-consultation of company
records, statistics, surveys or
interviews- assemble them at one
place, list all the ideas and then
organize them
 Structuring
• Introduction-Should grab attention, introduce
topic, contain a strategy for establishing
credibility, preview your speech, establish rules
for questions and have a smooth transition to the
main text.
• Main Body- Contains all topics/the entire matter
organized into a logical sequence
• Conclusion-Contains signal, highlights/summary,
closing statement/re-emphasis, a vote of thanks
and invites questions
 Organizing/Outlining
Patterns
The body of a presentation can be
organized in six basic patterns.
Choose the best pattern that suits
and develops the topic.
Chronological,Spatial/Directional,
Topical/Categorical, Cause and
Effect, Problem and Solution and
Climactic
Chronological-informative
presentation
Spatial-organizes material
according to how it is put together
or where it is located physically
Topical-topic is divided into logical
themes or categories
Cause and Effect-causes of
conflict and the effects
Problem and Solution-describing
a problem and describing a solution
Climactic –items are arranged
from least important to most
important
Delivery
Good speakers cause a change in
the audience‟s actions, attitudes,
and in their lives
Types of Delivery-
*speaking from notes
*speaking impromptu
*reciting from memory
*reading from a manuscript
 Speaking from notes-known as
extemporaneous delivery is
planned and rehearsed. It can be
done with the help of an outline,
note cards or visual aids. Appears
spontaneous and effortless
Advantages-
Conversational quality,
Adaptability, Control and Effective
non-verbal cues
Speaking Impromptu-
Unexpectedly saying a few
words
Guidelines are the following-
*Anticipate that you may be asked
to speak so prepare earlier
*Decide immediately upon the
points to be spoken-Take a minute
or half to think of 2 or 3 points-one
main and a few supporting
*Present your viewpoint-Let the
audience know your definite
viewpoint at the outset, then
provide evidence to support your
specific view
*Be as brief as possible-brevity is
an important characteristic
Speaking from Memory-The most
difficult, avoid memorizing for you
are likely to forget your lines, but
memorizing a quotation or a story
may strengthen your delivery
 Reading from a Manuscript
Presidents and Prime Ministers
read from texts fro they deliver
important messages to the nation
because the omission or addition of
some words may be interpreted
differently.
Legal laws, policy statements are
read
 Guidelines for delivery
Word Pictures, Warm
words,Similes and Metaphors,
Impact words, Smooth flow, Bridge,
Number item,Trigger, Interjection,
Internal summary, Rhetorical
question, Flashback, List, Pause,
Quotations, Jokes, Supporting
materials, Definitions, Examples,
Statistics, Analogy