Making Effective and Professional Oral Presentations

Organize the conclusion

Identify your purpose

Organize the body

Getting Ready for an Oral Presentation

Understand your audience

Organize the introduction

X Identify Your Purpose

 What do you want your audience to believe, remember, or do when you finish?  Aim all parts of your talk toward your purpose.

Y Understand Your Audience

 Analyze audience, anticipate its reactions, and making appropriate adaptations.  Age, gender, education, experience and attitude toward the subject will affect your style and message content  Accordingly determine your strategy, vocabulary, illustrations and level of detail

Z Organize the Introduction

 Capture listeners attention and get them involved.

Ten Techniques for Getting Your Audiences Attention

 A Promise
By the end of my talk, you will . . . .

 Dramatell a moving story;

describe a problem.

 Eye contactcommand
attention by making eye contact with as many people as possible.

 Movementleave the lectern area. Move toward the audience.  Questionsask for a show of hands. Use a rhetorical question.  Demonstrationsinclude a member of the audience.  Samples, gimmicksaward prizes to volunteer participants; pass out samples.

 Visualsuse graphics
and other visual aids.

 Dress professional
dress helps you look more competent and qualified

 Appeal to the audiences selfinterest audience

members want to know, What's in it for me?

Z Organize the Introduction

Capture listeners attention and get them involved. Identify yourself and establish your credibility. Preview your main points.

[ Organize the Body

Develop two to four main points. Streamline your topic and summarize its principal parts. Arrange the points logically by a specific pattern. Prepare transitions to guide the audience.

Switching Directions

 Up to this point, I've concentrated on . . .; now let's look at another significant factor . . .  I've just discussed three reasons for X. Now I want to move on to Y.  As you can see, we have two primary reasons explaining . . .  Let me review the two major factors I've just covered. . .  Now let's look at three reasons for . . .  My next major point focuses on . . .

Summarizing

Previewing

Using Verbal Signposts to Transition

[ Organize the Body

Develop two to four main points. Streamline your topic and summarize its principal parts. Arrange the points logically by a specific pattern. Prepare transitions to guide the audience. Have extra material ready. Be prepared with more information and visuals if needed.

Supporting Your Main Points* Type

Example

Use
Illustrate Clarify Add interest Prove point Illustrate

Comments
Consider preceding or following with relevant story.

Story

Adapt to audience. Must support thesis. Control length.

Type
Quotation

Use
Prove point Add credibility Add interest

Comments
Cite source. May paraphrase or read verbatim. Follow up with restatement or explanation. Link familiar with unfamiliar. Be sure comparison or analogy is valid. Link to audience needs. Use sparingly; round off. Support with visuals, handouts.

Comparison

Improve understanding Add figurative interest Prove point Add credibility

Statistics

\ Organize the Conclusion

 Summarize the main themes of the presentation.  Provide a final action-oriented focus. Explain how listeners can use this information or what you want them to do.  Include a final statement that leaves a lasting impression.

Sending Positive Nonverbal Messages: Body Language

 Posture
 When called upon to address, walk sprightly and stand at ease  Use your hands for appropriate gestures but there should be no peculiar flourishes  Dont fidget, try to feel relaxed  If a microphone is being used keep yourself 8-10 away

 Eye Contact (one of the most immediate and effective means of

establishing rapport)  Look at audience and pause for a while before you say anything  While speaking maintain eye contact with audience  Through eye contact you get the signal whether the channel of communication is open

Sending Positive Non-verbal Messages: Voice Modulations  Variation in the pitch and tempo of the voice is essential to convey message effectively.  Fast delivery betrays lack of confidence.  Pronounce words properly with stresses at the right place.  Speak loud enough  Avoid nasalization and vocalized pauses

Multimedia slides Objects for demonstration

Transparencies

Enhancing Your Presentation With Visual Aids Handouts Flipcharts or whiteboards

Video

Pros
 Professional effect  Graphic options  Easy to make and update  Easy to prepare, update, and use  Readily available equipment

Medium

Cons
 Requires costly equipment and practice to use  Equipment may fail  May seem outdated  Holds speaker close to projector  Poor photo reproduction

Multimedia slides

Transparencies

Pros
 Encourages audience participation  Enhances recall

Medium

Cons
 Risks unauthorized duplication and loss of audience control

Handouts

 Inexpensive  Easy to create, modify, or customize on the spot

Flipcharts or whiteboards

 Requires talent  Difficult to see  Cumbersome to transport

Pros
 Accurate portrayal of content  Suggests serious preparation

Medium

Cons
 Expensive to create and update  Incompatibility issues

Video

 Realistic effects  Increases audience participation

Objects for demonstration

 Extra work and expensive to transport and replace  Limited use with large audience

Designing an Impressive Multimedia Presentation

Add multimedia and other effects Create an appropriate template

Build bullet points

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X Create an Appropriate Template

 Combine harmonious colors, borders, bullet styles, and fonts.  Avoid visual clichs.  Use light text on dark background for darkened rooms.  Use dark text on light background for lighted rooms  Alter layouts by repositioning, resizing, or changing fonts in placeholder slides.
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Y Build Bullet Points

 Focus on major concepts only.  Use concise phrases balanced grammatically.  Add graphics to illustrate and add interest.  Avoid using too many transition effects.
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Revising Slide to Improve Bullet Points and Add Illustration

Does not use parallel wording.

Improves wording and includes an illustration for added punch.

Z Add Multimedia and Other Effects

 Consider adding sound, animation, and video.  Include hyperlinks ("hot spots" on the screen) to jump to sources outside your presentation.  Avoid too many "bells and whistles."

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Converting a Bulleted List to an Animated Diagram

Using a Bar Chart to Illustrate a Concept

Avoid Being Upstaged by Your Slides

 Perfect your handling of the visual aids and the operation of any equipment or remote controls you may be using.  Use your slides only to summarize important points.  Look at the audience, not the screen.  Do not read from a slide. Paraphrase.
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 Use a radio remote control to advance slides.  Use a laser pointer to highlight slide items.  Don't rely totally on your slides to deliver a presentation. Remember that the audience came to see and hear you.  In case of equipment failure, bring backups of your presentation.

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Delivering Your Presentation Effectively

 Speak from note cards  Practice using your notes while using a remote control to advance your slides.

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 Memorize significant parts such as the introduction, conclusion, or a meaningful quotation.  Talk to the audience conversationally.
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Reacting to Stage Fright Symptoms

 Stomach butterflies  Pounding heart  Shortage of breath  Sweaty palms

    

Dry throat Unsteady voice Trembling hands Tied tongue Wobbly knees

Overcoming Stage Fright

 Just before you begin to talk, take some deep breaths.  Convert your fear into anticipation and enthusiasm.  Select a familiar, relevant topic.  Prepare 150 percent.  Use positive self-talk.
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 Shift the focus from yourself to your visual aids.  Ignore stumbles; keep going. Don't apologize.  Feel proud when you finish.  Reward yourself.

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