MAKING ORAL PRESENTATIONS

MAKING ORAL PRESENTATIONS

PUBLIC SPEAKING People fear public speaking over death Another application to master as a student and a professional Public speaking is a process that can be mastered

BASIC TYPES OF PRESENTATIONS Impromptu presentations No advanced notice Extemporaneous presentation Planned and rehearsed Refer to notes or outline Scripted presentations Read the text that was written out completely Memorized presentations Speak without notes or a script Not appropriate for technical subjects

ROLE OF ORAL PRESENTATIONS Advantage permits dialogue between the speaker and the audience Oral presentations are common in technical communication

FOUR TYPES OF AUDIENCES Clients and Customers Colleagues in your organization Fellow professionals The public

PREPARING A PRESENTATION Experts recommend devoting 20-60 minutes preparation for each minute of the presentation. 13 hours to prepare for a 20 minute presentation Good presentations don t just happen You must prepare

5 STEPS FOR PREPARING FOR AN ORAL PRESENTATION Analyze the speaking situation. Organize and develop the presentation. Prepare the presentation graphics. Choose effective language. Rehearse the presentation. Deliver the presentation.

ANALYZING AUDIENCE AND PURPOSE Audience What does the audience know about your subject? Why are audience members listening to your presentation? Are they likely to be hostile, enthusiastic, or neutral? Purpose Are you attempting to inform, or to inform and persuade? If you are explaining how windmill farms work, you might describe the process. If you are explaining why your windmills are an economical way to generate power, you might compare their results with those of other power sources.

BUDGETING YOUR TIME Time allotment is typical at professional meetings Informal or formal presentations will have a time limit 20 min. presentation

ORGANIZING AND DEVELOPING THE PRESENTATION The speaking situation will help you decide how to organize and develop the information you will present Consider organizational patterns used typically in technical communication Cause and effect Problem-methods-solution. Combine and adapt several organizational patterns. Note the kinds of information you will need for each section of the presentation. data; graphics that you can use in your slides; or objects that you want to pass around the audience. This is also a good time to plan the introduction and the conclusion of your presentation.

PLANNING THE INTRODUCTION Introduction helps audience understand: What you are going to say Why you are going to say it How you are going to say it

PLANNING THE INTRODUCTION 5 SUGGESTIONS Introduce yourself. State the title of your presentation. Explain the purpose of the presentation. State your main point. Provide an advance organizer.

FOLLOW THESE FOUR GUIDELINES IN CONCLUDING A PRESENTATION: Announce that you are concluding. Summarize the main points. Look to the future. Invite questions politely.

PREPARING PRESENTATION GRAPHICS Graphics clarify or highlight important ideas or facts. Presentations with graphics are judged more professional, persuasive, and credible than those that do not Audiences remember the information better

AN EFFECTIVE GRAPHIC HAS FIVE CHARACTERISTICS: It presents a clear, well-supported claim. It is easy to see. It is easy to read. It is simple. It is correct.

IN PLANNING YOUR GRAPHICS, CONSIDER FOUR ASPECTS OF THE SPEAKING SITUATION: length of the presentation 1 graphic for every 30 seconds Better to have a series of simple graphics than 1 complicated one that stays on the screen audience aptitude and experience size and layout of the room equipment

CHOOSING EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE Delivering an oral presentation is more challenging than writing a document 1. Listeners can t go back to listen again to something they didn t understand 2. Must maintain listener s attention Effective language helps with these challenges

USING LANGUAGE Use language to signal: Advance organizers Summaries Transitions

THREE GUIDELINES FOR USING MEMORABLE LANGUAGE: Involve the audience. Refer to people, not to abstractions. Use interesting facts, figures, and quotations.

CONCENTRATE ON THREE ASPECTS RELATED TO THE MECHANICS OF DELIVERING A PRESENTATION: Calm your nerves. Use your voice effectively. Use your body effectively.

POINTS TO HELP CALM YOUR NERVES: You are much more aware of your nervousness than the audience. Nervousness gives you energy and enthusiasm. After a few minutes, your nervousness will pass. Realize that you are prepared. Realize that the audience is there to hear you, not to judge you. Realize that your audience is made up of individual people who happen to be sitting in the same room.

FOUR STEPS TO RELEASE NERVOUS ENERGY: Walk around. Go off by yourself for a few minutes. Talk with someone for a few minutes. Take several deep breaths, exhaling slowly.

PAY ATTENTION TO FIVE ASPECTS OF VOCALIZING: volume speed pitch articulation Non-fluencies (meaningless fillers)

FOUR GUIDELINES FOR FACING AN AUDIENCE: Maintain eye contact. Use natural gestures. Don t block the audience s view of the screen. Control the audience s attention.

BE PREPARED FOR THESE FOUR PROBLEMS YOU MIGHT ENCOUNTER IN ANSWERING QUESTIONS: You re unsure everyone heard the question. You don t understand the question. You get a question that you have already answered in the presentation. A belligerent member of the audience rejects your response and insists on restating his or her original point.