Presentations

One aspect of being a successful oral communicator is being able to give organized and informative presentations. Especially in the business world, you may be expected to introduce new ideas to upper management, explain sales procedures to customers, or to even train newcomers in the company. Being able to present information in an organized way is extremely important. According to Thill and Bovee (1999), there are three steps to follow to giving speeches and presentations: Planning, developing, and delivering your speech.

1.       Presentations should have a clear and realistic purpose.

2.       Types of presentations include:

·        To Describe: Gives facts and information; is usually general and factual

·        To Instruct:  Aims to give the audience knowledge or teach them a skill

·        To Persuade:  Aims to motivate the audience to do something or believe something that they did not believe before the speech

·        To Entertain:  Aims to make the audience happy or to feel good; usually contains humor

More information about this section at: www.hio.ft.hanze.nl/thar/presenta.htm  

Subject of a Presentation

1. Subject should be determined based on the expectations of the audience.
   

2. Select a topic that you are familiar with, that is current, that you have An opinion about, and do not select a subject that is too simple or complex.
   

3. Research your topic in order to support your main ideas.

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The Structure of the Presentation

1.       A good presentation contains an introduction, body, and conclusion.

·        Introduction:  Make your topic clear and give your audience a reason for why your presentation is worth listening to.  It might be a good idea to begin with a question, humorous story, or quote in order to get the audience’s attention.

·        Body:  Discuss the main points of your presentation.  Support your ideas with facts and be sure to organize your points logically.

·        Conclusion:  Summarize your main points and put the information in perspective.  Also, be sure to thank your audience and close the presentation.

More information about this section at: www.hio.ft.hanze.nl/thar/presenta.htm  

The Audience

Be sure to consider the audience when you are choosing a topic and planning your speech.

1. Determine facts about your audience and determine questions that might be asked of you in advance.
   

2. Remember that the audience has a purpose and expects something from your presentation.
   

3. Plan your speech for the occasion: whether the event is formal or informal.  

More information about this section at: www.hio.ft.hanze.nl/thar/presenta.htm

Ways to grab attention during an introduction

·        Anecdotes

·        Stories

·        Statistics

·        Shocking information

·        Conflict

·        Current news

 

Cue Cards and Visual Aids

To help remember and enhance your speech while keeping your audience's attention include the use of cue cards and visual aids.  Plan your speech accordingly with these tips to help you remember what you want to say and to make your speech easier to understand: 

1. Do not write out your entire speech and read it to the audience.  The audience will be bored and think that listening to you is a waste of time.
   

2. Write an outline of your main points or key words and phrases in order to jog your memory.
   

3. Use visual aids to support your speech and to demonstrate or emphasize your main points.  Some examples of visual aids include:

·        Objects

·        Flip cards

·        Overheads

·        Slides

·        Power Point

·        Video

·        Handouts

        4.    When writing or using visuals, remember the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid).  Visuals should contain key points and ideas, be simple and clear.

More information about this section at: www.hio.ft.hanze.nl/thar/presenta.htm

Computer aided presentations

Use of computerized technology is becoming more prominent when giving effective presentations.

Powerpoint – This program can be used to enhance presentations and allows you to:

 

Clearly present main point Show statistics Add graphics Use tables and charts Experiment with sound, video, and animation

The Question and Answer Session

1. Anticipate what the audience might ask you and be prepared.
   

2. If you don’t know something, give yourself time to think.  If you still don’t know the answer, admit that you don’t know and tell the person that you will find out the answer.
   

3. If you gave the wrong information, admit that you are wrong and thank the questioner for pointing out the mistake.
   

4. If someone tries to antagonize you, don’t start an argument.  Admit that you and the person have different opinions.

More information about this section at: www.hio.ft.hanze.nl/thar/presenta.htm

    Now that the guidelines for presentations, interviews, and meetings have been presented, the only topic left to discuss regarding speaking is how to present oneself in the previous situations.  Following are several pointers, but for more information explore our page on presenting oneself.

Additional Links about speaking:

    Organizations that foster effective business communication:  

www.execspeaking.com

www.speakingconnection.com/index.shtml

http://public-speaking.secretscourse.com/

www.la.psu.edu/speech/100a

Meetings     Interviewing