Effective Presentation Skills

• The lecture focuses on making effective presentations.

Lecture Outline and Objectives

• Key areas include:
  • Developing the presentation
  • Organizing the presentation
  • Using verbal & visual support
  • Delivering the presentation
• After the lecture the student should be able to:
  • Develop an effective presentation strategy
  • Identify presentation goals and construct a thesis
  • Choose and develop an organizational plan
  • Create effective introductions and conclusions
  • Design presentations with effective transitions
  • Describe guidelines for verbal support
  • Discuss types of visual aids and media
  • Apply delivery guidelines
  • Conduct effective Q&A sessions
  • Speak confidently

Key Terms to Study

• One-week later test
• Chronological, spatial, and topical patterns
• Cause and effect, and effect and cause patterns
• Rule of seven
• Types of presentations: manuscript, memorized, extemporaneous, impromptu

Importance of Presentation Skills

• Speaking to an audience is a skill needed in business and professional environments.
• Businesspeople give approximately presentations 26 times per year.
• Good presentation skills are essential for career success
• Being able to present well is a must-have skill

Types of Presentations

• Briefings and informational announcements, orientation sessions, training programs, research and technical reports, progress reports, civic and social presentations, conventions and conference presentations, TV and radio interviews, introductions, sales presentations, project and policy proposals, seeking resources, and ceremonial occasions

Developing the Presentation

• The four areas to cover in making effective presentations are: developing, organizing, support, and delivery.
• Developing a presentation includes:
  • Analyzing the situation.
  • Establishing a purpose.
  • Developing a thesis.

Analyzing the Situation using the Audience, Speaker and Occasion

• Consider the audience, speaker, and occasion before planning a presentation.
• Analyze using key audience questions such as:
  • Key audience members
  • Prior knowledge
  • Audience interests
  • Personal preferences
  • Demographics such as gender, age, culture, economic status which help to suggest how to effectively deveop the presentation
  • Group size, such as number of handouts to have, the size of any visuals to use, or the time needed to allocate for Q&A sessions
  • Attitudes as a speaker; and attitudes to the subject

Analyzing Yourself

• Analyze yourself as a speaker and consider:
  • Purpose for speaking, asking why are you speaking, who do you want to reach, or what do you want them to do or think
  • Knowledge of the subject using the hour per minute principle (one-hour preparation time for every minute of speaking) or the 9 – 1 ratio (nine hours of preparation for a one-hour presentation)
  • Feelings about the topic, as sincerity is the greatest asset

Analyzing the Speaking Occasion

• Analyze the speaking occasion and consider:
  • The facilities, such as seating, type of equipment, noise issues, electrical outlets, lighting, etc.
  • The time, such as when will you speak or the length of time you have to speak.
  • The context influences what you have to say and how you say it

Room Arrangement Options

• Different room arrangements affect audience interaction and formality:
  • Conference to accommodate for small groups (10 or fewer), promotes interaction and discussion
  • Horseshoe to accommodate 10-30 people, allows eye contact, audience viewing and writing, promotes informal discussion
  • Classroom to accommodate for formal groups (around 20), allows for audience viewing and writting, limits audiece interaction
  • Herringbone to accommodte 20-30 people, used to intersperse presentaion with small group discussions
  • Auditorium to accommdate large groups , limits audience writing and interacting

Establishing a Goal/Purpose

• Define the goal or purpose of the presentation or it will be a recipe for failure and disaster.
• Goals/purposes can be:
  • General: to inform, persuade, or entertain
  • Specific, which describes the desired outcome:
  • Describe the desired outcome
  • Who is the audience?
  • What you want them to think or do?
  • How, when and where do you want them to do it?
• A specific statement combines the above to formulate a statement
• Example: “I want Nigel's Supermarket to start ordering Bakewell's bread on a daily basis."
• Goal statements should be measurable.

Developing a Thesis

• The thesis statement summarizes your message in a single sentence.
• The purpose outlines what you hope to accomplish, while the thesis tells your audience the main idea.
• Rules for thesis:
  • Give an idea that can be discussed or explained.
  • Not give obvious facts about the topic.
  • Not state two sides of an argument equally, it must take a position.
• Communication coaches advise boiling down the thesis to the bare minimum number of words.

Methods for Defining a Thesis Statement

• Imagine explaining your idea in an elevator.
• Write a one or two-sentence email.
• Determine the minimum listeners should learn.
• Consider what you want the audience to tell someone about your presentation.

Organizing the Presentation

• The flow of presentations is generally:
  • Introduction: Tells audience what you’re going to tell them using an attention-getter, thesis, and preview.
  • Body: You tell them, with no more than five main points.
  • Conclusion: You tell them what you have told them, which restates the thesis and main points, ending with a closing statement.
• Organizing ideas includes gathering materials, organizing the body, planning the introduction and conclusion, and adding transitions.

Gathering Ideas and Material

• Ready by gathering ideas and material for the persentation, and using brainstorming and research Consider company files, interviews with knowlegeable people, libraries and the internet, formal and informal surveys

Organizing the Body

• Identify main points that support your thesis.
• Decide on the organizational pattern.

Identify Main Points & Sub Points

• To identify the main points use the "One-week Later" test, asking "what main points do I want people to remember one week later?"
• Use a Logic Tree to illustrate the relationship among the Thesis, Main Points, and Sub Points.
• Rules to follow for main points:
  • State as claims, a statement asserting a fact or belief.
  • Develop the thesis.
  • Contain no more than five main points.
  • Each contain only one idea.

Organizational Patterns

• Choose an organizational pattern that suits the presentation that helps you explain how your presentation is organized.
• Informative presentations: chronological, spatial, topical, cause-effect, effect-cause patterns
• Persuasive presentations: problem-solution, criteria satisfaction, comparative advantages, motivated sequence patterns

Chronological pattern

• Chronological pattern arranges the points according to their sequence in time and it is good for explaining a process or giving instructions
• Also useful for discussing events that develop over time as well as discussing history

Spatial pattern

• This organizes material according to how it is put together or where it is located physically
• Can also show the geographical nature of a subject by citing examples from many places

Topical pattern

• This groups your ideas around some logical themes or divisions in your subject that makes it easy for the audience to follow

Cause and Effect/Effect and Cause

• Shows that certain events have happened or will happen as a result of certain circumstances.
• Effect and cause structure focuses more on results, used to explain how a problem has been created

Considerations for Choosing an Organizational Pattern:

• Chronological: Explain a process, develop events over time, discuss history.
• Spatial: Organize material physically or show geographical relationships.
• Topical: Group ideas around logical themes.
• Cause-Effect: Show events happening due to circumstances.
• Effect-Cause: Explain how a problem was created.

Planning the Introduction

• Introductions should take 10 to 15 percent of the speaking time.
• Its good to prepare an attention-getter, thesis statement, and preview, capturing the listeners' attention, giving them a reason to listen, setting the tone, and establishing qualifications. The opening statement should be based on the situation, common and effective ways to begin a presentation:
  • Ask a question.
  • Tell a story.
  • Present a quotation.
  • Make a startling statement.
  • Refer to the audience or the occasion.
  • Use humour which must be appropriate.

Planning the Conclusion

• The conclusion should not take up more than five percent of the speaking time which includes: a review and a closing statement.
• The review should restate the thesis and summarize the main points.
• The closing statement could use the same seven techniques used in the introduction: Return to the theme, appeal for action, or end with a challenge.

Adding Transitions

• Transitions are words or sentences that connect segments of a presentation.
• They should promote clarity, emphasize important ideas, keep listeners interested via the use of the next important idea, etc...
• Should occur between the introduction and the body, among the main points within the body, and between the body and the conclusion.

Using Verbal and Visual Support

• To support the organized points
• Supporting material backs claims made in a presentation, providing clarity, interest, and proof.

Verbal Support Types

• Definition - Explains the meaning of a term, used when it is unfamiliar, or when it is used in an uncommonway
• Example - Brief reference that illustrates a point, good for keeping short and clarifies and adds interest
• Story - Detailed account of an incident (factual or hypothetical), clarifies and must support thesis
• Statistics - Numerical representations of a point, to prove a link to audience's frame of reference

Visual Aids

• Show how things look, work, or relate, and emphasize important points.
• Use objects, models, photographs, diagrams, lists, tables, charts, pictograms, graphs, and videos.

Infographics

• Infographics effectively represent complex information for a wide audience, follow these steps to create an effective infographic:
  • Identify the purpose: What do you want your audience to learn?
  • Locate credible statistical data.
  • Create a wireframe or outline of where your text and images will be placed.
  • Match the design to the tone of the information.
  • Use a variety of icons, illustrations, and charts.
  • Be comfortable with white space.
  • Proofread the final version.
• Visual aids can be presented via various media like boards, displays, and handouts.

Presentation Software such as Microsoft Power Point or Apple Keynote

• Advantages: delivers effects, can organize speaker's notes, can prepare audience handouts or create charts, graphs and tables.
• Cons: complex design focuses more on the design over content, and overly complex presentations will cause their message to be lost.

Guidelines for Using Visual Aids

• Make sure you have a purpose, keep shows brief, match visuals to audience.
• Must have a good design such as: keeping the visual large and simple, using few words, using horizontal printing, labeling, and displaying during discussion, work in your presentaiton area, and practice.
• Have backup plans such as having back up presentations on CDs in case of equipment failure and be aware of using the internet for real time.

Delivering the Presentation

• Four ways to deliver a presentation:
  • Manuscript: Reading from a prepared statement, can be boring if not delivered well.
  • Memorized: Dangerous, forgetting words can ruin the presentation.
  • Extemporaneous: Planned and rehearsed in a conversational style using brief notes.
  • Impromptu: Unexpected with little to no preparation.

Guidelines for Delivery

• Good delivery: effective use of verbal, vocal, and visual elements.
• Verbal messages account around approximately 7% of the meaning
• Vocal messages (how it is said) account for 38% of the meaning
• Visual message (what audience sees) account for approximately 55% of the meaning
• Guidelines for improving verbal effectiveness include oral style, active voice, direct addressing, adjusting remarks, and proper vocabulary.
• Guidelines for improving vocal effectiveness include speaking with enthusiasm, speaking loudly, avoiding disfluencies, vary the rhythm
• Guidelines for improving visual effectiveness include dressing effectively, speaking with confidence, maintaining eye contact, and standing/moving effectively

Interpretations of Body Language

• Dictatorial/Arrogant: Crossed arms, pounding fists, hands on hips/behind neck, pointing
• Insecure/Nervous: Gripping the lectern, chewing objects, constant throat clearing, playing with hair or rocking, rubbing/picking, clenched fists, jingling pockets, slouching or standing ridgid.
• Open/Confident: Open hands, stepping from behind lectern, expansive gestures, animated expressions, dramatic pauses, consistent eye contact.

Question and Answer Sessions

• Plan to deal with them before inviting questions either during or ater the presentation
• During the presentation, its good to be able to clarify easily what questions are arising
• After the presentation is ideal to keep control of the time
• To manage questions, anticipate them, clarify complicated questions, treat questioners with respect, focus answers, and follow up with a summary.

Speaking with Confidence

• Accept a normal amount of nervousness to help to prepare carefully
• Speak more often, rehearse the presentation, focus on the topic and audience.