Chapter 13 Developing Presentation Skills Technical Communication: Strategies for College and the Workplace by Dan Jones & Karen Lane Chapter 13 Developing Presentation Skills Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Preparing for Oral Presentations

Plan your Presentation Know your purpose and your audience Research your topic Outline Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Organize Your Presentation Beginning Middle End Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Prepare a Good Beginning Introduce yourself Get the audience’s attention Provide a preview of your main points Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Develop the Middle of the Presentation Organize your information Cover each main point in detail Connect points with smooth transitions Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Prepare a Well-Defined Ending Signal that you are concluding Make the conclusion memorable Call for questions Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Tips for Delivering Oral Presentations

Tips for Delivering Oral Presentations Relax Establish eye contact Project your voice to fill the room ––Continued–– Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Tips for Delivering Oral Presentations Maintain a steady pace Use gestures appropriately Avoid distracting behavior Use signposts ––Continued–– Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Tips for Delivering Oral Presentations Expect the unexpected Use presentation tools judiciously Watch the time Distribute handouts before or after the presentation Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Presentation Tools

Presentation Tools Models Dry-erase boards Flip charts Transparencies & overhead projectors ––Continued–– Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Presentation Tools 35 mm slides Computers and presentation software Document cameras Video Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Making Your Slides Legible Choose an appropriate color scheme Use light colored text against a darker background Select a readable font size Don’t use all capital letters ––Continued–– Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Making Your Slides Legible Choose appropriate line spacing Provide bulleted lists Use phrases, not complete sentences Minimize end punctuation ––Continued–– Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.

Making Your Slides Legible Use a conversational—rather than a formal—tone Limit the amount of text on each slide Copyright © 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. All rights reserved.