Making Oral Presentations Chapter 11 Making Oral Presentations

Making oral presentations Plan and organize a presentation. Plan a team and video presentation. Develop effective visual aids. Practice and deliver a presentation.

Purposes of a report Motivating Reporting Purpose Persuading Explaining Explaining <#> 4

How formal? The stakes Audience size Audience opposition Need for repeat performances Complexity Cultural expectations of audience

Use an outline—not a script Absenteeism Rate—Slide 1 4.7% first 6 mo 5% higher than last yr 14% increase in 3 yrs Industry average = 3.6% (steady)

What do you want to accomplish? Reporting: Telling what happened at the OSHA meeting last week Explaining: Showing how to complete the new expense report forms Persuading: Convincing the executive committee to adopt a tuition-reimbursement plan Motivating: Inspiring the employees to volunteer to become a Big Brother or Big Sister

Why does an audience get distracted? Speaker believes common knowledge is adequate background Speaker does not make the structure of the presentation clear Speaker does not use visual aids adequately Speaker uses long, complicated sentences and unnecessary jargon, abbreviations, or difficult words Speaker reads too fast and without pacing Source: Adapted from: http://www.efcats.org/pages/presentation/oralpresentation.html, accessed 10/1/07.

The opening Quote a well-known person Ask a question Present a hypothetical situation Relate an appropriate story Give a startling fact Use a dramatic prop or visual aid

Don’t lose time at the start Do not repeat the title, explain who you are, or repeat your affiliation, especially if the material is printed or has been verbalized. Plan the opening carefully. Spontaneous statements often fall short of the desired effect. Write the first five minutes in short, powerful, crystal clear sentences, and rehearse several times. Source: Adapted from: http://www.efcats.org/pages/presentation/oralpresentation.html ,accessed 10/1/07.

Choose a logical sequence Criteria Direct sequence Indirect sequence Chronology Cause/effect/solution Order of importance Elimination of alternatives

Work-team presentations Assignment of roles Leader responsibilities Unity and coherence Introductions and transitions Non-speaker roles

Which role do you typically fill? Using the Internet Access: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_83.htm Scroll down to “Understanding Belbin's Team Roles Model” Identify the nine team-roles presented in three categories: Action-oriented People-oriented Thought-oriented Which role do you typically fill?

Video presentations Clothes and makeup Posture, gestures, and movement Eye focus Visual aids Operating the camera

Illustrating and delivering the business presentation Develop effective visual aids. Develop effective audience handouts. Practice the presentation. Deliver the presentation. Critique your performance as a presenter.

Using visual aids Position yourself stage right of the projector. Ensure everyone can read the projected images. Avoid walking in front of the image. Turn only your torso when pointing to a chart.

Visual aids in your presentation Use visuals as an AID not a CRUTCH for your presentation. Use visual aids sparingly. Use visual aids pictorially. Present one key point per visual, keeping the focus simple and clear. Use a legible font for text and numbers keeping the size to a minimum of 18 pt. for most rooms. Make visuals (pictures and diagrams) large enough to see from the last row. Source: Adapted from: http://clc.cqu.edu.au/FCWViewer/view.do?page=850, accessed 10/1/07.

Visual aids in your presentation (cont’d ) Use no more than 3 to 4 colors per visual aid to avoid a cluttered, rainbow effect. Make visuals attractive, aiming for simplicity and clarity. Use graphs rather than tables for numerical data. If something can be stated simply and verbally, there is no need for a visual aid. Source: Adapted from: http://clc.cqu.edu.au/FCWViewer/view.do?page=850, accessed 10/1/07.

Handouts—What to include Slide miniatures—with annotations Background data Summaries Complex charts and tables Journal articles

Handouts—When to distribute Before: For complex data During: For use during presentation After: For summary information only

From slides to handout Slides Handout

Slides Handout

Slides Handout

Slides Handout

Dealing with stage fright Overprepare. Use positive imagery. Recognize that you have something important to say. Relax your body and breathe deeply. Join Toastmasters International.

Relaxation exercises Relaxation exercises are useful to ward off last- minute anxiety attacks while you are waiting at the head table to "go on." Concentrate on a toe. Consciously relax it then move on to another toe. When you have done all ten, continue to the feet and ankles until you work your way to your waist. A variation on this exercise is to tense each body part briefly and then relax it.  Do deep- and slow-breathing exercises. These can be combined with the above. Source: Adapted from: Wallace, Marie. Guide on the Side - How to Turn Stage Fright into Peak Performance, March 1, 1998 http://www.llrx.com/columns/guide14.htm, accessed 10/1/07.

Relaxation exercises (contd.) More active exercises can be done when you are not on stage and there is no audience.  Stretches of all kinds Shake limbs (feet, legs, hands, arms) one at a time Shoulder and neck rolls Arm swings Yoga Source: Adapted from: Wallace, Marie. Guide on the Side - How to Turn Stage Fright into Peak Performance, March 1, 1998 http://www.llrx.com/columns/guide14.htm, accessed 10/1/07.

Group-work evaluations Give one example of something you learned from the group that you probably wouldn’t have learned working alone. Give one example of something the other group members learned from you that they probably wouldn’t have learned otherwise. Suggest one change the group could make to improve its performance. Source: Adapted from: Angelo, T. & Cross, K. P. Classroom Assessment Techniques, 2nd ed., San Francisco, Jossey-Ball, 1993, p. 350.