Designing Oral Reports: Components of effective presentations

Designing Oral Reports: u Oral Reports and Professional Contexts u Preparing for your Audience u Structuring Technical Information: Text and Visuals u Presentation Skills You Need: Space, Voice, and Body

Oral Reports and Professional Contexts Presentations in the Classroom and the Workplace

Oral Reports and Professional Contexts u Conveying information quickly and efficiently u Variety of situations: team meetings, reports to superiors, presentations to clients u Demanded more often than written reports

Preparing for your Audience Presentations for listeners

Know Your Audience u Determine their technical level: expert, professional non-expert, student, technician, general u Evaluate their previous experience with the topic u Gauge their attitudes toward the topic u Identify the information they need u Establish exigence: why do your listeners need this information? u Use appeals: to logos, ethos, pathos

Structuring Technical Information Text and Visuals

Structuring Technical Information u Emphasize the primary topic structure of your research u Preview and review u Use transition words and phrases u Supply a context for clear visuals

Emphasize primary topic structure u Decide on overall arrangement strategy: Narrative/chronological, reporting on your group’s process for evaluating the products? By criteria for evaluation? –Ordered most to least important? –Other order? By results/ recommendations? –Brands of product as primary topics? – In what order?

Structuring Technical Information u Emphasize the primary topic structure of your research u Preview and review: tell you audience where you are going, review where you have been

Designing Oral Reports u Oral Reports and Professional Contexts u Preparing for your Audience u Structuring Technical Information: Text and Visuals u Presentation Skills You Need: Space, Voice, and Body **This review slide helps listeners remember what topics you have covered and what lies ahead

Structuring Technical Information u Emphasize primary topic structure of your research u Preview and review u Use transition words and phrases

Transition words and phrases

Structuring Technical Information u Emphasize primary topic structure of your research u Preview and review u Use transition words and phrases to link ideas u Supply a context for clear visuals

Context for Clear Visuals uUuUsing PowerPoint uAuAvoid cartoon images and sounds

Visuals for Tech Evaluation u Displaying criteria? Weighting? u Displaying results? u Background to understand the technology and/or the specific products? Photographs? Screen captures? Drawings/ diagrams? u Other audio/visual aids or props?

Labeling Charts and Graphs

u Labeled, interpreted, contextualized

The Presentation Skills You Need: Space, Voice, and Body

Presentation Skills: Space u Arrange the room to suit your presentation needs u Check equipment and ensure it is operational; backup plan u Practice with the equipment in presentation conditions u Allow adequate room so you can remain in contact with the audience

Presentation Skills: Voice u Speak loud enough to be heard, but don’t shout u Try to be conversational, rather than trying to deliver a “canned” speech u Vary voice tone and pitch; avoid a monotone u Let your voice reflect your enthusiasm for the topic

Presentation Skills: Body u Use hand gestures effectively u Avoid using gestures just because you are nervous u Approach the audience to emphasize a point or idea u Avoid shifting or shuffling

Designing Oral Reports Components of effective presentations

Preview and Review **Rather than leave your listeners with a blank slide with the word “Questions?” on it, leave them with a review slide

Designing Oral Reports: u Oral Reports and Professional Contexts u Preparing for your Audience u Structuring Technical Information: Text and Visuals u Presentation Skills You Need: Space, Voice, and Body