Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Chapter 22 Presentations

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Presentations ‣ Help solve problems by communicating with your audience face-to-face, in-person ‣ Are an essential part of the workplace ‣ Use many of the same techniques of effective written communication ‣ Often involve interaction between the speaker and audience

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Informal Presentations ‣ Make up the majority of workplace presentations ‣ Often occur without a great deal of preparation or rehearsal ‣ Are sometimes spontaneous ‣ Can also be improvised ‣ Are generally not supported by sophisticated written or visual aids

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Formal Presentations ‣ Could be the principal factor in determining whether your ideas, products, or services are used and accepted ‣ May actually be the service you and your company provide ‣ Are generally longer and more complex than informal presentations ‣ Are usually delivered in a set-aside place

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. ‣ Are usually supported with various tools, ancillaries, and equipment ‣ Usually includes computer-supported slideshows ‣ Are often delivered to potential clients, members of your own organization or profession, supervisors or managers, and sometimes the general public Formal Presentations

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Preparing for a Presentation ‣ Requires careful planning and preparation ‣ Requires knowing the purpose for the presentation ‣ Understands the audience ‣ Knows the physical context for the presentation

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Appropriate Visual Aids ‣ Are influenced by audience, location, the time available ‣ Are even more important the longer and more formal your presentation will be ‣ Make the audience perceive speakers as more professional, more persuasive, easier to understand, and more interesting when they include visual aids

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. ‣ Should be higher-quality ‣ Mesh seamlessly with the material ‣ Reinforce and strengthen information presented, not overwhelm or take the place of quality information ‣ Are those that explain, emphasize, interest, and guide Appropriate Visual Aids

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Handouts ‣ Can be duplicates of written material or slides, summaries of key points, supporting matter in graphs, charts, or tables, or other supplementary information ‣ Should be distributed to each member of your audience ‣ Can be easy and inexpensive to prepare and can reinforce what you’ve said

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Posters and Flipcharts ‣ Can be effective methods for displaying visual information to smaller groups ‣ Can be written on by the speaker, which keeps audience members interested and involved in the presentation ‣ Are especially useful in brainstorming

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Boards ‣ Can be used to display and create information ‣ Range from the basic chalkboards and erasable dryboards to wireless, digital smartboards ‣ Allow presenters to create graphics and charts on the fly ‣ Are best suited to small groups

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Slides and Overheads ‣ Are readily available in most offices, easy to use, and inexpensive ‣ Can project texts or images onto a blank wall or a screen ‣ Are seen as outdated and plain when compared to computer projections

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Computer Projections ‣ Are the primary visual aid used in presentations today ‣ Can use web-based or presentation software ‣ Can import content, graphs, and charts from other programs ‣ Can incorporate sound, video, and web links ‣ Are becoming ubiquitous and user-friendly

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Creating Effective Visuals ‣ Enhance an audience’s interest and understanding—not inhibit it ‣ Depend on the context; effectiveness is the product of circumstance ‣ Consider the five principles of effective visual design

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. ‣ Signaling groups information together using headings ‣ Segmenting presents information in bite-sized segments ‣ Narrating describes the visual rather than just reading from a slide ‣ Showing and telling combines text and images for a more effective presentation ‣ Streamlining keeps visuals concise, simple, and to-the- point Principles of Effective Visual Design

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Additional Suggestions for Creating Slides ‣ Use text and visuals that can be read and seen at the back of the room ‣ Use bulleted or numbered lists that contain phrases and keywords ‣ Be consistent with font styles, sizes, spacing, and backgrounds ‣ Don’t read text word for word from a slide ‣ Avoid the excessive use of “enhancements” in slideshows

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Plan Your Speech ‣ By deciding what you will say ‣ By writing a formal speech if it is a highly stressful presentation ‣ By creating an outline that is highly organized or loosely structured ‣ By using notes to guide you through the presentation

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Organize Your Presentation ‣ By including an introduction, body, and conclusion ‣ By realizing that listeners have less attention for detail than readers ‣ By understanding that listeners generally require more overlap than readers ‣ By knowing that listeners generally require more explicit signals than readers, like transitions and summaries

Dobrin / Keller / Weisser : Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2008 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Deliver the Presentation ‣ Using effective vocalization: moderate volume, varied pitch, steady pace, and clear articulation ‣ Avoiding filler phrases and non-fluencies ‣ Using effective body language: face the audience, make eye contact, and use movement and gestures ‣ By fielding questions