1. Developing Oral and Online Presentations
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
Explain the importance of oral and online presentations in your career success and explain how to adapt the three-step writing process to oral presentations
Identify the two primary reasons why limiting your scope is especially important for oral presentations
Discuss the three functions of an effective introduction
Identify six ways to get your audience’s attention and six ways to hold it
Describe the techniques you can use to feel more confident in front of an audience
List six steps you can take to handle questions during a presentation
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2. Building Your Career with Oral Presentations
Display Your Skills
Think on Your Feet
Grasp Complex Issues
Handle Challenges
Oral presentations offer you important opportunities to put all your communication skills on display—not only in research, planning, writing, and visual design, but also in interpersonal and nonverbal communication. Oral presentations can also provide you with a chance to demonstrate your ability to think on your feet, grasp complex issues, and handle challenging situations—all attributes that executives look for when searching for talented employees to promote within the organization. Perhaps best of all, oral presentations let your personality shine through in ways that even the best-written reports can not provide.
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3. The Three-Step Process
Flow of the Message
Planning
Step 1
Writing
Step 2
Completing
Step 3
Substance of the Message
If the thought of giving a speech or presentation makes you nervous, keep three points in mind. First, everybody gets nervous when speaking in front of groups. Second, being nervous is a good thing; it means you care about the topic, your audience, and your career success. Third, with practice, you can convert those nervous feelings into positive energy that will help you give a more compelling presentation.
You can take control by adapting the three-step writing process to prepare for successful presentations:
Planning your presentation – analyzing the situation, gathering information, selecting the right medium, and organizing the information.
Writing your presentation – adapting to your audience and composing your presentation.
Completing your presentation – revising the message, mastering your delivery, preparing to speak, and overcoming anxiety.
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4. Planning the Presentation
Analyze
the Situation
Select
the Medium
Gather
Information
Organize the
Planning oral presentations is much like planning any other business message: (1) analyze the situation, (2) gather information, (3) select the right medium, and (4) organize the information. Gathering information for oral presentations is essentially the same as for written communication projects. When planning oral presentations, however, the other three planning tasks have some special applications, which are covered in the following slides.
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5. Analyzing the Situation
Information
Persuasion
Collaboration
As with written communications, analyzing the situation involves defining your purpose and developing an audience profile. The purpose of most of your presentations will be to inform or to persuade, although you may occasionally need to make a collaborative presentation, such as when you are leading a problem-solving or brainstorming session.
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6. Analyzing the Audience
Supportive
Uninterested
Hostile
Interested-Neutral
Apprehensive
Audience Mindsets
Try to anticipate the likely emotional state of your audience members. Here are some tips for dealing with a variety of mindsets:
Supportive. Whenever you are fortunate enough to be speaking to people who welcome you and your message, deliver a presentation that is clear, concise, and upbeat. Speak in a relaxed, confident manner and provide just enough information to confirm their belief in you and your message.
Interested but neutral. Plan to build your credibility as you present your main idea and key support points. Address possible objections as you move along to show that you have considered all sides of the issue. Be confident, but remain open to questions and challenges.
Uninterested. If people do not care, it does not matter how good your presentation is. Think creatively to find a way to connect your message with some aspect of their personal or professional lives.
Apprehensive. If listeners are worried, respect their feelings. If your message will calm their fears, use the direct approach to share the good news. If your message will confirm their fears, consider the indirect approach to build up rational support for the negative message.
Hostile. No one looks forward to an angry audience, but they will care about your message. Treat their feelings with respect and avoid humor. Prepare thoroughly so you can provide complete information in a calm, rational way. Consider using the indirect approach to build support for your message, addressing points of concern during the presentation.
You will also need to determine whether your audience is comfortable listening to the language you speak. Listening to an unfamiliar language is much harder than reading that language, so an audience that might be able to read a written report might not be able to understand an oral presentation covering the same material.
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7. Assessing the Environment
Seating
Arrangements
Café Style
Conference
Table
Horseshoe
or “U” Shape
Classroom
or Theater
Also consider the specific circumstances in which you will be making your presentation. Will everyone be in the same room, or will some or all of your audience participate from remote locations via the Internet? What equipment will you have at your disposal? For in-person presentations, pay close attention to seating arrangements. The four basic formats have distinct advantages and disadvantages:
Classroom or theater seating, in which all chairs or desks face forward, helps keep attention focused on the speaker and is usually the best way to accommodate large audiences. However, this arrangement inhibits interaction among audience members, so it is not optimal for collaborative activities.
Conference table seating, in which people sit along both sides of a long table and the speaker stands at one end, is a common arrangement for smaller meetings. It promotes interaction among attendees, but it does tend to isolate the speaker at one end of the room.
Horseshoe or “U” shaped seating, in which tables are arranged in the shape of a “U,” improves on conference table seating by allowing the speaker to walk between the tables to interact with individual audience members.
Café seating, in which people sit in groups at individual tables, is best for breakout sessions and other small group activities. However, this arrangement is less than ideal for anything more than short presentations because it places some in the audience with their backs to the speaker, making it awkward for both them and the presenter.
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8. Selecting the Medium Web-Based Presentations In-Person
The task of selecting the right medium might seem obvious—after all, you are speaking, so it is an oral medium. However, technology offers an array of choices these days, ranging from live in-person presentations to webcasts that people view at a time that fits their schedules. Therefore, planning ahead is the key to media selection.
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9. Organizing the Presentation
Main Idea
Scope
Approach
Time Limits
Attention Span
Direct
Indirect
One Message
Audience Needs
Organizing a presentation involves the same tasks as organizing a written message: defining your main idea, limiting your scope, selecting a direct or an indirect approach, and outlining your content. This slide will cover the first three tasks. Outlining your content will be covered in the next two slides.
Figure out the one message you want audience members to walk away with. Then, compose a one-sentence summary that links your subject and purpose to your audience’s frame of reference. By focusing on the audience’s needs, you can keep their attention and convince them that your points are relevant.
Limiting the scope of a presentation is important for two reasons. First, you must often work within strict time limits. Second, you can count on having audience attention for only a finite amount of time, and you will lose them if you try to cover too much material. The only sure way to know how much material you can cover in a given time is to practice your presentation after you complete it. Of course, always be sure to factor in time for introductions, coffee breaks, demonstrations, question-and-answer sessions, and anything else that takes away from your speaking time.
With a well-defined main idea to guide you and a clear idea about the scope of your presentation, you can begin to arrange your message. If you have 10 minutes or less to deliver your message, organize your presentation much as you would a letter or a brief memo. Use the direct approach if the subject involves routine information or good news, and use the indirect approach if the subject involves bad news or persuasion. Longer presentations are organized like reports. Be direct if the audience is receptive and indirect if you expect resistance.
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10. Preparing the Outline State purpose and main idea
Organize major points and subpoints
Identify introduction, body, close
Show your connections
Show your sources
Choose a title
A presentation outline will help you organize the message in a way that maximizes its impact on your audience. Moreover, a presentation outline can serve as the foundation of your speaking notes. To ensure effective organization, prepare your outline in several stages:
State your purpose and main idea. As you develop your outline, check frequently to be sure that the points, organization, connections, and title relate to your purpose and main idea.
Organize your major points and subpoints. Express each major point as a single, complete sentence to help you keep track of the one specific idea you want to convey in that point. Then, look at the order of points to make sure their arrangement is logical and effective.
Identify your introduction, body, and close. Start with the body, numbering each major point and subpoint according to its level in your outline. Then, lay out the points for your introduction and close.
Show your connections. Write out in sentence form the transitions you plan to use to move from one part to the next. Remember to include additional transitions between major points in the body of your speech.
Show your sources. Prepare your bibliography, making sure that it reads easily, follows a consistent format, and includes all the details needed to identify your various sources. As needed, be prepared to mention key sources during your talk.
Choose a title. Not all presentations or speeches have a title. However, a title can be useful if your presentation will be publicized ahead of time or introduced by someone else. The title sets everyone’s expectations, so make it compelling and audience-centered.
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11. Follow Planning Outline
The Speaking Outline
Presentation
Cues
Reminders
Arrange Your Notes
Add Delivery Cues
Select Key Words
Follow Planning Outline
Many speakers like to prepare both a detailed planning outline and a simpler speaking outline that provides all the cues and reminders they need to present their material. Here are some guidelines for preparing an effective speaking outline:
Follow the planning outline. Follow the same format as the planning outline so it will be familiar as you talk. However, strip away anything you do not plan to say to your audience (eg, statements of general purpose, specific purpose, main idea, detailed bibliography, etc.).
Condense points and transitions to key words. Choose words that will prompt you to remember what each point is about so that you can speak fluently. Be sure to write out statistics, quotations, and other specifics so that you do not stumble over them. You may also want to write complete sentences for transitions that connect main points or for critical points in your introduction or your close.
Add delivery cues. During rehearsals, note the places in your outline where you plan to pause for emphasis, speak more slowly, show visuals, and so on.
Arrange your notes. Make sure your note cards are legible and numbered so that you can keep them in order before and during your presentation.
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12. Writing the Presentation
Adapting to the
Audience
Composing the
Presentation
Although you usually do not write out a presentation word for word, you still engage in the writing process—developing your ideas, structuring support points, phrasing your transitions, and so on. The primary elements of this phase of the three-step process are adapting to your audience and composing your presentation. These elements will be covered in the following slides.
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13. Adapting to the Audience
Small Groups
Large Audiences
Casual Style
Promote Participation
Simple Visuals
Formal Style
Control Participation
Multimedia
Your audience’s size, your subject, your purpose, your budget, and the time available for preparation all influence the style of your presentation. If you are speaking to a small group, particularly people you already know, you can use a casual style that encourages audience participation. A small conference room, with your audience seated around a table, may be appropriate. Use simple visuals and invite your audience to interject comments. Deliver your remarks in a conversational tone, using notes to jog your memory.
If you’re addressing a large audience or if the event is important, establish a more formal atmosphere. During formal presentations, speakers are often on a stage or platform, standing behind a lectern and using a microphone so that their remarks can be heard throughout the room or captured for broadcasting or webcasting.
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14. Composing the Presentation
The Introduction
Arouse Interest
Build Credibility
Preview Message
Like written documents, oral presentations are composed of distinct elements: the introduction, the body, and the close. A good introduction arouses the audience’s interest in your topic, establishes your credibility, and prepares the audience for what will follow.
Arousing Audience Interest. If your audience members are not already interested in your subject, your introduction needs to grab their attention. You can use a number of techniques; for example, uniting around a common goal, telling a story, passing around a sample, asking questions, sharing a startling statistic, and using humor. Whatever technique you may use, give the audience members a reason to care about your message.
Building Your Credibility. Audiences tend to decide within a few minutes whether you are worth listening to, so establishing your credibility quickly is vital. Techniques for building credibility will vary depending on whether you will be introducing yourself or having someone else introduce you. If a master of ceremonies, conference chair, or other person will introduce you, he or she can present your credentials so that you will not appear boastful. If you will be introducing yourself, keep your comments simple. At the same time, do not be afraid to mention your accomplishments. Let the audience know who you are and why you are the right person to be giving this presentation.
Previewing Your Message. A good introduction gives your listeners a preview of what is ahead. Summarize the main idea of your presentation, identify major supporting points, and indicate the order in which you will develop those points.
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15. Composing the Presentation
The Body
Discuss Ideas
Connect Ideas
Capture Attention
The bulk of your presentation is devoted to a discussion of the three or four main points in your outline. Make sure the organization is clear and holds the audience’s attention.
In written documents, you can show how ideas are connected with a variety of design clues: headings, paragraph indentions, white space, and lists. However, with oral communication (particularly when you are not using visuals for support) you have to rely primarily on spoken words to link various parts and ideas. For the links between sentences and paragraphs, use one or two transitional words. To link major sections of a presentation, use sentences or short paragraphs. Every time you shift topics, be sure to stress the connection between ideas by summarizing what has been said and previewing what is to come.
A successful introduction will have grabbed your audience’s attention. The body of your presentation needs to hold that attention. Here are a few helpful tips for keeping the audience tuned in to your message:
Relate your subject to your audience’s needs.
Anticipate and answer your audience’s questions.
Use clear, vivid language.
Explain the relationship between your subject and familiar ideas.
Ask for opinions or pause occasionally for questions or comments.
Illustrate your ideas with visuals.
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16. Composing the Presentation
The Conclusion
Restate Main Points
Describe Next Steps
End on a Strong Note
The close of a speech or presentation is critical for two reasons: first, audience members’ attention tends to peak at this point because they anticipate moving on to the next activity in their busy day; and second, audience members will leave with your final words ringing in their ears. Before closing your presentation, tell listeners that you are about to finish so that they will make one final effort to listen intently.
Restating Your Main Points. After announcing the close, repeat your main idea, emphasizing what you want your audience to do or to think, and stress the key motivating factor that will encourage them to respond that way. Reinforce your theme by restating your main supporting points.
Describing the Next Steps. Some presentations require the audience to reach a decision or an agreement. If you are not sure how your audience will respond, prepare two closes—one that acknowledges the agreement reached and one that accommodates the fact that the audience did not reach an agreement. If you expect any action to occur, be sure to explain who will be responsible.
Ending on a Strong Note. Your final remarks need to make a memorable impression. Let your purpose and your main idea drive the content and emotional tone of your final statement. For example, if you are making a persuasive presentation, use the final statement to sum up the benefits of responding, and finish on a positive, confident note. Conversely, if your presentation is meant to deliver a negative message, make your warning clear and your tone serious. If the tone of your presentation is more neutral, end on a confident note that tells the audience you are on top of the situation and everything is under control.
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17. Completing Presentations
Master the
Delivery
Prepare to
Speak
Overcome
Anxiety
Respond to
Questions
With an outline and speaking notes in hand, you are ready to complete the development of your presentation. As with written communication, this third step starts with the all-important task of revising your message to ensure appropriate content. Edit your presentation for clarity and conciseness as you would any business message. For presentations, you must go beyond these now familiar tasks and pay attention to four special tasks: mastering the art of delivery, preparing to speak, overcoming anxiety, and handling questions responsively.
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18. Mastering Your Delivery
Memorizing
Impromptu
Speaking
Reading
From Notes
Subject Matter
Speaking Occasion
Purpose
Audience
Once you have written your presentation and created visuals, you are ready to begin practicing your delivery. You have a variety of delivery methods from which to choose:
Memorizing. Unless you are a trained actor, avoid memorizing your speech. In the best of circumstances you will probably sound stilted; in the worst, you might forget your lines. Besides, you will often need to address audience questions during your speech, so you must be flexible. However, memorizing a quotation, an opening paragraph, or a few concluding remarks can bolster your confidence and strengthen your delivery.
Reading. If you are delivering a technical or complex presentation, you may want to read it. However, unless you are required or expected to read your presentation verbatim, think twice. If all you are doing is reading, why not just write a report and let your audience read it themselves?
Speaking from notes. Making a presentation with the help of an outline, note cards, or visual aids is usually the most effective delivery mode. This approach gives you something to refer to and still allows for plenty of eye contact, interaction with the audience, and improvisation in response to audience feedback.
Impromptu speaking. From time to time, you may be called upon to give an impromptu, or unrehearsed, speech. Take five or ten seconds to identify the one key idea you want to share with the audience. If you absolutely cannot say something intelligent and effective on the subject at hand, it is usually better to explain that you can not speak at the present time and ask for an opportunity to prepare some remarks for a later time or date.
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19. Preparing to Speak Location Audience Culture Know the Material
Practice the Delivery
Location
Audience
Culture
In addition to knowing your material thoroughly and practicing your delivery, make sure that your location is ready, that you have everything you will need, and that you are prepared to address audiences from other cultures, if that applies.
Whenever you can, check the location for your presentation in advance. Confirm the seating arrangements, and verify the availability and operation of all equipment and supplies you will need. Just make sure you know what to expect in advance.
If you are addressing an audience that does not speak your language, consider using an interpreter. If your audience is likely to include persons with hearing impairments, team up with a sign-language interpreter as well.
Any time you deliver an oral presentation to people from other cultures, you may need to adapt the content of your presentation. Also consider cultural preferences for appearance, mannerisms, and other customs. When in doubt, ask your interpreter or host for advice.
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20. Overcoming Anxiety Practice for success Prepare extra material
Think positively
Visualize success
Take deep breaths
Be ready to go
Even polished speakers with years of experience feel some anxiety about getting up in front of an audience. The difference is that they know how to use this stage fright to their advantage. Here are some ways to control your nervous energy to become a more confident speaker:
Practice, practice, practice. The more familiar you are with your material, the less panic you will feel. Whenever you can, record your presentations (both practice sessions and actual presentations), then listen and watch yourself in action.
Prepare more material than necessary. Combined with a genuine interest in your topic, extra knowledge will reduce your anxiety.
Think positively. See yourself as polished and professional, and your audience will, too.
Visualize your success. Use the few minutes before you actually begin speaking to tell yourself that you are on and you are ready. Visualize mental images of yourself in front of the audience, feeling confident and prepared to handle any situation.
Take a few deep breaths. Before you begin to speak, remember that your audience wants you to succeed, too.
Be ready. Have your first sentence memorized and on the tip of your tongue.
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21. Overcoming Anxiety Do not panic Be comfortable Focus on the message
Focus on the audience
Seek friendly faces
Keep on going
Do not panic. If you sense that you are starting to race through your presentation—a natural response when you are nervous—stop for a second and arrange your notes or perform some other small task while taking several deep breaths. Then, start again at your normal pace If you feel that you are losing your audience, try to pull them back by involving them in the action; ask for their opinions or pause for questions.
Be comfortable. Dress appropriately for the situation but as comfortably as possible. Drink plenty of water before your presentation to ensure that your voice is well hydrated (bring a bottle of water with you, too).
Concentrate on your message and your audience, not on yourself. When you are busy thinking about your subject and observing your audience’s response, you tend to forget your fears.
Maintain eye contact with friendly audience members. Once your presentation is under way, maintain eye contact with your audience, shifting your gaze periodically around the room. Be sure to connect with individual audience members.
Keep going. Things usually get better as you move along, with each successful minute giving you more and more confidence.
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22. Speaking with Confidence
Nonverbal Signals
Controlled
Beginning
Sound of
Your Voice
Relaxed
Posture
Be aware of the nonverbal signals you are transmitting throughout the presentation. Confident delivery starts before you even begin to speak, so do not rush. As you approach the front of the room, walk with confidence, breathe deeply, and stand up straight. Face your audience, adjust the microphone and other equipment as needed, count to three slowly, and then scan the audience. When you find a friendly face, make eye contact and smile. Look away, count to three again, and then begin your presentation. If you are nervous, this slow, controlled beginning will help you establish rapport and appear more confident.
Your posture is also important in projecting more confidence. Stand tall with your shoulders back. Avoid gripping the podium. Instead, use your hands to emphasize your remarks with appropriate gestures. In addition, vary your facial expressions to make the message more dynamic.
Finally, think about the sound of your voice. Try to sound poised and confident, varying your pitch and speaking rate to add emphasis. Speak clearly and crisply, articulating all the syllables, and sound enthusiastic about your message. Use silence instead of meaningless filler words such as um, you know, OK, and like. Silence adds dramatic punch and gives the audience time to think about your message.
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23. Responding to Questions
Focus on Questioner
Survive the Hot Seat
Respond Appropriately
Encourage Questions
Maintain Control
End the Presentation
The question-and-answer period is one of the most important parts of an oral presentation. In addition to getting valuable feedback, you can reiterate your main points, work in material that did not fit into your presentation, and identify and overcome audience resistance. During this time, do the following:
Focus on the questioner. When someone asks a question, focus on that individual. Pay attention to his or her body language to determine what he or she really means.
Respond appropriately. This might sound obvious, but be sure to answer the question you are asked. Do not sidestep it, ignore it, laugh it off, or get so caught up in the situation that you forget to respond.
Maintain control. You will have less control over the proceedings during the question-and-answer session. However, you can help maintain control during this period by establishing some ground rules up front.
Survive the hot seat. If a question ever puts you on the “hot seat,” answer the question as well as you can, but try not to show your feelings. Whatever the situation, avoid getting into a heated argument.
Encourage questions. If there is a chance your audience will be unlikely to ask questions, consider arranging a few questions ahead of time with a cooperative audience member. Once the ball gets rolling, other audience members will probably join in. You can also offer to take questions after your talk has ended.
Conclude the presentation. When the time allotted for your presentation is up, prepare the audience for the end by saying, “Our time is almost up. Let’s have one more question.” After you have made your reply, summarize the main idea of the presentation and thank people for their attention. Conclude the way you opened: by looking around the room and making eye contact. Then, gather your notes and leave the podium, maintaining the same confident demeanor you have had from the beginning.
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