Chapter 15: Designing and Delivering Oral Presentations

Building your career with oral presentations

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. Can also vie you a chance to demonstrate your ability to think on your feet, grasp complex issues, and handle challenging situations. Perhaps best of all, oral presentations let your personality shine through in ways that even the best-written reports can’t provide.

If the though of giving a speech or presentation makes you nervous, try to keep three points in mind. First, everybody get nervous when speaking in front of a group. Second, being nervous is actually a good thing; it means you care about the topic. Third, you don’t have to be a victim of your own emotions when it comes to oral presentations.

Adapting the three-step process for oral presentations

You don’t often write a presentation word for word; nevertheless, nearly every task in the three-step writing process applies to oral presentations, with some modifications.

STEP 1: PLANNING YOUR PRESENTATION

Analyze the situation

Define your purpose and develop a profile of your audience, including their emotional states and language preferences.

Gather information

Determine audience needs and obtain the information necessary to satisfy those needs.

Select the right medium

Choose the best medium or combination of media for delivering your presentation.

Organize the information

Define your main idea, limit your scope and verify timing, select a direct or an indirect approach, and outline your content.

Limiting your scope is important for two reasons: to ensure that your presentation fist the allotted time and to make sure your content meets audience needs and expectations.

In addition to planning your speech, a presentation outline helps you plan your speaking notes as well. To ensure effective organization, prepare your planning outline in several stages:

  • State your purpose and main idea.
  • Organize your major points and sub points.
  • Identify your introduction, body and close.
  • Show your connections.
  • Show your sources.
  • Choose a title.

To prepare an effective speaking outline, follow these steps:

  • Follow the planning outline.
  • Condense points and transitions to keywords.
  • Add delivery cues.
  • Arrange you notes.

STEP 2: WRITING YOUR PRESENTATION

Adapt to your audience

Be sensitive to audience needs and expectations with a “you” attitude, politeness, positive emphasis, and bias-free language. Build a strong relationship with your audience by establishing your credibility and projecting your company’s image. Adjust your delivery style to fit the situation, from casual to formal.

Compose the message

Outline an effective introduction, body, and close. Prepare any visual aids necessary to support your argument or clarify concepts.

An effective introduction arouses interest in your topic, establishes your credibility, and prepares the audience for the body of your presentation.

The most important way to hold an audience’s attention is to show how your message relates to their individual needs and concerns. Other helpful tips for keeping the audience tuned into your message are:

-Anticipate 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

-Illustrates your ideas with visual aids

STEP 3: COMPLETING YOUR PRESENTATION

Revise the message

Evaluate your content and speaking notes.

Produce the message

Choose your delivery mode and practice your presentation.

Proofread the message

Verify facilities and equipment; hire an interpreter if necessary.

Distribute the message

Take steps to feel more confident and appear more confident on stage.

You have a variety of delivery methods to choose from, some of which are easier to handle than others:

-Memorizing, unless you’re a trained actor, avoid memorizing you speech.

-Reading, if you’re delivering a technical or complex presentation, you may want to read it.

-Speaking form notes, making a presentation with the help of an outline, note cards, or visual aids is usually the most effective and easiest delivery mode.

-Impromptu speaking, if you have the option, avoid speaking unprepared unless you’re well versed in the topic or have lots of experience at improvising in front of a live audience.