What is the difference between a presentation and a written report? The key different is the amount of control the reader or listener has. Someone who is reading a report can stop, go back, re-read, go forward, stop for cup of coffee and come back again. The reader has control over how fast and in what detail he or she receives the information. However, at the presentation listener has almost no control; he or she cannot go back to the beginning, go forward to the end, or stop for ten minutes to think about an interesting point. This lack of control means that the presenter must help the listener as much as possible. It can be done in two ways – first by limiting the amount of information presented. A presentation is not a good place to give a lot of information – a report is much more effective. Second, the presenter should recycle the information given throughout the presentation: give the main point in the introduction, give more details in the body, and repeat the main point again in the conclusion. As the saying goes, “Tell them what you’re going to say, say it, and then tell them what you’ve said.”
Preparing Presentation
There are seven tages to preparing a presentation:
1. Objectives
You’re topic will provide you an effective idea and help you develop a talk which is most appropriate and equally-relating to your listeners and spectators. Your topic can be as complicated as you want it to be as long as your audience is aware of the main topic at hand. There are several points to consider in choosing an appropriate topic:
a. Why are you giving this talk?
b. Who will you be talking to?
c. How much do they know about the subject already?
d. What effect do you want your presentation to have?
2. Limitation
a. How long have you got?
b. Do you have to follow a certain format?
c. where will you be giving your presentation?
d. Can you choose the room around to suit your presentation?
3. Main Points
Decide on your main points: no more than three points in a 10 minutes talk. Is there a logocal connection between these points? What evidence can you produce to support your points and make your case clear?
Once you have decided the main points you can start preparing the speech. There are three parts to prepare:
a. introduction
at the beginning of any presentation (once you have greeted your audience and introduced yourself, of course!) it is important to make clear the subject of your presentation, how long you are going to speak and the way in which you have arranged your presentation. You also need to tell the audience the best time for asking questions.
So, the opening of a presentation could sound something like this:
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming this morning. My name is Jane Brown, and for the last 20 minutes I shall be talking to you about our new product – Product X. if you have any questions while I’m speaking, please save them for the end of the presentation.
Of course, if you don’t mind being interrupted, then you say, instead of the last sentence:
If you have any questions while I’m speaking, please don’t hesitate to interrupt me.
Next, you need to explain to your audience how you have organized your presentation. Perhaps you could say:
I have divided my presentation into three parts: the history and development of Product X; the use and applications of Product X; and the marketing implications of the product. At the end, I hope to have some time to be able to answer your questions.
Once you have completed the introduction – once you have told the audience what you are going to say – you begin the main part of the presentation. You will find it helpful to prepare some phrases which link your ideas.
b. the main body
in this part of the presentation you are probably going to need bridging language to make it clear to your audience that you have finished one point and are about to move on to another. Ideally, the move from one subject to another will be smooth and easy. Some of these phrases might be useful:
• And that brings me nicely on to my next point …
• One point that follows from A is B
• Talk of A naturally leads us to consider B
If the links between subject matter are not so easy, then one of these phrases may be necessary:
• So that’s it for A. Now let’s turn to B
• Now, quite distinct from A, we have B
• That covers A – so what about B?
Also during the main presentation it is likely that you will want to show your audience some overheads. Useful language to introduce these include:
• I have prepared an overhead to illustrate this
• This point can be seen more clearly in visual form
• Let’s have a look at this transparency
Throughout the presentation, it is important to keep things as simple as possible. Short, clear statements are worth a lot more than complicated explanations. The easier it is for you to say it, the easier it will be for your audience to understand.
c. conclusion
When you have finished the presentation don’t forget the conclusion. Your conclusion should be briefly touch on all the points you have made.
These phrases will be helpful for this stage of the presentation:
• Before I finish, let me just summarize the main points
• By way of conclusion, here again are the most important points
• To sum up, then, the main aspects of this are
Then, having repeated the main points you should end by thanking your audience and indicating what is going to happen next, like this:
• Thank you for your attention, ladies and gentlemen. If there are any questions, I’d be delighted to answer them
• That concludes all I have to say on the subject I hope that I have given you a clear picture of the problems and opportunities. Perhaps we should now adjourn for a coffee.
• Thank you again for giving me this chance to speak to you, ladies and gentlemen. I hope that you have found the time well spent.
4. Review
Now that you more or less have your actual speech prepared, you need to review your presentation. Scrutinize the outline and make sure that you have all the important points covered. For example, if you are giving a speech on “Hybrid Technology,” you might have discussed the definition of the term but missed out on stating examples of the products of hybrid technology. Give ample attention to detail because there might be someone in your audience who knows about your topic and point out the things that you failed to discuss.
5. Visual Aids and Handouts
In public, you may display your thoughts and ideas by using visual aids. A prop is used as an object in a particular presentation. These items support you in your public speaking. The whole lecture itself is considered a prop. Chairs, pens, overhead projectors, markers, and other audio visual aids are all forms of props. This simply means that a prop is the same as a visual aid.
There are many kinds of props which you may use for a successful presentation. This can be a good substitute for an introductory statement. This can also generate a more interesting approach to the audience. These props can be a good warm up for your listeners such as displaying some colorful drawings and graphs as your visual aids.
Using visual aids can help you concentrate and guide you on the presentation points you are delivering as well as guiding your listeners. They may follow the outlines and the topic points that are in the visual aid.
It is a very good tool in getting the attention of your listeners, instead of using handouts and notes. You may make a presentable approach by using a computer-generated power point. This prop can create a more interactive connection.
Many of your audience can be visually oriented and relate more to what you are saying. It allows your audience to understand well the points you are referring to because you have added variety and interest by using well-displayed illustrations.
You can use other props for presentation. You may pass them around for an anticipated and exciting presentation. You may encounter this in large venues where a box or a ball is being passed around in the audience.
You may also distribute some snacks while they are looking at the crossword puzzle you have on the visual aid. Drawings and puzzles are very good choices for icebreakers. If you have grouped them, the members can help each other and work as a team to find a solution.
Props are a very good substitute for notes and handouts. You may display illustrations in seminars and workshops as outlines in your presentation. You may also project a photo of a specific thing during a public speaking presentation.
Be sure that everybody sees it and has a good a view of it. Even when you are using visual aids, you have to make sure that you focus on your audience and make the audience also attend to the things you are saying. Visual aids are important in making you an effective public speaker
Handouts
Handouts are important tools for effective public speaking. They serve as guides for your audience. Handouts will allow the listeners to follow what you are discussing. Handouts are important and should be well prepared.
When giving out the handouts to your listeners, remember to choose the right time. It is not recommended to give them out right away at the beginning of your speech. This will only make the listeners tend to lose focus. It is important to catch the attention of your audience at the start of the speech.
Also inform them that you will be giving out handouts so that the listeners will need not to take down notes while you are talking. Making handouts available will make your audience focus and absorb everything that you say. That is because writing while listening to your speech will only divide their attention.
You may want to use colorful papers if your audience is also kids. Adding drawings can also make it interesting but do not use too much or else they will only concentrate on the drawings that they see.
On the handouts, you can include the objectives of your public speaking speech and the things that you expect from your listeners. Do not put the entire speech on the handout. If you put everything that you have to say on the handouts, the listeners will no longer listen to you.
You may also place in it the outline of your speech, a brief introduction and the things that you will discuss. You may also want to include the start time and the end time of your speech and allocate the time when they would like to ask questions. This will allow you to follow your outline and they may reserve their questions for the time you listed on the handouts.
You can also incorporate some activities at the end of the handout. Put a space where they can write and jot down the answers on the activity that you will put at the end of the handout. Adding a space where they can write is also effective so that they may be able to jot down some important points that you have mentioned and are not listed on the handouts.
At the end of the handout, you may also include some information about yourself. You may put your name, nickname or even hobbies to add some spice. This is one way that your listeners will be able remember you by.
Handouts are very beneficial to making you an effective public speaker. Make them ready all the time and make sure that they will last. Handouts are ways that your listeners can remember you in public speaking; that is why it is important that you make them unique and valuable.
5. Practice
Here are some helpful tips on how you can use rehearsing to eliminate the fear of speaking in public:
a. Prepare an outline of your speech and look for bits of information which could be a major points of interest. Read about every aspect of the topic so that it will not be difficult for you to answer unexpected questions should they come up through the course of your discussion.
b. if you are making a formal presentation in a particular place, go to the venue a day ahead or several hours before the presentation to familiarize yourself with the surroundings.
c. check out the equipment that you need to proceed with your presentation
d. time is important so you can have a run-through of the entire speech and record your voice while doing so. This would give you an idea of how long it will run. The recording will also reveal the focal points where you can vary your tone of voice for a more lively speech.
Giving Presentation
There are five things to remember during your presentation:
1. presence
As you get up to give your presentation, make a conscious effort to stand tall, take a deep breath and look as if you enjoy being there.
2. eye contact
Make eye contact with people in your audience in a friendly way. People respond much better when they think you are talking to them, not just reading your script to yourself. In a small room, try to make eye contact with each person in the audience; in a larger hall, make eye contact with different groups in the audience.
3. voice
- speak slowly and clearly
- remember to breathe slowly and deeply
- speak clearly
- speak loudly enough so everyone can hear. If you are not sure if they can hear you clearly, ask if they can
4. move
You are allowed to move as you give your presentation. It can help add variety and interest to come to the front of the podium to deliver a telling point. Try to avoid hiding behind the lectern.
5. audience
a. Speak according to the listener’s interest. Talk about what’s important to them, something they can easily relate to without a stretch of imagination.
b. Praise the audience. Audiences are human too, and each and every one of them has a need to be acknowledged as much as you want to be acknowledged for speaking well in front of them. There is only one requirement for this maxim, that your praise be one hundred percent sincere. Anything less and you’ll have resentment in your hands.
c. have the audience participate. Get somebody to come onstage and participate in a demonstration. Ask questions of the audience. Get feet back. Encourage them to walk up to the microphone and give you a piece of their mind. The point is to involve the audience, once more, making it more real to them. Taking them along with you in your experience.
d. less you, more them. Play yourself down. Never feel that you are above them when doing public speaking.
Question and Answer Session
During presentations, it is the question and answer part that serves as a good occasion to know how much the audience understood or how much they did not understand from all of that speaking you did. It is also the best opportunity to be able to show your sense of humor, if you have one. Also, the question and answer portion is a good means to get your audience to participate.
The most used way, if not the most boring one, to open up the question and answer portion is: are there any questions? Or, “Now let’s take in questions.”
To make the presentation more fun for them as well as for you, as the presenter, to appear you are enjoying your time and are also having fun, why don’t you try saying this as a way to open up the session on question and answer: “The last presentation I had, the first question I received was, `Aren’t you tired yet?’ and `Do you have the time?’”
In order for you to continually captivate your audience, you should as much as possible try to do something different from the regular presentations people do. It is also a good idea if you prepare for the question and answer part. Try to spend time thinking of the possible questions some people in your audience may ask after your presentation. Now that you have a fairly good idea, create some good natured humor to go along with your answers. Use these before you provide the answer that is serious and real.
The audience will think best of you if you provide them with a witty remark that in their opinion seems spontaneous and does not appear rehearsed, even if it is.
But what if no one dares ask the first question? This problem will be automatically solved by planting – this time – rehearsed questions on some members of the audience.
What you could do is to select some people from the audience and ask them ever so politely to assist you with your post-presentation session. You may ask them as you are researching for the profile of the audience you will be presenting to or while you are warming up to them prior to the program. If in case they agree to being your accomplice, request that they raise their hand when you open up the session on question and answer. This is the time that they will be asking you that pseudo-question.
The question you will ask them to ask serves two purposes: to break the ice through humor and encourage others to ask their own serious questions, or that they should be amused enough to stay still and listen until the end of your presentation.
Good luck with your presentations. Remember that the audience are on your side; they want you to do well!
