chapter 4

Chapter 4

 PRESENTATION SKILLS

A presentation is a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team. A presentation can also be used as a broad term that encompasses other ‘speaking engagements’ such as making a speech at a wedding, or getting a point across in a video conference. A presentation requires you to get a message across to the listeners and will often contain a 'persuasive' element. It may, for example, be a talk about the positive work of your organisation, what you could offer an employer, or why you should receive additional funding for a project.

Presentation skills are the skills you need in delivering effective and engaging presentations to a variety of audiences. These skills cover a variety of areas such as the structure of your presentation, the design of your slides, the tone of your voice and the body language you convey. To be an effective presenter, step-by-step preparation and the method and means of presenting the information should be carefully considered.

Planning your Presentation

It can be helpful to plan your presentation in terms of key steps, as follows:

a)    Set your objective. A simple sentence can be a good means of defining your purpose in giving the presentation, and will begin to determine the content.

(Objective is a short statement which tells what you plan to achieve. For example, you may plan that)

Try to complete the following sentence:

‘As a result of my presentation, my audience will be able to…..

i)              Explain the methods of preventing HIV/AIDS.’

ii)             See their role in interdisciplinary learning more clearly,

b)   Decide what the main purpose of your talk is e.g;-

-to inform, persuade, motivate or change things.

-What do you want your audience to do as a result of your talk?

c)    Understand your audience: Try and have a basic idea of the size of the audience and who they are. Think about what they will be expecting from the presentation, but be realistic about this. Find out what level of knowledge and experience those attending will have about your topic, so that you know where to aim the material. Is the audience likely to have any preconceptions or misconceptions about the subject that you need to address and put right? How might your audience use what you have to say?

d)  Know your setting: Find out about the equipment –audiovisual aids etc. that will be available. Check out the location of the presentation; the size of the room (to help you decide on type of seating arrangements), and other facilities.

e)   Write down the ‘central theme’ of the talk.

f)  Write your outline: Ask yourself: What are the main points I need to make to get my message across? What supporting information will I need? Where will I get this? How much time will I need?

g)         Structure your talk.

Structuring Your Presentation

This is one of the most important aspects of the presentation. The structure should be clear to both you and your audience. Develop your visual aids: For example, will you use a flipchart, whiteboard power point, overhead projector or data projector etc. to clarify important points and aid understanding?

NB: Do not use too many slides/points.

Prepare your delivery notes, according to the structured outline.

Different authors advocate different formats for structuring a presentation, each of which has their merits (Hartley and Bruckman, 2002; Hargie et al, 2004; Adler and Elmhorst, 1999).

The structure of a presentation should have an introduction, body and conclusion.

i)                    Introduction:

Through the introduction you should grab your audience’s attention and set the scene.

Ways of getting your audience’s attention include;

•      asking a rhetorical or intriguing question,

•      providing a relevant and interesting fact,

•        giving an anecdote,

•      outlining the valuable information you hope the audience will gain from the presentation,

•      telling them why they need to know the information,

•        giving a quote or making a dramatic prediction.

Your theme should be made clear from the start. Start the audience thinking about the subject matter of your presentation by, for example, a statement of your main

objective. It can also be helpful to present the structure to your talk, by explaining briefly how you plan to proceed with it.

ii) The Main Body:

Select the main points that support your argument but only include as much detail as your audience needs. Also, be aware that people will not remember too many points. Once you have decided on the key points, organize them into a sequence that makes sense to you. This sequence may take various forms, including being chronologically based, problem-solution based, simple-complex based etc. (Hargie et al, 2004; Adler and Elmhorst, 1999).

Explain and build your points using supporting information and evidence.

iii) Conclusion:

There are various ways of concluding a presentation including

•      changing the pace,

•      using a new visual aid,

•      summarizing your main points,

•      drawing the conclusion and its importance,

•        making recommendations,

•      asking for questions,

•      getting feedback,

•      asking for or recommending particular actions,

•      getting some sort of commitment from the group to the advocated course of action,

•        Finally end by thanking the group for their time and attention.

Do not end suddenly. Give your audience some idea that you are coming to a close; eg. ‘And now, before I finish’ or ‘In conclusion’ etc.

Try to end on a strong note through the use of tactics detailed above. Research has long since shown that we tend to remember the opening and closing parts of a presentation over the detail in the middle.

Delivery

DeVito (1990) outlines four main types of delivery:

1.                 Impromptu: This involves giving a talk with no prior planning, and is often the least preferred method. Sometimes however, we do not have an opportunity to prepare and are called on to speak at short notice. Take a few moments to write some key points down on a card to help give you some structure, and do not panic. Others will be aware that you had only a short time to prepare. Also keeping the style relaxed and conversational, so that it seems impromptu (even if this is not the case)can be a very effective style.

2.      Extemporaneous: Extemporaneous speech is a “carefully prepared, but delivered without notes or text.” It is speaking before a group on a topic you are familiar with, using very few notes. Extemporaneous speeches are presentations that must be given without any notes or slides and with minimum preparation time, usually less than 30 minutes. This involves cue cards or slides on which you summarize the main points which you then flesh out.

3.             Memorized: This approach involves learning and repeating a manuscript. This is more difficult when giving longer presentations in that there is a lot of material to be memorized. However, a useful tip is to memorize the first few lines to get you started.

4.             Reading from a manuscript: This involves speaking from a prepared manuscript. However, while this can feel the safest option, try to use it as a guide as far as

possible rather than reading it word for word, as your delivery could otherwise sound stilted. Practice and rehearse in order to remember key points. Ultimately, choose the method, or combination of methods, that is least stressful for you.

Techniques of Delivery

Hargie et al (2004, p. 72) outline a number of features of effective deliveries, summarised as follows:

•      Use appropriate language and avoid jargon. If the audience do not understand most of what is being talked about, they will become detached.

•      Be suitably paced. Inexperienced speakers have a habit of speaking too quickly. On the other hand, speaking too slowly is a recipe for boredom. Where speed of delivery may be a particular concern, think about placing an accomplice in the audience primed to signal when you get too slow or too quick.

•      Use visual aids without placing them centre stage. Even the best of these are only aids to assist the speaker.

•      Make use of sub-summaries, signposts and links. Pause at transitional points in the flow of ideas to briefly summarize the material covered. Explaining

how this ‘chunk’ of information links with what comes next helps to signpost the path through the presentation and increases its coherence.

•      Emphasize key points verbally, non-verbally and vocally. Emphasize verbally through listing key points (e.g. ‘It is vital that you recognise…’), repeating core elements etc; non-verbally (e.g. Gestures, changes in posture, position); and vocally (e.g. Altering volume, speed of delivery, tone of voice).

•      Be verbally fluent. Effective public speakers do not have to be word perfect. Nevertheless, lots of ‘umms’ ‘ahhhhs’ and other fillers such as ‘you know’ can be highly distracting.

•      Be concrete and precise, rather than appearing vague and indefinite.

•      Be varied, e.g. intersperse talk with graphs, slides or pieces of video that the audience can look at as a break from listening. If appropriate, encourage some discussion or ask the audience to work on a brief exercise.

•      Include carefully chosen examples – as a bridge between what the listener knows and is familiar with and the new material being introduced.

•      Avoid distractions, e.g. pacing around, playing with a pen or pointer, over use of certain stock phrases. Gain control of body language.

•      Seem natural and not contrived. This can take some time and practice.

•        Rehearse what is going to be said.

Body Language during presentation

Remember the importance of non-verbal communication!

•      Behave enthusiastically,

•        make and maintain eye contact,

•      smile,

•      act ‘as if’ you are confident and relaxed (even if you do not feel it) and make your introduction without reading from your notes too much.

•      The manner of speech is also important.

•      As well as ensuring that your voice can be heard by the furthest member of the group,

•      speak clearly and at a conversational,

•      appropriate speed.

•      Varying the tone, pitch, rate and other vocal features can communicate enthusiasm and can create a sense of interest in the listener.

•      Pause before key points and stress key parts of the sentence by using change in tone.

Techniques to resolve your anxiety include the following:

1.                 Accept that it is perfectly normal to feel nervous or anxious to some extent.

2.              • Prepare well.

3.              • Be realistic. Are your standards too high? Take off the unnecessary pressure that comes from negative and unrealistic thoughts by challenging them and seeking the more rational view. That worst case scenario you imagine is highly improbable, and if a less than positive outcome does occur, it is unlikely to be the end of the world!

4.              • Use relaxation exercises such as deep breathing.

5.              • Behave ‘as if’ you are feeling confident; i.e.

i.  Enter the presentation in a very deliberate way,

ii. Rehearse your presentation, but also how you will Stand, set out your notes, change your slides etc,

iii. Use other non-verbal behaviors to appear confident.