Oral Presentations

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Introduction

Admittedly, public speaking can be stressful and overwhelming. It requires attention to the needs of your audience, careful planning, and attention to delivery. However, oral presentation are also one of the most fruitful sources of personal growth as they develop communication skills and confidence in expressing opinions and facts. This section discusses all the useful techniques for delivering a good presentation.

...by students Oral Presentation The purpose of most oral presentation is almost same as any piece of writing. It involves at least one of communicating data analysis, discussing result of a research, persuading or informing audience about a particular subject matter or suggesting instructions on how to do a specific task. Similarly simplicity, clarity and logical organisation are also the key principles of successful oral presentation. However, there are also significant differences between an oral presentation and writing. These include time restriction, short attention span/concentration of the audience and the lack of chance to revise the content of the presentation from the audience’s perspective. The audience gets the chance to hear your presentation once. Guidelines for preparation and delivery 1.Think about your audience It is crucial to answer these questions when preparing your presentation What do they know about the subject? What terminology would they know? TIP: Make sure you address the lowest common denominator in your audience and adjust the presentation’s technical level appropriately. What do they need to know? What is their motivation for listening to you? What aspects of your subject would they be interested in? How much information can they absorb?. TIP: If they are new to the topic, their level of absorption may be lower than for an expert audience.Leave your audience with a clear picture of the gist of your contribution, and provide them with the source if they want to read further after the presentation. 2.Preparing the presentation It’s important to give your presentation a structure like your writing. As stated above, oral presentation has lots of common features and principles as writing. One of these features is the way you organise your speech using the {ABC approach} like you would for a piece of writing. This is to grasp your audience attention and help them follow closely. Here is an indication of how to organise your speech using the ABC format. Abstract Goal: Tell them how what you are going to tell them Main points to include are: Get listener’s attention by telling own experience, statistics, humour or other effective technique applicable to your audience Clearly state the purpose – don’t to sustain their attention List the main points of what you would cover Body Goal: Tell them what you said you would tell them The most important part of the presentation where you expound, discuss and support the Points stated in the introduction in the same order. Conclusion Goal: You tell them what you just told them The presentation should conclude with a well-planned ending. The following are the key points to include in your presentation. Summary: - A clear summary of your purpose and main points will ensure that the audience gets the big picture.It should answer the question, "So what?” telling the audience what was important about the information you conveyed. Use the same key words used in the body and make a fresh, brief, and concise re-statement of your case. This helps drive your main points home and ensures that your listeners have a clear understanding of your intentions. Emotional Response: If your speech is designed to arouse an emotional reaction, plan to make a strong appeal in the conclusion. Recommendations: If your presentation includes a recommendation, particularly one requiring action on the part of the audience, state it clearly as part of your ending. Plan the precise words you will use in your recommendation. Let your audience know exactly what you want them to do. Exit line: Do not flounder at the end. Make a crisp statement and end your presentation on a positive note. Plan and memorize the ending statement, then use it.