Making Oral Presentations

Prof. Mallika Nawal

Topical Outline
First Steps
Audience Impact
Content Organization
Getting Attention
Working with Colour
Text Presentations vs. Bullets
Rule of Seven
Slide Presentation
Before Your Presentation
During Your Presentation
After Your Presentation
Fight-or-Flight
First Steps…
1. Objective of the Presentation
What is your goal?
a.Persuasion
b.Information

2. Know your Audience

Question yourself
a.How will this topic appeal to this audience?
b.How can I relate this information to their needs?
c.How can I earn respect so that they accept my message?

Note – Audience analysis issues include size, gender, experience, attitude and expectations.
Audience Impact (Friendly)
1. Organizational Pattern
1. Try something new
2. Involve the audience

2. Delivery Style
1. Be warm, pleasant and open
2. Smile and maintain eye-contact

3. Supporting Material
1. Humour
2. Personal Examples
3. Experiential Learning
Audience Impact (Neutral)
1. Organizational Pattern
1. Present both sides of issue
2. Use pro-con or problem-solution patterns
3. Save time for audience questions

2. Delivery Style
1. Be controlled
2. Use confident small gestures

3. Supporting Material
1. Facts, Statistics and Expert Opinion
2. Comparative Reasoning
3. Avoid humour, personal stories and flashy visuals
Audience Impact (Uninterested)
1. Organizational Pattern
1. Be brief; no more than three points
2. Avoid pro-con pattern

2. Delivery Style
1. Be dynamic and entertaining
2. Move around
3. Large gestures

3. Supporting Material
1. Use humour, cartoons, colourful visuals
2. Quotations and startling statistics
Audience Impact (Hostile)
1. Organizational Pattern
1. Use noncontroversial pattern
2. Topical or Chronological

2. Delivery Style
1. Be calm, controlled
2. Speak evenly and slowly

3. Supporting Material
1. Facts, data and expert opinion
2. Avoid anecdotes and humour
Content Organization
Step 1: Tell them what you’re going to say.
Step 2: Say it.
Step 3: Tell them what you’ve just said.

• Chronology; Geography; Topic/function grouping

• Comparison/Contrast; Problem/Solution
• Journalism Pattern – Who? What? When?
Where? Why? How?
• Importance
• Simple/Complex and Best Case/Worst Case
Getting Attention
1. A Promise
2. Drama
3. Eye Contact
4. Movement
5. Questions
6. Demonstrations
7. Samples/Gimmicks
8. Visuals
9. Self-interest
Getting Attention
Working with Colour
• Develop a colour palette of five or fewer colours
• Use same colour for similar elements
• Dark text on light background for bright rooms
• Light text on dark background for darkened rooms
• Dark text on a light background for transparencies
• DO NOT use light text on light backgrounds and
dark text on dark backgrounds
The text would have been easier to read if you had just followed the rule!!!

The text would have been easier to read if you had just followed the rule!!!

See, how easy it is to read this text as compared to the above?

Text Presentation vs. Bullets - I
Because voice mail allows callers to deliver detailed information to
office personnel with just one telephone call, telephone tag can be
eliminated. In addition, some research has found that up to 75
percent of all business calls do not reach the desired party.
Whatever the actual number, people do tend to make for fewer
callbacks when they have a voice mailbox in which their callers can
leave messages. Although voice mail can’t match the timelessness
of a live telephone call, it’s the next best thing for getting the word
out when time is of the essence. Finally, voice mail frees callers
from the prospect of being placed on hold indefinitely when the
person they want is temporarily unavailable. Callers can
immediately leave a voice message, bypassing the hold interval
altogether.
Text Presentation vs. Bullets - II
Text Converted to Bullet Points:
Voice Mail Can Make Your Calls More Efficient
• Eliminates telephone tag
• Reduces callbacks
• Improves timely communication
• Shortens “hold” times
Rule of Seven
For the most readable slides:

• No more than 7 words in a line

• No more than seven total lines
• No more than 7 X 7 or 49 words

Also remember…
• The presentation slides only summarizes
• Telling the whole story is for the presenter
Slide Presentation

• Keep all visuals simple

• Use same font type & size for similar headings
• Apply the Rule of Seven
• Ensure everyone can see the slides
• Show slide, allow audience to read it and then
paraphrase. DO NOT read from a slide
• Bring backup transparencies
Before Your Presentation
• Prepare Thoroughly
• Rehearse Repeatedly
• Time Yourself
• Request for a Dias or Lectern
• Check equipment
• Greet audience members
• Practice stress reduction
During Your Presentation
• Begin with a pause
• Present your first sentence from memory
• Maintain eye-contact
• Control your voice or vocabulary
• Put the brakes on
• Move naturally
• Use visual aids
• Avoid digressions
• Summarize main points
After Your Presentation
• Distribute handouts
• Encourage questions
• Repeat questions
• Reinforce your main points
• Keep control
• Avoid “Yes, but” answers
• End with a summary and appreciation
Fight-or-Flight
• Breathe Deeply
• Convert Your Fear
• Know Your Topic
• Use Positive Self-Talk
• Shift spotlight on Your Visuals
• Ignore any Stumbles
• Feel Proud when you Finish
Presentation Faux-Pas

Trying to be creative can also be bad

 Background – Bad
• Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or
difficult to read from
• Always be consistent with the background
that you use