Oral Presentation.

Oral Presentation is a form of communication .It is generally a speech or vocal

performance, occasionally accompanied by visually based presentations such as a
slideshow. An oral presentation is where one can show knowledge on a particular
subject. It is a formal, structural and systematic presentation of a message to
audience. It is participative two way communication process characterized by the
formal and structured presentation of a message using visual aids. It is purposeful,
interactive and audience oriented.

Characteristics of oral presentation

Preparation: A strong oral presentation begins with sound research, regardless of
topic. Gather the necessary information, then select only the essential information to
communicate the desired message. Do not let a mountain of research overwhelm the
idea being shared. Know when to cut and trim distracting facts.
Delivery: After preparing the information, practice delivering the presentation. A
speaker should sound well versed and knowledgeable, not mechanical. Information
should sound fresh and conversational in order to engage the audience. There are
varying degrees of formality for oral presentations, but a presentation should not
sound rehearsed. Allow natural language to flow and a speaker's personality to liven
up the topic. Practice in front of a mirror or with a video camera to watch for tone of
voice, intonation and pacing.
Audience: The audience is the feature of an oral presentation. The audience is the
least predictable feature of an oral presentation. A speaker must know the type of
audience while preparing and practicing a presentation. The audience will determine
the tone, language and types of visuals. If the audience is young and informal, then
a presentation might include a more casual tone and language and possibly more
flashy visuals. On the other hand, if the audience is academic or professional, the
tone and language might be formal and sophisticated, and the visual wow-factor
might stem more from substance and information than flash. A talented speaker can
read an audience during delivery and modify the presentation accordingly.
Visuals aids : Visual aids are an essential part of an oral presentation. Visual aids
are an essential part of an oral presentation. Visuals engage the audience and add
another dynamic to the speaker-audience relationship. Visual aids should be tailored
to the audience type and appropriate for the setting. Consider using computers,
objects, experiments, handouts, projections, other people, pictures and
demonstrations. Visual aids should be relevant and cohesive with the topic
discussed. The speaker is also a visual for the audience. Dress accordingly and
practice the oral presentation in the assigned space. Use the space provided and
practice movements before the presentation to avoid awkwardness. Always come
early to setup any visuals to ensure that the presentation goes smoothly.
Importance of oral presentation:
1. Communicating in business requires skills in three areas –writing ,speaking ,
and listening . Oral presentation involve all of these communication skills.
2. Oral presentation test one’s ability to think on one’s grasp complex issues,
and handle challenging situations.
3. Oral presentation illuminate one’s personality.
4. Oral presentations provide a useful opportunity for students to practice skills
which are required in the world of work.
5. Through the process of preparing for an oral presentation, students can
develop their ability to synthesise information and present to an audience.
Presentation
A presentation is any opportunity to communicate one’s point of view or ideas to
an audience. This can be informal or formal, impromptu or prepared, individual or
group. It is the process of communicating a topic to an audience. It is typically a
demonstration, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire,
motivate, or to build good will or to present a new idea or product.
Preparation for an Effective Presentation
An effective presentation is more than just standing up and giving information. A
presenter must consider how best to communicate the information to the audience.
Use these tips to create a presentation that is both informative and interesting:
Organize thoughts. Start with an outline and develop good transitions between
sections.
Have a strong opening. One good way to get their attention is to start with a question,
whether or not the presenter expect an answer.
Define terms early. If the presenters are using terms that may be new to the audience,
the presenters must introduce them early in the presentation. Once an audience gets
lost in unfamiliar terminology, it is extremely difficult to get them back on track.
Finish with a bang. Find one or two sentences that sum up the importance of
research.
Design PowerPoint slides to introduce important information. Consider doing a
presentation without PowerPoint. Then consider which points cannot be made
without slides. Create only those slides that are necessary to improve communication
with the audience.
Time yourself. Do not wait until the last minute to time of presentation.
Create effective notes for the presentation. Have notes what can be read. Do not
write out your entire talk, use an outline or other brief reminders of what want to
say. Make sure the text is large enough to read it from a distance.
Practice, practice, practice. The more you practice your presentation, the more
comfortable you will be in front of an audience. Practice in front of a friend or two
and ask for their feedback. Record yourself and listen to it critically. Make it better
and do it again.
Visual aids
Visual aids are items of a visual manner, such as graphs, photographs, video clips
etc used in addition to spoken information. Visual aids are chosen depending on their
purpose, for example, Summarise information. ummarise information.
According to John V. Thill and Courtland L. Bovee ,” Visual convey some message
points such as spatial relationships ,correlations and emotions more effectively and
efficiently than words”
Visual aids reduces the amount of spoken words, for example, a graph may show
results rather than reading them out.
Clarify and show examples. Create more of an impact, for example, if the
presentation is on the health risks of smoking, the showing images may express the
effects of smoking on the body rather than describing this .
Visual aids emphasize more on saying . and make a point more memorable.
It enhances the presenter credibility.By engaging the audience and maintain their
interest. It make something easier for the audience to understand.

Types of visual aids

There are a variety of different types of visual aids. Some of them are discussed
below:
PowerPoint
Microsoft PowerPoint is widely used for presentations because it's easy to create
attractive and professional presentations and it's simple to modify and reorganise
content compared to other visual aids. One can insert a range of visual items into the
slides which will improve the audience's focus. Also, the audience can generally see
slideshows better than other visual aids. However, presentation can look
unprofessional if this software is used poorly.
Whiteboards
Whiteboards are great for providing further explanations, such as, showing the order
of a process, creating diagrams or explaining complex words or phrases. They're
often used to display headings and write down audience suggestions. Whiteboards
are also ideal for displaying important information for the entire duration of the
presentation, such as, key definitions, because the audience can just glance at the
whiteboard for a reminder.
Handouts
Handouts are papers that contain key information from your presentation or they
may provide further information. They prevent from overwhelming the audience as
there will be less information on the slides and therefore less information they need
to write down.
Video clips
Using videos are a great wait to engage the audience and increase their interest. Use
video to bring motion, images and audio into your presentation.

Flip chart
Flip charts offer a low cost and low tech solution to record and convey information
.They're more beneficial for smaller audiences and they are favored for
brainstorming sessions as it can gather ideas easily. Flip charts are also widely used
for summarising information and, like with a whiteboard, one can use them to show
permanent background information.
Posters
Poster boards can be created using a variety of visual devices, such as graphs and
images. They're generally quite portable and one can make them as elaborate as one
want. However, they can be expensive to produce if the poster is quite complex.
Power point presentation
PowerPoint is a presentation program developed by Microsoft. PowerPoint is often
used to create business presentations, but can also be used for educational or
informal purposes. The presentations are comprised of slides, which may contain
text, images, and other media, such as audio clips and movies.

Importance Of Power point presentation.

PowerPoint is the most popular presentation program which allows users to create,
edit and show beautiful presentations with the help of slides. The user can combine
the text, graphics and multimedia to support a presentation. Using power point as a
presentation tool is a good way, as it offers some distinct advantages. Here are some
important benefits of using power point for presentations.
One of the most important benefits that the user gets from using PowerPoint program
as a presentation tool is that he can not only create and modify professional-looking
presentations, but can gain mastery on it eventually. This is easy to learn and
organize the slides in a professional way. All that is needed to be done is to do a little
practice. This is the reason that PowerPoint software is so popular among the
professionals.
Microsoft Power point provides numerous features which can be used in order to
improve presentation skills. For example, the feature of SmartArt that can be used
to create diagrams including text and pictures. Another feature which is worth
mentioning, that is, using shapes. If the presenter wants to create attractive
presentations, he can insert different shapes that Microsoft PowerPoint offers. Using
shapes in accordance ,the presentations will enhance the beauty of the presentation.
On the other hand, it will be very much helpful for making descriptions. In addition,
using images is also a good way to create interesting and appealing presentations.
There are times the presenter need to add images to bring the clarity, thus in such
times using the images will be of great help. Besides, there are other features, such
as, slide transitions and animation which may be used as and when needed -
depending on the situations. Thus the combination of smart graphic variant with a
clear description of the presentation can add elegance to PowerPoint presentation.
There may be times when the presenters are asked to quickly provide the summary
of content or it might be that you need to create short and clear messages in order
that these may be clearly understood by the audience..
Another benefit the presenters get by using PowerPoint for presentations is
obviously about its integration with other Microsoft products. This will allow to
integrate information in to PowerPoint presentation using the linking and embedding
techniques with MS Word, Excel and Access.
It may thus be rightly said that using PowerPoint of presentations will work well and
guarantees that presentation can run successfully. It audience engaged and excited
while it ensures their understanding of information transmitted in a way as needed.
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Definition of Electronic Communication
Communication through electronic media is known as electronic communication. In
modern era, people are too much fast. So, the communication pattern is now
different. With the technological development people use the virtual system for
communicating others. Internet has created vast opportunity in communication, in
business as well as in their social and personal life.
E-communication allows transmission of message or information using computer
systems, fax machine, e-mail, teleconferencing or video-conferencing and satellite
network.
According to L. C. Bovee and Others, "Electronic communication is the
transmission of information using advanced techniques such as computer
modems, facsimile machines. voice-mail, electronic mail, teleconferencing,
videocassettes and private television networks".
For this blessing or faster technology, people can easily communicate, like share
conversation, image

Advantages of Electronic Communication

In the modern era, electronic communication plays an important role in modern
business and society. The modern devices of communication have given it a new
dimension. Now-a-days it is not possible to think a single day without the touch of
technology. By dint of information technology, the business people can make
business deals with their counterparts within a moment. The advantages of electronic
communication are given below:
1.Shortest and quickest means of communication: The e-communication is
considered as the shortest and quickest means of communication. With the help of
electronic media, one can express his feelings,
2.Storing, information: The computer technology has enabled us to preserve or store
huge amount of information year after year. That is not possible manually. Floppy,
CD, tapes, etc. are used to store enormous information for longer period of time.
3.Ample coverage: Through electronic communication, can transmit information to
many receivers who are located in different places. With the help of electronic
devices like satellite, people conquered distance and the whole world has now turned
into a global village.
4.Less cost: Manual communication media waste valuable time besides electronic
communication saves time and money.
5.Overcoming the distance barrier: The introduction of computer technology has
greatly reduced the distance barrier of communication. Sending a message by e-mail,
hardly takes a minute whereas the same message, if sent by 'post, may take huge
time, even a month.
6.Ensuring the instant business decision: With the help of electronic communication,
managers can take instant or quick decision. With a click of computer, they can
obtain information at anytime from anywhere of the world. This helps in making
quick decision and ensures better management in business.
7.Managing operations globally: In modern days, businesses are becoming global.
More and more businesses are dispersing their operations across the globe, with the
touch of this e-communication.
8. Easy reproduction of complex data: The reproduction of complex data like huge
table, chart, maps, graphic, etc. is quite impossible normally. Whereas this type of
graphical information can be easily transformed by the use of some computer
software.
9. Communication with distinct people: Electronic communication provides the
opportunity of interactive communication with distinct people. For example- video
conferencing. It saves travel cost, time and energy.
10. Feedback: Instant feedback can be got swiftly in electronic communication than
manual communication. For example- getting feedback is easy in e-mail rather than
in letter writing.
From the above discussion, it is clear that e-communication has immense
contribution in making our lives easy, especially in the area of communication. So,
the importance of e-communication can never be underscored.
Disadvantages of Electronic Communication
E-communication not only provides various advantages but als9 creates few
problems in the process of communication. The disadvantages of e-communication
are discussed below:
1. Dependency: Victim countries due to day-to-day advancement of technology
may become dependent on the other developed countries. In this regard,
electronic communication creates the discrimination between the developed and
developing countries.
2. Attacks of virus: Modern communication devices are not out of risk. Very often
the modern computer systems become attacked by severe virus that may cause loss
of important data and information forever.
3. Victimization: Sometimes the employees of the organization may be the victims
of modern communication technology.
4. Undelivered data: Sometimes important message can't be delivered due to the
system errors in the technology and for this reason the further tasks relating to that
become delayed.
5. Legal status: Any distortion of data or information and the distortion in their
meaning may cause zero value in the eye of law.
6. Leakage of secret information: .Leakage of secret information is another major
drawback of modern communication devices. Sometimes highly secret and
confidential information is leaked out from the computerized system of
communication.
7. Heavy investment: Heavy investment requires for installing electronic
communication devices. So, every organization cannot afford the modern devices of
electronic communication.
8, Technological obsolescence: Technology makes the creative destruction. The
new technology brings the new way of developments and at the same time makes
the existing technology obsolete overnight. Therefore, devices of
electronic communication need to be replaced at a regular interval.
The above problems can make the heavy negative effect on the straight flow of the
healthy e-communication. So, to make the healthy communication, the above major
barriers should be removed as soon as possible.
Some modern devices of communication are discussed below:
1. Telephone
2. Fax/Facsimile
3. Telex
4. Tele-text
5. Webcam
6. Internet
7. Electronic Mail (E-mail)
8. Multimedia
9. Teleconferencing
10. Video-conferencing
11. Mobile- Technology:
(a) Voice-mail
(b) Voice-SMS
(c) Text- SMS
(d) Web browsing
(e) Welcome tune
(f) Music gift