Oral Presentation Skills

ORAL PRESENTATION SKILLS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
• To understand the essential steps in preparing an oral presentation

• To understand the vocal and visual elements of an effective delivery
• To appreciate the purpose and power of well-designed visual aids
INTRODUCTION
Giving oral presentations is likely to be an integral part of your business career. For example,
you may need to make a sales presentation to a group of potential customers, present
quarterly sales results to upper management and describe new initiatives or product
features to your colleagues. Whatever the context of your oral presentation, there is always
a message that you want to deliver, and you must deliver it effectively. It is therefore
important to think about what makes an oral presentation effective and how you can
acquire the skills to deliver your message clearly, appropriately and persuasively.
A specific example may help. As a sales executive for

ABC Corp., your main message is that Product 888 is
the best of its kind in the market. Although it is easy
enough to make this claim, you need to build a case
with supporting evidence that will convince your
audience that Product 888 is, indeed, the best in the
market. Sometimes you present directly to the end
users, and sometimes you present to distributors and
retailers. You need to choose your ideas and
supporting evidence wisely so that the content of your
presentation will convince your particular audience
about the quality and good value of the product. If
your main content is clear, your persuasive strategies
are effective, and your supporting evidence is
organized and credible, then chances are your audience will agree with your message.
The meaning you are articulating will be conveyed through verbal (e.g., your words) and
non-verbal (e.g., sound of your voice, gestures, clothes) elements. Well-crafted verbal and
non-verbal cues are needed to make the delivery of your message credible, genuine, and
persuasive. If you have bad posture or speak with a condescending tone, these non-verbal
cues may distract your audience. If you tell a joke (verbal cue) that worked well with one
audience, but is actually inappropriate for your current audience, you will likely offend or at
least upset some of your audience, who will then not be able to flow with your ideas or trust
what you say.
Consequently, it is important that you know the essentials of preparing and delivering a
presentation. In other words, the clarity and appropriate delivery of a message begins with
tactical decisions you make well before you are standing in front of the audience. The
quality of your preparation will greatly impact the quality of your delivery. On the other
hand, good preparation is not enough. You still have to stand in front of an audience and
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©Centre for English Language Communication
National University of Singapore
ES2002 Business Communication
deliver the presentation with clarity and confidence. Thus, you need to think about both the
preparation process and your delivery skills in order to give consistently successful
presentations.
PREPARATION
Clearly, there is not one “right” way to prepare an effective presentation. However, in this
unit we will explore a five-step preparation process that will work in most of the business
presentation situations you may find yourself in.
Step 1. Define your purpose
The first step in the preparation process is to decide what the purpose of your presentation
is. Sometimes, the purpose of your presentation will be defined for you by someone else,
such as your boss or your client. Nevertheless, you must be able to articulate what your
main purpose is. For example, is it
o to introduce a new product concept to be designed and manufactured next year?

o to propose a new salary scheme for employees of your company?
o to inform your bosses about the latest sales figures of your product line?
Business presentations are essentially persuasive

Note here that underlying the different purposes above is the need for persuasive
communication. You do not just ‘introduce’, ‘propose’ or ‘inform’ – you do all these
ultimately to persuade your audience to accept or do something. The new concept must be
good; the new salary scheme must be sensible and fair; and the latest sales figures must be
correct. In some cases, your audience must do something more: accept the new product
concept and allocate resources (financial and manpower) to design and manufacture it;
implement the new salary scheme; or formulate new policies in response to the latest sales
figures. You must use persuasive strategies to convince the audience that something is
good, sensible, fair or correct.
Articulate your core message

Your core message comes from your purpose. Suppose your purpose is to introduce a new
product concept to be designed and manufactured next year. Here are some of your
possible core messages:
o The product concept is new.

o The product concept is new. Design and manufacture it.
o The new product based on this concept is going to make us money.
o The new product based on this concept is going to make us money. Design and
manufacture it.
This will be the controlling idea of your presentation. You must not lose sight of this.
Otherwise, your presentation could turn out to be disorganized.
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Step 2. Analyze your audience and the occasion
The second step in the preparation process is to analyze the audience and occasion. Every
audience is different. The members of an audience may come with different backgrounds,
abilities, needs and interests. Never assume that what worked well with one audience will
work well with another. You must find out as much as you can about the audience during
the preparation of your presentation.
o Size
Find out how many people you will be speaking to. It is easier to involve the audience in
the presentation if you have a smaller group. A larger group requires different strategies
if you want to make the presentation interactive. Similarly, the size of the group will
influence what visual aids you choose.
o Composition
Where does the audience come from? Are they all members of a particular group or are
they from a variety of backgrounds? Are they all of similar age, or a variety of ages?
Males and females? The more homogeneous the group the easier it is to focus the
presentation; likewise, a more diverse group requires a more generalized approach. For
example, if you are presenting in front of a group of medical doctors involved in public
health education, your talk could be more focused and technical since you know that the
group is has a lot of shared knowledge and is relatively homogeneous. But if you are
speaking about public health education to a group of parents who come from a variety
of occupational backgrounds, your presentation would certainly require a broader, more
universal approach.
o Level of understanding
Do your best to find out how much the audience already knows about your subject and
try to anticipate what questions they may have. Are they novices or subject experts? If
you give subject experts information they already know, chances are they will get bored
quickly. Likewise, if you give too many technical details to a novice audience, you will
likely not be able to maintain their interest in what you are saying.
o Motivation
Find out what will excite and interest this group. If you are talking to the Human
Resource department, you should link your topic to ideas and areas of interest related to
HR: staff recruitment, interviewing, benefits administration, staff retention. Likewise, if
you are talking to a company’s senior management, you may want to address vision,
mission and the bottom line. Motivation is a complex interplay between intellectual
appeal and emotional appeal. Think about what motivates this audience and use it in
your presentation to connect with them and to show how what you are saying will
benefit them.
o Likely reaction
The more you know about your audience the easier it is to guess how they will react to
your topic and to you as a presenter. Will they be hostile, receptive or indifferent to your
point of view? Do they care about the issues you will discuss? Try to work out how the
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audience will feel about you. Are you well-known to this audience or is this the first
time they are meeting you? Do they already respect your opinion? Are you a threat in
any way?
In addition to knowing about the audience, you should find out more about the occasion of
the presentation.
o Reason for gathering

Is the group gathered just to hear you speak, or are you one of many speakers on a day-
long programme? Do the audience members know each other or are they likely to be
strangers to one another? Is there a specific reason that this group has gathered? Are
they there voluntarily or were they “forced” to be present?
o Timing
When during the day is your presentation scheduled? If possible, choose mid-morning or
mid-afternoon of a mid-week day. This is usually the time when people are most active
in their work.
o Duration
Nearly every presentation occasion comes with a fixed time limit. Can you achieve the
objective you have set in the time given? If the amount of time is given, what will you
prioritize in your presentation? Remember that whether you are given three minutes or
thirty minutes, the challenge is how to package your content in such a way that you
deliver the message clearly, appropriately and persuasively.
o Physical environment
Ask about how the room will be arranged and where you will stand as you present. Will
the physical space allow you to interact with the audience? Do you want them to
interact with each other? Will they all be able to see the visuals you plan to use? What
about the room temperature? Will your audience be comfortable while you present?
What about noise from outside the room? Will external distractions undermine your
presentation? And what about the lighting? Can you adjust the lights during the
presentation?
o Equipment
Make sure that any equipment you need is available and you know how to use it. Always
check that your visual aids work and that any multi-media (sound, videos and
animations) function properly.
Step 3. Gather the material and organize the points
Once you are clear about your specific objectives and the needs of your audience, start to
gather information on the topic. Start by focusing on the "big picture." What is the main
idea or theme you want to convey to the audience? Go back to the one-sentence purpose
statement you already wrote, e.g., The new product based on this concept is going to make
us money. Design and manufacture it. This will be your main message.
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Then gather your information. Use all your research skills to search for and process
information about the topic. Understanding as much about the topic as you can will give
you confidence and help you to answer any questions that may arise. However, be aware
you may not be able to include everything you find in the presentation itself. Remember the
time limit for the presentation and carefully select the content you will use.
Take the key ideas you want to communicate and shape them into clear, short phrases.
These will become your main points. Make sure you have only three or four main points.
The audience will not be able to absorb more. Make sure each main point is fully developed
with “evidence” that persuades the audience to believe you. Make supporting points
concrete. Use examples, statistics, quotations, anecdotes, analogies, and testimonials.
Make sure all supporting points are relevant to the main point.
Prepare an outline
In organizing your presentation, it is very helpful to prepare an outline of your points. This
helps you to have a clear visual representation of the relationships between your
ideas. Writing an outline will help you be sure your points are arranged in a logical order and
that you have not left out any key information. Thus, an outline will help you to check the
logical sequence of ideas as well as the completeness of your points.
Here is an example of a presentation outline:
Purpose: to present the results of the LX Consulting Group’s study into the work flow in L&W’s
Singapore factory in order to propose suitable ways to improve production and save time and
money.
A. Background information about the LX project team

1. Request from L&W’s Managing Director
2. Formation of the project team members and their expertise
3. Team’s mandate: to study the reasons that most of L&W’s products are delivered late.
B. Examination of the current work flow in L&W’s Singapore factory.
1. Current production equipment
2. Bottlenecks in workflow
3. Manual order tracking system
C. Recommendations for maximizing the efficiency of your production facilities
1. Purchasing new EX224 machines which work 30% faster
2. Re-arranging the production line to relieve bottlenecks
3. Implementing computerized order tracking system
In some ways, clear organization is even more important in an oral presentation than in a
written document. Unlike the reader of a document, the audience of a presentation cannot
go back to re-read your points. Therefore, presentations need to be organized very logically,
with clear and smooth linkages between the points.
Step 4. Structure your presentation
Unlike your outline, the concern here is not to group your ideas into possibly main and sub-
topics, but to plan the flow of the actual presentation. So if the outline is visual and logical,
your structure is procedural. A good outline will help you present your ideas clearly; a good
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structure will help you make a smooth presentation. Here is an example of good
presentation structure:
Typical Presentation Structure
• Attention grabber
Introduction
• Welcome and speaker introduction

• Background information leading to the purpose of the presentation
• Objective(s) of the presentation and specific benefit for the audience
• Outline of the main points
• Transition
First Main Point
• Description of the first main point (i.e., Position the company is now in)
• Supporting evidence
• Transition
Second Main Point
• Description of the second main point (i.e., Problem the company faces within the given
situation)
• Transition
Third Main Point
• Description of the third main point (i.e., Possible solutions to the problem)
• Summary
Conclusion
• Recommendation and/or call to action

• Closing courtesies: invite audience to ask questions, and thank the audience
What do you notice about the structure above? Can you see that it is basically an outline of
the main points with an introduction, a conclusion and transitions built around it? Clearly,
there are many ways of structuring an oral presentation; however, this example structure is
one that has been proven to work well for all kinds of audiences.
Introduction
First impressions are important. In the introduction, you need to capture the attention of
the audience and make them want to listen to what you have to say. Introductions should
take up approximately 10% of the total presentation time and should arouse the audience’s
interest in your topic, establish your credibility, and prepare the audience for what will
follow. There are three things you must do in your introduction:
1. Get audience's attention and interest

 Use an attention getting device, such as: a rhetorical question, startling facts, an
unusual visual, a video clip, an anecdote, an allusion, or a quotation.
 Arouse their curiosity and connect with them emotionally.
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2. Tell the audience what the presentation is about

 State the purpose of the presentation in a clear, simple sentence.
 Make what you are going to say relevant to them by briefly describing how the
presentation will benefit them.
3. Outline the main points

 Say how many points you are going to have. This gives the audience something to
listen for and helps them spot the main points as they come up.
 List the points one at a time. This gives the audience confidence that you know
where you are going and what you want to say.
EXAMPLES OF INTRODUCTIONS
A. Who wants to double their commission this year? How many of you would like to be
able to afford a two-week European vacation next June? Well, you are in the right
place, because if you listen to what I’ve got to say about the new customer service
programme, the profits will be rolling in and you will be the beneficiary. As you know,
different companies in the group have had different customer service policies. So, I
want to start by looking at some of those differences to clarify what sort of a problem
we’re up against. Then, I’m going to show you how we’re tackling the problem through
the customer service programme. And, I’ll tell you where you come in; what the
campaign means for our sales force.
B. You have told us you want to cut the time taken washing your vehicles, to make it
easier for your staff to operate the washing system and to reduce costs. We believe we
have the answer to those questions. Let me deal with each of these areas in turn.
C. Our truck rental business appears profitable. Last financial year, we had 350K in profit.
But did you know that in reality we lost over $100,000 worth of business last year
simply by not being responsive enough to our customers’ needs? In my presentation
this afternoon, I want to discuss with you how we can win back some of that lost
business. I’ll be dividing my presentation into three parts. First, we’ll look at current
levels of customer satisfaction. Second, I’ll propose a clear strategy for getting to know
our customers better. And finally, we will think together about how we can use
additional information about our customers to provide extra services more tailored to
their particular needs.
What do you think of the sample introductions above? Which of them follow the principles
given in the text? How could you improve them to make them better introductions?
Connectives
Throughout the entire presentation, make sure the relationships between ideas are clear
and that there are good linkages between the different points in your presentation. The
connectives are the signposts in your talk – use plenty of them. Here are some different
types of connectives that you may use:
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a. Transition Phrases
Introducing a Sequencing Changing a topic Concluding

Subject
I'll begin by ... First ..., second ..., If I could now turn So, to conclude ...
Let's start with ... third ... to ... In conclusion ...
What I’d like to Firstly ..., secondly My next point is ...
begin with is ... ..., thirdly ... Now, turning to ...
Let me begin by ... then..., next ..., Now, what about…?
finally ... Let me move on to
Let’s go on to ...
That brings us to ...
b. Rhetorical Questions
After asking a rhetorical question, you should answer the question in the next part of
your presentation. Here are a few examples of rhetorical questions:
• Sales performance by product:

First of all, how has each of our products been selling?
• Projection for the next quarter:

So, what is the outlook for the next three months?
c. Mini Summaries
Include mini summaries to remind the audience of what you have covered before you
move on to a new point.
That completes my overview of . . . so now I'd like to move on to . . .

So that's the general picture of . . . and now let's turn to . . .
So, we’ve seen . . . and . . ., now if we could look at . . .
Now we know . . . and . . ., but what about . . .
So, we've seen the general overview of the market (point 1), and the poor performance
of our product so far this year (point 2), now let's take a look at what lies ahead in the
next few months . . .
d. Internal Previews
Use an internal preview to identify two or more sub-points that you are going to talk
about next.
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In looking at some solutions to the problem of falling sales, I will focus on two in
particular – increasing advertising and special promotions. Let’s consider each in
turn.
Conclusion
First impressions count; last impressions remain. Your conclusion should take up 5-10% of
the total presentation time and should include the following:
o Signal that the presentation is ending.

The audience should never be surprised by an abrupt statement such as, "... That's all I
have to say." Use a transition phrase, such as, "... To conclude ..." or "Now to round off
my presentation ..."
o Summarize the main points

Review what you have covered in the body of the presentation. Use the same language
for summarizing the points that you did when listing them in the introduction but
change the verb tense from future to present perfect.
o Close with a recommendation or call to action

 Highlight the core message.
 Refer to the benefits the audience will gain if they do what you recommend
o End courteously
Rephrase the attention getter you used in the introduction and then end with an
invitation to ask questions.
EXAMPLES OF CONCLUSIONS
A. To sum up, I’ve described the key differences between the different companies in the
SDB Group and showed you how the new branding campaign is applied to each of
them. I then spelt out what is in store for you as an organization in terms of brand
awareness, and potential market share. Now that you have a clear picture of the
branding campaign and its overwhelming benefits, the rest is up to you. I am confident
that if you follow through on the three step implementation process, SDB Group will
not only be an award winning company, but also an extremely profitable enterprise.
Thank you for your attention and I would be pleased to answer any questions.
B. In short, the proposals I’ve just presented answer the problems you are currently
facing. We’ve seen that by reducing the time taken to wash each of your vehicles and
by streamlining your drying system, you can effectively reduce costs by 20% to 25%. I
suggest you review the details I've given you and consider the benefits our proposal
offers. The sooner we can implement these proposals, the sooner your company can
start enjoying the benefits of these savings. We have prepared a brochure that
summarizes our proposal, which I will pass around now. And we have plenty of time
for questions.
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Step 5. Prepare visual aids
In Brain Rules, Dr. John Medina, a molecular biologist, describes how audiences, after
listening to a talk, remember only 10% of a speaker’s message. However, when speakers
also use visual aids, audiences remember 65% of the message. 1 Although there are
additional reasons why it is beneficial to use visual aids in presentations, creating and
presenting the visual aids requires consideration.
Obviously visual aids can be useful for explaining complicated points. However, they should
be prepared and used with care. Remember many great speakers such as Lee Kuan Yew and
John F. Kennedy never used visual aids. YOU are the most important focus of the
presentation and you should not create visual aids that take the focus away from you and
what you are saying.
The most important thing is to be very clear about your objective, to know your material
very well and to be enthusiastic about sharing it with your audience. Only after until you
have planned the structure and content of the presentation should you consider what visual
aids you might use. As you look at your outline, consider what kind of aids would add a
visual dimension to your words.
When you prepare your visuals you should consider the following:
o Design and layout

 Use a clean background with no distractions.
 Use the same layout for each type of slide. This includes having all elements at the
same level, e.g., main headings, subheadings or examples the same size, font and
color with the same numbering system to help the audience follow the organization
of the talk.
o Color
 Use high contrast colors – the safest is dark text on a light background or vice versa
but a white background can be too glaring and a dark blue one can give a softer
contrast than black. Remember that what looks good on your computer screen may
not look the same when projected as most projectors tend to produce less vibrant
colors. If in doubt, project the slides at the venue before your actual presentation.
o Text and graphics

 Whenever possible, use a picture, diagram or image rather than text to illustrate
your points.
 If text is used, shorten the phrases to key bullet points. Craft the shortest possible
phrase to represent each idea.
 Unless you are quoting someone famous, there should be no complete sentences in
your slides.
1
Medina, J. 2008. Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Seattle,
WA: Pear Press.
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 Choose a font which is large enough to be read by everyone in the room.

 Keep lists in parallel grammatical form.
 Keep text on graphics to a minimum but provide a heading or figure label which
encapsulates what the audience is looking at (and the source if it was not created by
you).
o Animation
 Progressive revelation - Have bullet points come onto the slide one by one if the
discussion of each one will take some time. This technique helps the audience to
know where you are in the presentation and avoids visual/aural conflict where the
audience has already read to the end of the slide but you are still discussing the first
point. If the slide is a brief one, the bulleted points can all be shown at once.
 Avoid too much animation. Use the simplest transitions and builds for business
presentations. You do not want the audience to be distracted by the variety of
animation techniques. Using a kind of animation “because it is fun” is not a good
reason, and it makes the audience work harder. It can too often be distracting from
the main message. Remember YOU are the most important visual in your
presentation. Your own energy and enthusiasm is what should give the presentation
life.
Slide analysis
Here is a slide created for a presentation on an email software program called
“SafeMessage.” Let’s analyze it together. First, you will notice that the color contrast is not
strong enough to see the lines on the
graph very well. This is especially true
when the slide is projected on a
600 screen. The graph lines could be
500
much thicker and the colors chosen
to contrast even more with the
400
Malaysia medium-blue background. Second,
300 Singapore the graph does not have a title and
International the axes are not are labeled;
200
consequently, the audience does not
100
know what the numbers on the Y-axis
0 mean. Finally, the source of this
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
information is not given. If it were,
the information would appear more
credible.
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DELIVERY
Good preparation alone does not ensure a good presentation. Communication takes place
non-verbally as well as verbally. How you deliver your message greatly affects the
receptiveness of the audience towards your message. Delivery of the message is especially
important in public speaking because it conveys an overall impression of your competence
and credibility. Do note though that in trying to deliver your message, you must know what
your core message is in the first place. Many people’s oral presentations fail because they
have not been able to communicate the main message of their talk to the audience.
Voice
To be an effective speaker you need to be heard and understood

by all in the audience. You also need to sound interesting.
o Project your voice so everyone can hear you. This starts with
diaphragmatic breathing. But you can also vary the volume for
emphasis or dramatic effect.
o Enunciate clearly and pronounce words correctly. For key
words in your presentation, be sure to check the
pronunciation.
o Add variety of pitch to your voice. Many men (and a few
women) speak with a somewhat monotonous voice. Changing
the pitch as you speak will help you sound expressive and
enthusiastic. If you do not sound enthusiastic about your topic,
you will not keep your listeners' attention.
Speed
Nervousness affects people differently. For some speakers, jittery nerves make them speak
too quickly. For others, nervousness makes them speak too slowly. Always remember that if
it is hard work for the audience to listen to and understand what you are saying, they will
not enjoy your presentation very much.
o Do not rush through your points. Remember, the larger the audience the slower you
have to speak.
o Slow down to emphasize key points.
o Use pauses to indicate a change of subject or to emphasize key words.
o When you rehearse, make sure that your talk will be within the time limit. If you run
overtime during your practice session, cut something out.
Eye contact
Using your eyes to connect with your audience is one of the most important elements of
non-verbal communication. When you establish and maintain eye contact with the
audience, you show your interest in them, develop personal contact with them, and appear
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more sincere. Good eye contact also demonstrates your confidence with your material and
your desire to communicate the material to individuals.
o Look systematically at different sections of the audience.

o Know your material well so you do not have to look constantly at your notes.
o Look at a member of the audience for a few seconds before you move to the next
person.
o Don’t neglect any part of the audience, or show favoritism to any side of the room.
Posture
When giving a presentation you should aim to convey the image of a speaker who is alert,
confident and energetic. Your posture contributes to this image.
o Stand tall with your shoulders back and with your weight evenly distributed on both
feet.
o If you are holding notes, hold them near your bellybutton, so that your arms and
shoulders form an open ‘O’ shape.
o Move slowly and gently to point to a visual aid or to highlight a transition to a new idea.
You should not:

 Stand stiffly like a soldier on parade. Most especially, do not lock your knees as this
restricts blood flow and you could feint.
 Shift your weight from foot to foot or sway from side to side.
 Lean on a lectern or table.
Gestures
The way you move your head, hands or arms to emphasize feelings or ideas also affects your
relationship with your audience. Well-timed and gestures can add support by
communicating involvement, enthusiasm and self-confidence.
o Use natural gestures, e.g., using fingers to count important points, clenching your fist to
emphasize a point, describing a size or shape with your hands.
o Make sure your gestures are not distracting or overly repetitive.
You should not:

 Play with anything in your hands such as swing a laser pointer around, roll and unroll
your notes, or click a pen.
 Touch your face, hair, pockets or glasses.
 Hold your hands together low down in front of you.
 Hide your hands behind your back or in your pockets.
 Fold your arms.
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Facial expressions
As with eye contact, your facial expressions communicate powerful messages to your
audience. These can help or hinder your presentation.
o Try to relax; enjoy the chance to discuss important ideas with the audience and share
your enthusiasm with them.
o Smile, when it is appropriate.
o Vary your expression according to the seriousness of the information you are
presenting. If you are looking at and interacting with your audience, this should happen
naturally.
o If you make a mistake during the presentation, don’t show it all over your face. Just
pause for a moment, gather your thoughts, smile and go on.
Handling visual aids
Remember that visual aids are to help you in bringing across your message to the audience.
You want the audience to listen to you, not to become engrossed in the visual aids.
o Make sure the whole audience can see the visual aids.
o Test your slides and any other media devices before you begin speaking. Make sure
everything displays the way you had planned it.
o Talk to the audience, not to the visual aids. Remain facing the audience, not turning
away to face the screen or your computer monitor.
o Incorporate the visual aids into the talk. Make sure the visual aid you are showing
illustrates what you are talking about.
o Give the audience time to see the visuals. Remember this is their first time looking at
your slides.
o Reveal a visual aid only after you start to talk about the point it illustrates. In other
words, don’t advance the slide, glance at it to see what your next point is and then start
talking. Start talking and then advance the slide. This technique shows that you are
leading the presentation, not your visual aids.
o Do not use your slides as notes – unless you are quoting someone famous, try not to
read off a slide.
o Remove the visual aid as soon as you have finished talking about the point it illustrates.
Handling questions
Many presentations end with a question and answer time. This can be exciting for some
and nerve wracking for others. However, almost always, when you have prepared diligently
for a presentation, you will know more about your subject than you have time to present.
And it is your knowledge in reserve that will often be the source of the answers to your
audience's questions.
Members of the audience may ask questions because they have merely missed hearing the
information, in which case all you have to do is repeat what you have presented earlier. At
other times, they ask questions as they do not understand the meaning of something you
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said, in which case you may need to explain it – give an example or provide more
elaboration to make the point clear.
Here are some tips you can bear in mind to make your question and answer session proceed
more smoothly:
o Before the presentation
 Anticipate some questions the audience may ask and prepare answers for them.
 Get a friend to help you practice answering questions.
o During the question and answer session
 Listen carefully to the entire question.

 Repeat the question in your own words to make sure you have understood it. If you
did not get it quite right, allow the questioner to rephrase the question.
 Credit the person for asking the question. Even if you do not like the question, at
least thank the person for asking it.
 Respond to the question as honestly as you can.
 If you cannot answer the question, either
– redirect the question by introducing an alternative idea and giving an answer to
that aspect of the question, or
– offer to find out the answer and get back to the questioner later.
 Check if your response has answered the question before moving on.
 Try not to contradict each other when giving a team presentation.
Rehearse
You must rehearse to build self-confidence. Mark Twain, the American author and lecturer,
once said it took him three weeks to prepare a presentation that looked as if it was natural
and unprepared. Try to go to the actual presentation location ahead of time so that you can
practice using the equipment and presenting with the visual aids to an imagined audience
there. Rehearse your presentation not once, not twice, but as many times as you need until
you feel natural and comfortable with your talk. Do it in front of a friend or a group of
friends. Rehearsing will also show if you are within the time limit. But, again, do NOT
rehearse with the intention of memorizing the entire talk.
IMPROMPTU PRESENTATIONS
The discussion so far has covered presentations for which you have sufficient time to
prepare in advance. But what about impromptu presentations? In the workplace you may
be called upon to present without advance notice. Are there any tools or tips that can help
us with delivering extemporaneous presentations as well?
A recent business school graduate applied for a job in the marketing arm of a multinational
company based in Singapore. One of the requirements was a 20-minute formal presentation
15 | P a g e
on a topic he was given ahead of time. He came prepared for the presentation and, indeed,
he did a great job with it. However, after the presentation, he was asked to stand in front of
the audience again and to introduce himself and in five minutes share his opinion on graffiti
as art. That week, there had been some controversy in the news concerning the use of
graffiti for advertising in Singapore.
To cut the story short, he did not get the job. Although he was able to introduce himself in
front of the audience and made a competent attempt to handle the given topic, he was
taken aback by the unexpected request. He was not equipped with strategies to deal with a
request to speak unexpectedly. In short, while impromptu presentations are indeed
unplanned, you can actually prepare for them mentally, intellectually and professionally.
The following are tips for you to consider.
• Expect the unexpected.

Tell yourself that this is part and parcel of any type of business communication. This
way, you do not get shell-shocked when some question is thrown at you and you are
asked to stand up and speak. As part of your own self-improvement, develop a wide
variety of interests and read about them often. If you are filling your mental tank with
good information, you will always be ready to talk about relevant subjects when the
need arises.
• Take a deep breath.

Really, take a deep breath. In fact, take two deep breaths. The first one will help you
relax. The second one will give you the support you need to project your voice
confidently. If you are starting to feel nervous or even to panic, a deep breath will really
help you.
• Think of your key message.

This is true in any type of business communication. What is your message? What do you
want to say to the audience? So, if you are asked to comment on graffiti as art, decide
on your key message. Some possibilities are: “Graffiti is art,” “Graffiti is not art,” and
“Graffiti could be art in the right context.” If you are clear about your key message, you
have won half of the battle.
• Develop your key message.

If you have only your key message to share, your presentation may end up being less
than 30 seconds. In order to develop your idea, apply a typical organizational pattern to
it, so that you will know how to develop your message. For example, one typical pattern
is an opinion with three supporting reasons. So if you want to say that graffiti is art, then
think about why you believe this. “I believe that graffiti is art for three reasons: it is self-
expression, it reveals how society feels and it tells a story.” In cases where you are not
sure about the number, then you can say this: “I believe that graffiti is art for a couple of
reasons.” Then you make up the final number as you go along.
Some other typical organizational patterns include the following:
o Problem, solution, action
16 | P a g e
o Position, problem, proposal

o Goals, obstacles, outcomes
o Past, present, future
• Structure your presentation.

Remember to include an introduction, transitions and a conclusion in your impromptu
presentation. Even though it is impromptu, the basic structure should be the same as
any other presentation. Your key message and your development of that topic
constitute the body of the presentation. Just before you begin, think about starting well.
Some examples include:
INTRODUCTION STRATEGIES
Strategy Example
Thank the person who asked you Thank you for your question.
to speak or gave you the task.
Comment on the question or task. That’s a very interesting question.
Comment on the relevance of the I think that’s a relevant issue to tackle now
question or task. especially because of the recent controversy
surrounding the use of graffiti to promote a
company.
Elaborate on the relevance I’m actually amazed at the amount of debate that
surrounding the question or task. came out of it. But it’s good since this issue isn’t
really straightforward anyway.
Deliver your message. My take on that is this: I believe that graffiti is art.
Tell a story. That question actually reminds me of myself and
my college friends two years ago when one of us,
well fortunately not me, was caught spraying
some paint on…
Similarly, you can also do many things in the conclusion. Some examples are:
CONCLUSION STRATEGIES
Repeat your key message. So my point again is that graffiti is art.
Summarize your justifications for First, it is an individual expression of a feeling or
the message. an articulation of a message. Second, we can also
take it as a collective expression of a society’s
frustration or desire, and graffiti is a creative way
to call attention to it. And third, it’s a story. It tells
a story, an underground one, but a story anyway.
17 | P a g e
Remind audience of the As I mentioned earlier, this issue is really not

complexity of the issue. straightforward.
Show keen awareness of other I understand some concern from parents, teachers
people’s perspectives on the and government officials about graffiti as
issue. vandalism, or even crime, especially if it could
ignite unwanted emotional outbursts because of
what has been written or presented in the graffiti.
Make a case again for your key Nevertheless, who is to define what creativity is
message. anyway? It comes from the inner self, it comes
from the heartbeat of society.
Solicit questions. Any questions?
Thank the audience. Thanks for the opportunity to speak with you
today.
• Maintain good posture and eye contact.

What you learned earlier about delivery in oral presentations is also relevant for
impromptu presentations. However, give special attention to good posture and eye
contact. These are where you will be seen to be confident or not, and whether you can
deliver under pressure or not.
Tutorial Activities
ACTIVITY 1. Presentation Experience
Reflect on the following questions and then discuss your answers in a small group.
1. How would you characterize a good presentation? Complete this sentence: “A good
presentation is _____.”
2. In presentations that you have seen or given what elements have you found that worked
well?
3. Have you given or seen any poor presentations? What are some of the reasons these
presentations did not work well?
4. Do you usually feel nervous about giving oral presentations? If so, which aspects of
presenting make you nervous?
5. Share with your friends what strategies you use to allay your fears.
18 | P a g e
ACTIVITY 2. Transitions
The following plan is for a presentation in which the presenter suggests three things that the
audience can do to help others quit smoking. Study the plan and then prepare transition
statements to introduce each part of the presentation. Try not to change the rhetoric of the
points (parallel structure) as you write your transitions. The first one has been done for you as
an example:
Presentation Plan
I. Introduction
II. Body
A. Why people feel a need to smoke
B. Why people cannot quit smoking by themselves
C. Three things you can do to help
1. show concern, don’t criticise
2. suggest alternatives, don’t complain
3. have patience, don’t give up
III. Conclusion
1. Introduce the Let’s start by looking at some of the reasons people

first main point
start smoking, in other words, why people feel a need
to smoke.
2. Move to the
second main
point
3. Introduce the
third main point
4. Move to the
first sub-point
5. Link to the
second sub-
point
6. Move to the
third sub-point
19 | P a g e
ACTIVITY 3. Vocal Practice
A. Mark the syllabic stress in each word below and notice the pronunciation patterns.
epitome nuclear pronounce pronunciation
photograph photographer memory memorable
economy economic suspect (n) suspect (v)
B. Word stress and pausing

Mark the pauses and words that receive the most emphasis in each sentence (punctuation
has been removed).
• I have nothing to offer but blood tears toil and sweat.
• What do we mean by the word leadership.
• In my presentation today I will be discussing how your mobile phone can be used
to improve your mental emotional and physical fitness.
C. Tone Groups
Try to read these paragraphs with natural, connected tone groups.
• This ceremony marks the end of a long academic journey. A journey that we
started three or four years ago. A journey that has taken us through a high-quality
education. A journey with joys and sorrows, tears and laughter, hard work and
life-long friends. A journey that has brought us here today.
• You ask, “What is our aim?”

I can answer in one word: victory.
Victory at all costs; victory in spite of all terror;
victory, however long and hard the road may be.
For without victory, there is no survival.
20 | P a g e
ACTIVITY 4. The Purpose of Visual Aids
What are the main reasons we prepare visual aids, such as PowerPoint slides? Individuals
working in businesses and government institutions use them to brief clients, journalists and
other groups of people on the latest news and trends in their respective areas of respon-
sibility. However, increasingly slides are sent to people who were not present during the
actual presentation or briefing. The slides, then, may also serve as news, information, or
summaries for those people, some of whom may be decision-makers.
Read the following quotes about PowerPoint:
“Some problems in the world are not bullet-izable." (H. R. McMaster)

“PowerPoint makes us stupid.” (James Mattis)
“Make no mistake, PowerPoint is not a neutral tool — it is actively hostile to thoughtful
decision-making.” (T.X. Hammes)
These quotes belong to high-ranking US military personnel who believe that the excessive
use of bullet points and graphics tend to oversimplify problems in the world, create an
illusion of understanding complex realities, and stifle critical thinking and rational decision-
making.
• What would you consider appropriate purposes for using visual aids, such as
PowerPoint slides?
• What are some of the implications of knowing that your slides may be circulated to
people who were not physically with you during the presentation on the way you
design the slides? In your opinion, should PowerPoint slides be used in this way?
• From your experience, what other principles or tips would you recommend to your
classmates for designing good visual aids?
21 | P a g e
ACTIVITY 5. Visual Aid Design

Study each of the slides below and comment on their effectiveness. How can they be
improved to make them clear and appropriate for a formal presentation?
COMMENTS
100
_______________________________________
80
60 _______________________________________
40 Strongly agree
20 Agree _______________________________________
0 Disagree
2008 2009 Jan- _______________________________________
June
2010
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
Table 1 PERCEPTIONS
EVIDENCE OF GENDER INEQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE COMMENTS

• Salaries of
men and ______________________________________
•
women
More talk ______________________________________
time for men
than women ______________________________________
•
in meetings
More men in
managerial
______________________________________
•
positions
Key company ______________________________________
decisions
made by men ______________________________________
CAUSES OF COMMUNICATION COMMENTS

BREAKDOWN IN JLF FOOD _______________________________________
COMPANY™
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
1. Cultural misunderstanding
_______________________________________
2. Workplace is stressful
_______________________________________
3. Languages as barriers
_______________________________________
4. Lacks expert knowledge
22 | P a g e
100
50 COMMENTS
0
Soap Lotion Scrub Perfume
_______________________________________
Moms 35 30 28 7
Dads 42 9 10 39
_______________________________________
Kids 66 21 9 2
_______________________________________
Table 2 shows that soap is the most widely used

_______________________________________
product of AromaAlps™ (AA) among the three _______________________________________
groups, followed by lotion, except that Dads do
use a lot of perfume, and scrub for moms. Moms
and kids rarely use AA perfume.
MEETING CULTURES COMMENTS

________________________________________
 Infomation giving ________________________________________
 Consultative ________________________________________
 Decisionmaking ________________________________________
 Colaborative ________________________________________
MAIN REASONS WHY SERVICE IS BAD COMMENTS

AT JUNCTION ROYALE ________________________________________
________________________________________
THE STAFF IS
________________________________________
RUDE! ________________________________________
________________________________________
23 | P a g e

Oral Presentation Skills

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Oral Presentation Skills

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ORAL PRESENTATION SKILLS

• To understand the essential steps in preparing an oral presentation

A specific example may help. As a sales executive for

Step 1. Define your purpose

o to introduce a new product concept to be designed and manufactured next year?

Business presentations are essentially persuasive

Articulate your core message

o The product concept is new.

Step 2. Analyze your audience and the occasion

o Reason for gathering

Step 3. Gather the material and organize the points

Here is an example of a presentation outline:

A. Background information about the LX project team

Step 4. Structure your presentation

Typical Presentation Structure

• Welcome and speaker introduction

• Recommendation and/or call to action

1. Get audience's attention and interest

2. Tell the audience what the presentation is about

3. Outline the main points

Introducing a Sequencing Changing a topic Concluding

• Sales performance by product:

• Projection for the next quarter:

That completes my overview of . . . so now I'd like to move on to . . .

o Signal that the presentation is ending.

o Summarize the main points

o Close with a recommendation or call to action

Step 5. Prepare visual aids

o Design and layout

o Text and graphics

 Choose a font which is large enough to be read by everyone in the room.

To be an effective speaker you need to be heard and understood

o Look systematically at different sections of the audience.

You should not:

You should not:

Handling visual aids

o Before the presentation

o During the question and answer session

 Listen carefully to the entire question.

• Expect the unexpected.

• Take a deep breath.

• Think of your key message.

• Develop your key message.

o Position, problem, proposal

• Structure your presentation.

Remind audience of the As I mentioned earlier, this issue is really not

• Maintain good posture and eye contact.

ACTIVITY 1. Presentation Experience

1. Introduce the Let’s start by looking at some of the reasons people

ACTIVITY 3. Vocal Practice

epitome nuclear pronounce pronunciation

photograph photographer memory memorable

economy economic suspect (n) suspect (v)

B. Word stress and pausing

• I have nothing to offer but blood tears toil and sweat.

• What do we mean by the word leadership.

• You ask, “What is our aim?”

ACTIVITY 4. The Purpose of Visual Aids

Read the following quotes about PowerPoint:

“Some problems in the world are not bullet-izable." (H. R. McMaster)

ACTIVITY 5. Visual Aid Design

EVIDENCE OF GENDER INEQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE COMMENTS

CAUSES OF COMMUNICATION COMMENTS