Presentations

“The human brain starts working

the moment you are born and
never stops until you stand up to
speak in public.”
Sir George Jessel
“According to most studies, people's
number one fear is public speaking.
Number two is death. This means to the
average person, if you go to a funeral,
you're better off in the casket than doing
the eulogy.”
Jerry Seinfeld
“It usually takes more than three
weeks to prepare a good
impromptu speech.”
Mark Twain
 Think about a time when you
had to stand up and speak in
public.

 How did you prepare?

 How did you feel beforehand?
 Think about the most effective
and least effective speeches
you have given or seen. Analyse
them using the following
framework:
 What type of presentation was it?
 What was the main objective?
 Was the speaker credible? Why?
 How would you rate the speaker’s delivery,
organization, preparedness?
 Who was the intended audience? Was the delivery
appropriate?
 Were the message and delivery memorable? Why?
Types of presentations

 Informative
 Purpose: to share information
 Added objective: to enhance your career/
visibility
 Demonstrative
 Purpose: to show people how to do things
 Qualities: the most direct and efficient form of
presentations
Persuasive
 Purpose: to change people’s attitudes, beliefs,
behaviour
 Most difficult to accomplish/ most rewarding
 Ritual
 Purpose: to mark an occasion, to make an
announcement, to celebrate, to entertain
 Used in business as well as in social settings
The presentation process

 Set your objectives

 Choose the structure of your presentation
 Prepare any visual aids
 Rehearse the presentation
 Prepare the presentation area
 Warm up your voice
 Deliver the presentation
 Handle questions
 Follow up the presentation

+???
Key concepts of presentation
design

 The speaker
 The message
 The delivery
 The audience
The speaker

 Credibility
 Face credibility (being known and respected)
 Earned credibility (how well the speaker
presents the message)
 “Honeymoon period”~ 5 minutes
 Intangibles: reputation, personality, tone of voice,
physical appearance etc.
The message

 One main purpose

 Around 3 main points
 Sub-points
 Facts, examples
The message

 Ways of structuring the message

 Chronologically
 Most important idea→ least important idea
 Small examples → most significant ones
 Problems & solutions
 Pros & cons
 Compare & contrast
Basic presentation structure

 The start/ introduction

 The middle/ body
 The end/ conclusion

 Signposting devices!!
The start

 Tell them
 what the presentation is about
 what your objectives are
 who you are (if they do not know)
 why you are giving the presentation (this
may make you more credible)
 Tell tem
 what the background to the presentation is
 what your conclusion will be
 what’s in it for them

 Grab their attention

 Set their expectations (when you will finish,
whether there will be question time,
handouts etc)
The middle

 Tell them about your subject in detail

 Be logical
 Use anecdotes and real examples to
highlight your points
 Tell them how the information applies to
their organization and to them personally
The end

 Summarize
 Emphasize the benefits that your
solution, product, options,
conclusions will bring to them
 Tell them what you want to do next
 
 Ask for questions
 Answer questions
 Tell them how to get in touch with you if
they need to
 End on a “high”
 Tell an anecdote, ask for a decision, present a
final benefit
The delivery

 Preparation + practice
 Proof
 Ethos
 relies on the authority of the speaker
 expertise of well-known people
 Logos
 Evidence supported by facts: statistics,
numbers, studies, articles
 Pathos
 Experience & feelings the speaker elicits in
the audience
The audience

 Determines
 The organizational structure
 The register
 The depth and complexity of your
message
What should you know about
your audience?
 What do they do?
 Which organization do they work for?
 How old are they?
 What are their backgrounds?
 Why are they here?
 
 Do we share the same language and
culture?
 What do they already know about your
subject?
 What will be new to them?
 How do they feel about you/ your
organization?
 Do they trust you? Will they believe
you?
 What happened to them just before
you arrived?
 Are they open and eager or are they
tired, hungry, impatient?
Intangible factors about the
audience
 Why do audiences listen?
 Why do they become bored?
 What keeps the audience’s attention?
 What will they respond to positively/ negatively?
 Can a presenter ever expect to keep everyone
happy?
 Could a presenter guess how an audience will
behave?
“The murky waters of
personality”
 Pace
 The speeders
 The lingerers

 Priorities
 The philosophers
 The taskmasters
 The humanitarians
 The instinctives
 The great experts
The speeders (active, adventurous, risk-
taking, energetic)

 Uncomfortable if the pace is too slow

 DO
 Make sure to start with energy and impact
 Use personal anecdotes
 Involve them in your presentation

 Tend to ask “when”

The lingerers (deliberate, careful, precise,
cautious)

 Uncomfortable if the pace is too fast

 Happy when given evidence to consider
and options to choose from
 DO
 Bring evidence to support your points
 Distribute handouts with details

 Tend to ask “what”

The philosophers (thoughtful, strategic,
wide-perspective, far sighted)

 Uncomfortable with “quick-fix” solutions

 Respond well to logical and reasoned
arguments
 DO
 Focus on long-term effects
 Present points logically

 Tend to ask “why”

The taskmasters (efficiency-oriented, hard-
driving, profit and usefulness minded)

 Uncomfortable with intangible solutions

 Tend to make cost-efficient and profitable decisions
 Respond well to reference sites and concrete
examples
 DO
 Offer to get any extra information they need
 Present your points accurately

 Tend to ask “how much”, “how long”, “what proof”,

“what timetable”
The humanitarians (caring, team-spirited,
group-oriented, sociable)

 Uncomfortable with mechanistic

solutions which disregard the group
 Like to consider personal factors of
each proposal
 DO
 Show concern for individual motivation
The instinctives (creative, individualistic, self
driving)

 Love new ideas, creative solutions, the chance to take

action
 Like to use their imagination and creativity
 Become easily bored if what is presented does not involve
interaction
 Are not very obedient and tend to “re-design” what has
been proposed to make things more interesting
 DO
 Leave opening for individual input and alternative solutions
The great experts (been there, seen it all,
know better)

 Are not there to listen to you, but waiting to be given the

chance to show they are infinitely more informed
 DON’T
 Take it personally

 DO
 Acknowledge that they have a right to speak
 Use control phrases
 “Does anyone else have an input on this?”
 “We only have time for one last question”
 “Eeeaaarrrgggggggghhhhhhhhh!”
 According to you, which type is the easiest to
please?
 Which is the most difficult?
 The speeders
 The lingerers
 The philosophers
 The taskmasters
 The humanitarians
 The instinctives
 The great experts
Your audience is not the enemy

 The 80/ 20 factor

 20% of the audience will either adore
you or hate you and your presentation
 80% will find you and your presentation
perfectly OK
COPE WITH CREATE
NERVES INTEREST

HANDLE
BUILD RAPPORT
QUESTIONS
WITH THE
WITH
AUDIENCE
CONFIDENCE
 “Speak when you are angry
-and you’ll make the best
speech you’ll ever regret.”
Laurence J. Peter
 “Churchill wrote his own speeches.
When a leader does that, he
becomes emotionally invested with
his utterances... If Churchill had had
a speech writer in 1940, Britain
would be speaking German today.”
James C. Humes
 “We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing
strength in the air, we shall defend our Island,
whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender”
Winston Churchill
Recommended bibliography

 Margareta Petrut, A Study Guide to

Business Communication
 David Nickson, Suzy Siddons,
Business Communications
 Eleri Sampson, Creative Business
Presentations