Delivering Effective Oral Presentations
How to Succeed in Public Speaking
Remember when delivering a presentation, that you are trying to get a particular message across to your audience. Think about the purpose of your presentation. Are you informing your audience about a topic? Are you selling a product? Are you pitching an idea? Analyse your audience with this in mind. What is their level of knowledge of your topic? Are they resistant or accepting of your idea? What do they need to know to do what you want them to do?
Planning the Presentation
It always helps to use overhead slides or PowerPoint to create a more professional presentation that is easy to follow. Gather and sort the information you need and divide it into sections with relevant headings. Try and develop a statement for each section that sums up the main idea and then add some supporting details. Organise the information into a logical sequence and then think about how you can move smoothly from one topic to the next, using transitions between ideas to help the audience stay focussed and interested.
Designing the Presentation
If you are using slides, make sure everyone can see them, and can read them. Use an appropriate font size and an easy to read format. Don’t crowd the slide with too many points and avoid full sentences and long paragraphs. Use bullet points. These will also help remind you of what you are talking about! Use a topic slide at the start of the presentation to illustrate your main ideas and then move through the presentation, ensuring you cover all of these topics.
If you are using any graphics, use relevant, clear images, graphs or tables, and label them carefully. Use cue cards for your notes rather than long sheets of paper as they are easier for you to read and to handle. Make sure these are numbered and in the correct order before you begin.
Delivering the Presentation
Listening to other people speak can be tiring, so catch your audience’s attention right from the start and get them involved in your topic. Rather than beginning with “Hi my name is...” - start with a "hook". Depending on your audience, this could be a joke, a story, a question, useful statistics or a "did you know?" If appropriate, you could also use props, as long as they aren’t distracting.
Once you have the attention of the audience, keep it by explaining the central point of your topic – what are you going to be talking about and what topics are you going to cover? If you are going to take questions, tell them when (at the end, throughout?). Keep their attention by asking them questions or getting them to participate. Maintain eye contact with the whole audience so they feel included and don’t speak to softly or quickly - you want them to understand you at all times.
Ending the Presentation
Your brilliant presentation can be ruined by a weak ending. Don’t trail off and run off the stage! In two or three sentences, summarise and restate the main ideas/key points from each section. Don’t just repeat your list of topics. Depending on your audience, you can point to the future – perhaps there is a specific action they can take (e.g. buy your product). You can also provide references for more information if they are interested. Your final words can be a simple "Thank you."
Some Final Tips for Your Presentation
- Practice your presentation enough times that you are comfortable with the material
- DO NOT memorise your whole presentation or read it off the slides or notes
- Memorise just the first few sentences so you are familiar with the opening
- Ensure that your slides and notes are relevant and helpful, not distracting
- If you have a time limit, practice before hand with a stop watch
- Avoid distracting mannerisms (e.g. shuffling your paper, pulling your clothes)
- Avoid slang and "fillers" such as "um", "like", "ah"
- Dress appropriately for your audience
- Relax, breathe deeply and enjoy yourself!
With these tips and tricks in mind, give yourself time to plan and organise your presentation, focussing on your audience and their needs. You really can deliver an effective oral presentation confidently and carefully, no matter whom you are addressing or your level of expertise.
Effective Oral Presentations - microphone image
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