Public Speaking and Presentation Skills

Introduction

Presentation Skills determine the effectiveness of one's expression of interest. People with
good presentation skills are able to express themselves more comfortably and confidentially.
On the other hand poor presentation skills may spoil a good idea and pose a huge barrier to
effective

communcation.

A good presentation should take into considering the following:

Establishing the purpose

Developing the thesis

Analysing the situation

Analysing yourself as the speaker.

Analysing the occasion.

Structure of the presentation

Establishing a Purpose
Developing The Thesis
Analysing The Situation
Analysing Yourself as the Speaker
Analysing The Occasion
Structure of a Presentation

Establishing a Purpose

The first step in planning any presentation should be to define your purpose. A statement of purpose
describes what you want to accomplish. Then, after you have spoken, the same statement helps you
know whether you have achieved your goal. There are two kinds of purposes to consider: general and
specific.

General Purpose

Giving a presentation without recognizing, focusing on, and remembering your objective is
the equivalent of dumping the contents of your briefcase all over your boss's desk. You
don't speak to fill time by reeling off fact after unorganized fact nor to show beautiful
pictures that take the breath away, or to impress the audience with your wit and skill as a
dramatic speaker. You don't give speeches to win speech-making awards. You are there to
make the best of an opportunity, just as you do in any other aspect of your business
activities. There are three general purposes.

To inform The goal of an informative presentation is either to expand your

listeners' knowledge or to help them acquire a specific skill. Teaching a group of product
managers about new developments in technology, training a new sales representative, or
giving a progress report on regional sales to a senior sales manager are all typical
examples of informative talks.

To Persuade Persuasion focuses on trying to change what an audience thinks

or does. Selling is the most obvious example, but there are others as well. A union
organizer will try to persuade a group of employees to vote for a union,while a
management representative might try to persuade them not to. An accountant might try
to convince management to adopt a different procedure for reporting expenditures. A
marketing manager might try to convince sales representatives to be more enthusiastic
about a product that has not sold well.

To Entertain Sometimes a speaker's goal is to help the audience have a good

time. The welcoming speaker at a convention might concentrate on getting the
participants to relax and look forward to the coming events. After-dinner speakers at
company gatherings or awards dinners usually consider themselves successful if their
remarks leave the group in a jovial mood.

Specific purpose
If you think of a speech as a journey, your specific purpose is your destination. Stating the
specific purpose tells you what you will have accomplished when you have "arrived". A
good specific-purpose statement usually answers three questions:
Whom do I want to influence?
What do I want them to do?
How, when, and where do I want them to do it?
Your purpose statement should combine the answers to these questions into a single
statement: "I want (who) to (do what) (how, when, where)." Here are some examples of
good purpose statements:
o

"I want the people who haven't been participating in the United Way
campaign to sign up."

"I want at least five people in the audience to ask me for my business card
after my talk and at least one person to schedule an appointment with me to discuss
my company's services."

"I want at least five people in the department to consider transferring to the
new Fort Worth office."

"I want the boss to tell the committee that he's in favor of my proposal when
they discuss it after my presentation."

Like these examples, your statements should do three things: describe the reaction you are
seeking, be as specific as possible, and make your goal realistic.

Describe the Reaction You Are Seeking Your purpose statement should be
worded in terms of the reaction you want from your audience. You can appreciate the
importance of specifying the desired results when you consider a statement that doesn't
meet this criterion: "I want to show each person in this office how to operate the new
voice-mail system correctly." What's wrong with this statement? Most important, it says
nothing about the desired audience response. With a purpose such as this, you could give
a detailed explanation of the whole system without knowing whether anyone learned a
thing! Notice the improvement in this statement: "I want everyone in this group to show
me that he or she can operate the voice-mail system correctly after my talk." With this
goal, you can get an idea of how well you've done after delivering your presentation.

Be as Specific as Possible A good purpose statement identifies the who,

what, how, when, and where of your goal as precisely as possible. For instance, your
target audience the who may not include every listener in the audience. Take one of the
statements we mentioned earlier: "I want the boss to tell the committee that he's in favor
of my proposal when they discuss it after my presentation." This statement correctly
recognizes the boss as the key decision maker. If you've convinced him, your proposal is
as good as approved; if not, the support of less influential committee members may not
help you. Once you identify your target audience, you can focus your energy on the
people who truly count. The best purpose statements describe your goals in measurable
terms.

Make Your Goal Realistic Presentational speaking is like most other aspects
of life: you usually don't get everything you want. The available time, the characteristics
of your audience, and the subject itself can limit what you can realistically hope to
accomplish. Thus, your purpose statement should be attainable. For example, a sales
representative selling expensive office equipment shouldn't expect to make a sale the
first time she calls on a purchasing officer; instead, her purpose might be simply to get an
appointment to make a presentation. Similarly, a department head training a group of
new employees shouldn't expect to teach them the operations of the whole department
in the first half hour (Unless the operations are very simple); at the outset, he might
select a few basic principles that he could expect them to learn and use for the first few
days or weeks.

Developing The Thesis

The thesis statement sometimes called the central idea or key idea is a single sentence that summarizes
your message. Once you have a thesis, every other part of your talk should support it.
The thesis gives your listeners a clear idea of what you are trying to tell them:

"We're behind schedule for reasons beyond our control, but we can catch up and
finish the job on time."

"Our new just-in-time order systems help us make sure that our supplies are not
dated or shelf-worn, but we must monitor the inventory daily."

Presentations without a clear thesis leave the audience asking, "What's this person getting at?" And while
listeners are trying to figure out the answer, they'll be missing much of what you're saying.
The thesis is so important that you will repeat it several times during your presentation: at least once in
the

introduction,

probably

several

times

during

the

body, and

again

in

the

conclusion.

New speakers often confuse the thesis of a presentation with its purpose. Whereas a purpose statement
is a note to yourself outlining what you hope to accomplish, a thesis statement tells your audience your
main idea.
Analysing The Situation

A purpose statement describes the end you want to achieve, but it doesn't describe how you can reach
your goal. The means is the presentation itself the ideas you use and the way you express them. Before
you plan even one sentence of the actual presentation, you have to think about the situation in which
you'll speak. A presentation that might fascinate you could bore or irritate the audience. You can make
sure that your approach is on target by considering three factors: yourself as the speaker, the audience
and the occasion.Asking yourself a number of questions about your listeners will shape the way you
adapt

your

material

to

fit

their

interests,

needs

and

backgrounds.

What are their positions?

Begin by considering the job titles of the members of your audience. If audience
members are specialists in engineering,finance, or marketing, for example they'll
probably be interested in the most technical aspects of your talk that pertain to their
specialties. On the other hand, an audience of non-experts or generalists would probably
be bored by a detailed talk on a subject they don't understand. Surprisingly, most
managers fall into this category. Even an executive who came up through the ranks as an
engineer takes a different perspective upon becoming responsible for an entire job. The
details that might once have been fascinating are now less important perhaps still
interesting, but not suitable for an overall view of a project. "Just give me a quick
description, a schedule, and the dollar figures" is a common attitude.

What are their Personal Preferences?

The personal idiosyncrasies of your listeners are just as important as their job titles. Some
people insist on a formal presentation, while others are much more casual. Some
audiences appreciate humor, while others are strait faced. Some people hate to waste
time on casual conversation and digressions, while others are willing to work at a more
leisurely pace. Knowing these preferences can make the difference between success and
failure in a presentation.

What Demographic Characteristics are significant?

A number of measurable characteristics of your listeners might suggest ways to develop
your remarks.
One such characteristic is gender. What is the distribution of men and women?

Even in this age of relative enlightenment, some topics must be approached differently,
depending on your audience's sex. For instance, if you were trying to promote an equal
opportunity program in your company, you might have to prove to male management
that there was discrimination against women; the women in the company would
probably already be aware of it.
A second demographic characteristic is age. A life insurance salesperson

might emphasize retirement benefits to older customers and support for dependent
children to younger ones with families. A speaker promoting a company health plan
would discuss different activities with listeners in their twenties and thirties than she
would with employees who were nearing retirement. Cultural background is often an
important audience factor. You would use a different approach with blue-collar workers
than you would with a group of white-collar professionals. Likewise, the ethnic mix of a
group might affect your remarks. The point you make, the examples you use, and even
the languageyou speak will probably be shaped by the cultural makeup of your
audience.

Another demographic factor is the economic status of your audience. This

factor is especially important in sales,where financial resources "qualify" potential

customers as prospects for a product or service as well as suggest what features are
likely to interest them. In real estate, for example, well-to-do customers would certainly
be interested in different properties than less affluent ones. They might also be more
concerned about the tax consequences of a sale and less concerned with monthly
payments than with the interest rate at which the mortgage is written.

What Size is the Group?

The numbers of listeners will govern some very basic speaking plans. How many copies of
a handout should you prepare? How large must your visuals be to be seen by everyone?
How much time should you plan for a question-and-answer session? With a large
audience, you usually need to take a wider range of audience concerns into account; your
delivery and choice of language will tend to be more formal and your listeners are less
likely to interrupt with questions or comments. A progress report on your current
assignment would look ridiculous if you delivered it from behind a podium to four or five
people. You would look just as foolish speaking to a hundred listeners while reclining in a
chair.

Why is the Audience There?

Just like speakers, audiences have reasons for attending a presentation. Sometimes these
reasons are straightforward; for example, the members of a sales force will attend a sales
meeting to learn about the company's new products and how to sell them and so increase
their commissions. Not all audience purposes are as clear, though. If the sales meeting is
being held in Miami or Hawaii, some attendees could be most interested in the idea of an
expense-paid vacation. Many attendees might assume that all the information presented
at the meeting will also be provided in written form and will not listen carefully to the
presentation. This doesn't mean that you should give up when you face an audience with
ulterior motives. Rather, it means you need to find creative ways to achieve both the
audience's goal and yours. If the computer service representatives you're addressing are

hostile to the new computer system, they may attend the training session only because
they're required to do so. You will need to convince them that the system has advantages
for them, such as saving them time and making their job easier, before they'll listen to
your instructions on how to operate the system. If you don't do this, they may eventually
make errors and blame them on the system. Sometimes you can develop an approach
that satisfies all your listeners. Like those teachers who reach the greatest number of
students, you can learn to be entertaining and informative at the same time. But you
can't please everyone all the time. If some of your listeners want to hear about the new
product line and some want to hear, in detail, why last year's line failed, you will probably
have to make a choice. At such times, your decision should be based on who you are
most concerned about reaching.

What does the audience know?

A group of experts doesn't need the background information that other audiences would
require. In fact, these people would probably be bored and offended by your basic
explanation. It's also important to ask yourself what your listeners do not know:
uninformed people or non-experts will be mystified (as well as bored and resentful) unless
you give them background information.
Also ask yourself what misconceptions your listeners might have about the topic you're
discussing. A potential customer might think that his current insurance coverage is
perfectly adequate. Your boss may think that the obsolete equipment that's slowing your
productivity is perfectly fine. When misconceptions like these exist, be sure to clear them
up early in your presentation or even beforehand, if possible.

What are the Listeners' Attitudes?

You need to consider two sets of attitudes when planning your presentation. The first is
your audience's attitude toward you as the speaker. If listeners feel hostile or indifferent,
your approach won't be the same as the one taken if they are excited to hear from you .
In addition to listeners' feelings about you, the audience's attitude about your subject
should influence your approach. Do your employees think the benefits of the new pension
plan are too far in the future to be important? Does the sales force think the new product
line is exciting or just the same old wine in a new package? Do the workers think the new
vice-president is a genius or just another figurehead? Attitudes such as these should
govern your approach.One way to discover the attitudes of your audience and to gain the
audience's approval of your idea is to meet with listeners before your presentation. With
this sort of preparation, you can make whatever adjustments are necessary to win over
the key decision makers before you begin your formal presentation.

Analyzing Yourself as the Speaker

No two presentations are alike. While you can learn to speak better by listening to other speakers, a good
presentation is rather like a good hairstyle or sense of humor: what suits someone else might not work for
you. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to try to be a carbon copy of some other effective
speaker. When developing your presentation, be sure to consider several factors.

Your Purpose
The very first question to ask yourself is why you are speaking. Are you especially
interested in reaching one person to one subgroup in the audience? What do you want
your key listeners to think or to do after hearing you? How will you know when you've
succeeded?

Your Knowledge
It's best to speak on a subject about which you have considerable knowledge. This is
usually the case, since you generally speak on a subject precisely because you are an
authority. Regardless on how well you know your subject, you may need to do some
research on the latest trends and analysis in that sector.

Your Feelings about the Topic

An old sales axiom says, "You can't sell a product you don't believe in." Research shows
that sincerity is one of the greatest assets a speaker can have. When you are exited
about a topic, your delivery improves: your voice becomes more expressive, your
movements are more natural, and your face reflects your enthusiasm. On the other hand,
if you don't care much about your topic whether it's a report on your department's sales,
a proposal for a new program, a product you're selling, or a new method you're explaining
the audience will know it and think, "If the speaker doesn't believe in it, why should I?"

Analysing The Occasion

Even a complete understanding of your audience won't give you everything you need to plan an effective
presentation. You also need to adapt your remarks to fit the circumstances of your presentation.
Facilities Will you be speaking in a large or small room? Will there be enough seating for all the
listeners? Will the place be brightly or dimly lit? Will it be well ventilated or stuffy? Are chairs movable or
fixed to the floor? Will there be distracting background noises? Questions like these are critical, and
failure to anticipate facility problems can trip you up. For example, the absence of an easel to hold your
charts can turn your well-rehearsed presentation into a fiasco. Lack of a convenient electrical outlet can
replace your slideshow with an embarrassing blackout. Even the placement of doorways can make a
difference. Most experienced speakers won't settle for others' assurances about facilities; they check out
the

room

in

advance

and

come

prepared

for

very

possible

disaster.

Time There are two considerations here. The first is the time of day you'll be speaking. A straightforward,
factual speech that would work well with an alert, rested audience at 10 A.M. might need to be more
entertaining or emphatic to hold everyone's attention just before quitting time. Besides taking the hour of
day into account, you also need to consider the length of time you have to speak. Sometimes the length
of your talk won't be explicitly distracted, but that doesn't mean you should talk as long as you like.
Usually, factors in the situation suggest how long it's wise for you to speak.

Structure of a Presentation

Most effective presentations follow a well-known pattern. "First tell them what you're going to tell them;
then tell them; then, tell them what you've told them." In outline format it looks like:

Introduction: A good introduction should accomplish the following.

o

Capture the listener's attention

Give your audience a reason to listen

Set the proper tone for the topic and setting

Establish your qualifications

Introduce your thesis and preview your presentation

You can open the presentation in the following ways:

Ask a question. Asking the right question is a good way to involve your

listeners in your topic and establish its importance to them.

Tell a story which is short, relevant and concise.

Present a quotation. Quotations have 2 advantages. First, someone

else has probably already said what you want to say in a very clever way. Second,
quotations let you use a source with high credibility to back up your message.
Use humor. The right joke can be an effective way to get attention,

make a point, and increase the audience's liking for you.

Body
This is the gist of the presentation and therefore its integral most part. Keep in mind the
following:
There has to be a strong coherence between the various parts of the main

o
body.
o

There has to be a sequential flow of ideas/points.

There has to be a definite structure to avoid random treatment of content.

Try to make the main body interesting by including relevant examples and
cases.

Establish and maintain eye contact. A speaker who talks directly to an

audience will be seen to be more involved and sincere. Be sure your glance covers
virtually everyone in the room. Look about randomly; a mechanical right- to-left sweep of
the group will make you look like a robot. If the audience is too large for you to make eye
contact with each person, choose a few people in different parts of the room, making eye
contact with each one for a few seconds.

Stand and move effectively. Having good posture doesn't mean being rooted
to the ground. Moving about can add life to your presentation and help release nervous
energy. You can approach and refer to your visual aids, walk away and return to your
original position, and approach the audience. Your actions should always be purposeful.

Conclusion A conclusion has two parts: a review and a closing statement.

The Review should contain a restatement of your thesis and a summary of

your main points.

A strong closing statement will help your listeners to remember you favorably;
a weak ending can nullify many of your previous gains. Besides creating a favorable
impression, the closing statement will give your remarks a sense of completion. You
shouldn't leave your audience wondering whether you've finished. Finally a closing
statement ought to incite your listeners, encouraging them to act or think in a way that
accomplishes your purpose.