MAKING

EFFECTIVE PRESENTATIONS

Suresh Rajan, School of Communication

1. Effective oral communication is vital to success in every kind of business. 2. Very few people have a natural talent for delivering outstanding presentations.

3. Foresight, hard work, and practice help develop good presentations.

4. This course gives you the opportunity to make a good start and build confidence.

Suresh Rajan, School of Communication

STEPS
* Decide on the aim * Think of the audience * Think of the time available * Draw up an outline * Make a list of the main points * Think of supporting materials you may need * Decide what visuals you need * Make a script

Suresh Rajan, School of Communication

THE AUDIENCE
Size of audience Needs of the audience

Knowledge level
Inter-relationship Learning styles

Prejudices ?

Suresh Rajan, School of Communication

SUPPORTING MATERIALS
White board
Charts Overhead projector

Video/ Audio
Models Computer presentation

Handouts.etc

Suresh Rajan, School of Communication

Factors which may influence your presentation: * Lighting: Brightness of the room, spotlights, note lights, light switches, curtains and blinds.

* Temperature: Too warm or cold, windy, ventilated get these adjusted before beginning the talk.
* Noise: Acoustics, size of room, get a microphone and public address system if theres a problem. * Equipment : If the equipment is unfamiliar, ask for a demonstration or an operator.
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GET READY

Check out : * the room where you'll be giving the talk * the equipment you'll use * your slides * your dress and appearance

Keep half an hour to collect your wits.

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STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION

INTRODUCTION : Tell them what youre going to tell them BODY : Tell them

CONCLUSION

: Tell them what youve told

them

Suresh Rajan, School of Communication

HOW TO DELIVER IT
Be your NATURAL self
Be careful of BODY LANGUAGE Choose the LANGUAGE carefully

Keep control over the VOICE

Maintain EYE CONTACT with audience Use a touch of HUMOUR

Suresh Rajan, School of Communication

BODY LANGUAGE
Dont sway Dont pace across the room

Dont put hands in pocket

Dont clasp hands in front/ back (or fig leaf) Dont jingle things in the pocket Dont fiddle

Avoid exaggerated or meaningless gestures

Be careful of mannerisms, facial expressions

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VOICE
Volume Pace Pitch Pauses
Keep the head up Speak slightly slower than normal Open the mouth wider than usual Speak clearly

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THE INTRODUCTION
Describe the aim / objectives

Set up the context

Introduce the people Introduce the subject

Grab attention

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USE AN ICE BREAKER

A quote, anecdote or visual for warming up the audience and helping the speaker overcome anxiety It must be done effectively, and so needs to be : * * * * Quick Fun Easy to understand Appropriate
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Suresh Rajan, School of Communication

THE MAIN BODY

* * * * * * * Use good headings Put your arguments logically Build in examples and illustrations Time it well- keep to the timings Reinforce the main points Try to keep the audience active A question-answer session at the end

Suresh Rajan, School of Communication

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THE CONCLUSION
* must be signaled * review the main points * revisit the aims/ objectives

* use an effective closing line

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PRACTICAL HINTS
* Avoid using more than 6 lines of text per slide.
* Avoid using more than 7 words per line of text.

* Avoid using a lot of text slides one after another.

* Try to intersperse visuals * Avoid writing the whole presentation on slides and reading them out.
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* People are able to read faster than you can talk. * Audiences would find it tough to choose between reading ahead and listening to the speaker. * This approach makes a speaker fall into the habit of concentrating on the projection screen than to the audience.

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Visuals must be BIG

SIMPLE
CLEAR CONSISTENT

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CHOOSING THE FONT

If the font isn't easy to see or read, the audience will be trying to figure it out instead of listening to what you have to say.

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FONT SIZES

The common font sizes we see are 10 or 12 points- in books and computer screens. (People often hesitate using larger text) Use 18 to 24 points for OHTs and larger sizes for PowerPoint.

Suresh Rajan, School of Communication

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It is difficult to decide on size because :

* The larger the text, easier it is to read. * But, less you can fit on each page.

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FONT COLOURS
* Increases visual impact * Emphasizes selected text
Complementary colours increase visibility.

If you use reds and greens, choose saturated colours instead of pastels Avoid colour clash
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COLOUR CONTRAST
* Use strong light colour on a dark background or strong dark colour on a light background. * Limit to only 2 or 3 colours. * Use colour for transitions in thought.

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CONSISTENCY
Begin and end the presentation with an identical pair of visuals, which summarize the main points you wish to convey.

e.g. If youre talking about hummingbirds, itd be a good idea to begin and end your presentation with the same picture of a hummingbird, so that the topic gets visually reinforced

Suresh Rajan, School of Communication

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