Oral Presentation Skills

1
1.1

Preparing Your Speech

Introduction

one of the greatest human fears is speaking in public - stage-fright the way to do it is simply to remember: Practice, Rehearse and Know Your Material!

preparation usually involves:

a) b) c) d) Planning your speech Putting your speech together Planning visual aids Rehearsing your speech and revising it

1.2 Planning Your Speech

A. Define the purpose each speech contains: - a general purpose - inform/instruct - persuade/convince - entertain - a specific purpose - this may be to accomplish a precise objective

B. Analyze the audience and the speaking situation so that you can pitch your presentation to meet their needs, interest and level of knowledge easier to relate to them and build a rapport with them

C. Adapting to different audience types and needs use an appropriate strategy that would appeal to the audience :
a. Logical appeal supporting your arguments with facts and statistics, and citing the sources of your information

b. Emotional appeal
audiences personal needs for good health, safety, appreciation and recognition use descriptions of your personal experiences, comparison or contrast, and quotations to win over your audience

c. Speaker appeal if you have credibility, your audience may accept your message you need to develop and possess the following characteristics: - competence - trustworthiness and sincerity - poise and confidence - enthusiasm

1.3 Putting Your Speech Together

a. Identify your main ideas put main ideas in a logical order and in a way that is easy to understand check that main ideas link together and cover all the areas that you want your audience to hear

b. Research your topic thoroughly find and investigate facts, evidence and supporting documentation
can be based on various sources such as books, journals, Internet materials, surveys and interviews with experts on the topic

c. Organise your data and write your draft a good speech has four parts greeting, introduction, body, and summary or conclusion
i. Greeting if there are VIPs present, greet them first, else this should be followed by a short self or team introduction

ii. Introduction brief and prepares your audience for what you are going to say capture the attention of your audience by: - posing a question - making a startling statement or interesting fact - using a humorous story or anecdote make clear the purpose, preview of the main points and a background or framework

iii. Body add interesting incidents that the audience will enjoy organize ideas under appropriate heads or subheads support your main points with the following materials: facts statistics illustrations examples personal experiences

iv.Summary/Conclusion short overview of the main points reinforce your main ideas use words such as in closing, in conclusion or one last point to signal the ending conclusion should be memorable, hence make an impression by using: a quotation a catchy remark a relevant anecdote which best emphasizes what you want to convey

Planning Your Visual Aids

2.1 Purpose of Using Visual Aids to catch the interest of the audience and reinforce the ideas presented
2.2 Types of Visual Aids size of the audience, the setting of the room, and the content and purpose of your presentation

Some examples of visual displays are - PowerPoint presentations - Overhead transparencies - Flipcharts - Television clips - Real objects - Handouts

2.3 Design of Visual Aids

a. Continuity use the elements of design in a consistent way from one page to the next avoid using different slide templates for different speakers if you are presenting as a team

b. Contrast if you are contrasting A and B, they must be depicted in a visually contrasting manner
c. Emphasis present the key item in the most prominent way through color, position and size

2.4 Use of Visual Aids

never use a visual aid until you have rehearsed what you want to say about it make certain the aid helps the audience to understand your ideas - should be simple, clear and readable. if visual aid is self-explanatory, do not stop to explain

speak loudly to compensate for the audiences divided attention between you and the visual aid never stand directly between your audience and the visual aid always face the audience use visuals in proper sequence - display only when you are ready to discuss it turn off projection equipment when not in use

Delivering Your Speech

3.1 Verbal Delivery a. Voice quality achieve a good voice quality with deep breathing and relax the throat b. Pitch variety in pitch is necessary can inflect our voices to emphasize key points

c. Rate speak at a comfortable, moderate speed d. Volume adapt your volume level to the audience and room size

e. Pronunciation consult a dictionary when you are not sure can also try on-line dictionaries to check
f. Transitions use transitional phrases/words such as first, next, coming to the next point and furthermore

3.2

Nonverbal Delivery

a. Facial expressions show enthusiasm and vitality, which reflect your sincere belief in your ideas and a desire to share with your audience maintain good eye contact as it suggests that you are confident do not simply read from your outline always remember to look up at your audience

b. Gestures movements of the hands, arms, head and shoulders to emphasize, to point, to reject or to describe
c. Appearance dressed appropriately for the occasion and groomed neatly

d. Movement attracts an audiences attention, for the eye instinctively follows moving objects movement must be natural, not stilted or in any way stage-managed body motions during presentations are usually to hold attention, to get rid of nervousness, to suggest transitions or to increase emphasis

3.3 Handling Questions

a) Prepare for questions
anticipate questions you might receive practice answering questions some speakers prepare back-up visual aids just to be used when answering anticipated questions

b) Repeat the question repeat for the whole audience if you get a complicated, emotional or multipart question, restate it to make sure you understand it repeating the question may give you a few extra seconds to formulate a good answer

c) Maintain your style it is important to maintain the same style and demeanor you used in the presentation when you are asked a question you do not know the answer to you can say, I dont know, but Ill find out and get back to you later

d) Involve the audience in your answer in some situations, the questioner may try to hook the speaker with a difficult question try to invite answers or opinions from the audience e) Use the 25-75 rule 25 percent of your eye contact to the person who asked the question and 75 percent to the rest of the audience