Basics of Presentations

What is a Presentation:

A manner or style in which something is given, offered, or displayed. The process of offering for consideration or display.

Importance of Presentations:
1.Your Image:

You are being judged by the audience.

If you present well you project an image of competence and confidence and that impression sticks.

2. Your Organizations image:

The image you project compels the audience to make judgments about your organization.
Because you are the face of your organization.

3.Creating a Buzz in audience:

You want people to talk about you, your organization and your message after the presentation.
So, make an impression that is long lasting or everlasting because we all know that First Impression is the last impression

How you present your ideas and motivate the audience can make the difference to what they say after the presentation.

4.Your message:

If you make your message clear to the audience, the audience will believe in your message and you will make a strong and memorable presentation.

So try to make your message as clear as possible.

5. For a good future:

You never know who can be in the audience ;your future boss or a business partner. Take the advantage of this opportunity and make an everlasting impression.

General Guidelines :
Overcoming Obstacles: Difficult Concepts:

Some technical information is difficult to understand because it involves difficult concepts.

People may have difficulty in understanding difficult concept.

Provide a definition that lists Essential features:

Definitions clarify concepts essential features. Several kinds of definitions are useful for communicating technical information.

1. Logical definition:

The most important method of defining a concept is the logical definition. These include 2 steps:
Place the concept in to a general category, then explain the characteristics that distinguish the concept from all other members of the category.

Operational Definition:

1.

Operational definitions explain how something functions. E.g. in defining how the brain is divided in to two hemispheres, right and left. A speaker could say that: The right hemisphere is largely responsible for seeing holistic patterns, whereas the left hemisphere is responsible for linear, analytic thinking.

Contd:

Many operational definitions explain the steps in a process. Operational definitions are almost as powerful as logical definition

Definition by Etymology:

Another common way to define a scientific concept is to explain how the word was derived from a historical event to another language.

E.g the word Plastic comes from the greek Plastikos meaning fit for molding.

Contd:

Although etymological definitions are interesting but they should be combined with other definitions for maximum clarity. Definitions help to distinguish the essential features of a concept from its associated features.

Provide a typical example of the concept or idea:

A second way to clarify difficult concepts is to provide a typical examples.

The typical example is representative of the whole group.

Provide a series of examples and Nonexamples:

Technical speakers should provide a series of examples and nonexamples to aid the audiences ability to distinguish between the concepts and things might be mistaken for the concept.

Difficult Structures/ Processes:

Some technical information is difficult to understand because it involves complicated structures or involved processes that are hard for an audience to visualize.
Here are some tips:

1. Provide a graphic model of the process:

One of the simplest ways to help an audience visualize the whole is to provide a graphic model of the process being described.
The graphic model provides a quick way to visualize the entire process.

Using Organizing Analogies:

An organizing analogy communicates the general impression of a structure or process in a nutshell. It communicates the big picture in a way that is easy to grasp and lays the foundation for more detailed explanation.

Proposal Presentations:

Audience:
For these presentations, the speaker must address all major categories under

Situation analysis:

Organizational culture Occasion, environment and time.

Listener Analysis:

Demographics Predisposition towards speaker Predisposition towards the topic

Contd:

Once you understand the audiences knowledge and meaning associated with the topic, you can plot the kind of audience you are facing: Favorable Apathetic Neutral, Active or hostile.

The Problem- Solution Structure:

In this the presenter articulates the problem the company has and provides a solution tailored to that company.
Members who hear a proposal presentation want you to show your understanding of their problems, propose solutions and demonstrate your capabilities in carrying out the solution.

Contd:

If the audience is not aware of the need of your proposal, you should focus equally on the problem and solution.
If the audience knows the problem, briefly review it and spend the bulk of the speech emphasizing the solution.

Format:
1. 2.

3.
4.

Introduction Gain attention Justify the topic Establish credibility Previews the main ideas (Transition)

Contd:
1. 2.

Body Problem Solution

Conclusion Review Call to action

1. 2.

Monroes motivated sequence:

It is similar to the problem- solution structure, but adds several steps to get the audience involved, moving them to act on the proposal.
This strategy is useful when your audience is hesitant to act on your proposal.

The steps involve in motivated sequence are attention, need, satisfaction, visualization and action.
Monroe knew that effective persuasion grabs the audiences attention .

So, always use the techniques, including questions, startling statements, quotations or stories should be used in the attention step to hook the audience.
Need step in Monroes motivated sequence identifies the audiences problem.

Contd:

Contd:

This sequence includes 4 steps to develop the problem: 1. State the specific problem. 2. Illustrate the problem. 3. Reinforce the need with additional examples and statistics. 4. Point the problem to the audience by showing how it relates to them.

The Satisfaction Step answers the questions: what can be done to solve the problem? This step is a two stage process:

Provide support for the claim that your plan will solve the problem. Address the objections leveled against your plan.

The 4th step is Visualization step, in which the speaker paints a visual picture of the future if the plan is adopted.
Use vivid, verbal descriptions, visual pictures, charts, and graphs clearly illustrate the effects of your plan.

The action step moves the audience to adopt the proposal. The appeal to action should be as direct and specific as possible.

N-A-R Structure:

It was first developed in ancient Greece, is named for three key components:

Narrative Argument Refutation

Like the other structures, the introduction to the N-A-R should gain attention and establish credibility.

Unlike other structures, however, the introduction should not justify the topic or previews the main point.
The preview ruins the effect of the pattern by eliminating the element of surprise.

The Balance Structure:

Some proposals require you to address solutions and explain why your solution is superior.
The audience for such proposals understands the nature of the problem but is undecided about solutions.

This structure eliminates all the competing solutions until only the speakers proposal is left.
The introduction to balance structure should grab the audiences attention and justify the topic.

Contd:

A credibility statement may also be included, depending upon the audience. Because it detracts from the structures persuasive power, do not include a preview of main ideas in the introduction.

Developing Arguments:

If the audience is to share your interpretation of the proposal, the members must hear adequate reasons and evidence.

Deductive Arguments:

A claim is a particular interpretation you want the audience to accept. Claims will not be accepted unless supported by some kind of reasoning.

Contd:

Arguments are line of deductive or inductive reasoning that retrace your original thought process for the audience and answer the question:
why should the audience accept my claim?

Deductive arguments move from general principles to the application of those principles in specific cases.
If we know how two terms, concepts , events or characteristics are related, we can discover other relationships that are logically implied.

Types of deductive reasoning:

1.

Casual Reasoning: It connects two events and claims that the second event is produced by the first.
Casual reasoning should do more than state the linkage between events;

Contd:

It should also explain the way the casual connection operates. 2. Argument from Sign: It is based on the idea that, when we see something, we infer that it represents or stands for the occurrence of something else.

But unlike Casual Arguments, reasoning from sign does not assume that the relationship between the two events is casual, only that they are related.

Syllogistic Arguments:

These involve three statements that lead the audience from general categories to conclusions about specific instances.
These statements are referred to as the major premise, the minor premise and the conclusion. Premise justifies the conclusion.

The major premise is based on an assumption or general topic. The minor premise applies the general principle to a specific group or event.
The conclusion links the major and minor premises by saying that what is true of the general class is true of the specific instance.

Inductive Arguments:

Inductive arguments move from particular observations to general conclusions. Refutation Tactics: It is an argument that addresses and eliminates objections to the proposal.

Common strategies to address objections:

Denial counters an objection by saying it is not true. The Minimization strategy suggests the counter argument is true, but that its significance in relation to others issues is minimal.

A very powerful refutation technique is exposing inconsistent statements, beliefs or actions by the opposition. Determining inconsistency undermines the oppositions credibility, thereby bolstering your case.
People believe that words and actions should be consistent.

Turning the tables suggest that, although the objection is accurate, it actually supports rather than denies your proposal.