Giving Effective Presentations
Dr. Lisa G. Bullard
CHE 395

Outline
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Overcoming the fear factor
Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options
Delivery and tone
Visuals
Handouts
Handling Q&A
Conclusions

Overcoming the Fear Factor
1. Public speaking
2. Death
3. Heights
4. Spiders
5. Snakes

Overcoming the Fear Factor
What are we afraid of?

Overcoming the Fear Factor
How do we overcome that fear?

Outline
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Overcoming the fear factor
Types of presentations

Types of Presentations
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Low stakes vs. high stakes
Short vs. long
Informal vs. formal

Purpose of Presentations
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To inform
To persuade
To build good will

Informative Presentations
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Reporting
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Bringing the audience up to date
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Status report
Explaining
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Providing information
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Products
Procedures
Rules
Operations data

Persuasive Presentations
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You want to convince the audience to…
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Buy your product or service
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Support your goals or concepts
Change their minds or attitudes

Good Will Presentations
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To build respect for a person, an organization, or a product
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Awards ceremony
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Special recognition
Celebrations
Toasts

Outline
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Overcoming the fear factor
Types of presentations
Knowing your audience

Knowing Your Audience
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You must know
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Who they are
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Why they are there
What they expect to get
How they will react

Strategies for Defining
Your Audience
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What is the size of the group?
What is the age distribution?
Is the audience mostly men, mostly women, or mixed?
How do audience members rank within their organization?

Strategies for Defining
Your Audience
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Why are people attending?
How familiar are they with the topic?
What is the level of education?
What kind of reaction can you expect?

Believe it or not…
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Audiences want and expect presenters to succeed
But they are also thinking, “What’s in it for me?”

Outline
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Overcoming the fear factor
Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options

Questions To Ask Yourself
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What does my audience expect to gain?
What do they already know?
What is the purpose of this presentation
(persuade, inform, entertain, or a combination?)
What are my key points?
What one thing do I want them to remember most?

“A speech has two parts. You must state your case, and you must prove it.”
- Aristotle
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Tell your audience what you’re going to tell them
2. Tell them
3. Then tell them what you told them
This doesn’t mean repeat yourself three times.

Opening
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Greeting
Short list of facts or figures
Question
Appropriate quote
Shocking statistics
Humor
Personal anecdote
Challenge or call to action

Body
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Discuss the theoretical background behind an experiment, review the experimental design, and discuss the results of the experiment.
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Describe the components of the chemical process from raw materials to products
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Chronological progression

Body
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Explain the symptoms of a problem. Go through possible solutions. Show how they don’t work. Then give a solution that will work.
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List all the pros of an idea, plan, or product.
Then go through the cons, showing how they are outweighed by the pros.
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Organize your presentation around three aspects of the subject.

Conclusion
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Summarize the message
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Repeat your key points
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Ask for an action
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Make a recommendation

Conclusion
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Recreate the verbal imagery you used in the opening, but with the addition of the solution
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If you began with an anecdote, end with another, but with a play on words or some memorable twist
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End on a positive note, even when the message is a difficult one

Outline
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Overcoming the fear factor
Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options
Delivery and tone

Why Involve the Audience?
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To use up stored energy for people who have been sitting too long
To wake people up
To help the audience members master a task
To give the audience members hands-on experience with your product

Delivery Details
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Reading your speech vs. using notecards or an outline
Keep your notes in a folder
Type your notes, if needed, with triple spacing in a clear font
Use appropriate gestures

Delivery Details
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Keep your notes in a folder
Type your notes, if needed, with triple spacing in a clear font
Stand tall
Smile naturally

Delivery Details
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Pause before beginning, and breathe between sentences!
Establish eye contact
No hands in pockets or change jingling
Don’t sway
Avoid speech mannerisms (um, uh, like)

Delivery Details
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Enunciate
Speak at a slower pace than feels natural
Stand to the side of the screen
Avoid reading the slides
Target 30-45 seconds per slide, average

Outline
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Overcoming the fear factor
Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options
Delivery and tone
Visuals

Visuals are important when…
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The message is abstract or complex
The key message is visual in nature
You want to add emphasis to a key point
The presentation is a how-to session involving several steps
The presentation includes numbers or calculations

Visuals include…
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Photographs
Graphs or plots
Symbols
Colors
Tables
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Video clips
Maps
Diagrams
Cartoons
Props

Tips for Visuals
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Use if you can, but don’t force it
Don’t make the slide too busy
Try to limit to 5 lines of type per page
Dark backgrounds are more readable
Use Arial or Helvetica fonts

Tips for Visuals
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Make font large enough (this is 28 pt)
Don’t get too many colors on one slide, or change colors too often
Watch red and green together (color blind)
Avoid annoying animation (or sounds)

Outline
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Overcoming the fear factor
Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options
Delivery and tone
Visuals
Handouts

Handouts
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Clarify your message
Make the message easier to understand
Reinforce key points
Mechanism for taking notes
Take home information

Outline
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Overcoming the fear factor
Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options
Delivery and tone
Visuals
Handouts
Handling Q&A

Asking Q
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Types of questions
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Clarification
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Fact checking
Correction
Application or extension
Affirming
Softball
Attack
Left field

Giving A
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Be prepared by anticipating questions
Be familiar with the whole talk (not just your part)
Thank them for the question (beginning or end), or reinforce the questioner
Restate and confirm the question

Giving A
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Give short, direct answers…don’t wander
Don’t pass the buck, but after giving your best answer, you might refer them to another team member
If you don’t know, say so…don’t bluff
Ask them if you have answered their question

Outline
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







Overcoming the fear factor
Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options
Delivery and tone
Visuals
Handouts
Handling Q&A
Conclusions

Assignment 6 reminders
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10 minute presentation
5 minutes Q&A
Professional dress (interview level)

Conclusions
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Poor delivery cannot compensate for lack of content, but it can damage or bury good content.
Some people are “natural” speakers, but everyone is capable of learning and enhancing their own skills.
To improve, you can:
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Seek opportunities to practice
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Seek and incorporate feedback
Seek out good examples and learn from them

References
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Daria Price Bowman, Presentations: Proven
Techniques for Creating Presentations That Get
Results (1998).