HOW TO GIVE AN Effective
ORAL PRESENTATION
Professor Phillip Nagley
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
 Content
 Audiovisual
 Delivery
aids
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
GOOD ORGANISATION AND WELL
PREPARED VISUAL AIDS ARE
TWO OF THE THREE ELEMENTS
OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
 Content
 Audiovisual
 Delivery
aids
Presentation skills
Voice projection

The audience must hear you clearly …
especially those sitting at the back!
Project your voice to an
imaginary person
standing at the back wall of the room
Eye contact

Look up at the audience….
… not at your notes
… not at your shoes

Direct your attention to that
imaginary person
standing at the back wall of the room
Posture
Stand upright…
… not hunched
 Hands should be in use for the talk…
… not in pockets
… not behind your back
 Face the audience…
…don’t turn your back on them,
especially when pointing to the screen

You are telling them a story!
Gestures

Use your hands to make points

Bodily movements help to keep the
audience interested

It’s like having a conversation with
someone …
… that imaginary person?
Mannerisms

Avoid distracting mannerisms

This applies to involuntary hand
movements …
… or to bodily movements

Watch other people give lectures or
seminars and you’ll see some strange
things!
Position

Stand so the audience can see you

Don’t stand between the projector and the
screen…
… if you cast a giant shadow

Avoid blocking the view of a substantial
proportion of the audience
Be aware of the needs of the audience,
at all times
Enthusiasm

Look and act interested…
…but don’t overdo it!

Be positive in your approach
If you don’t look interested, your
audience can hardly be expected to be
motivated to listen to the talk
Voice modulation
Don’t speak in a monotone…
… vary voice and expression
 Keep your audience interested
 You can use voice modulation to:

– emphasise important points
– indicate uncertainties
– insert a bit of humour
Monotonous presentation can be wrongly
interpreted as lack of enthusiasm!
Use of notes

Don’t read from prepared text

Avoid reading the words straight off a
slide

Use your notes as prompts or
reminders
The slides will contain cues to help you
explain and elaborate
Speed of speech

Don’t talk too fast…
… the audience needs to be able to follow

Don’t
talk
too
slowly …
… the audience may get distracted or
even sleepy
Just talk at a natural pace
Clarity of expression

Avoid abbreviations or lab jargon

If you think your work is very specialised,
briefly explain basic concepts …
… in terms of the make-up of
the audience
Ask yourself if the audience can be
reasonably expected to understand the
terms you are using
Use of pointing devices
Point to the specific part of the slide
you are talking about
 Avoid vague waving of the pointer in
the general direction of the screen
 When using a laser pointer, you may
need to hold it in two hands to avoid
the “shakes”

Why bother to make elegant visual aids if
you don’t use the material properly?
Speed of presentation
Move through in a well-paced manner
 Give each slide its due time..
... but not more than is needed
 Make sure the audience can keep up
 Avoid overly long Introductions …
… you may have to rush the results and
conclusions (losing the take home message!)

Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse…
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
GOOD ORGANISATION
 WELL PREPARED VISUAL AIDS
 INFORMATIVE AND
ENTERTAINING PRESENTATION

ARE THE THREE ELEMENTS OF
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION