Preparing Oral Reports—the Basics
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this chapter are to
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Discuss the similarities between speaking and writing and between preparing written
documents and oral reports.
Explain the necessity of analyzing the audience, the context in which the presentation is
to be given, and the goal of the presentation, so that it will succeed.
Explain the importance of choosing content to meet one’s goal(s), shaping that content to
appeal to the audience, and using narrative to help keep the audience’s attention and
interest.
Present guidelines for designing the segments of the presentation, keeping in mind that
audiences do not have a chance to “rehear” what is said.
Discuss the importance of choosing an appropriate speaking style and how one may need
to alter that style for multicultural audiences.
Present techniques for enhancing an audience’s comprehension.
Discuss how to use visuals to enhance one’s purpose and meaning.
Discuss how to design and present the written paper version of an oral presentation.
Emphasize the importance of practicing an oral presentation.
TEACHING STRATEGIES
Most technical writing courses have an oral-report component, which students often wonder
about. After all, this is a technical writing class—why the speech? The oral-presentation
component is one of several good reasons why technical writing courses should be called
technical communication courses. The other reason is that technical writers work in audio,
video, and online information-delivery media, often going far afield from the traditional
written document.
Students should know that employers are looking for evidence of training or education not
only in writing skills but in oral-presentation skills as well. Employer surveys have
repeatedly demonstrated this.
If you consider your technical communication course as structured to channel technical
information through a variety of audiences, situations, purposes, document types, and
applications, then channeling technical information through an alternate delivery medium
makes perfect sense. With the oral report, we explore the principles and techniques involved
in reporting technical information over the oral-presentation channel. We practice writing
memos, letters, articles, reports; oral reports are a natural follow-on. And all of the types of
communication—oral reporting no less than written—are essential for success in the business
and professional world.
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This chapter has significantly changed from the previous edition. The new version shifts the
discussion from primarily focusing on the oral report itself (how it should be organized, what
it should look like, and how it should be presented) to focusing on the considerations that
should shape it: audience, context, and purpose. It then discusses how the oral report should
be designed in response to these considerations. The updated chapter also contextualizes the
oral report within technical communication as a whole by discussing its relationship to
written documents, thus giving students a broader understanding of communication in the
professional world.
As for the timing of the oral report during the semester, you can use it as a change of pace
from intense written projects or as a lighter assignment at the end of the semester when your
students are completing their final reports.
WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES
Here are some ideas for in-class activities to help students learn about oral reports.
Traditional Classroom
1. Bring taped five- to eight-minute oral presentations to class. See if you can get some
audio or video recordings of oral reports. School board and city council sessions, which
are often shown on local cable channels, may be a good source. Consider taping your
own classes and building a library of oral presentations. When you play these tapes, ask
students to listen especially carefully for the use of narrative, for the key elements of the
introduction, for effective use of repetition in the body of the report, for effective
conclusions and use of visuals, and for other considerations discussed in this chapter.
Consider having students fill out an evaluation form for each taped oral report they hear.
2. Discuss giving an oral presentation of a written report. For a group-brainstorming
session, select one of the short reports in the book, from the Companion Web Site
(www.oup.com/us/houp), or from your own collection for re-presentation as an oral
report. In the in-class planning session, apply the principles and techniques discussed in
this chapter.
3. Discuss the Gettysburg PowerPoint Presentation. The Gettysburg PowerPoint
Presentation Web site (http://www.norvig.com/Gettysburg/) is a marvelous spoof of oral
reports! It takes one of the most famous and arguably best speeches of all time and
creates a PowerPoint version of the speech that one might see/hear in a modern
business/political setting. The spoof is great fun because the slides follow all of the
guidelines we teach for good oral reports, yet they are clearly inferior to the original text
(which is reproduced in the speaker notes). You may need to give a little history lesson to
your classes, and whether you show—or read—the original speech before or after the
presentation, is up to you.
Your students should readily see the humor of the presentation; ask them why it is funny.
This can be a great way to discuss the limitations of technology. A PowerPoint
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presentation is hardly appropriate in such a context—imagine if President Bush had given
such a presentation as he stood on the rubble of the World Trade Center. Also, the
standard guidelines for oral reports utterly fail in this context—again, imagine President
Bush giving an introduction/3 main points/conclusion presentation on that September
day. Allow your students to explore the impact of audience, context, and purpose of an
oral report and to consider in what contexts the standard guidelines just don’t apply.
Computer Classroom
1. Experiment with creating a short PowerPoint presentation, and compare the results
with a more traditional overhead projector approach. One of the traps many speakers,
both students and professionals, fall into is the use of distractingly fancy multimedia
presentations to support a speech (refer to Activity 3 above). The fireworks on the
computer screen end up being a distraction from rather than a complement to the
important part—what the speaker has to say. Divide students into small teams, and have
some use a plain word processor to create three speech overheads on a pre-determined
topic while others use fancier media to create the same. Then have them take turns
presenting in front of the class and critiquing each other’s work in terms of effectiveness
and ease of use.
2. Using a chat room or discussion board, anonymously discuss oral-report
experiences, public speaking fears, etc. Students may alleviate some of their fears, at
least in your course, by expressing them and seeing that we all generally share the same
discomforts when addressing an audience. They may also have pointers to offer each
other. Small groups, of no more than four, will work best here. Make sure to draw the end
of the discussion back to the chapter or the assignment in order to make it most practical.
You can even require students to summarize their chat session and to share that summary
with the class, emphasizing conclusions and future applications.
3. Find a streaming video oral presentation online and critique it. The proliferation of
Web sites with multimedia components has made this a relatively easy assignment to
complete. Most major news organizations have front-page access to audio and video files.
Let students use the oral-presentation rubric and act as an instructor reviewing a product.
This may offer valuable lessons in what to do and not to do. Such critiques may be oral,
short informal reports (via e-mail, for example), or lengthier and more formal reports—
this choice is up to you.
ORAL PROJECTS
Many of the chapters in this instructor’s manual suggest possibilities for oral reports.
Schedule the oral report according to your sense of how your technical writing class is
progressing, when students need a change of pace, or when they need some relief from
intense written projects. Here are some ideas for oral-report projects.
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Traditional Assignments
1. Give an oral presentation of the final report. A common place in the semester for the
oral report is during that time when students are working on their final reports. Have
them present highlights or an overview of their written reports (which will still be in draft
stage). They shouldn’t have to gather any information to do this assignment.
2. Give an oral presentation of the progress report. Consider having your students give
an oral presentation of their progress reports. Their progress report can be strictly oral or
it can be both oral and written. Doing so will give everybody a chance to compare notes
and vent a little and give you, the instructor, a chance to help or clarify things.
3. Re-present a short written document orally. Have your students select a written report
or article to re-present orally—one that they have themselves written earlier in the
semester, one they select from some published source, or one that you supply out of your
files. Having students select from published sources can make for a lively oral-reports
week if you can trust your students to pick interesting technical reports or articles in their
fields. Challenge them to present the technical information in their articles in a way that
educated but nonspecialist listeners can understand. You can bill the whole unit as a
collegewide conference entitled “What’s Hot in Science and Technology”—and charge
an admission fee!
4. Present a product or process idea to senior management. As suggested by Exercise 1
in the textbook, you can have your students assume they are head of a development team
that is attempting to sell management on a new-product idea. Or they can assume they are
attempting to convince management to buy a new technology or adopt a new process.
Distance Learning Assignments
1. Draft a short speech along with complementary, coordinated presentation
overheads. Even in a distance class, students can get a feel for the preparation of oral
presentations by drafting the speech and the overheads. They simply indicate where in the
speech each visual should appear. Make sure to indicate a time constraint and possibly
technology constraints for this project. In the near future, students may actually be able to
complete the presentation using webcams.
2. Attend any live presentation; then report on the techniques used and critique the
speaker. Much like the streaming audio/video exercise, this will simply give the student
a heightened perspective of what being in the audience’s shoes is like. Encourage
students to share plans about who, what, and when they’ll attend. If time and geography
permit, seeing a comparison of interpretations would be fun and could offer interesting
insight into how different audience members, even with similar purposes, may react
differently to the same speaker.
3. Find a streaming video oral presentation online and critique it. This is the same as
computer classroom Activity 3 above. See it for more detail.
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RELEVANT LINKS
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Some Tips for Making Effective Presentations (http://www.siam.org/meetings/tips.htm)
LJL Seminars: Using Visual Aids as Notes (http://www.ljlseminars.com/visuals.htm)
Rice Owl Online Writing Lab: Designing Effective Oral Presentations
(http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~riceowl/oralpres.html)
Jeff Radel, University of Kansas Medical Center: Preparing Effective Oral Presentations
(http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/OTEd/jradel/Preparing_talks/TalkStrt.html)
Ethel M. Cook on Business Know-how.com: Making Business Presentations Work
(http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/presentation101.htm)
David Birdsell: Presentation Graphics
(http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/comm/lucas/student/birdsell/birdsell1.htm)
Support4Learning: Interviews and Presentations
(http://www.support4learning.org.uk/jobsearch/interviews.htm)
WORKSHEETS
You may wish to reproduce the following worksheets for use in class or as homework.
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Evaluating Visual Aid Types
Type of Aid
Pros
Cons
Graphs
Tables
Representation art
(i.e., line drawings)
Photographs
Words & phrases
Cartoons
Hardware
Think in terms of audience needs, expectations. Think in terms of visual aid design
and presentation tool.
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Evaluating Visual Presentation Tools
Type of Tool
Pros
Cons
Computer
Overhead projector
Slides
Charts
Movies/videos
Chalkboards
Other
Think in terms of trouble-shooting in case your planned tool doesn’t work.
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Oral Report—Sample Assignment 1
After you’ve studied the oral-reports unit in the textbook, prepare an oral report of your own,
using the guidelines discussed below:
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Prepare a script for a seven-minute oral report to present in person to the class on
some aspect of the topic on which you are writing your technical report.
 Do not try to summarize your report—just hit the highlights, the interesting or key
points, and direct listeners to the written report. Give them a sense of what the report
covers, but don’t try to provide all the details.
 Identify a realistic audience, purpose, and situation for your oral report, and explain
this briefly before your talk. (This explanation does not count as part of the seven
minutes and should not last more than one minute.)
 Find a reliable way to rehearse your presentation, preferably by recording and
listening to yourself. Find a reliable way to refer to your notes or outline. Avoid
heads-down reading off a script. No points off for nervousness!
 Use at least one visual in your presentation; plan to discuss it in your talk. (Your
instructor can help you prepare transparencies.) Standards of clarity, appropriateness
to audience, grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling apply to these visuals just as
they do to your other written work.
 Work on the substance and clarity of your technical discussion: make sure you
present detailed information and that your explanations of technical aspects of the
report are understandable to nonspecialists.
 Plan your introduction and conclusion carefully. Include a purpose statement and
overview in your introduction; attempt to gain some interest. Don’t just trail off into a
mumble at the end.
 Use verbal headings during the oral report to signal listeners when you are moving
from one section of your talk to the next. Make sure your presentation is well
organized and doesn’t seem to ramble. Make sure your presentation style is clear,
audible, and understandable and that gestures and posture are under control.
As you listen to other students’ oral reports, evaluate them using a special form that will be
handed out (You get a letter grade added to your oral report grade for listening to and
evaluating all the other oral reports.).
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Oral Report—Sample Assignment 2
Read the chapter in Reporting Technical Information on oral reports; then prepare a speech
that will be a well-organized, well-prepared, and carefully delivered presentation on a
serious, informative topic of your choice. Your speech should be no shorter than four minutes
and no longer than seven minutes.
Put your name and the title of your speech on the board before the beginning of your speech.
Other visuals can highlight key words, diagrams, and other aspects of your speech; but be
sure to refer to your visuals as you give your speech.
For diagrams, use overhead transparencies, drawings, or posters. You may use notes as you
deliver your speech.
Avoid reading a written manuscript. Speeches read from manuscripts will not be acceptable.
Your speech will be judged by these criteria:
 Its delivery time is between four and seven minutes.
 The speech is well prepared and well organized.
 The speaker performs but does not read the text.
 The speaker’s delivery is clear and audible.
 The speech has a careful introduction to its topic and purpose and a careful summary
and conclusion at its end.
Careful preparation and practice at home will increase your chances of an excellent grade.
Helpful things to do:
 Use overhead projections or PowerPoint slides and illustrations if they will make your
topic clearer.
 Refer to illustrations when you discuss them.
 Use your notes as reminders, not as something to read.
Things not do to:
 Never turn your back on an audience.
 Never draw on the board during a speech. (Prepare your visuals ahead of time.)
 Never try to speak on a topic you have not prepared carefully.
Class members will evaluate speeches on a special evaluation form. Each speaker will
receive all of the forms about her or his speech. Be close observers and specific but tactful
critics. Your comments will help speakers improve on future speech performances.
When you listen to the speech presentations, listen for the following:
Content. A good speech must have a well-defined and limited topic, a stated purpose, and
clear development. The focus of the presentation should be the topic of the speech, not the
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personality, wit, or role of the speaker. Remember, a good speaker always puts the
audience’s understanding of the topic first.
Organization. Good speeches stress organization. It’s much harder to follow a speech than a
piece of written communication. As a result, carefully drawn introductions and closings,
transitions, and brief reviews are especially helpful for listeners.
Performance. An effective public speaker talks to an audience, not at an audience. Look for
eye contact; a steady, slow pace of speaking; an audible, relaxed voice; and the ability to
avoid nervous mannerisms, awkward gestures, and an unsteady posture. Speakers should
never turn their backs on audiences during speech presentations.
Visual Aids. Large, easy-to-read visual aids and well-planned demonstrations can make a
speech much more interesting and understandable to an audience.
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Evaluation Form: Oral Reports
Name
Topic/Title
Date
Interesting Title
1
2
3
4
5
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
5
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
5
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
5
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
5
1
2
3
4
5
Introduction
Connects with the audience; builds interest.
States topic and purpose.
States main points that will be covered.
Body and Conclusion
Clearly demarcates and announces each point.
Covers a reasonable number of points.
Conclusion reinforces the main points or perspective of
the report.
Delivery
Speaking style (volume, pitch, rate) is effective.
Movement and gestures are effective.
Has characteristics of conversation rather than written
speech.
Visual Aids
Provide effective support and focus.
Are visible, clear, simple, and controlled.
Are introduced and discussed.
Presentation Tools
Make effective use of overhead projector, flip charts,
chalkboard, charts, slides, movies or videos, computer
technology (circle one or more).
Rate each element, with 1 being completely ineffective and 5 being excellent.
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OVERHEADS
The figures on the following pages may be reproduced as overhead transparencies or simply
shown on a computer. The following set of discussion questions associated with each of the
figures may be used to elicit student reflections on the concepts.
Discussion Questions for Figure 19-1
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How might each of the elements listed here differ between written documents and oral
reports? How might audiences differ? The context?
Have you ever had to write a document, such as a report, and then give an oral report on
that document? How did you adapt the written document for the presentation?
Discussion Questions for Figure 19-2
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Have you ever sat through a presentation that failed to keep your attention or to meet
your needs as an audience? How might the presentation have been improved if the
speaker had analyzed his/her context this way?
How/why do you think considering each of these things can be vital to the success of a
presentation? Can you imagine situations in which failure to consider one/some of these
might be disastrous for the outcome of the speech?
Discussion Questions for Figures 19-3 through 19-5
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Quite often when planning presentations, student speakers only consider the content of
the presentation, ignoring the planning stages described in these figures. What are the
weaknesses that you often see in your peers’—and your—presentations? How might
considering the things discussed in these figures help correct those problems?
Which of these things have you considered before when planning presentations? Which
are new considerations for you? Which do you think will be most valuable to you as a
speaker?
Consider these guidelines in light of a multicultural or ESL audience; which of the
guidelines do you think will be most crucial to consider in order to ensure a successful
presentation for that audience?
Discussion Questions for Figure 19-6
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Visuals can be a challenge in a presentation; what visuals have you used or seen used that
you especially appreciated? Why?
What visuals have you used or seen used that were especially ineffective? Why?
What is your biggest challenge in terms of choosing/designing visuals for presentations?
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Discussion Questions for Figures 19-7 & 19-8
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Have you ever heard a presentation read as described here? Why was it read? Was it
effective for the context? How did you respond to it?
Have you ever written a speech that would have to be read? How might the guidelines in
Figure 19-8 have helped you?
Discussion Questions for Figure 19-9
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Do you practice presentations before you give them? Why or why not?
How might practicing your presentation help you improve it?
Have you ever sat through a presentation that was clearly not practiced? What were the
problems? How did you react to it?
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Requirements of Writers/Presenters
 Analyze your audience
 Understand the context in which the presentation will
be received
 Understand and articulate your purpose clearly
 Develop sufficient and appropriate supporting
material
 Organize and arrange content so that it is easy for the
audience to follow
 Choose a speaking style suitable to your role as well
as to your audience or purpose
 Select the presentation format and visuals that will
enhance your audience’s understanding of your
message
Figure 19-1: Requirements of Writers/Presenters
Analyzing the Context for an Oral Report
 What is the broader concern underlying the need for
the presentation?
 What primary issues underlie the presentation?
 How does your presentation relate to these issues?
 What will be happening in the organization when you
make your presentation?
 How does your presentation fit into the organizational
situation?
 If you are one of several speakers, what kinds of
presentations will the other speakers be making?
 In what surroundings will you be making the
presentation?
 If your report contains confidential or proprietary
information, what can you include in your actual
presentation that will not compromise the integrity of
the information?
Figure 19-2: Analyzing the Context for an Oral Report
Designing Oral Report Segments
 Choose an interesting title
 Develop the presentation around three main
divisions:
 Introduction: Tell them what you are going to
tell them
 Body: Tell them
 Conclusion: Tell them what you told them
 Plan the introduction carefully; it should:
 State the topic, the purpose, and the main
points
 Catch the audience’s attention
 Provide any necessary background
 Motivate your audience to listen to you
 Establish your credibility, if necessary
 Design the body to help readers comprehend your
ideas
 Design the conclusion to reinforce your main ideas
Figure 19-3: Designing Oral Report Segments
Choosing an Appropriate Speaking Style
1. When planning your presentation, ask the following
questions about your relationship with your
audience:
 Does the audience know you?
 Is your rank in the organization above or below
them?
 Are you speaking to an audience of individuals
from all levels within the organization?
 What demeanor, approach, and level of formality
does the organization usually expect from those
giving oral presentations?
 Is the audience composed of people who
understand English? How well do they
understand English?
2. When giving the presentation and the audience is
uncomfortable with English, do the following:
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Speak slowly
Avoid idiomatic language
Choose concrete words
Speak in relatively short sentences
Figure 19-4: Choosing an Appropriate Speaking Style
3. When giving the presentation and the audience is
an international or multicultural one, do the
following:
 Do research to understand how people from other
cultures are likely to interpret what you say, how
you say it, how you dress, and how you act in
your dealings with them
 Change graphics and visuals as necessary,
especially to use symbols appropriately
4. When giving the presentation for any audience, do
the following:
 Avoid long, cumbersome sentences
 Avoid overuse of abstract, polysyllabic words
 Avoid overuse of jargon, unless you are sure that
the audience is familiar with specialized terms
 Use sentences that follow natural speech patterns
Figure 19-4: Choosing an Appropriate Speaking Style
Techniques to Enhance Audience
Comprehension
1. Clearly demarcate the beginning and end of each
point and segment of your presentation
2. Speak slowly and enthusiastically
3. Use gestures to accentuate points
4. Maintain eye contact with the audience
5. Do not memorize the presentation, and do not write
your presentation
6. Rehearse your presentation until you are
comfortable
7. If possible, record your speech
8. Listen for tone, attitude, and clarity
9. If you develop a PowerPoint presentation, use a
notes format and distribute these before you begin
the presentation
Figure 19-5: Techniques to Enhance Audience Comprehension
10.Make your slides clear but simple
11.Determine how you will handle questions
12.Prepare for questions your audience may ask, and
determine how you will answer each one
13.Keep the question and answer time moving briskly
Figure 19-5: Techniques to Enhance Audience Comprehension
Planning Visuals to Enhance Purpose
and Meaning
 Avoid too much information on any single slide
 Use a font size that can be easily read
 Use sans serif font
 Limit the fonts to two per visual
 Avoid all caps
 If possible, provide a copy of your slides with an area
for notes
 Avoid visuals that are too busy or complex
 Do not talk and present a slide at the same time
 Avoid talking too fast and showing too many slides
Figure 19-6: Planning Visuals to Enhance Purpose and Meaning
Reasons for Reading Presentations
 A presentation that discusses company policy, a
sensitive issue, or a topic that must be approved by
someone in the organization before the presentation
is carefully written and read from the approved,
written manuscript to ensure accuracy
 A presentation that will be circulated or filed as
documentation may be read by a spokesperson,
especially if there is a possibility that the material may
be misused by the audience
 Inexperienced speakers who must deal with a difficult
problem may be more comfortable reading from a
prepared manuscript
Figure 19-7: Reasons for Reading Presentations
Writing the Speech
1. Be sure that each section is clearly demarcated from
other sections
2. Limit each section and each paragraph within it to
one idea
3. Avoid excessive detail
4. Use enumeration to help your audience follow your
main points and to know when one point has ended
and the next point is beginning
5. Avoid long sentences
6. Prune every sentence to make it as concise as
possible
7. Use active voice whenever possible
8. Type your presentation in a large type
9. With a marker, draw break lines
10. Underline or highlight important phrases and ideas
11. Consider using visual aids
Figure 19-8: Writing the Speech
Practicing the Presentation
1. Read each sentence aloud; rewrite those that are
difficult for you to say
2. Try to look directly at your audience and to speak
important phrases or sentences directly to the
audience
3. Use overviews and topic sentences to announce
each major topic, and accompany these with pauses
and looks to the audience
4. Recast sentences and paragraphs that do not sound
organized, logical, and clear
5. Speak slowly and enunciate clearly and distinctly
6. Time the presentation to be sure that it fits within the
time limit
7. Read the speech into a recorder
Figure 19-9: Practicing the Presentation