Chapter 8
Presentation Communication
Chapter overview
Presenting is a skill that managers will use every day in the workplace. Students need to understand
the basic mechanics of the process but also need to develop experience and skill in delivering
presentations. This will be a development process that extends throughout university and into work.
What is covered in this chapter?
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improving your understanding of the nature of presentations
learn how to structure presentations
delivering with confidence
reflecting on your performance
using PowerPoint
adding multimedia elements to presentations
Headline chapter points
1
The nature of presentations
2
Structuring presentations:
 sequential structure
 deconstructing structure
 question structure
 pyramid structure
 classroom structure
 a short note on the content of presentations
3
The presentation delivery:
 speaking
 eye contact
 appearance
 your hands
 starting your presentation
4
Being reflective about your presentations:
5 Assessed presentations – an assessor’s checklist is likely to cover the following:
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personal presentation
content
visual aids
6
Using presentation software:
 five parts of PowerPoint
 clarity and access issues
 rehearsing and controlling your presentation
7
Checklist for using PowerPoint:
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8
Use the slide master to create a consistent and simple design template. Vary the content of
each slide but keep the background and colours consistent.
Limit the amount of information on one slide. Only include essential information. Try to
create a slide that balances text, visuals and clear space.
Use images sparingly and ensure they are good quality and are clear when projected on to
a screen.
Limit the number of slides in your presentation to a maximum of one per minute.
Ensure you know how to control the presentation – forward, backward, return to a
specific slide and blank screen.
Rehearse the presentation and use timings to fine-tune this.
Do not read from your slides; face the audience at all times.
Ensure that your version of PowerPoint and your memory stick are compatible with the
presentation software/hardware. Carry a back-up on CD.
Ensure your presentation can be seen and heard from the back of the room.
Have a back-up plan if the presentation software or hardware fails. A simple set of
overhead transparencies is the normal back-up.
Using multimedia
Feedback on activities
none in this chapter
Feedback on case study
The big pitch (page 201)
Moibhi Industries provide fitting out and operational services for sports centres. Chiltern University
has built a state-of-the-art £32.2 million sports centre and has invited tenders for the fit-out and
operation for the next five years. This represents a contract worth £8.8 million. If Moibhi can win this
contract it would represent 12% of the annual turnover.
The tender process involves a presentation to a board of directors. This presentation is to showcase
what Moibhi can do for Chilterns University. There is no title given – that is up to Moibhi. The
presentation will last for 30 minutes and there will then be another 30 minutes for questions. Moibhi
really want to win this contract and have set aside a budget of £60,000 for the presentation. There will
be a project group managing the process and the delivery of the presentation consisting of:
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Business Director
Marketing Director
Sales Manager
Creative Manager
Operations Manager
Advertising and Creative Executive
Presentation specialist from HR.
The group reports to the CEO of Moibhi Industries. The presentation is six months away.
To think about…
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Set out the preparation steps that this group needs to take.
How well do they need to know the client in this situation?
How can Moibhi create a feeling of confidence in the supplier?
What will be the focus of the presentation – a ‘sort of’ agreed presentation contents list?
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What multimedia elements should the group consider?
What non-media elements should the group consider?
What other areas should the group consider?
Feedback
Task 1
There is no correct sequence to this task but you would expect to see a logical sequence with plenty of
planning and review stages. There should be an accurate timescale for the steps.
Task 2
Not very well but a small group needs to be assigned the task of carrying out background research.
Task 3
This is a relationship task; confidence will build when Moibhi interact with the customer. Create
interaction events and processes. Evidence of previous customer satisfaction will be important. The
standard approach is to take a group of the directors on a visit to a very satisfied customer. Finally, the
professionalism of the presentation will create confidence or destroy it.
Task 4
This will vary, so there is no correct answer.
Task 5
This is a large contract, so the full multimedia elements will be required – professional-standard video
and audio and professionally reproduced paper materials.
Task 6
In this context this is the content and speaking of the presentation. The group might like to consider
hiring an actor or professional presenter.
Task 7
This is a task to allow the group to let their creative elements reign.
Chapter summary
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Dress smartly – don't let your appearance distract from what you are saying.
Posture – try to appear confident by ensuring you stand upright and relatively still.
Greeting – greet the audience with a smile and say hello; they will smile and say hello back to
you.
Notes – don’t look at your notes; you should know what you are going to say. Look at your
audience.
Speaking – speak clearly and slowly: being nervous will tend to make you speak faster and in a
higher pitch than normal; ensure you change the tone and speed of your speech to avoid
monotony.
Silence – use silence to emphasise a point; before a key point slow down and allow a moment of
silence; confident speakers use silence to get attention.
Timing – keep within the allotted time for your talk.
Eye contact – try to make eye contact with every member of your audience every few minutes.
Involve the audience – try to involve your audience by asking them questions or seeking their
opinion.
Reading your slides – if you are using PowerPoint do not just read your slides because this soon
becomes boring and predictable. You need to use your slide content as a structure or illustration
for other points that you want to make.
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Humour – humour is a good way to engage an audience and keep their attention. Appropriate
anecdotes work well as does picture humour, but try to avoid a string of jokes.
Pacing – use a wrist watch to keep each section of your talk to time; failing to do this will mean
that you have to miss sections at the end. Rehearse the timings using PowerPoint.
Practise – ‘practise makes perfect’, so make sure that you know the content of your presentation
and can deliver it in a precise timescale. Test out presentations beforehand on a selected audience
before the big presentation.
Reflecting – after the presentation, spend time reflecting on the good and the bad so that you can
improve. Keep a record of your experiences in a learning diary.
Suggested pedagogical approach
Short lectures will provide the basic structural elements and then presenting becomes an experiential
and practical skills development exercise.
Lesson plan
3-hour teaching session, with a 15-minute break – total class time 165 minutes
the ideal split being 60 minutes of lecture and 105 minutes of interactive activity
0–40 minutes
LECTURE – the nature of presentations and structuring presentations
40–80 minutes
PRACTICAL EXERCISE – using different structures and the same content
80–100 minutes Q&A AND FEEDBACK – reflections on the process and feedback
100–130 minutes LECTURE – presentation delivery
130–160 minutes PREPERATION – the five-minute presentation (delivered in a seminar or tutorial)
160–165 minutes SUMMARY AND ACTIONS – summary of what has been covered and action
plans
Action plan items
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Return next week with the content and output for the five-minute presentation.