Chapter 7
Effective Oral Presentations
Delivery is Important
 Fear of public speaking is the number one fear
 Public speaking is a necessary skill
 Companies expect employees to convey information before groups of all sizes
Coping With Speaker Anxiety
 Physical sensations associated with speaker anxiety are the most difficult to bear.
– Heart rate increases
– Breathing rate increases
– Blood pressure rises
– Metabolism increases
– Sweat is produced
Coping With Speaker Anxiety
 Examine unrealistic beliefs you may have
 The audience will sense your nervousness.
 Most audiences are not as aware of this as you are.
 Your delivery must be perfect.
 You do not have to be perfect.
 Audiences respond to speakers who are genuine.
 You cannot deliver an effective speech because you are not a professional speaker.
 Even those who are not experienced can deliver a memorable, heart-felt presentation with
sincerity.
Coping With Speaker Anxiety
 Examine unrealistic beliefs you may have
 I have to gain approval of the entire audience.
 Some people will be tired that day, some will be plain rude; not listening and
looking at you
 Focus on interested audience members.
 What will my classmates think?
 They don’t care how you do, they care about how they do
Coping With Speaker Anxiety
 Guidelines for coping with anxiety
– Be well prepared.
 Practice can reduce anxiety by 75%.
– Some tension is natural.
– Practice slow, deep breathing prior to speaking.
 Can slow heart rate and reduce nervousness
– Have a strong introduction.
Fear, continued…
 Use only normal amount of caffeine
 Avoid alcoholic beverages
 Practice positive self-talk
– Re-label your nerves
– Not fear - scared – nervous
– Say adrenaline – energetic – excited
Types of Oral Presentations

Short Oral Presentations

Long Formal Presentations
Short Oral Presentations
Introductory Remarks
 An individual is invited to introduce someone who is to be the main speaker.
 The individual either knows that person well, or familiar with the subject
Welcoming Remarks
 Whenever a visiting group arrives at an organisation, welcoming remarks are made.
– Be brief
– Be friendly
– Be safety oriented
– Be complete
Presentational speeches
 At ceremonial times, one may be asked to present awards to employees or to members of
the community
 Presenter should learn and explain the audience as much as possible about the person
who is to be honored
Presentational speeches
 Mention the history of the award
 Relate what the award signifies
 Explain what someone must do to qualify for this award
 Tell what the receipent has done to be worthy of this honor
Recognition speeches
 Meant to honor someone for a specific accomplishment
 Usually followed by applause, rather than the presentation of an award
 Less formal
 May occur spontantaneously
Briefings
 Briefings are designed to give clear, brief instructions or information to an audience about
a planned or current project
 Important focus of business communication
Explanatory remarks
 Explanatory remarks are designed to convey knowledge
 Requires the listener to understand or to carry out a process
Informational speeches
 Informational presentation informs the audience about something that they have little or no
previous knowledge
Dedication remarks
 When a new building is finished, a new product is launched, dedication speech is made.
 Speaker should thank key people whose sacrifices made the project completion possible
 Talk concludes by focusing on the expected value of the project to the future of the
organisation
Acceptance speeches
 Made when someone is given an award
 Farewell speeches
 A ceremonial occasion when special recognition is given to someone who is leaving the
organisation.
 Speaker thanks this person for his/her efforts in the past
Long Formal Presentations
 Lasts from 30 minutes to an hour
After-Dinner speeches
 Lasts 30 minutes to an hour
 Inform the audience about a particular topic
 Can be motivational
 Planned in detail
 A typed manuscript or notes can be used
Strategic plan presentations
 A long range plan that is presented to the board of directors and top managers
 Has two objectives; to inform and to persuade
 Designed and tested before
New product proposals
 To gain acceptance for initial funding for either the design and development of a new
product or its production and marketing
 Motivate the audience into giving a go-ahead to the proposal
Progress reports
 To compare the current status of a project with its anticipated status
 Aims at “show-and-tell”
 If progress is not as expected, the reasons are set forth and future progress projected
Planning the Effective Oral Presentation
Purpose
 Most of the business presentations are designed to inform, to motivate or to persuade
 Once the purpose of the speech is determined, the desired results should be identified
Purpose of the Speech
Informal
 Should be based on factual material
 To increase the audience’s knowledge about the subject
 Lectures, explanations, descriptions
Persuasive or motivational
 Deal more with feelings, attitudes and the stirring of emotion
Planning the Effective Oral Presentation
Logistics
 Relate to where and when the talk will be given
 Presentations on Monday morning or Friday afternoon often are not well attended
 Middle of the week presentations are the best
 Physical facilities should be well arranged
Audience
 Audience should be analyzed before preparing the talk
 Needs and wants of the audience should be regarded
Designing the presentation
A good speech
 Audience interest is immediately aroused
 Only two or three main points are presented
 Key points are followed by careful development, by showing statistics and visual aids
 Key points are repeated
 Organised in a logical way
Presentation outline
Introduction
 To establish rapport between the speaker and audience
 To introduce the topic to the audience
 To gain audience interest
 A famous or intriguing quotation
 A question
 A stunning statement
 A story
 A joke or anecdote
 An expression of gratitude
Four Strong Openers

Startling statement

Narration or anecdote
– Things that happened to you beat canned stories
– Parables that contain point of talk make best stories
Body
 Should be arranged according to major headings and subheadings
 Can be:
– chronological,
– causal or
– problem-solving
Body
 Chronological Outline: present topics in historical order
 Causal design:
– uses a cause-and-effect sequence.
– Aprropriate for a motivational speech
 Problem-solving:
– Involve the audience in investigating a problem, considering alternative actions
– uses a cause-and-effect sequence.
– Aprropriate for a motivational speech
Conclusion
 Summarize and repeat important points
 Answer any questions in the audience’s mind
 Quotations or anecdotes can be used
 Emotional appeal can be applied
 Question and Answer part can be included
Delivering the Speech
 Characterized as;
– Impromptu speeches
– Written speeches
– Memorization
– Extemporaneous speeches
Impromptu Speeches
 Occur when a person is asked to speak without time for planning
 Require the speaker to quickly organize his/her thoughts into a coherent presentation
Written Speeches
 Read from a prepared manuscript
 Useful when the materail is highly technical and the speaker wants to ensure accuracy
 Have some disadvantages as breaking the eye-contact, limiting the movement of
speakers gestures and mimics
Memorized Speeches
 The least popular presentation mode in business
 Requires a great deal of time
 May sound monotonic and stilled
 Have disadvantage like being unable to process feedback from the audience and make
approppriate modifications
Extemporaneous Speeches
 Spontaneously delivered
 Thoroughly researched and designed
 Prefferable to other styles
 Allows the speaker to show a wide range of emotion, movement and vocal inflection
 Seems more genuine and convinvcing to the audience
 Most natural mode of presentations
Effective Delivery: Notes
 Put notes on cards or sturdy paper; number them
– Use 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 cards, instead of 3 x 5
 Use long phrases
 Jot down details, examples you’ll use
 Indicate where you’ll refer to visual
 Look at notes rarely
 Hold notes high so head doesn’t bob up and down
To overcome prespeech jitters
 Try deep diaphragmatic breathing
 Stand in a relaxed position in front of the audience
 Begin the speech
Establish eye contact
 Makes the audience feel important and involved
Nonverbal communication
• Speech delivery begins the moment you leave your seat
• Stand tall, walk confidently
• Balance your weight, don’t cross ankles
• Don’t grip the lectern
• Gesture naturally
• Insert cues into your outline for gestures
• Practice your gestures
• Avoid fidgeting, nervous or distracting gestures
• Keep hands out of pockets
• Smile with eye contact
• Facial expressions change with different thoughts and experiences
Oral communication skills
Vocal characteristics
 Should not talk too slow or too fast
 The volume of the voice should be well arranged
 The pitch of the voice should be carefully examined
 Speech rate is important
Effective Delivery: Voice
 Make voice easy to listen to
 Talk loudly enough so entire audience can hear
 Sound energetic and enthusiastic
 Enunciate—Say all sounds in each word
– Hardest to hear: words starting / ending with f, t, k, v, d
– Reduce uhs/ahs/umms by rehearsing talk several times
Gestures and movements
 Very supportive if effectively used
 Speaker must becareful not to exaggerate movements which would look phony
Standing & Gesturing
 Place feet apart for good balance; flex knees
 Walk if you want to
– Move purposefully; don’t pace
– Stand still for formal talk or if on camera
– Don’t block screen showing your visuals
 Use natural gestures for emphasis
– Big, confident ones work best
Handling Questions and Answers
 Oral presentation may be followed by a question-and-answer period
 This part should be moved on smoothly
 If the speaker does not know the answer, presenter notes that this is a good question and
admit they do not have the answer, but they will get it and forward to the questioner
Handling Questions and Answers
 When a quesitoner tries to monopolize the floor and establish a dialogue with the speaker,
then the speaker must take control of the situation
Tips for Effective Speech Making
 Visit the facilities
 Make a trial
 Review the room layout
 Identify the audience
 Review your support material
 Close on a positive note