Everyday Oral Presentations
Did you know that people fear public speaking almost as much
as they fear death? It doesn’t have to be so, especially if you
consider that oral presentations rely, in part, on communication
skills you use every day. Did you ever persuade your parent or
guardian to give you permission to go somewhere? Or, did you
ever explain to a teacher the reason for an incomplete assignment? Persuading, explaining, or even entertaining—you’re
better at public speaking than you think!
Making an oral presentation means using speech to bring an
idea to someone’s attention. Informal presentations, like the ones
above, occur daily and are so common we don’t even notice
them. Formal oral presentations, on the other hand, are more
planned. They often take place when we address a group—either
at school when we give reports, at home when we tell stories, or
in the community when we raise money for organizations.
The same communication skills you use in everyday oral
presentations can be applied to formal oral presentations. Of
course, formal oral presentations require preparation and practice,
too. The steps for preparing an oral presentation are:
Identifying a purpose
Learning about the audience
Conducting research
Writing a thesis and outline
Adding an introduction, a conclusion, and transitions
Preparing for delivery
Describe the steps for preparing
an oral presentation.
Demonstrate oral presentation skills.
Well Said!
Why Am I Here?
Oral presentations have
three possible purposes:
• To inform—to expand the
audience’s knowledge
or give them a new skill
• To persuade—to try to
change people’s minds or to convince them to take action
• To entertain—to amuse or inspire the audience
These purposes can overlap, as when an informative speech uses
entertainment to make a point, or when a persuasive speech
supplies information.
Once you know your general purpose and topic, refine it into
a specific purpose that describes exactly what you want to talk
about and how you want the audience to respond. For example,
if the general purpose of your speech is to persuade your audience to support diabetes research, the specific purpose might be,
“I want to convince at least three people from my class to
participate in the Walk to Cure Diabetes.”
Work the Room
The second step in preparing your speech is learning about the
audience.
Consider the audience members themselves. What are their
interests, ages, political views, incomes, and backgrounds?
These physical and social characteristics, known as demographics, help shape your message. How can you relate to audience
members? What is their motivation? The more you know about
them, the better you are able to package your message and
anticipate their reaction.
Next, consider the setting. How big is the room? How long are
you expected to speak? If your speech is part of a lineup of
speeches, what can you do to stand out? By considering your
audience’s experience, you can tailor your message for
the greatest possible impact.
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1
Too
Much Information?
Technology
Nowathat
you know why you’re presenting and to whom, you need
is
tool.
to know what. This is your information-gathering, or research,
stage. Nowadays, there is so much information available, we face
information overload. Here are tips for staying organized and
efficient:
■
Narrow your topic. For example, “diabetes” might become “causes of juvenile diabetes.” Narrowing your topic
allows you to avoid looking for material you don’t need.
■
Familiarize yourself with good resources.
• The Internet has made sharing information very easy,
so easy that it is difficult to tell good information from
bad. Public libraries and schools offer free access to
reputable online databases, and they are often accessible from any computer with Internet access.
• Libraries offer print materials that include books,
pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, and more. Introduce yourself to the librarian, who will be glad to
help you get started.
■
Keep reliable notes about your sources. Collect complete web addresses, references to print sources, and
accurate notes from interviews. You may need to refer to
them later.
A Good Foundation
A good outline is like a solid building: It supports and frames
your presentation. It provides structure for your thoughts, helping
you to be logical and complete.
Begin your outline by writing a single, complete statement of
the main idea. This is the thesis. One way to write a thesis is to
imagine you have to write a 30-second commercial. Can you
capture your complete message in an interesting way?
A good thesis relates your topic to audience members and
helps them see its impact. A possible thesis for an informative
speech on juvenile diabetes is, “Your support for research on
the prevention and cure of juvenile diabetes helps improve and
save the lives of millions of people.” Audience members think,
“My support? How many people are affected?” Now they are
interested in knowing more.
K.I.S.S.
The next step is to support your main idea. People lose interest
if you give them too much information, so use a maximum of
five key points. Three is even better. You don’t have to tell the
audience everything, just what supports your thesis. K.I.S.S. is
a good rule—Keep It Straight and Simple.
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How can you create order from mountains of material?
Chances are, your key points fit into one of these common
organizational patterns:
Customer service
into related
subcat-image
• Topical order arranges material and
business
egories, such as order of importance,go
pros
and
cons,
and
hand-in-hand.
numerical or alphabetical order.
• Chronological order puts items in time sequence. Use
this order to describe a process or to give directions for
doing something. Other uses include historical presentations, biographies, and topics best explained with a story.
• Spatial order arranges material according to physical
space or geography. Examples include showing the
layout of a new building and describing climate conditions around the country.
• Problem/solution order describes a problem and a
plan for solving it. It is usually used in persuasive
speeches. To promote recycling at your school, for
example, you might describe the limited space at the
local landfill. Your recycling plan is the solution.
• Cause-and-effect order emphasizes the relationship
between events and their consequences. It might be used
to demonstrate the effects of smoking or the benefits of
exercise.
No matter what organizational pattern you use, be sure that
the key points support the thesis and that you have illustrations,
facts, and examples to support your key points, too.
Have We Met?
Now it’s time to frame your presentation with an introduction
and conclusion. Writing the introduction after you’ve worked on
the content helps make it consistent with the rest of your talk.
The introduction is a great opportunity for connecting to the
audience, creating interest, and setting the tone.
How can you get your audience’s attention with these goals
in mind? Here are some reliable methods:
• Quotations
• Comparisons
• Statistics
• Descriptions
• Personal stories
• Questions
• Humor
Always make sure your opening is appropriate to the audience
(especially jokes), and always relate your opening to the audience
as much as possible. For example, instead of simply stating,
“There are 16 million Americans with diabetes,” you can add,
“That’s 1 in 17 Americans, or 2 of the 34 people in this room.”
Well Said!
Once you have the audience’s attention, introduce the thesis
and key points. Using the juvenile diabetes example, you might
begin with a brief story of a friend with diabetes and then say, “I’d
like to talk to you today about the prevention and cure of juvenile
diabetes. We’ll go through a brief description of the disease, how it
is managed, and recent, promising research.” When you provide a
preview of the content, your audience appreciates knowing the plan
and is more likely to remember what you say.
That’s All, Folks!
A strong conclusion summarizes your material and makes it
memorable. You may feel that you’re repeating yourself too much,
but audiences are grateful for a review. Restate your thesis and
key points, and then move on to a strong closing statement.
The same methods that grab an audience’s attention in the
introduction are effective in the conclusion, especially when the
two are tied together. If you told a personal story earlier, tell something more about that same story now. There is one additional, important method for closing. If you are trying to get your audience
to do something, challenge them with an appeal for action. What
do you want them to do? Tell them now. An example of an appeal
for action is, “Please join me on next month’s Walk to Cure Diabetes.”
Don’t forget to invite the audience to ask questions. Answer
them in a courteous manner, even if you have to repeat something
covered in the presentation.
Countdown to Delivery
With the content of your presentation in place, you can begin
to prepare for delivery. The best presentations are those that
are planned and rehearsed, not read from a manuscript, nor
memorized word-for-word. Prepare for delivering your presentation with the following four steps:
Design visual aids. The range of visual aids you
can use includes maps, lists, tables, charts, diagrams, and graphs. You have almost as many media
choices, too: props, handouts, transparencies, flip
charts, posters, slides, videos, and presentation software. Which best suits your message? A good visual
aid will support, clarify, or emphasize it.
A popular choice is presentation software, such as
Microsoft PowerPoint, with a computer projector.
Each slide should include a title; key words and
phrases; and an appropriate, simple graphic. Allow
about one minute per slide, and plan to leave each
slide up until your next point, ending with a strong,
concluding slide that stays up until you finish speaking.
Write note cards. Transfer the key points and subpoints from your outline to index cards. Next to each,
write a short reminder of your supporting material,
such as an example or short list of reasons. Be brief
here—use words and phrases, not complete sentences. When the note cards are completed, number
them in order. Consider punching holes in the cards
and putting them on a metal ring.
Practice. Practice. Practice. It is tempting to
skip this step, but practicing your presentation is the
most important part of preparation! Rehearse your
presentation from start to finish several times over a
few days. Check your timing. Use your transitions,
note cards, and visual aids. The biggest benefit to
practice is that you will become more comfortable
with the material and sound more natural.
Make It Smooth
Plan your appearance. Clothing and hair conA final step in preparing an oral presentation is adding transitions.
tribute to the impression you give. Groom and dress
These are words or sentences that connect or identify the presenyourself comfortably, but do so in a way that does not
tation’s parts. After the introduction, for example, you might say,
detract from your message.
“Let me start by... ,” indicating the beginning of the body of your
speech. Here are more examples:
Tell ‘em
• “Now you know the problem. Let’s look
what you’re
at the solution.”
gonna tell ‘em, tell ‘em, and then
• “Those were the benefits to this policy.
tell ‘em what you told ‘em.
It has some drawbacks, too.”
❝
• “First... Second... Finally...”
Well Said!
–Dale Carnegie
❞
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How To Say It
Experts agree that how you speak during a presentation is even more
important than the words you use. Your speaking style represents up
to 90% of your total communication! It can reinforce or detract from
your message, depending on your ability to demonstrate
the following skills:
Handling fear and anxiety well
Using body language and voice effectively
Managing notes, visual aids, and questions with ease
Face Your Fear
It’s the morning of your presentation, and the prospect of facing
an audience makes you break out in a sweat. This is when you take
a deep breath, stretch (Reach for the ceiling!), and give yourself
some reminders:
• You’ve prepared and practiced, and you’re comfortable
with the material.
• Nervousness is natural and good. The adrenaline boost
gives you energy.
• The self-doubt and dread you feel are inside your head,
no one else’s. Think positive.
heart
Now you’re on your way to your presentation. Arrive early so that
you have time to set up and test any equipment. Find out if audiovisual support is available, just in case you need help later. You’re
about to begin. Take more deep breaths, stretch again if you can,
and visualize success!
Start with a Smile
As you stand before the group, preparing to begin your presentation,
your body language is already communicating. Effective body
language, which includes facial expression, eye contact, posture,
and gestures, can transform a humdrum presentation into an
exciting one.
• Facial expression is the look of your face as it shows your
thoughts or feelings. Smiling is a sign of happiness and
warmth that connects you to the audience. Smile often!
• Eye contact means looking others directly in the eye.
Instead of looking at your notes or at the ceiling, look
directly into the eyes of audience members in each part of
the room.
• Posture, the way you hold your body, communicates a
range of feelings. To communicate enthusiasm and confidence when speaking, face the audience with your shoul-
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ders back. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart,
and your arms should be resting comfortably by your
sides. Avoid putting your hands into your pockets or
clasping them tightly in front of you.
• Gestures are limb and body movements that express
or emphasize ideas, feelings, and attitudes. Effective
gesturing reinforces your message. Ineffective gesturing, such as twisting your hair or drumming your
fingers, detracts from it.
“Umm...”
Characteristics of voice, such as volume, highness or lowness,
speed, and pronunciation, may need adjustment. Some speakers
charge ahead no matter what, but you’ll do better if you look
for feedback. Can people in the back row hear you? Do you seem
to be talking too fast or too slow? Particularly distracting to an
audience are fillers—small words, such as “uh,” “er,” “like,”
and “y’know” that fill in spaces between sentences. One way
to control fillers is to pause instead, so you can collect your
thoughts and give the audience a chance to reflect.
Managing the Extras
No matter how much you practice, you may run into a challenge or two. Anticipate the unexpected, and you’ll minimize
any negative effects.
• Notes become a problem if the speaker loses his/her
place. Glance at your note cards occasionally to check
your progress.
• If you are using a projector, avoid blocking the view.
Glance at the screen to be sure the right slide is
displayed. If there is an equipment problem, don’t
hesitate to ask for help.
• Always invite questions from the audience, and answer
them as calmly and as courteously as possible. If you
don’t know the answer to something, don’t be afraid to
admit it. People will appreciate your honesty.
You did a great job! Once you give a successful oral presentation, you may find you really enjoy it. To develop this important
skill, practice it whenever you have the opportunity. You might
want to look into the Youth Leadership Program at a local chapter
of Toastmasters International, an organization devoted to helping people become effective speakers (www.toastmasters.org).
Well Said!