Anticipatory Set:
What are the qualities of excellent public speakers?
Watch a couple of minutes of each video below and note some of the qualities of 2 different styles.
What are the qualities of excellent public speakers?
Watch a couple of minutes of each video below and note some of the qualities of 2 different styles.
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Watch Bill Gates: Our Teachers Deserve Better on PBS. See more from TED Talks Education. |
There are four basic types of presentations:
Impromptu presentations:
You deliver an impromptu presentation without advance notice. For instance, at a meeting, your supervisor calls on you to speak for a few minutes about a project you are working on. You did not know you were going to be asked.
Extemporaneous presentations:
In an extemporaneous presentation, you might refer to notes or an outline, but you actually make up the sentences as you go along. Regardless of how much you have planned and rehearsed the presentation, you create it as you speak. At its best, an extemporaneous presentation is clear and sounds spontaneous. If you can think well on your feet, the presentation will have a naturalness that will help your audience concentrate on what you are saying.
Scripted presentations:
In a scripted presentation, you read a text written out completely in advance (by you or someone else). You sacrifice naturalness for increased clarity and precision.
Memorized presentations:
In a memorized presentation, you speak without notes or script. Memorized presentations are not appropriate for most technical subjects because of the difficulty of remembering technical data. In addition, few people other than trained actors can memorize presentations of more than a few minutes.You can expect to give oral presentations to four types of audiences:
Consider Your Audience
In some ways, an oral presentation is inefficient. For the speaker, preparing and rehearsing generally take more time than writing a document. For the audience, physical conditions during the presentation - noise, poor lighting or acoustics, or an uncomfortable room temperature - can make concentration difficult. Yet an oral presentation has one big advantage over a written one: it permits a dialogue between the speaker and the audience. Listeners can offer alternative explanations and viewpoints or simply ask questions that help the speaker clarify points of information. And the speaker and listeners can converse before and after the presentation. Oral presentations are therefore common in technical communication.
Clients and customers:
Whether you are trying to interest clients in a silicon chip or a bulldozer, you will present its features and its advantages compared to the competition. Then, after the sale, you might provide oral operating instructions and maintenance tips to users.
Colleagues in your organization:
If you are the resident expert on a mechanism, procedure, or technical subject, you will instruct fellow workers, both technical and non-technical. After you return from an important conference or an out-of-town project, your supervisors will want a briefing - an oral report. If you have an idea for improving operations at your organization, you will probably write an informal proposal and then present the idea orally to a small group of managers. Your presentation will help them determine whether it is prudent to devote resources to studying the idea.
Fellow professionals at technical conferences:
You might speak about your own research project or about a team project carried out at your organization. Or you may be invited to speak to professionals in other fields. If you are an economist, for example, you might be invited to speak to real estate agents about interest rates.
The general public:
As you assume greater prominence in your field, you will receive more invitations to speak to civic organizations and governmental bodies. Your organization will probably encourage these presentations, because they reflect positively on the organization.
Preparing an Oral Presentation
Professional speakers make presentations look easy. But when you see an excellent 20-minute presentation, you are seeing only the last 20 minutes of a process that took many hours. How much time should you devote to preparing an oral presentation? Experts recommend devoting 20 to 60 minutes for each minute of the presentation. At an average of 40 minutes, you would need more than 13 hours to prepare a 20-minute presentation. Obviously there are many variables, including your knowledge of the subject, experience in creating presentation graphics, and experience in giving presentations on that subject. But the point is that good presentations don't just happen. Preparing an oral presentation requires five steps. First, assess the speaking situation. Then, prepare an outline or note cards. Next, prepare the graphics. Also, choose effective language. Finally, rehearse the presentation.
1. Assess the Speaking Situation
The first step in assessing the speaking situation is to analyze your audience and purpose and then determine how much information you can deliver in the allotted time Audience. How much does the audience know about your subject? Answering this question helps you determine the level of technical vocabulary and concepts you will use, as well as the types of graphics. Speaking over an audience's head puzzles them; oversimplifying can make you appear condescending and insulting. What do audience members want to accomplish in listening to your presentation? Are they likely to be hostile, enthusiastic, or neutral? A presentation on the virtues of free trade, for instance, will be received one way by conservative economists and another way by US. steelworkers. Purpose. Are you attempting to inform, or to both inform and persuade? If you are explaining how windmills can be used to generate power, you might describe the process. If you are explaining why your windmills are an economical means of generating power, you might compare their results with those of other power sources. Your analysis of your audience and purpose will affect the strategy - the content and the form - of your presentation. For example, you might have to emphasize some aspects of your subject and ignore others altogether. Or you might have to arrange topics so as to accommodate a particular audience's needs. Finally, budget your time. at most professional meetings and conferences, organizers clearly state a maximum time, such as 20 minutes, for each speaker. If the question-and answer period is part of your allotted time, plan accordingly. Even at an informal presentation, you will probably have to work within an unstated time limit that you must determine from the speaking situation. Taking more than your share of an audience's time is rude and egotistical, and eventually your listeners will start to resent you or simply stop paying attention. For scripted presentations, most speakers need a little over a minute to deliver a double-spaced page of text effectively.
2. Prepare an Outline or Note Cards
After assessing your audience, purpose, and strategy, prepare an outline or a set of note cards. Some speakers prepare both. They prepare the outline when they are planning the presentation, just as they would if they were writing a document. Then, when they are ready to begin rehearsing, they prepare the note cards they will use in making the presentation. During rehearsals, they revise the notes cards as they consider more effective ways of presenting their information. In preparing note cards to bring to the presentation, your command of the facts - and your ability to remember them under stress - will determine how specific and detailed you make them. You can also make notes using presentation-graphics software, such as speaker notes in PowerPoint. One advantage of software is that revising is easy: As you prepare the notes, you also see the graphics, just as your audience will, and might discover opportunities to improve the organization and development of your presentation.
3. Prepare Effective Graphics
Effective graphics have five characteristics:
4. Choosing Effective Language
Delivering an oral presentation is more challenging than writing a document for two reasons:
5. Rehearsing the Presentation
Even the most gifted speakers need to rehearse. It is a good idea to set aside enough time to rehearse your speech thoroughly. The first time rehearsal is an oral review of just the text/ speech elements with your outline or notes before you. This is a chance to see if it makes sense, needs transitions, etc. The second rehearsal can be used to test revisions, flow of the presentation, and time considerations. The third rehearsal is a more realistic trial of the presentation, possibly, under more realistic circumstances - if possible, in front of people. The listeners might offer constructive advice about sections they don't understand or about your speaking style. If people aren't available, tape-record or videotape the presentation and then evaluate your own delivery. If you can visit the site of the presentation to get the feel of the room and rehearse there, you will find giving the actual speech a little easier. Rehearse again until YOU are satisfied with your presentation. Then stop. Don't attempt to memorize it. If you do, you will probably panic the first time you forget a phrase. During the presentation, you should be thinking of your subject, not trying to remember the words you used during the rehearsals.
Giving the Oral Presentation
After all your preparation, the time to give the presentation finally arrives. In giving the presentation, you will concentrate on what you have to say. However, you will have three additional concerns. In giving the oral presentation you need to calm your nerves, use your voice effectively, and use your body effectively.
1. Calming Your Nerves
Most professional actors freely admit to being nervous before a performance, so it is no wonder that most technical speakers are also nervous. You might well fear that you will forget everything or that people at the back of the room will not be able to hear you, These fears are common. But keep in mind three facts about nervousness:
2. Using Your Voice Effectively
Inexperienced speakers often encounter problems with five aspects of vocalizing
3. Using Your Body Effectively
In addition to listening to what you say, the audience will be looking at you. Effective speakers make use of their body language to help listeners follow the presentation. As you give a presentation, keep in mind four guidelines about physical movement.
You deliver an impromptu presentation without advance notice. For instance, at a meeting, your supervisor calls on you to speak for a few minutes about a project you are working on. You did not know you were going to be asked.
Extemporaneous presentations:
In an extemporaneous presentation, you might refer to notes or an outline, but you actually make up the sentences as you go along. Regardless of how much you have planned and rehearsed the presentation, you create it as you speak. At its best, an extemporaneous presentation is clear and sounds spontaneous. If you can think well on your feet, the presentation will have a naturalness that will help your audience concentrate on what you are saying.
Scripted presentations:
In a scripted presentation, you read a text written out completely in advance (by you or someone else). You sacrifice naturalness for increased clarity and precision.
Memorized presentations:
In a memorized presentation, you speak without notes or script. Memorized presentations are not appropriate for most technical subjects because of the difficulty of remembering technical data. In addition, few people other than trained actors can memorize presentations of more than a few minutes.You can expect to give oral presentations to four types of audiences:
Consider Your Audience
In some ways, an oral presentation is inefficient. For the speaker, preparing and rehearsing generally take more time than writing a document. For the audience, physical conditions during the presentation - noise, poor lighting or acoustics, or an uncomfortable room temperature - can make concentration difficult. Yet an oral presentation has one big advantage over a written one: it permits a dialogue between the speaker and the audience. Listeners can offer alternative explanations and viewpoints or simply ask questions that help the speaker clarify points of information. And the speaker and listeners can converse before and after the presentation. Oral presentations are therefore common in technical communication.
Clients and customers:
Whether you are trying to interest clients in a silicon chip or a bulldozer, you will present its features and its advantages compared to the competition. Then, after the sale, you might provide oral operating instructions and maintenance tips to users.
Colleagues in your organization:
If you are the resident expert on a mechanism, procedure, or technical subject, you will instruct fellow workers, both technical and non-technical. After you return from an important conference or an out-of-town project, your supervisors will want a briefing - an oral report. If you have an idea for improving operations at your organization, you will probably write an informal proposal and then present the idea orally to a small group of managers. Your presentation will help them determine whether it is prudent to devote resources to studying the idea.
Fellow professionals at technical conferences:
You might speak about your own research project or about a team project carried out at your organization. Or you may be invited to speak to professionals in other fields. If you are an economist, for example, you might be invited to speak to real estate agents about interest rates.
The general public:
As you assume greater prominence in your field, you will receive more invitations to speak to civic organizations and governmental bodies. Your organization will probably encourage these presentations, because they reflect positively on the organization.
Preparing an Oral Presentation
Professional speakers make presentations look easy. But when you see an excellent 20-minute presentation, you are seeing only the last 20 minutes of a process that took many hours. How much time should you devote to preparing an oral presentation? Experts recommend devoting 20 to 60 minutes for each minute of the presentation. At an average of 40 minutes, you would need more than 13 hours to prepare a 20-minute presentation. Obviously there are many variables, including your knowledge of the subject, experience in creating presentation graphics, and experience in giving presentations on that subject. But the point is that good presentations don't just happen. Preparing an oral presentation requires five steps. First, assess the speaking situation. Then, prepare an outline or note cards. Next, prepare the graphics. Also, choose effective language. Finally, rehearse the presentation.
1. Assess the Speaking Situation
The first step in assessing the speaking situation is to analyze your audience and purpose and then determine how much information you can deliver in the allotted time Audience. How much does the audience know about your subject? Answering this question helps you determine the level of technical vocabulary and concepts you will use, as well as the types of graphics. Speaking over an audience's head puzzles them; oversimplifying can make you appear condescending and insulting. What do audience members want to accomplish in listening to your presentation? Are they likely to be hostile, enthusiastic, or neutral? A presentation on the virtues of free trade, for instance, will be received one way by conservative economists and another way by US. steelworkers. Purpose. Are you attempting to inform, or to both inform and persuade? If you are explaining how windmills can be used to generate power, you might describe the process. If you are explaining why your windmills are an economical means of generating power, you might compare their results with those of other power sources. Your analysis of your audience and purpose will affect the strategy - the content and the form - of your presentation. For example, you might have to emphasize some aspects of your subject and ignore others altogether. Or you might have to arrange topics so as to accommodate a particular audience's needs. Finally, budget your time. at most professional meetings and conferences, organizers clearly state a maximum time, such as 20 minutes, for each speaker. If the question-and answer period is part of your allotted time, plan accordingly. Even at an informal presentation, you will probably have to work within an unstated time limit that you must determine from the speaking situation. Taking more than your share of an audience's time is rude and egotistical, and eventually your listeners will start to resent you or simply stop paying attention. For scripted presentations, most speakers need a little over a minute to deliver a double-spaced page of text effectively.
2. Prepare an Outline or Note Cards
After assessing your audience, purpose, and strategy, prepare an outline or a set of note cards. Some speakers prepare both. They prepare the outline when they are planning the presentation, just as they would if they were writing a document. Then, when they are ready to begin rehearsing, they prepare the note cards they will use in making the presentation. During rehearsals, they revise the notes cards as they consider more effective ways of presenting their information. In preparing note cards to bring to the presentation, your command of the facts - and your ability to remember them under stress - will determine how specific and detailed you make them. You can also make notes using presentation-graphics software, such as speaker notes in PowerPoint. One advantage of software is that revising is easy: As you prepare the notes, you also see the graphics, just as your audience will, and might discover opportunities to improve the organization and development of your presentation.
3. Prepare Effective Graphics
Effective graphics have five characteristics:
- Visibility. The most common problem with presentation graphics is that they are too small. Many speakers mistakenly try to transfer information from an 8.5 X inch page to a slide or transparency. As a general rule, text has to be in 24 point type or larger to be visible the screen.
- Clarity. Of course, the information has to make sense to your audience. In cutting words and simplifying concepts and visual representations, make sure the point of the graphic remains clear. To save space, compress sentences into brief phrases. Our recommendation is to limit a line of bulleted text to 6 words maximum- A 2-3 word phrase is ideal and permits the speaker to have an important role by elaborating on the phrase and using it as a prompt. Do not insult you audience by reading slides!! Also, use no more than 5 bulleted lines of text per slide. Too much information on one slide is hard for the audience to absorb.
- Legibility. Use clear, legible lines for drawings and diagrams: black on white works best for transparencies. Use legible typefaces for text; a boldfaced sans-serif typeface such as Arial or Helvetica is effective because it reproduces clearly on a screen. Avoid shadowed and outlined letters.
- Simplicity. Both text and drawings must be simple. Each graphic should present only one idea. Remember that your listeners have not seen the graphic before and will not be able to linger over it. Templates provided with software like PowerPoint are unnecessarily ornate, full of possibilities for fancy shading and designs and colors. Choose a simple template, then modify it for your situation. You want to focus on delivering information, not on the complex design of the graphic. Pictures and background colors should enhance the slide and be symbolic or related to the theme of the slide. Text should be dark and backgrounds light in color scheme. the contrast is important so it is easier to read. Dark color is noticed first, which is why the font should be black or a dark rich color. The images, drawings, etc. should not detract or distract from the text on the slide. After speaking about a drawing picture, or image, have it disappear as you move on to new information. Leaving graphics on the slide gives your audience an opportunity to dwell too long or be distracted as you move ahead. The same principles hold true for sounds and music-- they need to enhance, not distract or detract from the slide or role of the speaker.
- Correctness. Rare is the presentation that does not contain at least one graphic with a typo or some other error. Everyone makes mistakes, but mistakes are embarrassing when you have had the chance to prepare and edit the presentation. One other note about projecting presentation graphics from a computer: set the software so that you use the mouse to control the rate of advance from one graphic to the next. Do not set it so that it advances automatically at a specified interval. You will only be distracted by having to speed up or slow down your presentation to keep up with the graphics.
4. Choosing Effective Language
Delivering an oral presentation is more challenging than writing a document for two reasons:
- Listeners can't go back to listen again to something they didn't understand.
- Because you are speaking live must maintain your listeners' attention, even if they are hungry or tired or the room is too hot. (Readers can be distracted too, but they have more freedom to deal with the distractions.)
- Involve the audience. People are more interested in their own concerns than in yours. Talk to the audience about their problems and their solutions. In the introduction, establish a link between your topic and the audience's interests.
- Refer to people, not to abstractions. People remember specifics; they forget abstractions. To make a point memorable, describe it in human terms they can relate to.
- Use interesting facts, figures, and quotations. Do your research and find interesting information about your subject. For instance, you might find a brief quotation or a statistic that will grab their attention. A note about humor: only a few hundred people in the United States make a good living being funny. Don't plan to tell a joke. If something happens in the context of the presentation that provides an opening for a witty remark, and you are good at making witty remarks, fine. But don't prepare to be funny.
5. Rehearsing the Presentation
Even the most gifted speakers need to rehearse. It is a good idea to set aside enough time to rehearse your speech thoroughly. The first time rehearsal is an oral review of just the text/ speech elements with your outline or notes before you. This is a chance to see if it makes sense, needs transitions, etc. The second rehearsal can be used to test revisions, flow of the presentation, and time considerations. The third rehearsal is a more realistic trial of the presentation, possibly, under more realistic circumstances - if possible, in front of people. The listeners might offer constructive advice about sections they don't understand or about your speaking style. If people aren't available, tape-record or videotape the presentation and then evaluate your own delivery. If you can visit the site of the presentation to get the feel of the room and rehearse there, you will find giving the actual speech a little easier. Rehearse again until YOU are satisfied with your presentation. Then stop. Don't attempt to memorize it. If you do, you will probably panic the first time you forget a phrase. During the presentation, you should be thinking of your subject, not trying to remember the words you used during the rehearsals.
Giving the Oral Presentation
After all your preparation, the time to give the presentation finally arrives. In giving the presentation, you will concentrate on what you have to say. However, you will have three additional concerns. In giving the oral presentation you need to calm your nerves, use your voice effectively, and use your body effectively.
1. Calming Your Nerves
Most professional actors freely admit to being nervous before a performance, so it is no wonder that most technical speakers are also nervous. You might well fear that you will forget everything or that people at the back of the room will not be able to hear you, These fears are common. But keep in mind three facts about nervousness:
- You are much more aware of your nervousness than the audience is. They are farther away from your trembling hands.
- Nervousness gives you energy and enthusiasm. Without energy and enthusiasm, your presentation will be flat. If you seem bored and listless, your audience will be bored and listless.
- After a few moments or minutes, your nervousness will pass. You will be able to relax and concentrate on the subject. This advice, however, is unlikely to make you feel much better if you are distracted by nerves as you wait to give your presentation.
- Realize that you are prepared. If you have done your homework, prepared speaking notes, and rehearsed the presentation, you'll be fine. You are in control of the presentation.
- Realize that the audience is there to hear you, not judge you. Your listeners want to hear what you have to say. They arc much less interested in your nervousncss than vou are.
- Realize that your audience is made of individual peoplewho happen to be sitting in the same room. If you tell yourself that the audience members are individuals like yourself who also get nervous before making presentations, you'll feel better.
- Walk around. A brisk walk of a minute or two can calm you by dissipating some of your nervous energy.
- Go off by yourself for a few minutes. Some people find that getting away for a moment helps them compose their thoughts and realize that they can ,handle the nervousness.
- Talk with someone for a few minutes. For some speakers, distraction works best. Talk with someone who has come to the presentation a few minutes early.
- Take several deep breaths, exhaling slowly. Doing so will help you control your nerves. When it is time to begin, don't jump up to the lectern and start speaking quickly. Walk up slowly and arrange your text, outline, or note cards before you. If water is available, take a sip. Look out at the audience for a few seconds before you begin. It is polite to begin formal presentations with "Good morning" (or "Good afternoon," or "Good evening") and to refer to the officers and dignitaries present. If you have not been introduced, introduce yourself. In less formal contexts, just begin your presentation. So that the audience will listen to you and have confidence in what you say, try to project the same attitude that you would in a job interview: restrained self-confidence. Show interest in your topic and knowledge about your subject. You can convey this sense of control through your voice and your body.
2. Using Your Voice Effectively
Inexperienced speakers often encounter problems with five aspects of vocalizing
- Volume. Because acoustics vary greatly from room to room, you won't know how well your voice will carry in a room until you have heard someone speaking there. In some well-constructed auditoriums, speakers can use a conversational volume. Other rooms require greater voice projection, and some an annoying echo. These circumstances aside, more people speak too softly than too loudly. After your first few sentences, ask if the people in the back of the room can hear you. When people speak into microphones, they tend to bend down toward the microphone and end up speaking too loudly. Glance at your audience to see if you are having volume problems. The body language of audience members will be clear.
- Speed. Nervousness makes people speak quickly. Even if you think you are speaking at the right rate, you might be going a little too fast for some members of your audience. Remember: you know what you are going to say, but your listeners are trying to understand new information. For particularly difficult points, slow down for emphasis. After finishing one major point, pause before introducing the next point.
- Pitch. In an effort to control their voices, many speakers end up flattening their pitch. The resulting monotone is boring and, for some listeners, actually distracting. Try to let"the pitch of your voice go up or down as it would in a normal conversation. In fact, experienced speakers often exaggerate pitch variations slightly.
- Articulation. The nervousness that goes along with an oral presentation tends to accentuate sloppy pronunciation. If you want to say environment,don't say envirament. Don't drop final ings. Say trying, not tryin'. A related pronunciation problem involves technical words and phrases, especially the important ones. When a speaker uses a phrase over and over, it tends to get clipped and becomes difficult to understand. Unless you articulate carefully, Scanlon Plan will end up as Scanluhplah.
- Nonfluencies. Avoid meaningless fillers like you know, like, okay, right, uh, and um. They do not disguise the fact that you aren't saying anything; they call attention to it. A thoughtful pause is better than an annoying verbal tic.
3. Using Your Body Effectively
In addition to listening to what you say, the audience will be looking at you. Effective speakers make use of their body language to help listeners follow the presentation. As you give a presentation, keep in mind four guidelines about physical movement.
- Maintain eye contact. It is only polite to look at your audience. This is called eye contact. For small groups, look at each listener randomly; for larger groups, look at each segment of the audience frequently during your speech. Do not stare at your notes, at the floor, at the ceiling, or out the window. Eye contact helps you see how the audience is receiving the presentation. You will see, for instance, if listeners in the back are having trouble hearing you.
- Use natural gestures. When people talk, they tend to gesture with their hands. Most of the time, these gestures make the presentation look natural and improve listeners' comprehension. You can supplement .your natural gestures by using your arms and hands to signal pauses and to emphasize important points. When referring to graphics, walk to the screen and point to direct the audience's attention. Avoid mannerisms -- physical gestures that serve no useful purpose. Don't play with your glasses or your jewelry or the coins in your pocket. These nervous gestures can quickly distract an audience from what you are saying. Don't pace back and forth. Like verbal mannerisms, physical mannerisms are often unconscious. Constructive criticism from friends can help you pinpoint them.
- Don't block the audience's view of the screen. Don't stand at the overhead or projection screen if doing so blocks some people's view of the screen. For instance, after you put on a transparency, step back to the side of the screen. Use a pointer to indicate key words or images on the screen.
- Control the audience's attention. People will listen to and look at anything that is interesting. Don't lose the audience's attention. If you hand out photocopies at the start of the presentation, some people will start to read them and stop listening to you. If you leave an image on the screen after you finish talking about it, some people will keep looking at it instead of listening to you. When you want the audience to look at you and listen to you, remove the graphics or turn off the projector.