Instructor Only Version

© 2007 Thomson South-Western

CHAPTER 12

Making Effective and Professional Oral Presentations

Organize the conclusion Organize the body

Getting Ready for an Oral Presentation

Organize the introduction Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Identify your purpose Understand your audience Chapter 12, Slide 2



Identify Your Purpose

  What do you want your audience to believe, remember, or do when you finish?

Aim all parts of your talk toward your purpose.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 3



Understand Your Audience

    Friendly, neutral, uninterested, hostile?

How to gain credibility?

How to relate this information to their needs?

How to make them remember your main points?

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 4

Succeeding With Four Audience Types

 Friendly   Neutral Uninterested  Hostile

Click icon for more details.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 5



Organize the Introduction

 Capture listeners’ attention and get them involved.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 6

Ten Techniques for Getting Your Audience’s Attention

  

A Promise

“

By the end of my talk, you will . . . .

”

Drama

— tell a moving story; describe a problem.

Eye contact

— command attention by making eye contact with as many people as possible.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 7



Movement

—leave the lectern area. Move toward the audience. 

Questions

—ask for a show of hands. Use a rhetorical question.



Demonstrations

—include a member of the audience.



Samples, gimmicks

—award prizes to volunteer participants; pass out samples.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 8

 

Visuals

— use graphics and other visual aids.

Dress

— professional dress helps you look more competent and qualified 

Appeal to the audience’s self interest

— audience members want to know, “What's in it for me?” Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 9



Organize the Introduction

   Capture listeners’ attention and get them involved.

Identify yourself and establish your credibility.

Preview your main points.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 10



Organize the Body

   Develop two to four main points. Streamline your topic and summarize its principal parts.

Arrange the points logically by a specific pattern.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 11

Patterns for Organizing the Body of Your Presentation

Pattern

Chronology Geography/ space Topic/function/ conventional grouping

Example

Describe the history of a problem, organized from the first sign of trouble to the present. Arrange a discussion of the changing demographics of the workforce by regions, such as East Coast, West Coast, and so forth. Organize a report discussing mishandled airline baggage by the names of airlines.

Pattern

Comparison/ contrast (pro/con) Journalism pattern

Example

Compare organic farming methods with those of modern industrial farming.

Explain how identity thieves ruin your good name by discussing who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Value/size

Arrange a report describing fluctuations in housing costs by house value groups (houses that cost $100,000, $200,000, and so forth).

Importance

Organize from most important to least important the reasons a company should move its headquarters to a specific city. Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 13

Pattern Example

Problem/ solution Simple/ complex

Discuss a problem followed by possible solutions.

Organize a report explaining genetic modification of plants by discussing simple seed production progressing to complex gene introduction.

Best case/ worst case

Analyze whether two companies should merge by presenting the best case result (improved market share, profitability, employee morale) opposed to the worse case result (devalued stock, lost market share, employee malaise). Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 14



Organize the Body

   Develop two to four main points. Streamline your topic and summarize its principal parts.

Arrange the points logically by a specific pattern.

Prepare transitions to guide the audience.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 15

Switching Directions Summarizing Previewing

 Up to this point, I've concentrated on . . .; now let's look at another significant factor . . .

 I've just discussed three reasons for X. Now I want to move on to Y.  As you can see, we have two primary reasons explaining . . .

 Let me review the two major factors I've just covered. . .

 Now let's look at three reasons for . . .  My next major point focuses on . . .

Using Verbal Signposts to Transition

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 16



Organize the Body

    Develop two to four main points. Streamline your topic and summarize its principal parts.

Arrange the points logically by a specific pattern.

Prepare transitions to guide the audience.

Have extra material ready. Be prepared with more information and visuals if needed.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 17



Organize the Conclusion

   Summarize the main themes of the presentation.

Provide a final action-oriented focus. Explain how listeners can use this information or what you want them to do.

Include a final statement that leaves a lasting impression.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 18

Sending Positive Nonverbal Messages

      Look professional.

Animate your body.

Punctuate your words.

Use appropriate eye contact.

Get out from behind the podium.

Vary your facial expression.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 19

Designing an Impressive Multimedia Presentation

Add multimedia and other effects Build bullet points Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Create an appropriate template Chapter 12, Slide 20



Create an Appropriate Template

   Combine harmonious colors, borders, bullet styles, and fonts.

Avoid visual clichés.

 Use light text on dark background for darkened rooms.

Use dark text on light background for lighted rooms  Alter layouts by repositioning, resizing, or changing fonts in placeholder slides.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 21

Selecting a Slide Template

You may choose from a variety of predesigned templates or design your own.

 Lighter backgrounds are better in darkened rooms.

 Darker backgrounds are better in lighted rooms.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 22



Build Bullet Points

 Focus on major concepts only.

 Use concise phrases balanced grammatically.  Add graphics to illustrate and add interest.

 Avoid using too many transition effects.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 23

Revising Slide to Improve Bullet Points and Add Illustration

Does not use parallel wording.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Improves wording and includes an illustration for added punch.

Chapter 12, Slide 24



Add Multimedia and Other Effects

 Consider adding sound, animation, and video.

 Include hyperlinks ("hot spots" on the screen) to jump to sources outside your presentation.

 Avoid too many "bells and whistles." Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 25

Converting a Bulleted List to an Animated Diagram

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 26

Using a Bar Chart to Illustrate a Concept

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 27

Avoid Being Upstaged by Your Slides

   Perfect your handling of the visual aids and the operation of any equipment or remote controls you may be using.

  Make sure your computer projects!!!

Use your slides only to summarize important points.

Look at the audience, not the screen.

Do not read from a slide. Paraphrase.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 28

 Memorize significant parts such as the introduction, conclusion, or a meaningful quotation.

 Talk to the audience conversationally. Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 29

Overcoming Stage Fright

 Just before you begin to talk, take some deep breaths.

 Convert your fear into anticipation and enthusiasm.

 Select a familiar, relevant topic.

  Prepare 150 percent.

Use positive self-talk.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 30

 Shift the focus from yourself to your visual aids.

 Ignore stumbles; keep going. Don't apologize.

 Don't admit you're nervous.

 Feel proud when you finish.

 Reward yourself.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 31

Eight Serious Presentation Blunders*

 Being dull. Relying on only one or two illustrations to make your points.

 Not repeating your main point often enough.

 Not answering the audience's most pressing question: “What's in it for me?”  Failing to use signal phrases to focus on main points.

*Supplementary lecture. Not included in textbook.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 32

 Neglecting to practice and time your presentation out loud.

 Forgetting to check your visual aids for readability.

 Answering hypothetical questions after your presentation.  Getting distracted just before you speak.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 33

Putting It All Together

Before your presentation During your presentation After your presentation

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 34

Before During After

       Prepare thoroughly.

Rehearse repeatedly.

Time yourself.

Request a lectern.

Check the room.

Greet members of the audience.

Practice stress reduction.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 35

Before During After

       Dress professionally.

Begin with a pause.

Present your first sentence from memory.

Maintain eye contact.

Control your voice and vocabulary.

Show enthusiasm.

Put the brakes on.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 36

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

  Move naturally.

 Use visual aids effectively.

 Avoid digressions.

Summarize your main points.

Chapter 12, Slide 37

Before During After

       Distribute handouts.

Encourage questions.

Repeat questions.

Reinforce your main points.

Keep control.

Avoid

Yes, but

answers.

End with a summary and appreciation.

Mary Ellen Guffey

, Essentials of Business Communication, 7e

Chapter 12, Slide 38