Transcript Communication Skills - Chapter 09

Chapter 9
Oral presentation skills
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PPTs t/a Communication Skills, by Bretag, Crossman and Bordia
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Learning objectives
On completion of this chapter students will
know how to:
• identify the most appropriate presentation style
• use strategies to engage and interact with an
audience
• prepare effective slides
• use knowledge about non-verbal factors to
improve a presentation
• appreciate the value of preparation
• understand the importance of voice in presenting
effectively.
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Public speaking
• Public speaking skills are increasingly
important given a greater focus on
information-related skills.
• In many universities public and professional
speaking skills is considered to be an
important graduate quality.
• The good news is that effective public
speaking can be learned!
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Overcoming fear
• Anxiety can be offset by:
– visualising a successful presentation
– practising thoroughly
– ‘acting’ positive and confident, as an audience
will ‘mirror’ your approach.
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Activities 1 and 2
• Complete Activities 1 and 2 on p. 194–195
of your textbook.
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Preparing for a
presentation
• Even short, informal speeches require
preparation.
• Never agree to do a presentation and then
just turn up, hoping that the ideas will come
to you as you speak!
• Videoing a practice speech provides an
opportunity to gain slightly more objectivity
by seeing yourself as others do.
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Windschuttle & Elliott
• Windschuttle & Elliott (1999, p. 356) suggest
that preparation will be rewarded in several
ways:
– Audiences appreciate well prepared speakers.
– Prepared speakers are more persuasive.
– Well prepared speakers are more likely to satisfy
audience expectations.
– Prepared presenters gain confidence for next
time.
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Activities 3–5
• Complete Activities 3, 4 and 5 on pp. 195–
198 of your textbook.
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Group presentations
• Practice is even more important for group
presentations. Coordinating with a group of
other speakers requires commitment and
teamwork.
• Decide which speakers will be responsible
for which parts of the presentation and
convey this information to the audience.
• Work out the sequence of speakers.
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Group presentations (cont.)
• There should be a consistent style running
through all the slides as this helps the
audience to follow your presentation.
• Be very familiar with each other’s
presentations. In a business situation, if one
person is absent the other speakers will
have to take responsibility for that part of the
presentation.
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Group presentations (cont.)
• Coordinate your overheads or visuals.
• Use the same font and background on
slides.
• If using an overhead projector, consider
asking one group member to be responsible
for changing overheads or clicking
PowerPoint slides.
• Decide whether questions will be taken
individually or by a spokesperson for the
whole team.
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Group presentations (cont.)
• Plan for transitions from one speaker to
another. This can be achieved smoothly by
using statements such as:
‘Building on Lisa’s comments …’
or
‘Angie has explained some of the challenges the
project presents. Now I would like to point out
some possible ways of responding to them’
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Group presentations (cont.)
• While one member is presenting ensure the
audience see other team members
exhibiting interest in the presentation rather
than scratching, chatting, stretching and
preparing their own part.
• A group presentation should be coherent
and seamless as though it had all been
prepared by one individual.
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Activity 6
• Complete Activity 6 on pp. 198–199 of your
textbook.
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Different kinds of speeches
and presentations
• Windschuttle & Elliott (1999, p. 357) list four
different types of speech:
– speeches that are read (it is difficult to maintain
eye contact with an audience if attention is fixed
on the page)
– speeches that are rehearsed and memorised
– the extemporaneous speech that is prepared
thoroughly but the speaker performs
‘spontaneously’, using only prompts/notes.
– the impromptu speech, which is a speech
delivered without preparation.
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Activity 7
• Complete Activity 7 on pp. 199–200 of your
textbook.
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Different kinds of speeches
and presentations (cont.)
• Summers & Smith (2006, p. 79) make a
distinction between two types of speeches:
those that inform and instruct, and those
that persuade and convince.
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Informing and instructing
• The following advice is useful in all presentations
but particularly where the purpose is to inform
and instruct.
– Use simple, clear vocabulary.
– Avoid jargon and long, complicated explanations.
– A clear structure is especially important for this type of
speech.
– Always support statements with research by providing
the audience with a reference (e.g. use phrases such
as: ‘Wong’s 1999 study showed clearly that …’).
– Remember to give people time to read and think about
any statistics or other more complex graphics that you
show them.
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Persuading and convincing
• The role of a persuading presentation is to
influence the beliefs and attitudes of an
audience, perhaps with the intention of
selling a product.
• There are four techniques that a presenter
can use to persuade an audience and gain
their attention, especially early on in the
presentation.
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Persuading and convincing
(cont.)
1. Rhetorical questions

Questions asked by the presenter that don’t
actually require a response from the audience
(e.g. ‘Doesn’t everyone hate advertising?’).
2. Quotations or surprising statistics


‘Business, you know, may bring money but
friendship hardly ever does.’ (Jane Austen/Mr
Knightly, Persuasion).
Statistical information can also be very useful
for drawing attention to the importance of a
topic.
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Persuading and convincing
(cont.)
3. Anecdotes
 ‘After a long day at work, I had to sort through a
pile of mail … and all of it turned out to be
advertising!’
 An anecdote is really about simply telling a story.
 The most effective anecdotes are those that
make it clear what the real point of a story is.
 Speakers often draw on humour in relating
anecdotes, but take care!
•
Not all people find the same things funny. Avoid
offensive language and racist, sexist or religious
jokes.
 Tolerance and respect should be the guiding
principle concerning what is communicated and
how.
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Persuading and convincing
(cont.)
4. Personal testimony
 A persuasive speech draws on the emotions of
the audience, perhaps by reminding them of their
allegiances (e.g. ‘All of us love shopping …’).
 It is still important to provide a logical and
balanced argument based on research—even if it
appeals to people’s feelings.
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Activity 8
• Complete Activity 8 on pp. 200–201 of your
textbook.
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Researching venue and
audience
• Arrive early to find out some information
beforehand.
• Find out what technology is available.
• Always have a back-up plan in case one
kind of technology fails (e.g. PowerPoint in
OHT form, a USB, CD-ROM).
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Finding out about the
audience
• How many people are expected?
• What is the seating arrangement? Is the
seating flexible if you wish people to break
into discussion groups?
• Where is the speaker expected to stand?
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Finding out about the
audience (cont.)
• Who will be in your audience?
– Occupation, age, gender, cultural background or
special interests will all affect the reception you
receive.
– Find out how the audience feels about the topic.
– Are they attending your presentation because
they feel enthusiastic or depressed? Will their
attendance be required or voluntary?
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Activity 9
• Complete Activity 9 on p. 202 of your
textbook.
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Structure and presentation
• An oral presentation usually has an
introduction, a body and a conclusion.
Introduction
• A short outline/summary of the whole
presentation
• Gains the attention of your audience quickly.
According to Ober (2007, p. 283), a speaker
has 90 seconds to capture the interest of the
audience!
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Structure and presentation
(cont.)
Body
• Make your main points in the body.
• Don’t try to give too much information but offer
to provide additional information after the
presentation.
• Each point is like a paragraph in an essay and
will require a topic sentence.
• Use transitional devices that include connecting
words such as ‘in addition’, ‘furthermore’ or
phrases that refer forward and back in the text
to show the connection between ideas.
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Structure and presentation
(cont.)
Conclusion
• Should take up 10 per cent of your speaking time.
• Summarise and re-emphasise the main points.
• ‘Signpost’ the fact that the presentation is
almost over.
• Use suitable endings such as ‘in conclusion’, ‘to
sum up’, ‘finally’, ‘as I have demonstrated’.
• Never finish a presentation by saying ‘that’s all
I have to say’ or ‘that’s it’. The only acceptable
way to conclude your presentation is to say
‘thank you’.
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Physical factors
influencing a presentation
• Body language conveys a powerful
message that is even more important than
words.
• To express confidence stand straight and
pull your shoulders back a little.
• Some movement is natural but avoid pacing
or swaying from side to side.
• Do not fold your arms: it can look defensive.
• Do not keep hands in pockets: it can seem
furtive or too informal.
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Physical factors influencing
a presentation (cont.)
• Avoid habitual movements such as
scratching and ‘praying gestures’.
• Ask a friend to observe or video you
practising to reveal any movements you
need to avoid.
• Many speakers say ‘ugh’ quite frequently.
Locker (2006, p. 481) suggests these
sounds can be reduced with practice.
• Smiling usually helps to develop a positive
relationship between a presenter and the
audience.
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Physical factors influencing
a presentation (cont.)
• Practise making eye contact with each
member of the audience for a moment, but
avoid focusing on one person for longer
than a second or two. According to a study
cited by Locker (2006, p. 479), eye contact
with the audience creates an impression of
being better informed, friendlier, more
honest and more experienced.
• Never stare at the back of the room or out
the window!
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Physical factors influencing
a presentation (cont.)
• Confirm that everyone in the audience can
hear you.
• Vary your volume, pitch (‘music’ of the voice)
and pace to add interest.
• A higher pitch indicates excitement and a
lower one is used for emphasis.
• Pace refers to how quickly you speak
(Taylor 2005, p. 387).
• Try saying the same things using different
pitches to see if any are more effective than
others.
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Physical factors influencing
a presentation (cont.)
• Decisions about what to wear for a
presentation depend on your audience and
the situation (e.g. formal presentations
require formal clothing).
• Taylor (2005, p. 385) suggests dressing
more formally than an audience because it
helps you feel more confident and
professional.
• Wearing long sleeves also projects authority
and professionalism.
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Interacting with your
audience
• Interactive presentations can be fun and
interesting.
• Some ways of interacting with an audience
include:
–
–
–
–
using questions and answers
asking for volunteers
asking people to respond by raising hands
asking members of an audience to discuss their
own experience in relation to the topic.
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Activity 10
• Complete Activity 10 on p. 205 of your
textbook.
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Answering questions
• If you need more time to answer a difficult
question a useful tactic is to ask the speaker
to repeat it (Locker 2006, p. 482).
• It is also acceptable to ask individuals to
rephrase a question if you do not
understand it.
• However irritating, always answer questions
even if they have already been covered in
the presentation.
• Avoid embarrassing anyone when
responding to a question.
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Answering questions (cont.)
• Locker (2006, p. 482) also cautions
presenters against responding to individuals
with comments such as ‘That’s a very good
question’, since it suggests other questions
were less useful.
• Anticipate some questions beforehand in
order to develop confidence and appear
informed.
• If an individual is rude, keep your cool and
maintain a professional approach.
Ultimately, someone else’s rudeness will
reflect badly on them rather than you.
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Summary
• Practising helps you to keep within your time
limit and contributes to a smooth, coherent
presentation. It will also reduce your anxiety.
• Structure your presentation into an
introduction, body and conclusion.
• Use a variety of quality visuals to enhance
audience interest.
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Summary (cont.)
• In group presentations the following needs to
be discussed beforehand:
– order of the presentation
– transitions from one member of the group to
another
– becoming familiar with each other’s work and how
questions will be responded to.
• There are different kinds of speeches. Those
that are read, those that are rehearsed and
memorised, the extemporaneous speech and
the impromptu speech. The purpose of a
speech also varies.
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Summary (cont.)
• Research the venue and the audience
thoroughly.
• Find ways to interact with the audience.
• Stylistic devices can be used to influence an
audience. These include asking rhetorical
questions, using quotes, sharing anecdotes
and providing personal testimonies.
• Pay attention to physical aspects of your
presentation, such as posture, gestures,
personal mannerisms, facial expressions,
eye contact, clothing and voice.
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