PRESENTATION SKILLS

BY
PROF. (BRIG.) RAMESH CHANDRA
Visiting Faculty HR, OB & MDPs
Corporate Trainer & Executive Coach
meshy99@gmail.com; +91-9811398616
BC-2
 OVERVIEW
Introduction
Speech and Presentation : Differences
Organising a speech/presentation
Audience research / analysis
Preparing presentation
Guidelines to organise the contents
Using visual aids
Selecting an appropriate presentation / visual
Effective slide contents
Space design and topology
Guidelines concerning fonts
Effective use of color
Speaking skills : Delivery method
Preparation by the speaker
 INTRODUCTION
In industry and commerce, the term presentation has
come to be used in preference to public speaking. The
reason, perhaps, is that the purpose of a presentation
is more precisely and more concretely defined.
A business presentation is an important means of
obtaining and exchanging information for decision
making and policy development.
Because several people receive the message at the
same time, and the audience is able to provide
immediate feedback for clarification, presentation can
significantly reduce message distortion and
misunderstanding. Contd ----
 There are occasions for a presentation such as :
Launching a new product or service
Starting a training course / session
Presenting a new business plan
Making a marketing / sales proposal
Making a contribution to a conference/seminar
Diversification of a business
Many of the presentations you give will be formal, with
sufficient time allowed for planning and developing elaborate
visual support.
You may present information and recommendations to external
audiences such as customers or clients whom you have never
met or to an internal audience made up of coworkers and
managers you know well.
Contd ----
 You can also be expected to present some less
formal presentations, often refereed to as oral
briefing. An oral briefing might entail a short
update on a current issue / topic requested
during a meeting without advance notice.
Regardless of the formality of the presentation,
the time given to prepare, the nature of the
audience (friends or strangers), or the media
used, your success depends on your ability to
think on your feet and speak confidently as you
address the concerns of the audience.
 Speech & Presentation : Differences
The term speech and presentation are often used
interchangeably. However, there is slight difference
between them as follows:
A presentation is a type of speech. Typically, when we
think of a speech, we think of the dedicated speech, a
political speech, a speech of tribute, or some similar event
that is more public in nature than a presentation would be.
Presentation are speeches that are usually given in a
business, technical, professional, or scientific environment.
The audience is likely to be more specialised than those
attending a typical speech event.
 ORGANISING A SPEECH/PRESENTATION
Being able to speak well is an asset in any profession. The success
of a speaker depends, to some extent, on the personality and the
voice; but it is necessary to know the formal aspects of public
speaking and to be able to prepare speech/ presentation carefully.
Attention must be paid to the language and style; the needs of the
audience must be taken into account.
Purpose. Usually one of the four basic purposes of a
speech/presentation is: (i) to inform, (ii) to persuade, (iii) to
encourage, (iv) to entertain. However, these purposes are not
mutually exclusive.
Ask yourself and decide beforehand, what is my ultimate message
or main purpose? Then develop a phrase, a single thought, or a
conclusion you want the audience to take with them from the
presentation. Then systematically plan and prepare accordingly.
 AUDIENCE RESEARCH/ANALYSIS
A common mistake for many presenters is to presume that
they know the audience without attempting to find out
about them. Put yourself in the shoes of the people who will
be listening to your presentation. While analysing the
audience , the five items to be considered are:
1. Needs. Find out in advance what the group thinks they
need - this may be quite different from what you thought
they needed. The speaker then must find a way to resolve
the discrepancy. You may either ask one of the
representative of the audience about it, or before you start
the presentation, if appropriate, ask the audience what they
need to hear from you.
Contd ----
2. Attitude. How they feel about the topic? Are they
positive or negative on the subject? Or, perhaps the
group is mixed? May be certain sections of the
presentation will generate strong feelings in either
direction. What you uncover here must be factored
into the structure and phrasing of the presentation.
3. Knowledge Level. All of us have our own area of
specilisation. Speakers must be careful not to use
technical language, abbreviations, acronyms, buzz
words, and so on that people in the audience might
not understand. If in doubt, ask the audience if they
are familiar with the terminology and define it if
necessary. Contd ----
4. Environment. Consider the environmental factors
affecting the presentation. Could seating, room size,
equipment availability, mic arrangements and lighting
etc affect your interaction with the audience? Are you
the only speaker? If not, where does your presentation
fit in and at what time of the day? Is it just prior to lunch
or after lunch? How much minimum and maximum time
is allocated for your presentation?
Answer to these questions will reveal whether the
speaking environment will be intimate or remote,
whether the audience is likely to be receptive and alert
or non-receptive and tired, and whether you will need to
develop additional motivational or persuasive
techniques. Contd -----
5. Demographic Information. This may include
the age, gender, race, religion, occupations, broad
and specific interests, educational levels, culture,
and language of the audience members. Of these,
culture and language present the greatest
challenge to speakers. In delivering to
international audience, it is a good idea to gain an
understanding of any cultural differences that
may affect the way you present. Also, you may
need to understand the language level of your
audience some members may not be native
speakers of the language you are using.
 PREPARING PRESENTATION
Once you understand the purpose of your
presentation why you are giving it, what you hope
to achieve and know the size, interest and
background of the audience, you will be prepared to
outline your presentation and identify appropriate
content,
A simple but effective presentation includes the
following (discussed further):
i. Introduction
ii. Body
iii. Close
Contd ----
Introduction
What you say at the beginning sets the stage for your
entire presentation and initiates your rapport with the
audience. However, inexperienced speakers often settle
for unoriginal and overused introductions. An effective
introduction accomplishes the following goals:
1. Captures attention and involves the audience.
Choose an attention-getter that is relevant to the
subject and appropriate for the situation. Attention-
getter techniques may include a famous quotation, an
appropriate joke or humor, a couplet (sher), an
anecdote, a shocking statement or startling statistic, a
compliment to the audience, a rhetorical or open
ended question that generates discussion from the
audience. Contd ----
2. Establishes rapport.
Initiate rapport with the listeners; convince them that you are
concerned that they benefit from the presentation and that you
are qualified to speak on the topic. You might share a personal
story or specific experience that relates to the topic.
3.Presents the purpose statement and previews the
points that will be developed.
To maintain the interest you have captured, present your
purpose statement directly so that the audience is certain to hear
it.
Revealing the presentation plan will help the audience
understand how the parts of the body are tied together to
support the purpose statement, thus increasing the coherence of
the presentation. For a long complex presentation, you might
display a presentation visual that lists the points in the order they
will be covered.
 Body
In a typical presentation of 20 to 30 minutes, limit your
presentation to only a few major points (three to five)
because of time constraints and your audiences ability to
concentrate and absorb.
Once you have selected your major points, locate your
supporting material. You may use several reinforcing
techniques to ensure the audience fully understand you.
1. Provide support in a form that is easy to understand. Two
techniques will assist you in accomplishing this goal:
(i) Use simple vocabulary and short sentences that the
listener can understand easily and that sound
conversational and interesting.
(ii) Avoid jargon or technical terms that the listeners may
not understand. Contd ---
2. Provide relevant statistics. Any quantitative measures
if quoted, lend authority and believability to your
points. Instead of exact percentages and figures, use
broad terms or word pictures that the listener can
remember. For example, instead of 68.2 % say over
two thirds and so on.
3. Use quotes from prominent people. Comments made
by other authorities are helpful in establishing
credibility. Comments from top management of leading
companies represent a credible source of quotations.
4. Use interesting anecdotes. Audiences like anecdotes
and interesting stories that tie into the presentation.
Be sure you get straight to the point of the story.
Contd ---
5. Use jokes and humor appropriately.
A joke or humor can create a special bond between you
and the audience, ease your approach to sensitive
subjects, disarm a non-receptive audience, make your
message easier to understand and remember, and make
your audience more willing to listen.
Plan your joke carefully so that you can (i) get the point
across as quickly as possible, (ii) deliver it in a
conversational manner with interesting inflections and
effective body movements, and (iii) deliver the punch line
effectively.
Refrain from any humor that may reflect negatively on
race, color, religion, gender, age, culture, or other personal
areas of sensitivity. Contd ----
6. Use presentation visuals.
Presentation visuals such as handouts,
whiteboards, flip charts, transparencies,
electronic presentations and demonstrations
enhance the effectiveness of the presentation.
Develop presentation visuals that will enable
your audience to see, hear, and even
experience your presentation.
 Close
The close provides unity to your presentation by
telling the audience what you have already told
them.
The close should be your best line, your most
dramatic point, your most profound thought, your
most memorable hit of information, or your best
anecdote.
Because listeners tend to remember what they hear
last, use these final words strategically. Develop a close
that supports and refocuses the audiences attention
on your purpose statement. Contd ---
(i) Commit the time and energy needed to develop
a creative and memorable conclusion.
(ii) Tie the close to the introduction to strengthen
the unity of the presentation.
(iii) Use transition words that clearly indicate you are
moving from the body to the close.
(iv) Practice your close until you can deliver it
without stumbling.
(v) Smile and stand back to accept the audience
applause.
 GUIDELINES TO ORGANISE THE CONTENTS

Opening of the presentation should take up

only about 10 percent of the time allowed
and include the following elements:
Greetings
Purpose and objective
Audience benefit
Presentation plan
Contd ----
 The main part of the presentation develops the
topic and should be about 70 percent of the total
time. Use any one or combination of two or
three of the suggested frameworks to develop
the ideas:
Sequential order
Chronological order
Order of importance
Question and answer method
Comparison and contrast
Problem-solving formula
Cause and effect Contd ---
 End of the presentation takes about 20
percent of the total time and includes the
following:
Recapitulate and summary
Call for action
Invite for questions
USING VISUAL AIDS
GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF
VISUAL AIDS

Contd ---
Selecting an Appropriate
Presentation Visual

Contd ---
Contd ----
 EFFECTIVE SLIDE CONTENT
Well organised, crisp slide content enhances the audiences
ability to grasp the speakers meaning and find immediate
value in the information.
Follow these basic simple rules for writing concise and
meaningful slide content:
1. Limit the number of visual aids used in a single presentation.
2. Include engaging text that accurately describes one major
idea on each visual.
3. Include only core ideas the audience can scan quickly,
understand, and remember.
4. Develop powerful bulleted lists.
5. Choose powerful visuals to reinforce ideas, illustrate complex
ideas, and enliven boring content.
 SPACE DESIGN AND TYPOGRAPHY
Follow these guidelines related to the use of space
on the visual and the presentation of the text:
1. Limit the amount of text on the slide.
2. Use graphic devices to direct the audiences
attention and to separate them.
3. Select a page layout orientation appropriate for
the presentation visual you are creating :
Use landscape orientation for computer
presentations and 35 mm slides.
Use portrait orientation for overhead
transparencies. Contd ----
4. Use left alignment of text as a general rule.
5. Follow these capitalization and punctuation rules
for easy reading:
Use capital letters sparingly as they are difficult
to read from a distance
Omit punctuation at the end of bulleted lists
Avoid abbreviations and hyphenations that
may cause confusion
Guidelines concerning Fonts
Choose interesting fonts that convey the mood of
your presentation and are a fresh change from the
fonts most commonly used.
Limit the number of fonts within a single
presentation to no more than three
Choose sturdy fonts that can be read easily from a
distance (Arial black, Calibri and Times New Roman
are more popular fonts)
Emphasize specific content on a slide by varying the
font face and font size
Effective Use of Color
Color is the most exciting part of the presentation design
and add a personal touch to your work.
The strategic choice of color will aid you in :
(i) conveying the formality of the presentation
(conservative color like blue add formality whereas
brighter color like yellow looks less formal and gives
trendy look)
(ii) creating a desired tone (blues and greens create a
more relaxed and receptive environment; warm colors
such as reds, oranges and yellows stimulate audience)
(iii) associating your presentation with your company, a
product, or the subject of the presentation, and
(iv) emphasizing important components of your slide.
 Effective Use of Color (contd ---)
To avoid an overwhelming and distracting design, limit
colors to not more than three or four colors on a slide.
Follow the under mentioned steps for selecting an
effective color scheme for presentation visuals :
1. Determine the medium you will use for displaying the
visual.
2. Choose a background color that conveys the desired
effect.
3. Choose complimentary foreground colors that have
high contrast to the background to ensure readability
4. Choose the accent colors that complement the color
scheme (accent colors are used in small doses to
draw attention to key elements / bullet markers).
Speaking Skills : Delivery Method
After you have organised your message, you
must identify the appropriate delivery
method, develop your vocal qualities, and
practice your delivery.
Following four presentation methods are
generally used:
(i) Memorised presentation
(ii) Manuscript delivery (also known as
scripted)
(iii) Impromptu delivery
(iv) Extemporaneous presentations
 Preparation by the Speaker
Speaking effectively is both an art and a skill. Careful
planning and practice are essential for building
speaking skills.
Before the Presentation:
Follow these guidelines:
Prepare thoroughly
Prepare effective presentation support tools
Practice, but do not rehearse
Practice the entire presentation
Spend additional time practicing the introduction and
conclusion Contd ----
 Seek feedback on your performance that will enable
you to polish your delivery and improve organisation
Request a lectern to hold your notes and to steady a
shaky hand, at least until you gain some confidence
and experience
Insist on a proper, impressive introduction so that
audience knows little about you.
Dress appropriately to create a strong professional
image and to boost your self confidence
Arrive early to become familiar with the setup of the
room and to check the equipment
During the Presentation
Communicate confidence, warmth, and enthusiasm for
the presentation and the time spent with the audience
Exhibit a confident appearance with alert posture
Smile genuinely throughout the presentation
Maintain steady eye contact with the audience in
random places throughout the room
Refine gesture to portray a relaxed, approachable
appearance
Move from behind the lectern and toward the
audience to reduce the barrier created between you
and the audience Contd ---
 Exercise strong vocal qualities
Watch your audience
Use your visuals effectively
Handle questions from the audience during the
presentation
Keep within time limits
After the Presentation
Be prepared for a question-and-answer period
Distribute handouts
 THANK YOU !!

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