How to Prepare and Deliver an Awesome Oral Presentation

At least once in your life you will give some sort of oral presentation or another. You can be a student standing in front of the classroom giving a book report to your classmates. You might be a teacher who gives lessons and lectures each day. You may be a manager, conducting a communication meeting. You may be a sales person, demonstrating how a product works and persuading the potential customer to buy your product. All these are different types of oral presentations. How you prepare and deliver your speech is very important. It takes preparation, research and practice to effectively deliver your presentation and reach the audience.

Preparation

It is important to know your audience. If you do not know the audience, you will not be prepared to give an effective presentation. Not knowing your audience can lead to lack of interest in future presentations. Fewer and fewer people may attend in the future.They may already know the topic in which you will be discussing. So it is important to prepare your presentation by what they know or do not know. Not knowing the audience's education level can be a problem. For example, if you are giving the presentation to professionals, do not generate the speech as if you are going to talk with children. It can be insulting when somebody is talked down to. On the other hand, if you are giving the presentation to high school students, be careful of using words they may be unfamiliar with. If you need to use technical terms, be sure to explain what these meant so they will understand your topic easier. You also must know how your audience is going to react to your presentation. For example, if you are proposing a change within the organization, be prepared for individuals who oppose the change. If you know who is going to attend your presentation, conduct a survey before to see if the individuals need technical terms explained at the beginning of the presentation. If a complicated process needs to be explained, it may be better to plan to break the audience into smaller groups.

It is important to know the topic or subject of your presentation. Do not go into the speech with no idea of what you are going to talk about. For example, if your presentation is on a new technology your company is investing in, learn as much as you can about the operating process. Research your topic even if you think you know it completely. You must be able to support your presentation with facts and figures. You even may be able to view your subject using different viewpoints.

Know the time limit for your presentation. Some presentations, especially if it an after work meeting may run fifteen minutes. Usually longer than that, the employees are impatient to get home. Some presentations, such as motivational speeches, run longer. By knowing how much time you are given for this presentation, you can determine how long your speech can be. Most individuals speak between 120 and 160 words per minute (http://cairo.cs.uiuc.edu). If you know you are allocated 10 minutes for you presentation, plan to speak 1200 to 1600 words.

Know what type of oral presentation you are going to give. Do you have to sell an idea or product? Then use a persuasive presentation to convince your audience. For example, if you are proposing a change in an organization, you have to persuade the audience by explaining the benefits of the change. The presentation may be informative where you have to instruct the audience or present facts to them. The presentation may be commemorative. For example, a long-time employee may be retiring and you may need to honor this worker.

Organization

There are three major parts of an oral presentation. This is the introduction, body and conclusion.

"The purpose of an introduction is to quickly build rapport with your audience and gain their attention. You want the audience to be able to easily follow your thought process as you lead them into the body of the presentation" (http://www.estu.edu).

Know that you know the type of audience you are facing, as well as the type of speech you are giving, you must organize you speech. As with writing articles, the presentation has three parts-an introduction, the body and a conclusion.

In the introduction, if the audience does not know you, you must introduce yourself. Also let the people know what the topic of the presentation is about. Highlight the key points of the presentation. Also, use a famous quote or anecdote to begin the speech. This can help capture the audience's attention. By the time you finish with the introduction, the audience will know the type of presentation you are giving, such as problem-solving or giving instructions or information.

The body is the main part of the oral presentation. This is where the keys points are discussed in detail and the facts are presented. Use illustrations and provide examples to help the audience understand what point you are trying to express. "Graphic illustrations and other visual aids not only help to clarify your message, but also add color and credibility" (http://www.estu.edu).

The conclusion restates the key points discussed in the body. If the oral presentation is expected to draw an emotional response from the audience-such as discussing a major organizational change-use the conclusion to appeal to the audience for support. Add a positive statement to end the oral presentation.

Writing the Oral Presentation

Whether you are giving a short or long oral presentation, it will help to write out what you are going to talk about. By knowing how long you are going to be talking for, writing out the presentation shows you if you have enough content for the time frame. This also lets you know if you have to make adjustments if it looks like your presentation is going to be too long. Another advantage in writing it out, you will be sure to include all the key points that you want to discuss. You even may discover additional facts than if you stood in front of your audience with no preparation at all.

Practice and Delivery

It is normal to feel nervous and uncomfortable about giving an oral presentation. However, with proper preparation and practice, you can deliver an awesome oral presentation.

Stand in front a mirror and watch your facial and hand gestures.

Practice on controlling your hand gestures. If you over do these, this can distract the audience.

Watch your posture. By standing up straight shows the audience that you are confident about your topic.

Check for signs of nervousness and doubt. Have your written presentation by your side. Do not read to the audience, use the written speech as a guidepost if you get stuck.

When you deliver you presentation, establish eye contact with the entire audience, not just one person. Control your voice by speaking loudly and clearly. Also speak slow and steady. Do not rush through the presentation and lose the audience's attention by talking quickly. By slowing down, the audience will understand the key points better.

Visual Aids

Using visual aids can add more to your oral presentation. These can be used to help highlight the major key points that you are trying to stress. Some examples are table and charts to clarify points. A Power Point Presentation can be used showing key words throughout the presentation. Not only does a Power Point makes it easier for the audience to follow the presentation, it also allows you to follow along with your speech. Using visual aids shows the audience that you are prepared for the presentation.

Use caution while using visual aids. Sometimes visuals can draw too much of your audience's attention. For example, if you have too much art work or graphics, the audience may be attracted to these and not to what you are talking about. If you have a Power Point Presentation, have a maximum of six lines, with no more than six words per line. Having too much information on a visual can make the presentation less effective. Also be organized with the visuals. Order them in the way your speech progresses. Do not struggle looking for visuals as you need them.

Conclusion

Along with the above tips, allow for changes in your presentation. For example, you may find that the time allowance has been changed. You may have to lengthen and shorten the presentation to stay within the time lines. Another example of why you may have to change the presentation is when the audience changes. You may prepare the presentation for a group of professionals. Then you realize that some of the audience consists of students. You need to make adjustments so you can talk to the two groups of individuals on equal levels.

Make sure you interact with the audience. Get feedback and suggestions. You may learn a lot from their comments.

By following the above steps you will give an awesome oral presentation. However, remember this final rule: Relax; it is natural to be nervous.

References:

http://cairo.cs.uiuc.edu/education/oral_presentation.ppt

http://www.etsu.edu/scitech/langskil/oral.htm