Public Speaking and Effective Presentation

A critical review of what has been written about public speaking and making effective presentations suggests that while most college students and professionals are expected to be able to give effective presentations, there are few resources for teaching individuals how to accomplish this task. Overall, an effective presentation can mean the difference between receiving an A or a C on a project or, in the real world, the difference between a promotion or a demotion. Given that presentations are so important, it is interesting to find that so many individuals do not have the necessary skills to accomplish this task effectively.

In addition to the fact that current research demonstrates that there are few resources for teaching individuals how to prepare an effective presentation, the current research also demonstrates that there are a host of critical issues that are involved in the process of effective public speaking. For instance, Taylor and Toews (1999) report that in order for a presentation to be effective, the speaker must address the following issues: determining the audience's prior knowledge, how to hold the attention of the audience, how to present a message in a clear and organized manner, determining what pace to use to ensure audience attention, determining what media to use to back up the verbal presentation and how to read the audience's response to the presentation. Not surprisingly, many scholars examining the development of effective public speaking note similar issues (McCain, 1995; Chaney & Green, 2004). All of these considerations must be addressed if the speaker is to make an effective impact on the audience.

Martin and Pemberton (2003) in their examination of effective public speaking also note that presentation must be organized and concise in order to be effective. When presentations contain these two elements, speakers are able to provide their audience with precise information in a manner that makes sense. These issues are critical for the audience to be able to follow a presentation. Martin and Pemberton also note that by organizing a presentation, this will help narrow the scope of the information provided and enable the speaker to limit the amount of information provided to the audience.

Finally, scholars examining the specific elements of presentations that make them effective argue that the speaker must know how to incorporate media and graphics into the presentation. For many speakers, Microsoft PowerPoint has become a significant toll for providing concise graphics to compliment a speech. Surprisingly, scholars do caution that too much "glitz" in a presentation can make it difficult for the audience to grasp the message being presented. As such, speakers need to consider what media will be effective and will not overpower the presentation (Bell, 1996).

In the end, it is evident that planning is core element of effective presentations. Speakers that take the time to consider their audience, the scope of the message being sent and the specific media that will compliment the message being presented will be the most effective. Although this process sounds quite simple, the reality is that planning a successful speech is a challenging task. Perhaps this is why so many scholars continue to provide analysis and guidance on this particular issue.

Selected Websites

http://www.the-eggman.com/writings/keystep1.html

http://www.research.ucla.edu/era/present/

http://people.csp.edu/saylor/effective_powerpoint.htm

http://www.prb.org/Content/NavigationMenu/PRB/PRB_Library/Guidelines_for_Effective_Data_Presentations/Guidelines_for_Effective_Data_Presentations.htm

http://www.kon.org/karlin.html

Selected Journals and References

Chaney, L.H., & Green, C.G. (2004). Effective presentations. American Salesman, 49(6), 22-27.

Martin, P., & Pemberton, J.M. (2003). Making the executive presentation. Information Management Journal, 37(6), 58-62.

McCain, M.B. (1995). Effective poster presentations: Your competitive edge. Economic Development Review, 13(3), 83-89.

Taylor, K.L., & Toews, S.V.M. (1999). Effective presentations: How can we learn from the experts? Medical Teacher, 21(4), 409-414.

Bell, T.J. (1996). Glitz does not make a presentation. Crain's Chicago Business, 19(44), SR13.