Presentation

Presentation

• A presentation is a means of communication that can be adapted to various

speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing
a team.
• A presentation can also be used as a broad term that encompasses other ‘speaking
engagements’ such as making a speech at a wedding, or getting a point across in a
video conference.

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Presentation

• To be effective, step-by-step preparation and the method and means of presenting the
information should be carefully considered.
• A presentation requires you to get a message across to the listeners and will often
contain a 'persuasive' element. It may, for example, be a talk about the positive work
of your organization, what you could offer an employer, or why you should receive
additional funding for a project.

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Key components of a Presentation
• Context
• Presenter
• Audience
• Message
• Reactions
• Method
• Impediments
Context
•When and where will you deliver your presentation?
There is a world of difference between a small room with
natural light and an informal setting, and a huge lecture
room, lit with stage lights. The two require quite different
presentations, and different techniques.
•Will it be in a setting you are familiar with, or
somewhere new?
If somewhere new, it would be worth trying to visit it in
advance, or at least arriving early, to familiarise yourself
with the room.

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Context
•Will the presentation be within a formal or less
formal setting?
A work setting will, more or less by definition, be more
formal, but there are also various degrees of formality
within that.
•Will the presentation be to a small group or a large
crowd?
Are you already familiar with the audience?
With a new audience, you will have to build
rapport quickly and effectively, to get them on your side.

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Context
•What equipment and technology will be available to
you, and what will you be expected to use?
In particular, you will need to ask about microphones and
whether you will be expected to stand in one place, or
move around.
•What is the audience expecting to learn from you and
your presentation?
Check how you will be ‘billed’ to give you clues as to
what information needs to be included in your
presentation.
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Presenter

• The role of the presenter is to communicate with the audience and control the
presentation.
• Remember, though, that this may also include handing over the control to your
audience, especially if you want some kind of interaction.

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Audience

• The audience receives the presenter’s message(s).

• However, this reception will be filtered through and affected by such things as the
listener’s own experience, knowledge and personal sense of values.

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Message
• The message or messages are delivered by the presenter to the audience.
• The message is delivered not just by the spoken word (verbal communication) but
can be augmented by techniques such as voice projection, body language, gestures,
eye contact (non-verbal communication), and visual aids.
• The message will also be affected by the audience’s expectations. For example, if you
have been billed as speaking on one particular topic, and you choose to speak on
another, the audience is unlikely to take your message on board even if you present
very well. They will judge your presentation a failure, because you have not met their
expectations.

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Reaction

• The audience’s reaction and therefore the success of the presentation will largely
depend upon whether you, as presenter, effectively communicated your message,
and whether it met their expectations.
• As a presenter, you don’t control the audience’s expectations. What you can do is find
out what they have been told about you by the conference organizers, and what they
are expecting to hear. Only if you know that can you be confident of delivering
something that will meet expectations.

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Method

How will the presentation be delivered?

• Presentations are usually delivered direct to an audience. However, there may be
occasions where they are delivered from a distance over the Internet using video
conferencing systems, such as Skype.
• It is also important to remember that if your talk is recorded and posted on the
internet, then people may be able to access it for several years. This will mean that
your contemporaneous references should be kept to a minimum.
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Impediments
• Many factors can influence the effectiveness of how your message is
communicated to the audience.
• For example, background noise or other distractions, an overly warm or cool room, or
the time of day and state of audience alertness can all influence your audience’s level
of concentration.
• As presenter, you have to be prepared to cope with any such problems and try to keep
your audience focused on your message.

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Presentation Etiquettes

• Be early to the venue as this creates a good impression and helps you prioritize your
tasks.
• Maintain proper dress code. Wear professional clothes, preferably business formal.
• Keep your cell phone in silent mode.
• Thank the host for giving you the opportunity to speak and greet your audience. Greet
the dignitaries and other special attendees.
Source: https://trainingmag.com/observe-presentation-ethics-and-etiquette/
Presentation Etiquettes

• Demonstrate the right attitude and aptitude. Present positive body language. Maintain
adequate eye contact with your audience.
• Express your ideas, insights, and facts―not your opinions.
• Don’t sound harsh and rough. Keep your voice soft but strong. To improve your voice,
video record and take feedback.
• Avoid pointing the figure at your audience as it signals negative body language.
Source: https://trainingmag.com/observe-presentation-ethics-and-etiquette/
Presentation Etiquettes

• Avoid apologizing often for any lapses.

• Use a laser pointer when you refer to a specific portion on the slides to draw the
attention of your audience. Put it down when you don’t use it.
• When you don’t know the answer to a question, admit honestly that you don’t know
it. Don’t justify the reasons for not knowing the answer.
• Don’t criticize organizers for any lapses. Don’t forget that you are there because of
them.

Source: https://trainingmag.com/observe-presentation-ethics-and-etiquette/
Presentation Etiquettes
• Don’t offend your audience members. They invested their time, money, and energy to
listen to your presentation.
• Avoid cracking jokes directed at audience members. Have respect for all individuals
and communities. A presentation is not a forum to thrust your personal opinions on
others and settle your personal scores. Don’t attack your competitors in public places
as it presents you in a poor light.
• Handle critics carefully and hecklers assertively. Be professional while handling
them. Don’t lower your dignity by attacking hecklers or critics. Apply soft skills to
handle hecklers and a hostile audience.
• Source: https://trainingmag.com/observe-presentation-ethics-and-etiquette/
Presentation Etiquettes

• Don’t present the wrong statistical and research findings. When in doubt, avoid
referring to them. If you still want to refer unverified information, use the word,
“perhaps.”
• Avoid using other speakers’ content without their permission. Be original and natural
in content and delivery.
• At the end of the presentation, thank the audience for their presence and time and
thank the organizer or host for giving you the opportunity.
• Ask for feedback at the end of each presentation to improve yourself.
Source: https://trainingmag.com/observe-presentation-ethics-and-etiquette/
Organizing the presentation

• Organize the content of your presentation in a logical sequence based on the outline
you prepared. No matter how you decide to organize your presentation, keep the
audience engaged to better help them remember the content. You can do this by
asking them questions or having them share experiences related to the topic.
• Source:
https://www.niu.edu/presentations/organize/index.shtml#:~:text=Organize%20the%20content%20of%20your,experiences%20related%20to%
20the%20topic.
The Beginning…

• The beginning of your presentation sets the tone for the rest of the talk, so it is
important to impress your audience with your approach, style and topic. Begin the
presentation with something that attracts the audience’s attention, but keep it relevant
to the topic and avoid jokes or irrelevant comments that could be misunderstood by
the audience, especially if you are not familiar with the audience.
• Source:
https://www.niu.edu/presentations/organize/index.shtml#:~:text=Organize%20the%20content%20of%20your,experiences%20related%20to%
20the%20topic.
The Beginning
• You can begin with an important statistic relevant to the topic, or a quote, or ask a
question that interests the audience in the topic. For example, if the focus of your
presentation is about environmental pollution by household activities, a simple
question to interest the audience in your presentation could be "Does anyone know
how many drops of drinking water are polluted by one drop of motor oil?" If anyone
in the audience knows the correct answer, acknowledge that individual and ask how
many of them knew that as well. Otherwise, give the answer, and begin your
presentation.
• Source:
https://www.niu.edu/presentations/organize/index.shtml#:~:text=Organize%20the%20content%20of%20your,experiences%20related%20to%
20the%20topic.
The Body
• Begin planning the body of your presentation first. Once you have developed this part
of the presentation, the beginning and end will fall into place.
• You can order the main points of each section of your presentation as outlined in one
of several ways depending on the nature of the presentation. Some possible orders of
points include the following, though there can be others, depending on the topic
and/or discipline:
• Spatial order – suitable for describing a layout or a process, from the beginning or
entry point, to the end or exit.
• Source:
https://www.niu.edu/presentations/organize/index.shtml#:~:text=Organize%20the%20content%20of%20your,experiences%20related%20to%20the%20topic.
The Body
• Chronological order – suitable for discussing literature review by years, or for
describing the steps for doing something.
• Causal order – suitable for explaining causes and their effects. For example, how
lack of sleep impacts worker productivity and safety.
• Topical order – suitable for presenting on different topics in a field such as different
types of problem-solving techniques.
• Problem–Solution order – suitable for describing a particular problem and how it
can be solved.
• Source:
https://www.niu.edu/presentations/organize/index.shtml#:~:text=Organize%20the%20content%20of%20your,experiences%20related%20to%20the%20topic.
The End

• End the presentation by reiterating the purpose of the presentation, summarizing the
major points, and concluding with a quote, remark or fact that the audience will
remember.
• Source:
https://www.niu.edu/presentations/organize/index.shtml#:~:text=Organize%20the%20content%20of%20your,experiences%20related%20to%20the%20topic.
Formatting

Choose a font style that your audience can read from a distance.
• Choosing a simple font style, such as Arial or Calibri, helps to get your message
across. Avoid very thin or decorative fonts that might impair readability, especially at
small sizes.
Choose a font size that your audience can read from a distance.
• Try to avoid using font sizes smaller than 18 pt, and you may need to go larger for a
large room where the audience is far away.
Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/tips-for-creating-and-delivering-an-effective-presentation-f43156b0-20d2-4c51-8345-
0c337cefb88b
Formatting
Keep your text simple and minimize the amount of text on your slides
• Use bullets or short sentences, and try to keep each to one line; that is, without text
wrapping.
• You want your audience to listen to you present your information, rather than read the
screen.
• Some projectors crop slides at the edges, so long sentences may be cropped.
• You can remove articles such as "a" and "the" to help reduce the word count on a line.

• Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/tips-for-creating-and-delivering-an-effective-presentation-f43156b0-20d2-4c51-8345-
0c337cefb88b
Formatting

Make labels for charts and graphs understandable.

• Use only enough text to make label elements in a chart or graph comprehensible.
Make slide backgrounds subtle and keep them consistent.
• Choose an appealing, consistent template or theme that is not too eye-catching. You
don't want the background or design to detract from your message.
• Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/tips-for-creating-and-delivering-an-effective-presentation-f43156b0-20d2-4c51-8345-
0c337cefb88b
Formatting

Use high contrast between background colour and text colour

• Themes automatically set the contrast between a light background with dark coloured
text or dark background with light coloured text.
Check the spelling and grammar
• To earn and maintain the respect of your audience, always check the spelling and
grammar in your presentation.
• Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/tips-for-creating-and-delivering-an-effective-presentation-f43156b0-20d2-4c51-8345-
0c337cefb88b
Extra Reading
• https://blog.cambridgecoaching.com/ten-simple-rules-for-giving-an-effective-
presentation
• https://buffalo7.co.uk/blog/structure-presentation-content/
• https://hbr.org/2013/06/how-to-give-a-killer-presentation
• https://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislative-staff/legislative-staff-coordinating-
committee/tips-for-making-effective-powerpoint-presentations.aspx