PRESENTATION SKILLS DETAILS, Slides of Grammar and Composition

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Communica

tion Skills

Communica

tion

PRESENTATION SKILLS



Presentation skills are the skills you need

in delivering effective and engaging

presentations to a variety of audiences.

These skills cover a variety of areas such

as the structure of your presentation, the

design of your slides, the tone of your

voice and the body language you convey.

Contd…  Well-developed presentation skills enable you to communicate clearly, precisely and effectively in a variety of modes or registers and settings. It should be pointed out that they are rated as one of the most important soft skills. The ability of communicating with the audience and giving presentations should be seen as a mandatory prerequisite for both the effective learning process and the successful working life.

TYPES OF

PRESENTATION

1. Information-giving (predominantly descriptive, giving or summarizing information) 2. Discursive (to debate the strengths and limitations of an approach or develop an argument, exploring and weighing up different perspectives, challenging your audience to accept a different viewpoint) 3. Demonstrative (to be used in the context of training or teaching a practical skill to others)

Contd…  Usually, the majority feels nervous when presenting something. It is mainly due to the fact that in a live presentation there is no second chance.  You can master this skill like many others, but it requires rigorous preparation, constant rehearsal, deep reflective practice and constructive feedback.

Consider the following questions before your presentation:

1. What is the main aim of the presentation and what message you want to deliver to the audience in the time limit set?
2. What is the current knowledge level of the audience and what new knowledge or awareness do you want the audience to have gained from your presentation?
3. What is the most effective way to communicate this knowledge?

Contd…  Your presentation has to be brief, clear and precise.  Overloading the audience with very detailed information will not automatically make your presentation better.  A potentially good presentation might be weakened by packing it with excessive details and losing a sense of key ideas and conclusions you want to communicate to the audience.

STRUCTURE  Whether the audience can understand what you are trying to communicate will be determined by how you structure your presentation.  You should focus on the development of a clear structure that will help to map out and guide you in your preparations and in your final delivery.

THE RULE OF THREE 

As a very general principle, the rule of

three is offered.

1. Tell them what you are going to tell them.

2. Tell them.

3. Tell them what you have told them.

INTRODUCTION

 It is of key importance to get a good beginning.  Apart from introducing yourself and subject of your presentation, you should plan carefully about what point of entry will stimulate your audience and at the same time, form a springboard into the main topics of your delivery.

MAIN PRESENTATION

 Main presentation will be influenced by the general context and aim of your presentation and the expected audience.  As you develop your knowledge of the topic, you will feel more confident about what to include and what to exclude.  Identify the key messages.  Remember, less is almost always more.

CONCLUSION

 Because of the relief of having made it through, otherwise excellent presentations often suffer from an uninspiring, hurried ending. Do not let the pace and energy of your presentation drop at the end.  This is the ‘tell them what you have said’ section. You need to summarize your points, again using visual aids to reinforce them if possible.

Contd…  Always leave your audience with something memorable, say a powerful visual or a convincing conclusion, with a key idea, a central theme to take away and want to reflect on later.  It is also good practice to thank the audience for their patience and to invite questions or discussion.

TIMING

 In most presentations, it is usually better to deliver less content at a reasonable pace, than too much content at a faster pace that may leave the audience feeling overwhelmed and confused.  You should fit the topic into the allotted time and plan time for breaks and questions. This means you should think clearly about what to include and exclude from the final version of your presentation.

DELIVERY

 Inexperienced presenters attempt to write down the whole speech, even including ‘Good morning ladies and gentlemen’. They prepare a closely drafted text, each line filled, with very little space left.  Experienced presenters have their own style of notes, but never fill the page with text. You can organize your speech notes in many ways and it is very much a personal preference.

FORM OF LANGUAGE

 It is important to recognise and respond to the difference between formal written language and spoken language. When giving a presentation it is not obligatory to use complicated language constructions, to use long words, or to speak in nested and convoluted sentences.  If you choose to speak in a way that does not necessarily come naturally to you, or is in some way made more complicated than it needs to be, you will in all probability not communicate effectively..

ENVIRONMENT

(EQUIPMENT,

^ FACILITIES)

An important aspect of planning concerns the location of your presentation. This can have significant implications for how you plan your content and organise yourself.  Go to see the room in which you will be presenting in advance of arriving for the actual presentation.

VISUAL AIDS / MATERIAL

FOR DISTRIBUTION

 You should be aware that visual aids are complementary to the presentation and you should not focus too narrowly on visual aids because you will lose the key point of presentation.

Contd…  If you use more pictures and diagrams than text, you will possibly help the audience to understand better what you are saying. This is because after three days an audience will have retained 7% of what they read (bullet points, or other notes on the screen), but 55% of what they saw pictorially (charts, pictures, diagrams).

VERBAL

(VOICE, INTONATION,

APPROPRIATE

LANGUAGE)

 Remember that your voice is an incredible tool. On average 7% of what the audience understand comes from the words that are used within the verbal interactions, compared with 38% of information resulting in tone of voice and 55% being dependent on non- verbal cues.

Contd…  Presentations are greatly enhanced by varying the tone of voice to emphasize aspects of the content. Make sure you project your voice to the back of the room.  Try to vary the tone of your voice and the speed or pace of delivery to give emphasis to different parts of what you say. Use silence to your advantage. A short pause can give emphasis to a point you are making.

NON-VERBAL (EYE- CONTACT, BODY LANGUAGE, HAND ^ GESTURES) Eye contact. Eyes are one of your best tools for involving the audience in what you are saying. Good posture, movement and gestures will be of little use if you fail to support them with appropriate eye contact.  Great presenters understand that eye contact is critical to building trust, credibility, and rapport.

Contd…  Body language. You will also need to think how you communicate using body language. Body language can distract people from what you are saying.  People can bite their nails, twiddle with things, sniff and so on. If you have distracting habits, find a way of controlling them. Hold your hands behind your back or hold a sheet of paper so you can’t fiddle.

Contd…  Gestures. Using your hands can help in the same way that whole body movements can: to relax, stimulate and illustrate.  If you find it hard to use your hands naturally, then the best policy is to hold them by your sides.