PROFESSIONS LEARNING CENTRE

TRANSITION WORKSHOP

Oral Presentation Skills

Isabella Slevin (isabella.slevin@adelaide.edu.au)

ASPECTS TO BE COVERED The Kinesthetic Speaker

Proximity Voice Gestures

Type of Presentation Informative Persuasive

Structure and look of and Oral Presentation Introduction Body Conclusion Slides

Being a Confident Speaker Overcoming nerves

OVERALL Purpose – clear and relevant Audience – engaged & included Content – addresses task fully with

appropriate support Structure – logical & easy to follow Delivery – clear, confident & engaging, using

both effective voice and body language

Know what you presenting so you can focus on how to present it

NIXON VS KENNEDY

THE KINESTHETIC CONNECTION Link the physical with the intellectual

A great presentation should bring information to life

Be aware of and use physical presence (space, gestures, posture, movement) to enhance the delivery and communicate the content

Use physical distance to create rapport, reinforce points and maintain audience interest

Use hand gestures, head movement, eyes and your smile!

PUBLIC, SOCIAL OR PERSONAL DISTANCE?

Students stand up…walk and talk…point to slides “as you can see”; make a point “but this is the most important aspect”; ask a question “is this the outcome we want?”; bring in the audience “what would you do in this situation?”

Where would you stand? Asking for a show of hands Describing the problem/information Stating your point of view Giving an overview of the presentation Persuading with evidence Making a personal observation/sharing an anecdote Making the closing statement

VOCAL DELIVERY A monotonous presentation is a boring

presentation…you lose your audience and do not achieve your purpose!

Keep your audience attentive & engaged through: Emphasis Pausing Phrasing & pacing Vocal quality:

Volume Pitch Intonation

EMPHASIS Emphasise important words & group words

into meaningful phrases. For important points…

Speak the word(s) more slowly Speak the word(s) more loudly Pause briefly before and after important words

The need for more effective management skills has never been greater and, paradoxically, never more basic and important

EMPHASIS, PAUSING & PHRASING

The need for more effective management skills/ has never been greater/ and/ paradoxically,/ more basic and important

Anyone can become a successful manager; but, of course, the unprepared, the untrained and those given too much responsibility too soon will fail. That’s what this morning’s presentation is about

EMPHASIS, PAUSING AND PHRASING

Anyone can become a successful manager; but, of course, the unprepared/, the untrained/ and those given too much responsibility too soon/ will fail.

That’s/ what this morning’s presentation is all about

PACING Do not let nervousness make you speak too quickly – maintain

phrasing and use of pauses

Pay attention to signals from the audience and respond appropriately

Vary your speed of speaking with changes in ideas and level of importance: The fact is bad management costs jobs The fact is…bad management…costs jobs The fact is…bad …management…costs…jobs

“It has become evident there has been too much importance given to image rather than substance. This is the root cause of our company’s recent failures. If we are to survive and grow, this problem must be addressed immediately.”

VOCAL QUALITY Volume – project your voice to ‘bring your

audience in’. Good posture; proper breathing; ‘break through’ with your voice

Pitch and Intonation – use high and low pitch and rising and falling intonation to add expression and maintain attention A dramatic rise creates anticipation Keeping your voice up signals you are still

making your point Dropping intonation shows completion of the

sentence, idea, evidence, etc Help the audience…give them verbal clues!

TYPE OF ORAL PRESENTATIONS Presentations tend to fall into 2 categories:

Informative Persuasive

(argument for informative also needing to be persuasive)

Informative Giving information Describing, analysing, comparing, justifying Use of valid and reliable facts presented in a logical framework

The C.U.R.E. Method for Persuading Audiences Credibility…establish at the beginning that you have something of

value to say Using Evidence…you cannot simply rely on your own opinion or

experience; authoritative evidence is needed Reasoning…using a logical framework that flows naturally Emotion…necessary to persuade an audience to ‘come with you’

STRUCTURE (FRAMEWORK) OF ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Determine the Purpose of your presentation; who your Audience is; what Message you want to convey…tailor your presentation accordingly

Introduction Tell them what you are going to tell them – this is

not a mystery novel..prepare your audience for what is to come

Body The main section…tell them what you told them

you would tell them Conclusion

Tell them what you told them

INTRODUCTIONS Give a clear introduction that lets your

audience know the aspects you will cover and the order in which you will do this

‘ Management skills have become increasingly important in today’s global business environment. We can see this with the advent of business courses that now heavily weight their curriculum towards leadership and communication skills. In my presentation today I will cover 3 aspects of management skills, namely: what skills are most highly valued and why; the consequences of poor management skills both on the business and on staff and, finally, the role of Universities in teaching their students these so called ‘soft’ skills’

BODY The main part of your presentation – it needs

to follow what you said you would cover in your Introduction

Use linking words and phrases to enhance the logic and flow of your presentation:

‘My first point is…’ ‘As you saw in the previous slide…’ ‘This leads me to my next point…’ ‘This evidence demonstrates…’ ‘Moving on to my final point…’

CONCLUSION Less is more (NOT a repetition of the

Introduction)

Focus on the key points and present them as a summary, not simply a ‘laundry list’ of conclusions (Not – In summary, my 3 points were…)

This is the last impression your audience will have of you and your presentation…do not ‘die out’ at the end…be confident and decisive (NOT – So…that’s it. Thanks)

SLIDES Ensure your slides are easy to read:

font size…colour…contrast

Not too much information per slide Add verbal explanations

Used as a support – NOT a substitute

Face the audience – not your slides

Quality control Spelling…grammar…accuracy…references

Do not use more colours than is needed

to be effective. Do not put too much information on one slide…this means you may have to use a small font

which is difficult to see, especially for the students who are sitting at the back. Use phrases, bullet points, etc rather than whole sentences or paragraphs. One main point or theme per slide

Rmember to prof red your work. Grammar ard spilleng mestakes are viry distrecting for yeur audience

Relevance of illustrations?

DEALING WITH NERVOUS ENERGY Confidence comes from preparation:

Practise…out loud…in front of a mirror

Present to someone ‘comfortable’ Tap into the feeling of this

Breath slowly and rhythmically

Use positive self talk

IN SUMMARY The points you will take away with you?

Remember!...Oral Presentations are an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of a topic and your ability to communicate this to others

Think of oral Presentations as a Dialogue – you are connecting with your audience

Prepare well…then relax and enjoy!

REFERENCES Morgan, N 2001,The kinesthetic speaker:

putting action into words, Harvard Business review, Vol. 79, Issue 4, pp. 112-120

Powell, M 2011, Presenting in English, Heinle Cengage learning, Andover, England

Public Speaking International 2013, Public speaking tips, viewed 12 march 2013, http://www.publicspeakinginternational.com/public-speaking-tips