Oral Presentations
Oral presentations will be a regular occurrence in your career. You may have to present a new product proposal to a supervisor or to a new customer. You may have to report on progress of your current project. Oral presentations need not be terrifying. Follow the guidelines given below, use what you have learned in your classes and above all, practice.
1. Dress neatly. Personal appearance is important.
2. You will learn the proper way to organize material for oral presentation in Speech Communications or English classes. The basics include the following:
- Open with a statement to get the attention of the listener. Explain why the statement is important or what it is about.
- Give examples or results to back up your explanation.
- Conclude by summarizing and restating the main point.
3. An old rule of thumb for giving a lecture is: Tell them what you are going to tell them; tell them; tell them what you told them.
4. Use whatever notes or aids you are comfortable with but don't read a speech. Information written to be read by an individual usually does not come across well when read to a group of listeners.
5. You will usually have some time limit for your presentation. Practice so you can deliver your message in the time allowed.
6. Don't try to say too much in too little time.
7. If you are part of a group presentation, practice with the group.
8. Be aware of your audience and present your material at a level they can understand.
9. Visual aids such as overhead projector transparencies or 35 mm slides can increase the effectiveness of your presentation. They can also detract if they are not neatly done or are too small. An overhead transparency created from typewritten material is usually not suitable for viewers beyond the front row.
10. Practice. Practice. Practice.