Making Presentations (Study Guide)

Planning a presentation
- Purpose
- Length of the presentation
- Audience analysis

Purpose
- Inform
- Convince
- Cause action

Length of presentation
'Be sincere, be brief, be seated'

Organize your presentation
- Introduction
- Persuasive presentations
- Informative presentations
- Evidence
- Closing

Strategies for getting the attention of business audiences
- A startling statement
- A hypothetical statement
- Some historical event or story
- A rhetorical question
- Reference to some current event
- A quotation
- A personal anecdote

Introduction parts
- Attention step
- Purpose statement
- Motivation to listen
- Directions about interruptions (optional)
- Speaker credibility (optional)
- Preview of main points

Patterns that provide meaningful strategies for persuasive situations
- Problem-solving pattern
- State-the-case-and-prove-it approach
- Psychological-progressive pattern

Problem solving
- Most effective in the discussion of a relatively complicated problem
- begin with a definition of the problem, then moving to an exploration of the problem, then enumerating and evaluating representative solutions, and, when appropriate, recommend the best solution

State-the-case-and-prove-it
- Entails the straight forward development of a central thesis with supporting arguments
- Presentation closes with a summary repeating the proposition
- Appropriate for organizing discussions of familiar much-argued topics

Psychological-progreesive
Basically a problem-solving approach that is ideally suited to presentations design to innovate or effect change

Psychological-progreesive steps
- Arouse
- Dissatisfy
- Gratify
- Visualize
- Act

Persuasion variables
- Sender variables
- Message variable
- Receiver variables
- Context variables

Sender variables
- Speaker's credibility
- Degree of similarity between the speaker and the audience
- Physical attractiveness

Message variables
- Order of information
- Indirect or direct
- Explicit or implicit (explicit is best)
- Whether a persuader should ignore or refute opposing arguments (best to refute)
- Concrete examples are more persuasive than statistical summaries, because they are more vivid and bring the evidence to life

Receiver variables
- General permeability of the person
- Receiver readiness to accept appeals

Context variables
- Primacy effects
- Recency effects
- Media effects
- Persistence effects

Primacy effects
More likely to be found with interesting, controversial, and familiar topics, so begin with your strongest reason when persuading a hostile audience

Recency effects
More common with topics that are relatively uninteresting, noncontroversial, and unfamiliar, so build towards your strongest reason when persuading an apathetic audience

Media effects
- Electronic, visual, and auditory media appear to act as a buffer
- Audiences are more persuaded in face-to-face situations

Persistence effects
- Persuasive effects will decline over time
- Persuasive message should be delivered as temporally close as possible to the point of decision or action

Ethical Persuasion
- Begin by identifying the 'driving forces' behind the change in belief or behavior that the speaker is advocating
- Second, identify 'restraining forces' that are roadblocks to the advocate change in belief or behavior
- Third, tell the story that listeners need to hear by reinforcing the benefits of making the advocated change and removing the barriers to making the advocated change

Arrangement possibilities and examples of appropriate topics for each sequence: (Informative presentation)
- Spatial or geographic: Description of new layout
- Political and economic categories: Sales of our product line for various social groups
- Importance: Changes to employees' benefits package
- Chronological: History and future of our company
- Advantages and disadvantages: Various models of fax machines
- Comparison and contrast: Where we stand among competitors on our industry
- Structure and function: New management layer being added to our company

Better strategy for giving instructions is to use tell-show-do
- First, manager explains the steps in the new procedure, contrasting it with the current one
- Second, manager shows the audience how to do it
- Third, managers let the employees try the new procedure themselves

Types of Transitions
- Show relationship between ideas
- Enumerate ideas
- Summarize ideas
- Emphasize ideas

Evidence of facts
An objective description of something using empirical evidence without interpretation or judgement

Evidence of opinion
The application of interpretation and judgement rather than truth

Three types of opinions may be used in a presentation
- Personal
- Lay
- Expert

Lay opinion
When citing the opinions of ordinary people (nonexperts)

Expert opinion
When citing an authority to provide evidence

Persuasive purpose
- Problem-solving
- State-the-case-and-prove-it
- Psychological-progressive

Informative purpose arrangement possibilities
- Spatial/geographic
- Politcal/economic categories
- Importance - chronological advantages/disadvantages; comparison/contrast; structure/function

Closing
- Purpose statement
- Main points
- Significance of the message
- Call to action (optional)
- Final thought/challenge

Several suggestions are helpful when answering questions
- If the original question was not audible to everyone, repeat it
- Select questions from all areas of the room, to just from one section or person
- Do not evaluate a question by saying, 'That's a good question'
- Do not answer with responses such as 'as I said earlier'
- Look at the whole group when answering a question
- When you have finished, do not ask, 'Does that answer your question?'
- Do not point a finger to call on a questioner
- If you have no answer to a question, it is best to admit it
- Allow sufficient time to answer all questions

Four criteria make for an effective visual aid
- Visibility
- Clarity
- Simplicity
- Relevance

Keep several rules in mind when designing your visual aids
- No textual visual aid should contain more than six lines
- No line should contain more than six words
- Rows or columns of data should be known on a single line at a time by using an accentuation technique to keep the audience's attention on the point of discussion
- Timing of the visual aid contributes to its effectiveness
- An aid should not be visible until it is used, and it should be removed from sight after it has been discussed so it does not distract the audience

Deliver your presentation
Purpose and audience have been analyzed, opening statement is ready, message is organized, closing is prepared, and visual aids are created

Several techniques may be used when anxiety is great
- Consider the value of the presentation and remember that the material is important
- It helps to sit with your eyes closed and take a few deep breaths
- Memorize the first few remarks of the presentation
Planned bodily activity can help reduce anxiety

Do Nots
- Do not twist, bend, or fold the notes in an aimless way because of nervousness
- May increase you or the audience's anxiety
- Do not gaze at the notes out of feeling of insecurity
- Do not write out your notes in full sentences
- Do not try to hide from the audience the fact that you are using the notes

Several nonverbal aspects
- Eye contact
- Facial expressions
- Posture
- Gestures
- Movement

Voice quality
Rate, pitch, and volume

Practice
- Allows you to increase self-confidence and poise and to improve wording
- Helps identify flaws
- Rehearse
- Use actual room and all visual aids
- Practice will help you arrange notes for maximum benefit

Special rules that apply to the microphone and the camera:
- Speak as though the audience is right there
- Use the face, hands, and body as in ordinary conversation to stay natural
- Use a script
- Gives a sequence to follow
- Prepare and practice
- Clothing appropriate for a media appearance
- Do not wear large patterns
- Do not wear clashing or loud colors
- Avoid wearing black and white
- Avoid large, glittery, or moving jewelry

Vocal impact
- Maintain normal volume
- Use a conversational rate
- Project extra enthusiasm and energy
- Articulate clearly
- Maintain fluency
- Pause before important points for drama

Nonverbal impact
- Avoid white, black, and stripes
- Maintain eye contact with the camera
- Stand tall and straight
- Use natural but slower chest-high gestures
- Move slowly and stay within microphone and camera range
- Use natural facial expressions and head movement

Visual image impact
- Design clean, uncluttered visuals that can be read in 30 seconds
- Keep all text at 40 points or larger
- Avoid textual lists or bullets
- Label chart columns, rows, and parts to help speed understanding
- Keep right side of visuals empty so presenter picture in picture (PIP) wont mask visual image
- Point to visuals on document, camera or drawn on computer slides

Three phases of team presentations
- Planning
- Design
- Delivery

Planning
Defines purpose and analyzes the occasion of the presentation, selects a moderator, assign segment speakers

Design
- Each speaker makes their presentation plans then shares them
- Rehearse once or twice
- Brainstorm how they will handle questions

Delivery
Begins and concludes with moderator

Characteristics of successful presentations
- Content: Organized, supported, and relevant to audience
- Visuals: Creative, professional, and effective
- Delivery: Consistent, polished, and dynamic

Stream of consciousness
When you blurt out your first idea that pops into our head then hope that another idea occurs so you can say it too

Impromptu techniques
- Get mentally ready. Look confident. Breathe.
- Worth question/subject around to fit your knowledge and interests. Restate the question as you plan a response.
- Pick a main point.
- Support your main point by developing it with facts, examples, analogies, reasons, et cetera.
- Come back to your main point.
Stop talking.

For an effective presentation
- Manager should thoroughly analyze the purpose
- Time restrictions
- Audience
- Complete all necessary preparations
- Use appropriate delivery techniques

Preparation includes
- Development of intro
- Sequence of main points that is appropriate for an informative or persuasive purpose
- Strong closing
- Sequence of main points should be determine by purpose
- Support of main points takes the form of evidence, which can be facts or opinion
- Transitions must be added for unity and coherence

Visual aids must be prepared
- Help maintain interest and accurately communicate key ideas
- Visibility, clarity, simplicity, relevance, and timing are important

Both nonverbal and verbal characteristics of the speaker are important
- Eye contact, facial expressions, posture, gestures, and movements all need to be considered
- Voice rate, pitch, and volume affect the impact of the presentation

Team presentation
- Team members should plan, design, and deliver their message
- Well-organized, supported, and relevant to audience
- Visuals are creative, professional, and effective
- Delivery style is consistent, polished, and dynamic