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Public Speaking and Presentation Skills
Introduction
Presentation Skills determine the efectiveness o one's expression o interest. People with
good presentation skills are able to express themselves more comortably and condentially.
On the other hand poor presentation skills may spoil a good idea and pose a huge barrier to
efective communcation.
good presentation should take into considering the ollowing!
• "stablishing the purpose
• #eveloping the thesis
• nalysing the situation
• nalysing yoursel as the speaker.
• nalysing the occasion.
• Structure o the presentation
Establishing a Purpose
Developing The Thesis
Analysing The Situation
Analysing Yourself as the SpeakerAnalysing The Occasion
Structure of a Presentation
Establishing a Purpose
The first step in planning any presentation should be to define your purpose. A statement of purpose
describes what you want to accomplish. Then, after you have spoken, the same statement helps you
know whether you have achieved your goal. There are two kinds of purposes to consider: general and
specific.
• General Purpose
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$iving a presentation without recogni%ing& ocusing on& and remembering your obective is
the e(uivalent o dumping the contents o your briecase all over your boss's desk. )ou
don't speak to ll time by reeling of act ater unorgani%ed act nor to show beautiul
pictures that take the breath away& or to impress the audience with your wit and skill as a
dramatic speaker. )ou don't give speeches to win speech*making awards. )ou are there to
make the best o an opportunity& ust as you do in any other aspect o your business
activities. +here are three general purposes.
o To inform +he goal o an inormative presentation is either to expand your
listeners' knowledge or to help them ac(uire a specic skill. +eaching a group o product
managers about new developments in technology& training a new sales representative& or
giving a progress report on regional sales to a senior sales manager are all typical
examples o inormative talks.
o To Persuade Persuasion ocuses on trying to change what an audience thinks
or does. Selling is the most obvious example& but there are others as well. union
organi%er will try to persuade a group o employees to vote or a union&while a
management representative might try to persuade them not to. n accountant might try
to convince management to adopt a diferent procedure or reporting expenditures.
marketing manager might try to convince sales representatives to be more enthusiastic
about a product that has not sold well.
o To Entertain Sometimes a speaker's goal is to help the audience have a good
time. +he welcoming speaker at a convention might concentrate on getting the
participants to relax and look orward to the coming events. ter*dinner speakers at
company gatherings or awards dinners usually consider themselves successul i their
remarks leave the group in a ovial mood.
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• Specic purpose
, you think o a speech as a ourney& your specic purpose is your destination. Stating the
specic purpose tells you what you will have accomplished when you have -arrived-.
good specic*purpose statement usually answers three (uestions!
!hom do " #ant to in$uence%
!hat do " #ant them to do%
&o#' #hen' and #here do " #ant them to do it%
)our purpose statement should combine the answers to these (uestions into a single
statement! -, want who/ to do what/ how& when& where/.- 0ere are some examples o
good purpose statements!
o -, want the people who haven't been participating in the 1nited 2ay
campaign to sign up.-
o -, want at least ve people in the audience to ask me or my business card
ater my talk and at least one person to schedule an appointment with me to discuss
my company's services.-
o -, want at least ve people in the department to consider transerring to the
new 3ort 2orth o4ce.-
o -, want the boss to tell the committee that he's in avor o my proposal when
they discuss it ater my presentation.-
5ike these examples& your statements should do three things! describe the reaction you are
seeking& be as specic as possible& and make your goal realistic.
o Describe the (eaction You Are Seeking )our purpose statement should be
worded in terms o the reaction you want rom your audience. )ou can appreciate the
importance o speciying the desired results when you consider a statement that doesn't
meet this criterion! -, want to show each person in this o4ce how to operate the new
voice*mail system correctly.- 2hat's wrong with this statement6 7ost important& it says
nothing about the desired audience response. 2ith a purpose such as this& you could give
a detailed explanation o the whole system without knowing whether anyone learned a
thing8 9otice the improvement in this statement! -, want everyone in this group to show
me that he or she can operate the voice*mail system correctly ater my talk.- 2ith this
goal& you can get an idea o how well you've done ater delivering your presentation.
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o )e as Specic as Possible good purpose statement identies the who&
what& how& when& and where o your goal as precisely as possible. 3or instance& your
target audience the who may not include every listener in the audience. +ake one o the
statements we mentioned earlier! -, want the boss to tell the committee that he's in avor
o my proposal when they discuss it ater my presentation.- +his statement correctly
recogni%es the boss as the key decision maker. , you've convinced him& your proposal is
as good as approved: i not& the support o less in;uential committee members may not
help you. Once you identiy your target audience& you can ocus your energy on the
people who truly count. +he best purpose statements describe your goals in measurable
terms.
o *ake Your Goal (ealistic Presentational speaking is like most other aspects
o lie! you usually don't get everything you want. +he available time& the characteristics
o your audience& and the subect itsel can limit what you can realistically hope to
accomplish. +hus& your purpose statement should be attainable. 3or example& a sales
representative selling expensive o4ce e(uipment shouldn't expect to make a sale the
rst time she calls on a purchasing o4cer: instead& her purpose might be simply to get an
appointment to make a presentation. Similarly& a department head training a group o
new employees shouldn't expect to teach them the operations o the whole department
in the rst hal hour 1nless the operations are very simple/: at the outset& he might
select a ew basic principles that he could expect them to learn and use or the rst ew
days or weeks.
Developing The Thesis
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The thesis statement sometimes called the central idea or key idea is a single sentence that summarizes
your message. Once you have a thesis, every other part of your talk should support it.
The thesis gives your listeners a clear idea of what you are trying to tell them:
• -2e're behind schedule or reasons beyond our control& but we can catch up and
nish the ob on time.-
• -Our new ust*in*time order systems help us make sure that our supplies are not
dated or shel*worn& but we must monitor the inventory daily.-
Presentations without a clear thesis leave the audience asking, !hat"s this person getting at# And while
listeners are trying to figure out the answer, they"ll be missing much of what you"re saying.
The thesis is so important that you will repeat it several times during your presentation: at least once in
the introduction, probably several times during the body, and again in the conclusion.
$ew speakers often confuse the thesis of a presentation with its purpose. !hereas a purpose statement
is a note to yourself outlining what you hope to accomplish, a thesis statement tells your audience your
main idea.
Analysing The Situation
A purpose statement describes the end you want to achieve, but it doesn"t describe how you can reach
your goal. The means is the presentation itself the ideas you use and the way you e%press them. &efore
you plan even one sentence of the actual presentation, you have to think about the situation in which
you"ll speak. A presentation that might fascinate you could bore or irritate the audience. 'ou can make
sure that your approach is on target by considering three factors: yourself as the speaker, the audience
and the occasion.Asking yourself a number of (uestions about your listeners will shape the way you
adapt your material to fit their interests, needs and backgrounds.
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• !hat are their positions%
<egin by considering the ob titles o the members o your audience. , audience
members are specialists in engineering&nance& or marketing& or example they'll
probably be interested in the most technical aspects o your talk that pertain to their
specialties. On the other hand& an audience o non*experts or generalists would probably
be bored by a detailed talk on a subect they don't understand. Surprisingly& most
managers all into this category. "ven an executive who came up through the ranks as an
engineer takes a diferent perspective upon becoming responsible or an entire ob. +he
details that might once have been ascinating are now less important perhaps still
interesting& but not suitable or an overall view o a proect. -=ust give me a (uick
description& a schedule& and the dollar gures- is a common attitude.
• !hat are their Personal Preferences%
+he personal idiosyncrasies o your listeners are ust as important as their ob titles. Some
people insist on a ormal presentation& while others are much more casual. Some
audiences appreciate humor& while others are strait aced. Some people hate to waste
time on casual conversation and digressions& while others are willing to work at a more
leisurely pace. >nowing these preerences can make the diference between success and
ailure in a presentation.
• !hat Demographic +haracteristics are signicant%
number o measurable characteristics o your listeners might suggest ways to develop
your remarks.
o One such characteristic is gender. 2hat is the distribution o men and women6
"ven in this age o relative enlightenment& some topics must be approached diferently&
depending on your audience's sex. 3or instance& i you were trying to promote an e(ual
opportunity program in your company& you might have to prove to male management
that there was discrimination against women: the women in the company would
probably already be aware o it.
o second demographic characteristic is age. lie insurance salesperson
might emphasi%e retirement benets to older customers and support or dependent
children to younger ones with amilies. speaker promoting a company health plan
would discuss diferent activities with listeners in their twenties and thirties than she
would with employees who were nearing retirement. ?ultural background is oten an
important audience actor. )ou would use a diferent approach with blue*collar workers
than you would with a group o white*collar proessionals. 5ikewise& the ethnic mix o a
group might afect your remarks. +he point you make& the examples you use& and even
the languageyou speak will probably be shaped by the cultural makeup o your
audience.
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o nother demographic actor is the economic status o your audience. +his
actor is especially important in sales&where nancial resources -(ualiy- potential
customers as prospects or a product or service as well as suggest what eatures are
likely to interest them. ,n real estate& or example& well*to*do customers would certainly
be interested in diferent properties than less a@uent ones. +hey might also be more
concerned about the tax conse(uences o a sale and less concerned with monthly
payments than with the interest rate at which the mortgage is written.
• !hat Si,e is the Group%
+he numbers o listeners will govern some very basic speaking plans. 0ow many copies o
a handout should you prepare6 0ow large must your visuals be to be seen by everyone6
0ow much time should you plan or a (uestion*and*answer session6 2ith a large
audience& you usually need to take a wider range o audience concerns into account: your
delivery and choice o language will tend to be more ormal and your listeners are less
likely to interrupt with (uestions or comments. progress report on your current
assignment would look ridiculous i you delivered it rom behind a podium to our or ve
people. )ou would look ust as oolish speaking to a hundred listeners while reclining in a
chair.
• !hy is the Audience There%
=ust like speakers& audiences have reasons or attending a presentation. Sometimes these
reasons are straightorward: or example& the members o a sales orce will attend a sales
meeting to learn about the company's new products and how to sell them and so increase
their commissions. 9ot all audience purposes are as clear& though. , the sales meeting is
being held in 7iami or 0awaii& some attendees could be most interested in the idea o an
expense*paid vacation. 7any attendees might assume that all the inormation presented
at the meeting will also be provided in written orm and will not listen careully to the
presentation. +his doesn't mean that you should give up when you ace an audience with
ulterior motives. Aather& it means you need to nd creative ways to achieve both the
audience's goal and yours. , the computer service representatives you're addressing are
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hostile to the new computer system& they may attend the training session only because
they're re(uired to do so. )ou will need to convince them that the system has advantages
or them& such as saving them time and making their ob easier& beore they'll listen to
your instructions on how to operate the system. , you don't do this& they may eventually
make errors and blame them on the system. Sometimes you can develop an approach
that satises all your listeners. 5ike those teachers who reach the greatest number o
students& you can learn to be entertaining and inormative at the same time. <ut you
can't please everyone all the time. , some o your listeners want to hear about the new
product line and some want to hear& in detail& why last year's line ailed& you will probably
have to make a choice. t such times& your decision should be based on who you are
most concerned about reaching.
• !hat does the audience kno#%
group o experts doesn't need the background inormation that other audiences would
re(uire. ,n act& these people would probably be bored and ofended by your basic
explanation. ,t's also important to ask yoursel what your listeners do not know!
uninormed people or non*experts will be mystied as well as bored and resentul/ unless
you give them background inormation.
lso ask yoursel what misconceptions your listeners might have about the topic you're
discussing. potential customer might think that his current insurance coverage is
perectly ade(uate. )our boss may think that the obsolete e(uipment that's slowing your
productivity is perectly ne. 2hen misconceptions like these exist& be sure to clear them
up early in your presentation or even beorehand& i possible.
• !hat are the -isteners. Attitudes%
)ou need to consider two sets o attitudes when planning your presentation. +he rst is
your audience's attitude toward you as the speaker. , listeners eel hostile or indiferent&
your approach won't be the same as the one taken i they are excited to hear rom you .
,n addition to listeners' eelings about you& the audience's attitude about your subect
should in;uence your approach. #o your employees think the benets o the new pension
plan are too ar in the uture to be important6 #oes the sales orce think the new product
line is exciting or ust the same old wine in a new package6 #o the workers think the new
vice*president is a genius or ust another gurehead6 ttitudes such as these should
govern your approach.One way to discover the attitudes o your audience and to gain the
audience's approval o your idea is to meet with listeners beore your presentation. 2ith
this sort o preparation& you can make whatever adustments are necessary to win over
the key decision makers beore you begin your ormal presentation.
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Analy,ing Yourself as the Speaker
$o two presentations are alike. !hile you can learn to speak better by listening to other speakers, a good
presentation is rather like a good hairstyle or sense of humor: what suits someone else might not work for
you. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to try to be a carbon copy of some other effective
speaker. !hen developing your presentation, be sure to consider several factors.
• Your Purpose
+he very rst (uestion to ask yoursel is why you are speaking. re you especially
interested in reaching one person to one subgroup in the audience6 2hat do you want
your key listeners to think or to do ater hearing you6 0ow will you know when you've
succeeded6
• Your /no#ledge
,t's best to speak on a subect about which you have considerable knowledge. +his is
usually the case& since you generally speak on a subect precisely because you are an
authority. Aegardless on how well you know your subect& you may need to do some
research on the latest trends and analysis in that sector.
• Your 0eelings about the Topic
n old sales axiom says& -)ou can't sell a product you don't believe in.- Aesearch shows
that sincerity is one o the greatest assets a speaker can have. 2hen you are exited
about a topic& your delivery improves! your voice becomes more expressive& your
movements are more natural& and your ace re;ects your enthusiasm. On the other hand&
i you don't care much about your topic whether it's a report on your department's sales&
a proposal or a new program& a product you're selling& or a new method you're explaining
the audience will know it and think& -, the speaker doesn't believe in it& why should ,6-
Analysing The Occasion
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)ven a complete understanding of your audience won"t give you everything you need to plan an effective
presentation. 'ou also need to adapt your remarks to fit the circumstances of your presentation.
0acilities !ill you be speaking in a large or small room# !ill there be enough seating for all the
listeners# !ill the place be brightly or dimly lit# !ill it be well ventilated or stuffy# Are chairs movable or
fi%ed to the floor# !ill there be distracting background noises# *uestions like these are critical, and
failure to anticipate facility problems can trip you up. +or e%ample, the absence of an easel to hold your
charts can turn your wellrehearsed presentation into a fiasco. -ack of a convenient electrical outlet can
replace your slideshow with an embarrassing blackout. )ven the placement of doorways can make a
difference. ost e%perienced speakers won"t settle for others" assurances about facilities/ they check out
the room in advance and come prepared for very possible disaster.
Time There are two considerations here. The first is the time of day you"ll be speaking. A straightforward,
factual speech that would work well with an alert, rested audience at 01 A.. might need to be more
entertaining or emphatic to hold everyone"s attention 2ust before (uitting time. &esides taking the hour of
day into account, you also need to consider the length of time you have to speak. 3ometimes the length
of your talk won"t be e%plicitly distracted, but that doesn"t mean you should talk as long as you like.
4sually, factors in the situation suggest how long it"s wise for you to speak.
Structure of a Presentation
ost effective presentations follow a wellknown pattern. +irst tell them what you"re going to tell them/
then tell them/ then, tell them what you"ve told them. 5n outline format it looks like:
• "ntroduction! good introduction should accomplish the ollowing.
o ?apture the listener's attention
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o $ive your audience a reason to listen
o Set the proper tone or the topic and setting
o "stablish your (ualications
o ,ntroduce your thesis and preview your presentation
o You can open the presentation in the follo#ing #ays1
sk a (uestion. sking the right (uestion is a good way to involve your
listeners in your topic and establish its importance to them.
+ell a story which is short& relevant and concise.
Present a (uotation. Buotations have C advantages. 3irst& someone
else has probably already said what you want to say in a very clever way. Second&
(uotations let you use a source with high credibility to back up your message.
1se humor. +he right oke can be an efective way to get attention&
make a point& and increase the audience's liking or you.
• )ody
+his is the gist o the presentation and thereore its integral most part. >eep in mind the
ollowing!
o +here has to be a strong coherence between the various parts o the main
body.
o +here has to be a se(uential ;ow o ideasDpoints.
o +here has to be a denite structure to avoid random treatment o content.
o +ry to make the main body interesting by including relevant examples and
cases.
o "stablish and maintain eye contact. speaker who talks directly to an
audience will be seen to be more involved and sincere. <e sure your glance covers
virtually everyone in the room. 5ook about randomly: a mechanical right* to*let sweep o
the group will make you look like a robot. , the audience is too large or you to make eye
contact with each person& choose a ew people in diferent parts o the room& making eye
contact with each one or a ew seconds.
o Stand and move efectively. 0aving good posture doesn't mean being rooted
to the ground. 7oving about can add lie to your presentation and help release nervous
energy. )ou can approach and reer to your visual aids& walk away and return to your
original position& and approach the audience. )our actions should always be purposeul.
• +onclusion conclusion has two parts! a review and a closing statement.
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o +he Aeview should contain a restatement o your thesis and a summary o
your main points.
o strong closing statement will help your listeners to remember you avorably:
a weak ending can nulliy many o your previous gains. <esides creating a avorable
impression& the closing statement will give your remarks a sense o completion. )ou
shouldn't leave your audience wondering whether you've nished. 3inally a closing
statement ought to incite your listeners& encouraging them to act or think in a way that
accomplishes your purpose.