Oral Presentations for SI505

3 Delivering an Oral Presentation

1. Set the stage and the audience
2. Have an insurance policy instead of a manuscript
3. Use visual aids
4. Talk loudly, slowly, and vigorously

First, Set the Stage and the Audience

You can give an oral presentation anywhere, although it is hard to give one in a noisy factory or to an outdoor crowd because it is harder to make the audience hear you.  Many industrial oral presentations are scheduled in conference rooms with the audience arranged around a table and the speaker often has no control over the arrangements.   Nevertheless, there are some things you may be able to do to improve the speaking situation.  (Obviously, you have little control over the layout of the CREW lab.)

Remove Distractions If You Can
Clean off the chalkboard or whiteboard, if there is one, or remove any other distractions. If you leave someone else's sketch or formula on the chalkboard behind you, the audience will spend part of its time looking at that rather than paying attention to you.  If the audience has computer monitor's leave the screens blank or if possible switch off the monitors.  You want the audience's full attention.

Cool Off the Audience
Cool off the room before your audience arrives, if you can. A hot stuffy room puts people to sleep. People give off lots of heat, so start with the room a little chilly. It doesn't matter if the audience shivers a little at first: it will keep them awake. Their own body heat will soon warm up the place.

Choose a Room that is a Little Too Small
Get a look at the room in which you are scheduled to speak, and, if possible, alternative rooms. Given a choice, select a small room rather than a large one. It is much better to have too few seats than to have too many. It is more interesting, both for the speaker and for the audience, to have every seat filled and a few people standing than to have a big barn of a place with only a handful of people scattered around in it.

Forget About Microphones and Public Address Systems
Anyone with muscles in his belly can make himself heard in a reasonable-sized room. Microphones tend to tie you to one spot, or they develop a squeal, or they fade out. Stick to your own muscles -- unless of course you are addressing a convention of thousands.
 

So, first, set the stage and the audience.

Second, Carry an Insurance Policy Instead of a Manuscript

Speaking from a manuscript puts you at a disadvantage. For one thing, you can't keep your eyes on the audience and may miss some of their reactions. For another, the audience is likely to watch your manuscript to try to figure out how many more pages there are left until you are finished. Finally, the pages can amplify any nervousness you may feel. You may lose your place and get badly flustered. Or you may hold the pages in one hand where they flutter like a flag in a breeze revealing a trembling the audience would not otherwise have noticed.

Even so, many people are fearful of appearing before an audience without some sort of insurance policy to remind them in case they forget what they planned to say. There are two easy ways of providing this insurance.

Put Notes on Cards
A simple insurance policy can consist of note cards. All you need to put down is the summary outline of your presentation. Since most audiences can't remember more than four major points anyway, that is all you need to list on the cards. A few sub-points listed under each of the major points is all you will need to remind you of what you planned to say.

Or Better Yet, Talk From Your Visual Aids
Whether your visuals are physical objects or computer projections, you will find that they help to remind you of what you planned to say. But you can go further than this and literally outline your presentation on a series of graphic aids. This is of considerable assistance to the audience because they can see as well as hear what you are saying.
 

So, second, carry an insurance policy instead of a manuscript.

Third, Use Graphic Aids

It helps the listener to get your information by eye as well as by ear. Therefore, use graphic aids freely.   (See the Visuals section for information on designing graphics.)

Sketches, graphs, text, or pictures on transparent acetates or projected on a screen behind the speaker are a common method of incorporating graphic aids in your oral presentation.  However, some cautions are in order:

1. Don't stand between the audience and the screen. This sounds obvious, but if the screen is low and the audience is spread out, it is sometimes difficult not to block someone's view.
2. Make sure the lettering is large enough for the audience to read--using nothing smaller than an 18 point font is a good rule of thumb.
3. Make sure that if you choose to use color, you are careful to use strong contrasts to show distinctions--no light blue text on a dark blue background.
4. For computer projection, make sure you have tested your presentation on the equipment you will actually use for your speech.  If the computer is missing the software you need, is much slower than the one you practiced on, or if the projection equipment is of a different resolution than the one you developed on, technical difficulties could get in the way of your presentation.  Don't underestimate the time needed to test the equipment.
5. For slides or acetates make sure they are in the proper order, are right side up, and are properly oriented before you start your speech.


So, third, use graphic aids.

Fourth, Talk Loudly, Slowly, and Vigorously

Talk Loudly
A speaker simply must be vigorous. A monotonous, droning speaker will quickly put the audience to sleep.  This is one reason for avoiding microphones which tend to keep you from moving and tend to make you talk softly.

Talk Slowly
This is sometimes hard to do when you are excited. As an experiment, try imitating Franklin Delano Roosevelt and bob your head up and down on every syllable. You simply can't talk rapidly and do this. You can't move your head fast enough and this practice exercise gives you a feel for the proper rate. Pacing is especially important for non-native speakers from cultures that naturally talk more rapidly than Americans do.

Talk Vigorously
Vigor starts with posture. Stand tall; don't slouch; don't lean on the speaker's stand. Think of yourself as suspended from the ceiling by an invisible wire screwed into the top of your head.

Eyes on Noses
Keep your eyes on the audience. It is hard for some speakers to look the listeners in the eye. If so, don't try. Look at the bridges of their noses or, the wall slightly above their heads. They will think you are looking them in the eye, even though you are not.  Try to strike a reasonable balance between speaking directly to only one audience member and creating a metronome effect by being overly methodical about scanning back and forth across the room.

Hands at Your Sides
Keep your hands hanging at your sides; don't clasp them behind your back. Soon you will find they will float up and start making useful gestures for you. Be careful not to jingle the keys or change in your pocket or fiddle with a pointer, marker, or other device.

Move on Transitions
Don't wander aimlessly around on the platform. The place to move physically is when you move mentally, when you finish with one point of your presentation and move on to another. The physical movement helps the audience to see the mental movement. When you move, move. Don't shuffle. Take firm strides.

Rehearse
Practice with a watch or stopwatch in front of you. You will usually discover that it takes far longer to say what you planned to say than you thought it would.

So, fourth, talk loudly, slowly, and vigorously.

Thus, to deliver an oral presentation:

1. Set the stage and the audience
2. Have an insurance policy instead of a manuscript
3. Use visual aids
4. Talk loudly, slowly, and vigorously.

 
 intro | organizing | delivering | visuals | PowerPoint | SI505 home