Training, Public Speaking and Professional Electronic Presentations

1
Training, Public Speaking and Professional
Electronic Presentations

• National Council of University Research
  Administrators
• Region IV Workshop 2008

2
Faculty

• Sarah E. Starr
• Director, Office of Funding and Research
  Development
• The Ohio State University Research Foundation

• Jeffrey RitchieGrants Management
  AnalystAurora Health Care

3
Workshop Agenda

• Ice Breaker
• Creating and Structuring a Presentation
• Interactive Activity
• Effective Public Speaking Instruction
• Break

• How to Train the Trainers Instruction
• Developing Confidence and Handling Nervousness
• Questions and Discussion

4
Creating and Structuring a Professional
Presentation
5
Introductory Activity
6
Creating the Presentation

• Features of any Presentation
• Specific Purpose
• Structure
• Supporting Materials

7
Creating Specific Purpose

• Key Questions to Ask
• Who is my Audience?
• What do they bring to the Presentation?
• What should they bring from the Presentation?

8
Structuring Your Presentation

• Every presentation has the following
• Introduction
• Main Points
• Conclusion

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Creating an Introduction

• The Introduction consists of three objectives
• Get the attention and interest of the audience
• Reveal the topic of the presentation
• Establish the credibility of the speaker

10
Get Their Attention

• State the importance of the topic
• Question the audience
• Begin with a quotation
• Tell a story

11
Reveal The Topic

• Listeners need help in sorting out a speakers
  ideas
• Helps the audience know what to listen for
• Allows you to define complicated terms clearly

12
Establish Your Credibility

• The 60-Second Job Interview
• Tell about yourself
• Explain your relevant experience
• Convey your interest in the topic

13
Creating Main Points

• Presentations typically have 2-3 Main Points
• If more than that, your audience may be confused
• Not all Main Points are created equal!
• Cluster similar or related sub-points

14
Creating Main Points

• Keep Main Points separate
• Use the same pattern of wording
• Balance time devoted to each point
• Time spent on each Main Point depends on the
  amount of supporting materials

15
Structuring Main Points

• Order is extremely important for both clarity and
  persuasiveness
• There are different kinds of order
• Chronological time pattern
• Spatial directional pattern
• Causal cause-effect relationship
• Topical divided into subtopics

16
The Conclusion

• Closing remarks reinforce the Main Points
• The conclusion always has two major functions
• Lets the audience know the presentation is ending
• Reinforces the understanding of the central idea
• Do not be abrupt

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Reinforce the Central Idea

• Summarize by restating the Main Points
• End with a quotation
• Make a dramatic statement
• Refer back to the introduction

18
Methods to Signal the End

• Simple statements
• In conclusion . . . or Before we wrap up
• Ask for questions
• Is there anything that I havent covered?
• Thank your audience
• Youve been great
• Leave
• Dont have multiple conclusions!

19
Creating Supporting Materials

• Alone, main points are only assertions
• Supporting materials give meaning
• Supporting materials relate to critical thinking
• Research to find supporting materials

20
Most people are more deeply influenced by one
clear, vivid, personal example than by an
abundance of statistical data.

• Eliot Aronson, Social Psychologist

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Creating Examples

• Illustrate a point
• Use brief examples or specific instances
• Pull listeners into the presentation
• Tell a story vividly and dramatically
• Explain hypothetical examples
• Create a real world situation

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Using Statistics

• Quantify subjective material
• Give ideas numerical precision
• Add credibility to the presentation
• Identify sources of statistical data

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Misusing Statistics

• Use statistics sparingly
• Too many bore and confuse
• Explain statistics
• Interpret data for the listeners

24
Visual Examples

• Round off complicated statistics
• Use visual aids to clarify statistical trends

25
Activity Time!
26
Creating an Electronic Presentation
27
Electronic Presentations

• Benefits of Electronic Presentations
• Simple
• Portable
• Impressive
• Creative

28
Preparing Electronic Presentations

• Fonts and Text
• Use textual cues consistently
• (Keep font changes to a MIMIMUM)
• Use bullets and other non-text as cues
• Dont let the technology be distracting

29
Preparing Electronic Presentations

• Backgrounds and Graphics
• Backgrounds should be consistent
• Graphics should be small, unobtrusive
• Both should enhance the presentation

30
Preparing Electronic Presentations

• Using Special Effects
• Transitions
• Sound/Visual Effects
• Video

31
Preparing Electronic Presentations

• Things Gone Wrong!
• Bad Color Schemes (Can you read me now?)
• Indecipherable Graphs Charts
• Reading vs. Speaking

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Delivering Electronic Presentations

• Before Your Presentation
• Read and Spell Check (twice)
• Run through it in front of a practice audience
• The presentation doesnt deliver itself!
• Have back-up options. Why!?

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Delivering Electronic Presentations

• Things gone horribly wrong
• Power Failure
• Equipment Failure
• I thought you brought the hand-outs!

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Fundamentals of Public Speaking
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Goals of the Presentation

• Reasons for public speaking
• Information
• Persuasion
• Training

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The Informative Presentation

• Judged by three general criteria
• Is the information communicated accurately?
• Is the information communicated clearly?
• Is the information made meaningful and
  interesting to the audience?

37
Subjects of Informative Presentations

• About objects
• Tangible, visible, and stable
• About processes
• How to
• About events
• Occurrence or happening
• About concepts
• Beliefs, theories, ideas, principles, etc.

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Guidelines for Informative Presentations

• Do not overestimate what the audience knows
• Relate the subject directly to the audience
• Do not be too technical
• Avoid abstractions

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The Persuasive Presentation

• Goals of the persuasive presentation
• Defending an idea
• Selling a program
• Refuting an opponent
• Inspiring people

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Subjects of Persuasive Presentations

• Questions of fact
• Persuading the audience to accept a view of the
  facts
• Questions of value
• Justifying the speakers opinion on value
  judgments
• Questions of policy
• Persuading people to a specific course of action

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The Target Audience

• A speaker will seldom be able to persuade all
  members of the audience
• The message must be tailored to the audience
• A speaker must decide which portion of the
  audience that is most desirable to reach
• Persuasion is complex

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Methods of Persuasion

• How are audiences persuaded?
• They perceived the speaker as being credible
• They are won over by the speakers evidence
• They are convinced by the speakers reasoning
• Their emotions are touched by the speakers ideas
  or language

43
Talk is cheap.
44
Public Speaking and Conversation

• The average adult spends 30 of waking time in
  conversation
• Conversation and public speaking both require
  clear communication
• You spend much of your life practicing the art of
  conversation
• Conversation and public speaking require similar
  skills

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Skills Gained by Conversation

• Logical organization of thoughts
• Tailoring the message to the audience
• Telling a story for maximum impact
• Adapting to listener feedback

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Differences from Conversation

• Public speaking is more highly structured
• Public speaking requires more formal language
• Public speaking requires different methods of
  delivery

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Critical Thinking and Public Speaking

• Public speaking requires
• Sound logic
• Organized ideas
• Effective thinking
• Clear expression
• Accurate language

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The Process of Public Speaking

• Speaker
• Message
• Channel
• Listener
• Feedback
• Interference
• Situation

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The Speaker

• Knowledge of subject
• Preparation of material
• Personal credibility
• Sensitivity to audience
• Manner of speaking
• Enthusiasm for speaking

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The Message

• The Message belongs to the Presenter
• The goal is to deliver the intended Message
• Messages must be organized so listeners can follow

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The Message

• A presenter is sending multiple messages
• Presentation
• Body language
• Appearance
• Tone of voice
• Gestures
• Facial expression
• Eye contact

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The Channel

• The channel is the means by which a message is
  communicated.
• One-on-one conversation is the most direct
  channel for an individual.
• Public speaking is the most direct channel for
  groups of individuals.

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The Listener

• Everything a speaker says is filtered through the
  listeners frame of reference
• Knowledge
• Experience
• Goals
• Values
• Attitudes

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An Audience of Listeners

• Each listener has a different frame of reference
• The speaker must be audience-centered
• The speaker must speak with the audience
  constantly in mind
• A presenter must make the audience feel that
  their ideas and thoughts are important

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Feedback

• Public speaking involves two-way communication
• Listeners send back messages to the speaker
• Feedback is an important element in for both the
  speaker and the listeners

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Interference

• Interference is anything that impedes the
  communication of a message
• Interference can come from any source
• The solution to dealing with interference is to
  find many ways to hold the attention of the
  listeners

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The Situation

• The situation is the time and place in which the
  presentation occurs
• Certain occasions require certain kinds of
  presentations
• Physical setting is very important
• Adjusting the situation of a presentation is
  simply doing conversation on a larger scale

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Analyzing the Audience

• The goal of the presentation is to gain a desired
  response from the listeners
• What does the speaker want them to know, believe
  or do as a result of the presentation?
• What is the most effective way to compose and
  present the presentation to accomplish the goals?

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Psychology of an Audience

• Why are you here?
• Why is this important to you?
• Why is this important, in general?
• Listeners hear and judge everything based on what
  they think is important
• Relate the message to show how it is important to
  them

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Adapting to the Audience

• Identify the major characteristics of the
  audience
• Adapting the ideas to the audience
• Keep the audience constantly in mind in
  preparinga presentation
• Anticipate the needs of the audience

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Delivery

• Good delivery
• Does not call attention to itself
• Conveys the speakers ideas clearly,
  interestingly and without distraction
• Combines formality with the best attributes of
  conversation

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Speakers Voice Characteristics

• Volume
• Pitch
• Rate
• Vocal variety
• Pronunciation
• Articulation

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Volume

• Too loud Overbearing
• Too soft Huh?
• Pitch is the highness and lowness of ones voice
• Variations in pitch reveal questions, statements
  and keep speaker from being monotone

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Rate

• Too slow Boring
• Too fast Huh?
• Dont be afraid to pause (without um and er)
• Practice before a friendly audience

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Vocal Variety

• Flat, unchanging voice leads to a flat
  presentation
• Follow instincts in changing rate, pitch, volume
  to reflect feelings
• Variety is the spice of life!

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Pronunciation

• Every word has three aspects read, written, and
  spoken
• The problem lies when a speaker does not know the
  correct pronunciation of a word
• Rehearse prior to delivery

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Articulation

• Articulation and pronunciation are not identical
• Sloppy articulation fails to form sounds
  distinctly
• Often a result of rushing through a presentation
• Rehearse before delivery to detect articulation
  problems in a presentation

68
Nonverbal Communication

• Personal appearance
• Bodily action
• Gestures
• Eye contact

69
Summary

• Public speaking experience begins with
  conversation
• Public speaking requires critical thinking
• A good speaker is audience-centered
• There are different goals of a presentation and
  each should be focused on the goal

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The Training Presentation Training the Trainers
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Climate
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Rapport

• Before the course
• Phone or meet learners individually
• Send out a pre-course survey to find out what
  issues they wish to address
• Send a welcoming letter to each participant and
  to their supervisor
• Make a list of things you would like the learners
  to say about you after a course

73
Rapport

• During the course, make the learners feel
• Welcome
• Safe
• Comfortable
• Important
• Competent
• Understood
• Responsible

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Activity Time

• Your age.
• Multiply by 2.
• Add five.
• Multiply by 50.
• Subtract 365.
• Add any loose change in your pocket or purse
  under 1.00.
• Add 115.

• The result Your Age Your Loose Change!

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If you love working with people you could become
a trainer or a mortician.
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Cohesiveness

• Set people up in close physical proximity without
  overcrowding
• Use separate tables so small groups are in
  clusters
• Have a card on the table with suggestions about
  how to conduct themselves
• Basic etiquette for being a good participant

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NO NOs for PowerPoint Presentations
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vHLpjrHzgSRM
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Cohesiveness

• Point out that training is the time to ask
  questions, make mistakes, experiment, and try out
  new skills
• Use an icebreaker that brings out shared
  experiences (e.g., give them five minutes to list
  things they all have in common)

79
Cohesiveness

• Set up exercises so that the team is successful
• Focus on team achievement rather than individual
  achievement by giving feedback to the group about
  their progress

80
Weve been through so much together and most of
it was your fault.
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Learner Confidence and Self-Esteem

• Ask learners to discuss each objective briefly to
  clarify meaning
• Point out that their learning is in their own
  hands
• Find value in peoples comments
• Dont intervene too quickly if learners are
  struggling
• It is better to have too few than too many
  interventions

82
Never do for the learners what they can do for
themselves.
83
Participation Involvement

• Arrange frequent small group sessions
• Move away from the center of the room, sit rather
  than stand, move to the back of the room to take
  emphasis off yourself
• Relay questions back to learners
• Be quiet when you want participation (the
  learners will fill the silence)

84
Participation Involvement

• Give participants ten minutes at the beginning to
  ask questions about the course or the instructor
• Get small groups to create questions together
• Pause occasionally and ask for questions

85
During training, the learners should work harder
than the leader.
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Classroom Layout

• To maximize interaction, use layouts that allow
  the most eye-contact (e.g., a circle) and move
  people closer together
• To minimize interaction, reduce eye-contact and
  spread learners apart in a larger room
• Move learners locations to provide stimulation

87
There is no substitute for genuine lack of
preparation.
88
Efficient Use of Instructional Time

• Develop visuals (they speed learning)
• Minimize time on Presentation and maximize time
  for Application and Feedback
• Always start on time and ask learners to be on
  time
• During exercises, circulate to help with
  blockages and spur the groups on

89
Time is natures way of keeping everything from
happening at once.
90
Traits of a Good Leader

• Listens carefully
• Open to other ideas
• Warm and friendly
• Enjoys being with people
• Tolerant of others

• Supportive of others
• Trusts others
• Sense of humor
• Decisiveness
• Flexible

91
What gets across most is what we are rather than
what we teach.
92
Motivation
93
Four Key Factors in Motivation

• The belief that the content is important
• The learners want to learn
• The course is set up for success
• The learning is enjoyable

94
Mnemonics for Trainers
M A F I A H E I D I
95
One persons simple is another persons huh?
96
Motivational Techniques

• Be sure the content is relevant to their jobs
• Point out how the content to be learned fits into
  the job
• Find out what needs and expectations the learners
  have
• Discuss what can and cannot be met
• Modify your plans if feasible

97
Motivational Techniques

• Your first words should focus on the single
  biggest concern of your learners
• Address their problems as soon as you begin
  speaking
• Ask why they chose to attend
• Frequently ask how things can be applied back on
  the job
• Discuss the transfer of new skills to the
  workplace

98
A yawn is at least an honest opinion.
99
Feedback as Motivation

• Focus on the performance rather than personal
  qualities
• Describe what you actually observed or felt
  rather than judging
• Make sure the learner wants feedback

100
Feedback as Motivation

• Give feedback as soon as possible
• Give feedback only on things that learners can
  improve and control
• Comment only on important items ignore trivial
  points

101
Honest criticism is hard to take, especially
from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance or a
stranger.
Franklin Jones
102
Group Dynamics
103
Characteristics of a Healthy Group

• The atmosphere is informal, comfortable, relaxed
• There is a lot of discussion in which everyone
  participates
• The task of the group is well understood and
  accepted

104
Characteristics of a Healthy Group

• People listen to each other
• Every idea is given a hearing
• People are not afraid to put forth ideas
• People are free in expressing feelings as well as
  their ideas
• There is disagreement this is not suppressed or
  overridden

105
Characteristics of a Healthy Group

• Issues are examined and the group seeks to
  resolve them together
• Most decisions are reached by a kind of consensus
  in which there is general agreement and
  willingness to go along
• Formal voting is at a minimum

106
Characteristics of a Healthy Group

• No one dominates in fact, leadership shifts
  depending on circumstances
• There is little evidence of power struggles
• The main issue is how to get the job done
• The group is conscious about how it operates

107
Verbal Behavior

• Task-Directed
• Functions required in carrying out a group task.
• Group Maintenance
• Functions required to maintain good health of
  group.
• Self-Oriented
• Behaviors which contribute nothing to the group
  and may harm it.

108
Positive Non-Verbal Communication

• Smiling
• Nodding
• Eye Contact
• Relaxed Posture
• Facing you directly
• Unbuttoned jackets

• Leaning forward
• Sitting on edge of chair
• Hands in open position
• Legs and arms uncrossed

109
Negative Non-Verbal Communication

• Dead expression
• Tight lips
• Frowning
• Avoiding eye contact
• Squirming
• Doodling
• Fidgeting

• Hands clenched or wringing
• Turning away
• Stiff or slumping posture
• Sitting or leaning back
• Crossed legs or arms

110
Blessed is the trainer who has nothing to say
and cannot be persuaded to say it.
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Consequences
112
Maintain/Modify Behavior

• Is there enough participation?
• Is participation well-balanced?
• Do people listen to each other?
• Are people having fun?
• Who seems positive?
• Who seems negative?

113
Discussion

• Does the leader. . .
• State the objective or purpose clearly?
• State the time available?
• Maintain subtle control?
• Keep discussion on track?

• Stay neutral during disagreements?
• Express opinions only after the group has spoken?

114
If some instructors have a choice between
listening and talking, guess which theyll
choose?
115
After the Course

• Phone or meet learners individually
• Send out an evaluation form
• Send a letter to each participant and their
  supervisor
• Send a certificate to each participant

116
Continued Development

• Use evaluation forms at end of sessions
• Stay in touch with people from this course
• Read books from the bibliography that interest
  you
• Evaluate yourself regularly
• Videotape your sessions and look for strengths
  and weaknesses

117
Whats New in Training
118
Shift from Training to Performance

• Value of Training is Determined by how much
  Performance Improved Because of the Training

119
Training is where you come to practice your job.
120
Job Performance
121
Preparing for a Presentation

• Putting All This Information To Work

122
Preparing for a Presentation

• Get Started
• Determine Partners
• Develop a Timeline
• Fine Tune
• Practice

123
Practice is the best of all instruction.

• Maxim 439, Publilues Syrus, First Century B.C.

124
Handling Leader Anxiety

• Check everything
• Dress well
• Meet people when they arrive. Introduce yourself,
  shake hands, be friendly
• Use icebreakers
• Remind yourself that you are the most expert
  person in the room

125
Handling Leader Burnout

• Causes
• Repetition and boredom
• Plateaus of stagnation
• Lack of success
• Stress
• Loss of purpose

126
One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous
breakdown is the belief that ones work is
terribly important.
127
Dealing with Nervousness

• Speechmaking is a common greatest fear
• Fear is normal, acknowledge it!
• Accept that you are not alone
• Preparation and rehearsal reduce fear by 75
• Proper breathing reduces fear by 15
• Mental state accounts for only 10 of anxiety

128
There are two types of speakers those that
are nervous and those that are liars.

• Mark Twain

129
Ten Tips to Reduce Anxiety

• 1. Know the room become familiar with space,
  equipment, location
• 2. Know the audience greet them as they enter,
  present to friends (no longer strangers)
• 3. Know your material practice!
• 4. Learn how to relax breathe slowly and do
  relaxation exercises

Lenny Laskowsi, LJL Seminars
130
Ten Tips to Reduce Anxiety

• 5. Visualize yourself speaking imagine a
  successful presentation
• 6. Realize people want you to succeed the
  audience wants a successful presentation
• 7. Dont apologize for being nervous it may not
  show, so dont point it out!

Lenny Laskowsi, LJL Seminars
131
Ten Tips to Reduce Anxiety

• 8. Concentrate on the message, not the medium
  focus on material and message distract your
  attention off of nervousness
• 9. Turn nervousness into positive energy fear is
  energy, use it to benefit your performance
• 10. Gain experience do it, learn from it, and
  keep doing it!

Lenny Laskowsi, LJL Seminars
132
Practice is everything.

• Pereandes Diogenes Laertius, c 200 AD, Periander 6

133
Relaxation Exercises

• Techniques for reducing trainers anxiety can be
  used with learners
• Tense all muscles for a count of three, then
  relax. Repeat three or four times.
• Breathe in deeply for a count of three, hold your
  breath for a count of twelve, breathe out for a
  count of six. Repeat three times.
• The goal is to be relaxed but alert.

134
Review of Public Speaking

• Public speaking skills begin through
  conversational experience
• A speaker must be audience-centered
• A speaker must be organized and well-prepared

135
Review of Preparing a Presentation

• Use an outline format for both the presentation
  and the speakers notes
• Keep the audience in mind
• Reinforce the central idea
• A good speaker is well-prepared

136
Review of Creating an Electronic Presentation

• Assess the audience
• Use the presentation outline
• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
• Do not expect the presentation to speak for the
  speaker
• A good speaker is well-prepared

137
Review of Training

• Climate
• Rapport
• Leader
• Motivation
• Group Dynamics
• Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication
• Whats New in Training

138
Final words of advice
Practice makes perfect!
139
Questions??
140
Talking and eloquence are not the same thing to
speak, and to speak well are two things. A fool
may talk, but a wise man speaks.

• Ben Johnson

141
Thank you!
142
Bibliography

• R.R.H. Anholt, Dazzle Em With Style, New York,
  W.H. Freeman and Co., 1994
• Jerry Wircenski, Technical Presentation Workbook
  Winning Strategies for Effective Public Speaking,
  New York, American Society of Mechanical
  Engineers Press, 1996.
• Michael Shortland and Jane Gregory, Communicating
  Science A Handbook, New York, John Wiley and
  Sons, 1991.
• Edward R. Tufte, The Visual Display of
  Quantitative Information, Cheshire, Conn.,
  Graphics Press, 1983.
• R. Finn, The Art of Poster Presentation, The
  Scientist, Jan. 25, 1993, p.20.

143
Bibliography (cont.)

• Stephen E. Lucas, The Art of Public Speaking ,
  New York McGraw-Hill, 1997.
• David Black, The Magic of Theater Behind the
  Scenes with Todays Leading Actors, New York
  Collier, 1993.
• Kathleen Kelley Reardon, Persuasion in Practice,
  Newbury Park Sage, 1991.
• Langevin Learning Services, Manotick, Ontario
  Canada