Speaking professionally... Oral Presentation Skills

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Speaking professionally...Oral Presentation
Skills

• Adam Warren
• a.j.warren_at_soton.ac.uk02380 594486

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Overview

• aims and objectives
• audience
• selection of relevant material
• using a clear structure
• prompts and visual aids
• rehearsal, confidence and delivery
• venue and technology

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Three golden rules
1. preparation
2. preparation
3. preparation
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Aims and Objectives

• why are you are making a presentation?
• what do you want to achieve?
• what message do you want the audience to take
  away?
• what will they will gain from listening?

set yourself a written list of three goals
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Advance publicity

• info for conference programme
• title of talk - make it sound attractive
• summary - what are you going to talk about?
• objectives - what will people get out of it?
• structure - how many people? how will it run?
• what resources/equipment will you need?
• objective is to attract an audience
• most conferences run parallel sessions

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The Audience

• to hold their attention, you need to know
• who you are talking to
• their level of prior knowledge
• roughly how many people will be there
• how can you grab their attention?
• how can you interact with them?

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Gaining attention

• make the audience listen to you from the very
  beginning of your talk
• plan the start carefully
• relate your talk to familiar concepts using
• examples
• anecdotes
• analogies

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Interaction

• involve your audience to help them learn and
  remember more
• be sensitive to atmosphere
• use analogies and anecdotes
• get them to do something
• ask them direct questions
• ask for questions

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Selecting material

• what to choose, what to leave out?
• always more material than time available
• a limit to how much the audience can absorb
• select relevant material which
• the audience understands and find interesting
• can be explained by a variety of means such as
  examples, statistics, graphs and analogies

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The structure of your talk

• organise your material into
• the introduction
• the main body
• the summary or conclusion

creating OHP slides can help you do this
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The introduction

• introduce yourself
• describe (briefly!) what you are going to talk
  about and its context
• briefly outline the structure of the talk

dont spend more than 2 minutes on this
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The body of your talk

• cover what the audience
• needs to know
• wants to know
• divide material into bite-sized chunks
• provide a logical sequence
• use examples and visual aids

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The summary

• what message do you want the audience to take
  away?
• summarise main points
• ask for and deal with questions
• conclude on a high note
• let the audience know you have finished

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Prepare yourself

• preparation time will reap benefits in the
  moments before and during your presentation -
  think about the following
• coping with nerves
• using prompts and visual aids
• how you will stand and talk

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Coping with nerves

• being nervous is natural - its a good sign and
  shows the adrenaline is flowing
• make nerves work for you not against you
• rationalise about why you are nervous
• take a few deep breaths to calm yourself
• rehearse well, time your presentation and know
  your opening lines by heart

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Dont panic!

• if you do dry up, lose track of what you are
  saying or have a technical problem
• pause - have a drink of water
• regain your composure
• backtrack if necessary
• start when you are ready

if you cant fix technical problems quickly,
revert to your contingency plan
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Prompts

• dont read from a script - it is lifeless and
  boring to listen to
• use prompts to keep you on track
• use thin card so they dont rustle
• use a large font, so you can read them from a
  distance
• highlight the main points

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Using visual aids

• are they relevant and easy to read?
• clear and concise text
• clear colours and good contrast
• use diagrams
• show charts and graphs rather than data
• practise your talk with the visual aids
• mark in your notes when they are to be used

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Stand and deliver

• if you have a choice, make sure
• the audience can see you clearly
• you are not surrounded by distractions
• windows with bright sunshine, passing traffic
• you are not disturbed by external noises
• all equipment and controls are to hand
• there is somewhere to put your notes

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Speaking

• speak clearly - dont rush
• project your voice - speak to be heard at the
  back of the venue
• have a glass of water available
• introduce unfamiliar jargon and acronyms
• keep track of the time
• relax! talk to your audience, not at them

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Posture

• your gestures, body language and facial
  expressions should help support what you are
  saying and help you project a confident image.
• stand up straight a sloppy posture invites a
  negative reaction from the audience
• move around, but dont sway or pace

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Dos and donts

• look at the audience, scanning rather than
  focusing on one person
• talk to the audience, not to the floor, ceiling,
  flip-chart, whiteboard or your notes
• use your hands to emphasise a point, but dont
  wave them around
• dont put your hands in pockets or grip the
  podium

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Check out the venue

• if possible, visit the venue beforehand
• be aware of any danger zones such as wires and
  steps
• find out what equipment is present
• will you need to organise other resources?
• will you need to rearrange the furniture?
• if so, allow plenty of time before your talk

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Test the equipment

• make sure you know how it works
• room lighting?
• power sockets for computers and projectors?
• have a contingency plan in case of technical
  problems
• OHP slides in case of computer problems
• handouts which could be photocopied at the last
  moment

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Final preparations

• rehearse your presentation out loud(in front of
  others, if possible)
• pay attention to timing - cut material if you are
  going to take too long
• plan your timetable around your presentation to
  make sure you arrive in plenty of time
• allow time for delays and hitches

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Summary

• set yourself three objectives
• dont include too much material
• involve your audience
• prepare and practice
• check the venue and resources
• pay attention to timing
• relax and enjoy yourself!

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Resources

• this presentation and other useful links are on
  the Web athttp//www.lateu.soton.ac.uk/events/wo
  rkshops/OPS/OPSdetails.aspx