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PRESENTATION SKILLS
"Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't; the
other half have nothing to say and keep saying it."
Anyone can give a speech. Not everyone can give an effective speech.
To give an effective speech there are 6 elements you should consider.
1. Be Prepared - Being prepared is by far the most important element. How many
times do you practice your speech? As a general rule, you should spend about 30
hours of preparation and rehearsal time for every hour you will be speaking. Use a
tape recorder or videotape yourself. This will help you to get an accurate picture
of how you speak.
2. Give of Yourself - Use personal examples and stories in your speech whenever
possible. Make sure your stories help to emphasize or support your point. The
stories must match your message. Use examples from your personal and
professional life to make your point. In either case be willing to give of yourself
by sharing some of yourself with the audience.
3. Stay Relaxed - To stay relaxed you should be prepared. Also, focus on your
message and not the audience. Use gestures, including walking patterns. Practice
the opening of your speech and plan exactly how you will say it. The audience
will judge you in the first 30 seconds they see you.
4. Use Natural Humor - Don't try to be a stand up comedian. Use natural humor by
poking fun at yourself and something you said or did. Be sure NOT to make fun
of anyone in the audience. People will laugh with you when you poke fun at
yourself but don't over do it.
5. Plan Your Body & Hand Positions - During the practice of your speech look for
occasions where you can use a gesture. Establish three positions where you will
stand and practice not only how to move to them but where in your speech do you
move. Pick three positions, one on center stage, one to your right, and one to your
left. Do not hide behind the lectern. When you do move maintain eye contact with
the audience.
6. Pay attention to all details - Make sure you have the right location (school,
hotel, room & time). Make sure you know how to get to where you are speaking.
Ask how large an audience you will be speaking to. Make sure you bring all your
visual aids and plenty of handouts. Arrive early so you can check out where you
will be speaking and make any last minute adjustments.
It is very important that you pay attention to even the smallest details. You can
never overplan. Remember, "He who fails to plan is planning for failure"





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Understanding Nuances of delivery

What is it that makes your presentation hold the attention and interest of your audience?
Your manner of presentation, your vocal inflections, your perfectly timed pauses, your
facial expressions and your gestures. All these are part of an expert delivery. Even a dull
and drab topic will turn out to be more interesting if presented well, whereas a really
interesting topic may appear to be dull because of poor delivery. There are four modes of
delivery which can be used for making presentations
Extemporaneous
Manuscript
Impromptu
Memorization

Extemporaneous

Extemporaneous presentation is by far the most popular and effective method when
carefully prepared. When speaking extempore one must prepare the notes beforehand and
rehearse the presentation.
Advantages
1. As you have enough time to prepare for the presentation, you work hard
on the theme / central idea. You can present the theme in the best structured
way.
2. Thorough preparation on your part makes you feel secure and you carry
your responsibility with great aplomb.
3. Appropriate selection of quotations, illustrations, statistics, etc. helps you
to substantiate your point.
4. Your delivery sounds natural and spontaneous to the audience as it allows
you to establish a rapport with the audience through eye contact.
5. It enables one to move freely with ease.

Disadvantages
1. If preparation is inadequate you can get lost and find yourself uncomfortable.
2. If you rely too much on note cards the speech may lose its spontaneity.

Manuscript
In manuscripts presentation material is written out and is there in front of you to read.

Advantages
1. It is a permanent and accurate record of whatever you have to say.
2. There is no chance of tempering with the facts and figures.
3. The material is organized systematically.
4. Language gets polished because you can write and re write your material until
you feel satisfied on all accounts.



Disadvantages
1. Since you will be reading from the manuscripts, you get less time for making
proper eye contact.
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2. In the absence of effective reading skills you fumble over words, lose your
pace, miss punctuation marks, etc. this adds to an uninteresting speech and loss of
audience attention.

Impromptu

The Impromptu mode as the word suggests is what you use when you have to deliver an
informal speech without preparation. For example, at a formal dinner party you may be
invited to deliver a vote of thanks.
Advantages
1. Natural because you do not get enough time for preparation.
2. You get a chance to express your thoughts irrespective of what others think about
the topic.
3. You are spontaneous.

Disadvantages
1. The presentation lacks organized development of ideas.
2. There is no supplementary material as data, etc. to substantiate your speech.
3. Chances of rambling are very high.
4. There is a frequent use of vocal pauses.
5. The presentation may turn out to be a failure if you have inadequate command of
language.

Memorization
This method of presentation is very difficult to most of us. This type of delivery stands
somewhere between extemporaneous and manuscript. Speech is written beforehand, then
committed to memory and finally delivered from memory.
Advantages
1. It is very easy for such speakers to maintain eye contact.
2. The speaker can move to and fro and make appropriate use of non verbal
communication to add extra value to the speech.
3. It is possible to finish the speech in the allotted time.

Disadvantages
1. Memorization requires too much of time.
2. There are chances of making it dull and monotonous if you go exactly by
whatever you have memorized.
3. Even your memory fails if you have not rehearsed adequately.












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Kinesics

Kinesics is the name given to the study of bodys physical movements. In other words it
is the way the body communicates without words through various movements of its
parts.
Personal Appearance

Personal appearance plays a very important role, people see you before they hear you.
Good appearance makes you feel confident.
You should be clean, well-groomed and conforming to the need of the occasion.
Posture
Posture generally refers to the way one stands, sits or walks.

Posture Interpretation
Slumped Posture Low spirits
Erect Posture High spirits, energy and confidence
Lean Forward Open, Honest and interested
Lean Backward Defensive or disinterested
Crossed Arm Defensive and not ready to listen
Uncrossed Arm Willingness to listen

Gesture
Gesture is the movement made by hands, arms, shoulders, head and torso. Your gesture
should be quite natural and spontaneous. Be aware and avoid irritating gestures like
playing with the ring, twisting a key chain, clasping the hands tightly or cracking your
knuckles.

Facial Expressions
Along with posture and gesture, facial expressions also play an important part. The face
is the most expressive part of your body.

Expressions Interpretation

A smile Friendliness
Frown Discontentment
Raised Eyebrows Disbelief
Tightened jaws muscles Antagonism

The face rarely sends one message at a time. Instead it sends a series of messages- your
facial expressions may anxiety, recognition, hesitation and pleasure in quick succession.

Eye Contact
The eyes are considered to be the windows of the soul. You look to the eyes of a speaker
to help find out the truthfulness of speech, his intelligence, attitude and feelings. Looking
directly at the listeners build rapport. Prolonging the eye contact for 3 to 5 seconds tell
the audience that you are sincere in what you say and want them to pay attention. Eye
contact is especially important when you start the presentation and at the beginning of
each new section.