Language and Culture III

Guidelines for Oral Presentations

Presentations are brief discussions of a focused topic delivered to a group of

listeners in order to impart knowledge or to stimulate discussion.  They are
similar to short papers with an introduction, main body and conclusion.  The
ability to give brief presentations is a learned skill and one that is called on
frequently in the workplace.

Preparation

Preparation is the key to giving an effective presentation and to controlling

your nervousness.  Know your topic well.  You will be the expert on the topic
in the classroom. Good preparation and the realization that you are the expert
will boost your self-confidence.  After your research, you will find that you
know much more about your topic than you will have time to present.  That is
a good thing.  It will allow you to compose a good introduction, to distill out
the main, most important points that need to be made, and to finish with a
strong conclusion.

 Know your topic .Become an expert 

 Learn as much about the topic as you can to boost your self-confidence
 Have an idea what the background is of your audience is so you will know how much detail to go into and
what kinds of things you may have to define
 Prepare an outline of topic.  Bullet or number the main points
 An 8-minute talk is roughly equivalent to 4 double spaced pages in 12-pt. font and 1 margins - however,
never read a presentation.  Write out your presentation if you need to organize your thoughts, but then
outline this text for the actual presentation.

Visual aids

Visual aids (maps, photos, film clips, graphs, diagrams, and charts) can
enhance a presentation. 

 Keep visual aids simple and uncluttered. 

 Use color and contrast for emphasis but use them in moderation
 Use a font large enough to be seen from the back of the room
 A rule of thumb:  slides are readable from the back of a room if they are readable at a distance of 9 feet
{rom a 15 monitor
 For an 8-10 minute talk use no more than 10 slides or overheads
 If using PowerPoint, strongly resist the temptation to use sound effects and dramatic slide transitions

Handouts

1
Handouts provide structure.  They can provide supplemental material,
references, a glossary of terms, and serve as a record of the presentation. The
handout should be attractively laid out and inviting to read.  Leave enough
white space on the handout for the listener to take notes.

A handout should be 1-2 pages long and consist of:

 Your name
 Title of course
 Date of presentation
 Title of your presentation
 Brief abstract (50 word summary of your presentation)
 A brief outline of your presentation including the major points
 A bibliography of references used to inform the presentation

Practice

Practice giving your presentation to yourself.  Speak out loud and time
yourself.  Practice using your visual aids.  It is absolutely important that you
adhere to your time limit.  Your professor knows that you know more about
your topic than you will have time to share.  Your goal is to inform, not
overwhelm.  In this case, less can be more.

Delivery

To deliver your presentation you will have to overcome your nervousness and
deal with room conditions.  Good preparation should allay most of your
nervousness; realizing that everyone feels nervous before a presentation
should also help.  Your presentation will never go exactly as you think it will.
Fortunately, they usually go better than you expect.  However, if you are using
any kind of technology (overhead projector or PowerPoint) be prepared for
something to go wrong and have a backup plan.

Equipment tips:

 Work out details with equipment before the day of your presentation
 Know how to operate the equipment you choose to use
 If you are using PowerPoint, have a backup copy on a disk 
 Consider making overhead transparencies of your PowerPoint slides in case there is a problem with the
technology
 Consider making print duplicates of your slides or transparencies in case there is a problem with electricity
or bulbs
 Do not expect a network connection to work when you need it.  Have any web sites you hope to show
available as offline copies on a disk.  Work offline whenever possible to avoid slow network response

2
Delivery tips:

 Begin your presentation by telling your audience what your topic is and what you will
be covering.  Audiences like to have a guidepost.
 Avoid reading your remarks
 Dress neatly and appropriately.   The rule of thumb is to dress one level nicer than the
audience will be dressed. 
 Speak in a clear, audible voice loud enough to be clearly heard in the back row. 
Never, ever mumble
 Stand up straight, do not slouch or drape yourself around the podium.  Do not be
afraid to move around the  room , moving around is good, it causes the audience to
pay attention
 Do not rock back and forth on your heels, do not tap a pencil or play with pencil or
pointer. Do not do things that will distract from your content.
 Never apologize to your audience for the state of your knowledge or your degree of
preparation.  The audience wants to have confidence in you. You are the authority, do
nothing to undermine your authority.
 Never mention anything that could have been in your talk but was nott
 Make frequent eye contact with the audience.  Really look at the audience as you talk
to them.  Engaging them directly with your eyes transfers a bit of your energy to them
and keeps them focused on your content.  Making eye contact says that you are in
charge of the room and for a presentation.
 If you use slides or PowerPoint avoid the tendency to speak to the screen instead of to
the audience.  Be so familiar with your visual aids that the only reason you look at
them is to point something out.
 Never turn your back on the audience and try to avoid walking in front of the projector
 Adhere strictly to your time limit.  Organize your main points and rate of speech so that
you speak for your eight minutes. 
 At the conclusion of your presentation ask for questions.  Encourage questions with
your eyes and your body language.  Respond to questions politely, good-humoredly,
and briefly.   Take a quick moment to compose your thoughts before responding if you
need to.
 At the end of your presentation, summarize your main points and give a strong
concluding remark that reinforces why your information is of value.
 Show some enthusiasm

A note on fear and nervousness

Accept nervousness for what it is part of the preparation for speaking

and it is a good thing.   It heightens your senses and gets your blood
pumping.  You will think clearly and move faster.  Everyone will feel
nervous.  A good preparation will increase your self-confidence.  Once
you get going, your good preparation will kick in and before you know
it, your presentation will be over.  
 

The role of the audience

Presentations involve both a speaker and the audience.  People in the

audience play a role in how well a presentation goes.  People in the
audience have an obligation to:

3
  Listen politely
 Make occasional eye contact with speaker
 Take notes or jot down interesting facts
 Control negative facial expressions
 Control bored body language
 Do not put your head down on the desk or tilt your head back to sleep
 Control the impulse to constantly check watch
 Expect a Question & Answer period to be part of the presentation
 Participate in Question & Answer period either by listening or by posing a question.
 Prepare to remain attentive throughout the Q&A, speakers will dismiss their audience
 Remain seated until the speaker is finished

Evaluation

Presentations always undergo some type of evaluation.  You may

receive a grade or your performance may be reviewed by your
colleagues.  The following is a set of evaluation criteria (D'Arcy, 1998)
that are commonly used.  Keeping a possible evaluation in mind is a
good way to prepare for your presentation.  Your goal is to be effective
and evaluation criteria can give you a roadmap for measuring your
effectiveness.

A. Organization and Development of Content

Opening statement gained immediate attention? 
Purpose of presentation made clear? 
Previewed contents of speech? 
Main ideas stated clearly and logically? 
Organizational pattern easy to follow? 
Main points explained or proved by supporting points? 
Variety of supporting points (testimony, statistics, etc.) 
Conclusion adequately summed up main points, purpose?

B. Delivery
Presenter: owned the space and was in control? 
Held rapport with audience throughout speech? 
Eye contact to everyone in audience? 
Strong posture and meaningful gestures?

C. Visuals
Visuals clear and visible to entire audience? 
Creative and emphasized main points? 
Presenter handled unobtrusively and focused on audience?

D. Voice
Volume 
Rate (pacing) 
Pitch 
Quality 

4
Energetic and included everyone in dialogue?

E.  Language
Language accuracy?
Vocabulary resource?
Pronunciation?
Fluency?

Evaluation criteria from:  D'Arcy, Jan.  1998. Technically speaking: a guide for

communicating  complex information.  Columbus: Battelle Press, p. 160.