Items Description of Module

Subject Name Human Resource Management

Paper Name Skill Development and Social Entrepreneurship
Module Title Presentation Skills
Module Id Module No. - 5
Pre- Requisites Basic understanding of Presentation skills
Objectives To develop conceptual understanding of Presentation skills
Keywords Presentation Skills, Planning Presentation, Body Language
 QUADRANT-I

1. Module 5: Presentation Skills

2. Learning Outcomes
3. Introduction to Presentation Skills
4. Components of an Effective Presentation
5. Planning the Presentation
6. Structuring the Presentation
7. Presentation Delivery
8. Supporting Presentation Visually
9. Body Language
10. Summary

1. Module 5: Presentation Skills

2. Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this module, students will be able to
 understand the concept and relevance of skills required for presentations
 get familiar with dimensions of presentation skills, requisite presentation planning,
preparation and delivery skills

3. Introduction to Presentation Skills:

 Presentation:
A Presentation is a process of presenting a topic to an audience. Thus it is a means of
communication or ‘speaking engagement’ that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such
as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team. To be effective, step by step
preparation and the methods and means of presenting the information should be carefully
considered.

 Presentation Skills
Presentation skills are a set of abilities to convey the messages with clarity to the audience. The
message will contain a persuasive element. It plays an important role in influencing the clients
and customers (audience).

4. Components of an Effective Presentation:

Practise is the only route towards excellence in making presentations. However, even the practice
has to be in the right direction. Some of the components of a good presentation are:
  Contents Matching the Audience
In a good presentation, the ideas are appropriate to the audience. If the ideas presented are too
difficult, or too simple, in either of the situations the presentation is likely to fail. Similarly, it will
fail if the ideas are perceived as irrelevant or boring. Which makes it all the more challenging for
presentation of difficult concepts. The challenge being two set of presentations will be entirely
different from each other on the same topic. Example: A presentation on the Theory of Relativity
will be different for a group of scientists than the one of the same topic for a group of school
children. The need of the audience shall decide the contents of the presentation.

 Language Matching the Audience

The language used in the presentation must also match the audience. If it is too difficult (technical
for a non-technical audience, the presentation is likely to fail, or if the language is insultingly
simple, the audience may switch off, and mind not be attentive or listening to the presentation.
Attractive presentations also feature concrete, graphic language. This is the kind of colourful
language that helps the audience draw pictures in the mind.

 Brevity
A good presentation in brief. But how brief is brief? Cannot be answered. The answer depends on
what is to be presented and to whom, why and under what circumstances. On the whole it is a
good idea not to exceed twelve to fifteen minutes unless the presentation is interactive and the
audience is keen about the topic as the presenter is. Beyond fifteen minutes it may be difficult to
retain the audience’s attention. Less than seven or eight minutes may be too short to present
anything significant to a group of people. But if one is unsure, it is better to err in the direction of
brevity. Let the audience ask for more rather than squirm in their seats waiting for the golden
word ‘finally’.

 Smooth Sequence
An effective presentation has all the ideas sequenced well. A good, logical sequence is essential
for the ideas to be understood easily and accepted by the audience. As we shall see, that there are
different but equally logical sequences. Whatever is the sequence chosen, it has to be smooth. The
presentation takes place in time; so listeners cannot go back and forth looking for connection as
the reader of an article can do.

 Signs of Preparation and Mastery

A good presenter displays signs of presentation and mastery of the subject. Statistical information,
illustrative cases, and visual aids are some of the external signs of presentation. Smooth, confident
 delivery symbolizes mastery of the subject. If the audience perceives the presenter as credible and
knowledgeable about what s/he is saying, it is easier for them to lower any resistances to the ideas
and accept them. Any signs of casualness indicating lack of preparation can put the audience off.
The listeners may reject even wholesome ideas because they don’t want to be taken for granted.

 Lively Delivery
If the presentation is good, one expects to find the presenter relaxed and confident, maintaining
eye contact with the whole audience. A presenter endeavours himself to the audience if his face is
lively, voice modulated and gestures appropriate. There is passion in his voice born out of
conviction about the message being presented. If the presenter is’nt convinced, it is tough for him
to sound convincing.

Appropriate gestures are gestures that do not draw attention to themselves but add to the liveliness
of the delivery. A good presenter’s dress is such that it does not draw attention to itself but
supports the presenter’s image and is appropriate to the audience and the occasion.

 Appropriate Humor
Finally, the use of humour has to be very seriously and judiciously planned as every presenter
does not possess the gift of laughing at themselves or making their audience laugh. If there is
humour in a presentation that is apt and in good taste, the audience would love and welcome it,
and perhaps buy the message. Humour had a way of disarming opposition. It can cut painlessly.
If these are the qualities expected in a good presentation, it is obvious that careful planning and
preparation are essential for achieving them.

5. Planning the presentation

A presentation is not a sequential display of data but a battle for selling an idea. Which requires a
strategy or a sequence of moves. A five point 5W strategy could be used for the Presentation
preparation planning. The 5W are comprised for 4W i.e. WHO? WHY? WHERE? and WHEN? to
be answered to decide on the 5th W i.e. WHAT?

 WHO: The clearer and comprehensive the answer is to WHO i.e. the receiver, the better is
the chance to shape the message to suit the receiver. This comprises of several more questions
like the composition and the number of people in the audience, their education level, who are
the opinion leaders? The language they are comfortable, their attitude toward the idea, etc.

 WHY: is the next filter. Why are you making the presentation? This helps in shaping the
presentation. There can be two agendas. First the Open agenda, or the public purpose of your
presentation. While the second agenda i.e., the Hidden agenda is the reason to challenge their
belief or to explore their objective or take home from your presentation, or the reason they are
there for.
  WHERE: is related to the physical setting of venue of the Presentation, the place,
infrastructure, equipment and familiarity with them. These should be clear and if possible a
rehearsal followed by a backup plan must be in place to handle any eventuality.

 WHEN: This filter is related to the Time of presentation, of the sequence in case your
presentation happens to be one of the several consecutive ones, or scheduled at the end of the
day. The strategy to use should be lively and humorous. In case you are running behind
schedule, you should plan such that you can shrink the presentation in half the allotted time,
without panicking, or even be able to expand it if required.

 WHAT: is added to contents of the Presentation, only when it has passed the other four filter
levels. What would interest the audience and what is the level of detailing required, a better
and safer rule is to give less rather than more. Although researching the topic should give
enough depth of ideas not only to make the presentation but also to answer a variety of
questions related to the topic. If making a PowerPoint presentation, code Red for core ideas ,
which have to be presented, green for those ideas which may be presented in case time
permits else could be dropped to cut the presentation short and the rest ought to be presented
with the core in the event of the presentation going along expected lines. Multiple
presentations may also be created as a backup towards time constraints.

6. Structuring the Presentation

The structure of a presentation is a sequence of ideas for keeping the listener attentive without
straining themselves. A common rule for any presentation should be Introduction, Body and
Conclusion.

 Introduction: It is the most important multipurpose component of the presentation. The

introduction must try to inform the audience what the Presentation will tell them. It should
arouse the audience’s interest, establish rapport with them, motivate them and make the body
of your presentation easy to understand and accept. Depending on the general style, kind of
audience, and the purpose of presentation. A presentation can be started with
 a statement of a relevant problem
 a summary statement of the structure
 a definition of the purpose of presentation
 a description of the topic’s importance to the audience
 a piece of statistical information presented memorably
 a startling statement or a rhetorical question
 A brief preview of the structure and purpose may be an excellent introduction to a technical
presentation. The introduction is a preview of the presentation. The objective being to tell the
audience what you intend to present to them.

 Body: is the main contents of the presentation so requires further planning. Two specific
questions can define it. Firstly, contents and secondly, the order they appear in. Also the
sequence of ideas should be based on the identified answer to WHO is important. Sometimes
a top down approach works while at times a bottom up approach is more acceptable in the
sequencing of information in the Body of presentation.

 Conclusion: is telling the audience what you have told them in the body. It is as important as
the introduction and thus has to be planned and delivered well. The different ways of
executing this part,
 one may summarise the presentation, while a searching question or
 a quote or call for action may be appropriate for other types of presentations.
A few don’ts to be avoided are abrupt endings because of paucity of time, or a long winding
conclusion. This risks the audience’s mind from wandering away and the entire effort lost.

7. Presentation Delivery
Presentation Delivery is about deciding on how to tell your audience after deciding on what to tell
them. Poor delivery can spoil the entire presentation, so it needs to be carefully crafted.

 Reading aloud the entire presentation would end up with just reproduction of the text but
losing the audience. The technique can be reading out with eye-contact and voice modulation,
towards that end familiarity with the text and practice is important. Also remember that the
page to read out from should be printed in double spacing and font 14, so it can assist you in
the delivery. Also type each line in a ‘breath group’ of word, helping you to scoop up the
whole line in one go and speak from your short term memory while looking at the audience.

 Speaking from Notes in case of short presentations, transparency or slides can act as mental
notes. They should be brief and act merely as triggers for your ideas. Consulting from notes
frequently risks the audience’s impression about the credibility of your knowledge.

 Handling Questions is a part of lively interaction with the audience. By asking questions
they give verbal feedback: giving you a chance to clarify things, to correct any
misunderstandings and to give them additional supporting data. Questions are also a double
edged sword, failing to answer legitimate questions can dent the credibility of the presenter’s
image as incompetent. Handling a question is an art, start with preparation for anticipating
questions having answers ready. Hostile questions can best be handled with humour. If
cornered, get out of the trap by taking another question, else an escape strategy would be to
 answer it after the presentation supplementing it with data and illustrations. Avoid getting into
a one to one dialogue. Rephrase a longwinded question into a crisp one for seeking clarity.
Also observing other handling questions is learning how to and how not to deal with
questions in a presentation session.

 Voice, Posture and Gesture- voice should be loud enough and well-modulated as in an
animated conversation. There must be passion and self-believability in what is being
presented. Thus conviction should come through the voice. Avoid stiffness, as it symbolises
nervousness. Rather than clutching the lectern, a relaxed, confident and controlled posture is
required to deliver a powerful message. Be careful about your hands, they speak your mind.
So avoid them making any wild, repetitive or distracting gestures.

 Eye Contact- Looking at people as you talk to them is the most natural and a fundamental
fact of the social life. It shows your interest in them. It involves them and brings you
feedback, as they feel you are communicating with them. It also indicates your self-
confidence. Try looking at everyone in the audience rather than singling out anyone in
particular. It is important to see audience’s eyes to lock in and make the communication
effective.

 Appropriate Clothes – Attire plays an important role in the overall impression created by the
presenter. One should dress such that clothes do not become the centre of self-attention or that
of the audience. In case of inappropriate dress, which is too casual, or gaudy, it would distract
the audience. Being overcautious about the dress would distract the presenter away from the
presentation. Being your natural self, in appearance and voice would be easier and more
effective for making an emphatic presentation.

 Supporting Presentation Visually

Spoken words have a very short shelf life in an audience’s mind so the ideas have to reinforce
graphically. Visual aids assist in reinforcing the presentation. The use of Charts, White Board,
OHP or the Computer and Multimedia play a vital role in supporting presentations visually.

 Body Language
Human body and its various parts play an important role in communication. Nonverbal
communication play a more effective role than verbal communication, as our body
movements, gestures, postures etc. are expressions of our thoughts and feelings, these are
signals our body sends out to communicate. Also our body, consciously as well as
unconsciously, conveys messages, attitudes, moods, status relationship etc.

 Kinesics is the language of movement of different body parts like head, face, eye contact,
gestures communicating different messages. Holding the head high is a sign of confidence
and interest in the person in front of us. But if the head is drawn far backwards, it symbolises
arrogance or pride. Head jerks indicates rejection while nodding the head signifies importance
given, while listening to a speaker.
- Face is said to be the index of the mind, it is important to exercise restraint and control
our negative feelings, while adopting a positive attitude at all situations, else our feelings
are easily given away by our expressions. So staying calm and relaxed helps.
- Eye contact expresses understanding and conveying the message with feelings and
interest. All feelings can be communicated by eyes. A long fixed gaze shows an interest
in something or somebody, while avoiding eye contact indicates nervousness or
embarrassment or even being untruthful.
- Gestures made by movement of our legs, arms, hands and torso also communicate non
verbally vey meaningfully, example arms spread convey the meaning ‘wide’, while
shuffling from one leg to another symbolized ‘nervousness and a torso erect and
extended is interpreted as ‘intense’.
 - Body Shape and Posture affects the way we think about ourselves and how we relate to
others. Leaning forward or backward, standing or sitting erect, stretching or bending
sideways, all these make an immediate impression in the other persons mind. We can
always try to be graceful and confident without unnecessarily ‘showing off or appearing
unduly self-conscious’, and minding out ‘body talk’.

 Proxemics
The study of spatial factors between the sender and the receiver of the message is called as
Proxemics. It is classified into different types of Space:

- Public Space- a distance of more than 12 feet for formal communication

- Social Space- a distance ranging between 4 to 12 feet, for formal business
communications
- Personal Space, i.e., a gap of 2 to 4 feet, reserved for casual of friendly communication
- Intimate Space- the space between the communicators being less than 2 feet, indicating
closeness and possibility of physical contact, a handshake or touch.

 Vocalics (Paralanguage)
While verbal language consists of ‘what’ or the content of words, para language involves
‘how a speaker’s voice or the way in which it is spoken. There are different kinds of voice-
clear, cultivated, pleasant. It is the medium used to convey the message via a language.
Beyond clarity for effective communication are certain elements to be considered like:
- Pitch variation: for keeping the listener interested rather than making a speech
monotonous.
- Speaking speed: varying message delivery at different speeds conveys different parts of a
message. A highly intricate or technical part of information must be delivered at a slower
speed for it to be productive.
- Pause: must be used effectively to emphasize the upcoming subject and gaining listeners
attention, while too frequent pauses spoils the speech.
- Volume variation: The loudness must be adjusted to the size of the audience. But volume
must be monitored to bring about a contrast, as this adds life to the speech.
- Non fluencies: utterance like ‘oh’, ‘ah’, ‘um’, ‘ you know’ are non fluencies. Their careful
and judicious use adds to fluency while too frequent usage irritates the listener.

8. Summary
Presentation is a ‘speaking engagement’ process, while Presentation skills are a set of abilities to
convey the messages effectively and efficiently. The key elements for creating a presentation
include, Target Audience awareness enabling in better understanding the character of the
audience and in customizing the message accordingly. This is followed by planning of WHAT to
present based on WHO, WHY, WHERE and WHEN filters. Finally Presentation would be
structured into introduction, body and a conclusion. In ending the presentation by repeating the
core points again.Effective Presentation delivery should be aided with supporting visual aids and
positive body language. Repetitive practice is the key to reducing nervousness and enables to spot
and eliminate errors.