In rare cases — such as when you are facing a hostile audience, you might want to start out by emphasizing where you agree with your audience, and then carefully working your way towards your most divisive, most daring claims.
Set a timer, and deliver your speech to a willing co-worker or family member, your pet fish, or the bathroom mirror.
My students are often surprised at how hard it is to fill up 3 minutes for an informal practice speech early in the term, and how hard it is to fit everything they want to say into a 10-minute formal speech later in the term.
Once you have the right amount of content, make a video recording of yourself practicing. If you plan to show a video clip, or ad-lib an explanation of a diagram, or load a website, or pass out paper handouts, or saw an assistant in half, actually do it while the camera is rolling, so that you know exactly how much time it takes.
Time it out.
If you know your conclusion takes you 90 seconds to deliver, make sure to start your conclusion when you have at least 90 seconds left.
At several key points during your speech, maybe while you are playing a video or while the audience is taking in a complex image, glance at the clock and check to see — are you on track?
If you notice you’re starting Section 3 60 seconds later than you had intended, try to make up for time by rushing through your second example in section 3 and cutting the third example in section 4, so that you still have the full 90 seconds at the end to deliver that powerful conclusion.
I once sat through a four-hour training session, during which this was all I could see of the instructor.
Go ahead and write your whole speech out so you can read robotically if you blank out, but you should practice your speech so you know it well enough that you can glance up from your notes and look at your audience as you speak.
when you run your PowerPoint presentation. | |
, either; your audience isn’t down there. | |
Position your visual aids or keyboard so that you . |
Pay attention to the audience, and they will pay attention to you.
Don’t try to recite from memory . If you spend your energy worrying about what you’re supposed to say next, you won’t be able to pay attention to whether the audience can hear you, or whether the overhead projections are focused.
Preparation : Set up before the audience files into their seats. If you have scheduled a presentation for a class, don’t sit in your seat like a lump while your professor calls the roll and hands out papers. Few things are more boring than watching a presenter log into the computer, fiddle with the video data projector, hunt around for the light switches, etc.
Introduction : As the audience files into their seats, have a title card displayed on the screen — or at least write your name and the title of your talk on the whiteboard. In a formal setting, usually a moderator will usually introduce you, so you won’t need to repeat everything the moderator says. Avoid canned introductions like “Principal Burch, members of the faculty, and fellow students, we are gathered here today…”
Hashtag : If it’s likely that many people in your audience use the same social media network, consider encouraging them to post their thoughts there. When you introduce yourself, give your social media handle and suggest a hashtag.
Handouts : Consider distributing handouts that present the basic facts (names, dates, timelines) and your main points. You can keep the conclusion just slightly mysterious, if you don’t want to give everything away immediately, but the idea is to free the audience from the feeling that they have to write everything down themselves. (Note: Simply printing up all the overhead slides wastes a lot of paper.)
Grabber : Grab the attention of your audience with a startling fact or claim, an inspiring quotation, or a revealing anecdote. This is not the time to try out your nightclub act; the “grabber” is not just comic relief, it also helps you set up the problem that you are going to address. If the audience will be diverse and general, you can use the “grabber” as a metaphor, helping the audience see why the topic is so important to you, and how it might be important to them, too. If your audience shares your technical specialty, and thus needs no special introduction to the topic, feel free simply to state your purpose without much to-do; but bear in mind that even technical audiences don’t want to be bored.
Road Map : Once you have established the problem or the main point of your talk, let the audience know how you are going to get to a solution. You might put up a series of questions on a slide, then as your talk progresses, proceed to answer each one. You might break each question down into a series of smaller questions, and answer each one of these in turn. Each time you finish a subsection, return to the road map, to help your audience keep track of where you have been and where you are going.
Conclusion : To give your presentation closure, return to the “grabber”, and extend it, modify it, or otherwise use it to help drive home your main point. Recap your main points, and demonstrate how they all fit together into a thought that the audience members can take with them.
Don’t read word-for-word with your nose buried in a stack of papers . If you bother to show up to hear a person speak, how do you feel when the speaker mumbles through page after page of written text? Do you feel you should have just asked for a copy of the paper in the mail?
When you present, make every effort to include your audience; after all, they are the reason you are speaking in the first place.
If you do feel that you must write out your speech word-for-word, you should be familiar enough with it that you don’t need to look at the paper all the time. (And hold the page up when you glance at it, rather than bending down to look at it.)
Your slides should present an (not just the bare framework) of your talk. If you begin with a slide that lists a series of topics or questions, your audience will expect the rest of your talk to work through that list in more detail (just as this web page began with a list of tips, then followed up with details about each tip.) If each page throws up more lists, your talk will seem random. Larry Lessig (an ethicist, open-source culture activist, and politician) has developed a very sparse PowerPoint style that assists his spoken voice. His slides sometimes contain just a single word, and he times the slides so that the written words (and occasional images) emphasize the spoken words. (See: |
Vague and pointless slides are alienating. | |
A slide that simply presents the bare structure of your talk is pointless. Rather than a slide labeled “Introduction,” ask a question that actually introduces some idea. Rather than a slide labeled “Case Study 1,” give a startling fact from the case study. |
Cluttered and wordy slides can be overwhelming. | |
People can read faster than you can speak, so don’t bore the audience by reading a slide full of text word-for-word. By the time you get to the end of the slide, we will already probably be liking cat pictures on Instagram. |
Spinning and bouncing text impresses nobody (and fools nobody). The people in your audience probably see dozens of slide shows every month. They want to evaluate your ideas. Proving that you can select a cool transition from a drop-down list is not going to earn you any points or win you a contract. |
To help pace yourself, at the top of each page of your notes, write down what time it should be ; as you turn each page, you can glance at the clock and see whether you are on track.
(The first time I gave this advice to a technical writing class, I mimed the action of “looking at the clock” — and noticed that I was running ten minutes behind, eating into time that I had promised to a student for an in-class testing session. That was a rather humbling experience!)
See the “preparation” section above. If you have already practiced your speech and timed out the various sections, you’ll know whether you are running long. If you are, don’t talk faster — cut something that you already marked out as optional.
Decide in advance which examples, which anecdotes, which subsections you can drop, without damaging the whole presentation.
I was at a conference in 1998 where the first speaker talked for 40 minutes — double her allotted time. (Why the moderator allowed this is a mystery to me.)
The benefits include:
Dennis G. Jerz , 01/27/2009 07:24:28 Oct, 1999 — first written 03 Dec, 2000 — posted here 03 June 2003 — tweaked and updated 30 Oct 2011 — updated and added video links 31 May 2016 — major update; separated into “preparation” and “presentation” sections. 26 Jan 2018 — blackboard -> whiteboard
Many writers have no trouble the content of a conversation or facts, but they they freeze up when asked to formulate a theory or critique an argument. Writing Effective E-Mail: Top 10 TipsThese ten tips will help teach you how to write effective, high-quality e-mails in today’s professional environment. Write a meaningful subject line; keep the message short and readable; avoid attachments; identify yourself; don’t flame (and more). What can you do to increase your chances of having a successful group project?
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Thanks alot for your teachings
Thank a lot , really great tip for oral presentation, i’ll implement these tips, and will let you know.
Very helpful tips.
this is awfully helpful. I am a teacher in France and my students have to do presentations in English. I wish they could read this and understand.
Thank you for these very useful tips on Oral presentation. I am taking an Organizational Behavior class and need to do a 5 minute oral presentation on a real life situation about Conflict Management in the Workplace. I am not sure how to structure or begin the presentation.
I like it Really helpful for me
Thank you for helping me to do my presentation…..and I have learned so much from oral presentation.
thankyou thankyou thankyou this helped me so much!!! : )
thankyou thankyou thankyou this helped me so much in english!!! : )
Thanks. Really helpful
Hi, I going to do 3 minute presentation and my topic is My son. what is a best tips to talk about the this topic. I am not sure where to start. Any tips to help me with.
Is that the topic you were assigned? Are you taking a public speaking class, a child development class, a class in writing personal memoirs, or are you learning English as a second language? I don’t know how your instructor will evaluate your work, so I am not sure how to help.
You might find it useful to look at this handout on writing personal essays. http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/personal-essays/
Hi, I going to do minute presentation and my topic is My son. what is a best tips to talk about the this topic. I am not sure where to start. Any tips to help me with.
This sort of helped
Denise Gillen Caralli liked this on Facebook.
Enter your comment here…Thanks a lot… I will follow your instructions..I’m hopeful those tips will work. .. Thanks once again….
Thanks so much will follow your instruction tomorrow where I will be having presentation with 180 Head masters about suplimetary feeding on their hunger striken ares
Yeah ,thanks and good luck to all of you from a powerful Jamaican girl
That’s great… It will work well for those who are aiming for like me. Thanks!
The tips are totally handy until now I am still applying it.
Appreciate it. =)
Very helpful for my presentation. Thanks!
I have learned a lot on this…thanks
Thanks a lot I have learned so much on this
I suppose to give out a presentation on Monday on someone or something in either an athlete or an actor and I don’t know how to start
i have a question i am supposed to give a speech but it has to have a power point or a drama thing the only problem is that i can’t have a power point because it won’t work into my speech and neither will a drama thing what should i do?
I suggest you talk to whoever set up the requirement for a slideshow/drama component. Maybe there is some flexibility, or maybe you’ll find a way to work that component into your speech.
Thank you heaps this really helped a lot
that is such good information and i believe im going to pass my speeches.
wow!!this are really helpfull stuff..but im just not confident enough to stand infront of all those people..wish i could do it without them looking at me
blind fold them! just joking…I’m getting ready to do mine and I’m having the same problem as you.
this is a helpfull site
this isn’t helping me with how nervous I am!! bye!!
love it really helped
thanks you are good
I have to do a presentation about “Importance of learning English”. There are 6 people in my group including myself. The presentation has to be exactly 8 minutes. We can’t use PowerPoint. Can you give us any unique, memorable and creative idea?
What are some lessons or life experiences that you find unique and memorable? I’d probably do a play, with a character who gets into trouble because he/she doesn’t know English, and then has a chance to correct those problems by demonstrating how learning English can fix the problems.
Hello mr.Dennis,I go straight to it.how can I become the most sought after Master of Ceremony(M.C.)/tv show presenter extra-ordinaire in my country before going international?any useful tips?
Sorry, that question is not something I cover on this page.
really well writen loved how you added steps so its easy to follow clear easily can be understaned and really helps us and gives us tips that we should actually think about and use at times
Yeah! I found it quite impressive. I hope it’z gonna be helpful for me to develop my speech techniques.
Nice tips….i think it will help me. but it’s too lengthy,it takes so much of time to read.
This really helps to prepare for all sort of things, Thanks a lot
Really helpful! Thank you
Pingback: Oral Presentation Readings « readwriteredroom
i love this helpful tips of oral presentation.. hope to visit this again or i just make a hard copy of this… thank you very much for that…
it was quite helpful
thank you for the great tip, but my problem is actually that I have a presentation on ‘All About Me’ and I have to keep the audience ‘engaged’ like by making a guessing game or something. If anyone has any other ideas please help!!
This may help: http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/showing/
This really helped me prepare my oral presentation…thanks very much!!!!
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Written by: Nayomi Chibana
Wondering how to start a presentation that makes your audience sit up in their seats with excitement?
"Today, you will learn something that will add 10 years to your life."
"20 years from now, your job won't exist."
"Did you know that more people have access to a mobile phone than a toilet?"
Presentation starters like these are key to grabbing your audience's attention and making the most of the time allotted to you.
Instead of thanking the audience, making an unrelated joke or apologizing for a technical issue, why not dive right into the subject matter with a gripping statement or thought-provoking question?
To help you craft your own killer presentation starters, we've sorted through some of the most popular TED talks in history and created this list of the most effective ways to start your next presentation .
Many of these presentation starters are successful because they appeal to human emotions such as curiosity, awe, surprise or fear. You can read more on creating viral content that triggers emotional responses in this post .
Better yet, check out the video version of this blog post. This video distills 12 killer strategies to start your presentation and keep the audience's attention throughout.
Knowing how to start a presentation is just as crucial as the message you're trying to convey. If you can't start it effectively, you might not be able to leave a strong enough impact by the end of it.
TED speakers are some of the best presenters in the world, and there's a lot you can learn from their talks. Below, we've handpicked some of these presentations that start with a bang and manage to keep the audience hooked till the very end.
"I want to discuss with you this afternoon why you're going to fail to have a great career."
One surefire way to get your audience's attention is to make a provocative statement that creates interest and a keen desire to know more about what you have to say.
The presentation above, for example, does just that by making a surprising first statement that inspires surprise, amusement, curiosity and fear at the same time.
With 4.8 million views and counting, this talk by an economics professor draws you in precisely because it steers clear of the traditional talk, using blunt humor to enumerate all the irrational excuses people make for not pursuing their dreams and passions.
"I need to make a confession at the outset here. A little over 20 years ago, I did something that I regret, something that I'm not particularly proud of. Something that, in many ways, I wish no one would ever know, but here I feel kind of obliged to reveal."
Another way to grab your audience by the collar is to incite curiosity. In this popular TED talk viewed over 15.4 million times, career analyst Dan Pink succeeds at getting the entire audience to look at him intently, waiting for his next word, by resorting to an opening statement that builds suspense.
Since human beings are by nature curious creatures, most people in the audience were probably asking themselves "What did he do?" and imagining all sorts of possible scenarios.
"You will live seven and a half minutes longer than you would have otherwise, just because you watched this talk."
In many ways related to the previous two presentation starters, this hook involves making a counter-intuitive or paradigm-shifting statement that goes against a popular belief or simply shocks due to the perceived impossibility of the proposed statement.
This introduction by game designer Jane McGonigal, for example, achieves a level of surprise by making a seemingly improbable assertion. After hearing this kind of statement, most people will want to listen to your entire talk, if not out of genuine interest, then at least for the sake of pacifying their incredulity.
(By the way, she makes good on her promise by revealing a game she designed to boost resilience, which is backed by scientific research.)
"When I was seven years old and my sister was just five years old, we were playing on top of a bunk bed..."
As covered in a previous post , storytelling is the key ingredient that separates good, engaging presentations from bad ones that lack a clear message and persuasive delivery.
In his popular talk on the secret to being more productive, psychologist Shawn Achor tells a childhood story to lead into the effectiveness of positive psychology. He then goes on to provide concrete evidence backing his claim that pursuing happiness, rather than productivity for its own sake, actually makes you more--not less--productive.
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"I'm going to tell you a little bit about my TEDxHouston Talk. I woke up the morning after I gave that talk with the worst vulnerability hangover of my life. And I actually didn't leave my house for about three days."
Another way to draw your audience into your own world is to tell a revealing personal story. This is certainly not easy but, when done right, can quickly spark interest in your topic and build an emotional connection between you and your audience.
In Brene Brown's talk on confronting shame, she begins by admitting that she felt embarrassed over the revelations she had made in her massively popular TED talk on embracing vulnerability.
One of the easiest ways to start a presentation is to quote an influential person. In these cases, it's best to use a pithy, short and relevant quote to catch your audience's attention.
In the widely viewed video above, for example, writer Andrew Solomon quotes Emily Dickinson to begin his talk on depression, an illness he asserts affects many more people than the official figures suggest.
The quote is particularly powerful and effective because it eloquently describes the state of depression from the point of view of a person who is feeling all the emotions associated with it.
To introduce this fascinating TED talk on how movements really get started, entrepreneur Derek Sivers uses some surprising footage to support his statements. They are especially captivating because they debunk widely held beliefs on the matter, proving that it takes more than just a charismatic leader to start a revolution of any sort.
"Do you think it's possible to control someone's attention? Even more than that, what about predicting human behavior?"
In this attention-grabbing presentation on the flaws in human perception, world-famous pickpocket Apollo Robbins starts off by asking the audience a question that leads right into the meat of his talk, which has been viewed worldwide more than 10.5 million times.
In these cases, it's best to pose a question that will really get your audience thinking and, in the best possible scenario, challenge their prevailing beliefs or preconceptions on a certain topic.
51 Best Presentation Slides for Engaging Presentations (2024)
Another effective technique--which should only be used if you're a seasoned presenter and are able to maintain your composure throughout--is to leverage silence to command a room.
Watch, for example, how musician Amanda Palmer starts off her talk by not saying a word, simply breathing in and out and using props to communicate her message.
Although you may not want to resort to both silence and using a prop in your presentation, this is a very effective dramatic technique that, if done right, quickly draws all eyes to you.
Considering that the audience's gaze is attracted by motion and visual objects, another way to hook them right from the outset is to use a prop.
Take a look at how best-selling author Susan Cain uses a physical object to visually complement her opening story on her first summer camp experience. It not only adds a dramatic effect, it also keeps viewers eyes on her while on stage.
"Okay, now I don't want to alarm anybody in this room, but it's just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar."
Humor is not only a good way to break the ice and endear the audience to you right from the outset, it can also be very effective in getting your point across if it's relevant to your talk.
Lie detector Pamela Meyer, for example, deftly uses both humor and an element of surprise in her opening statement as she tells the audience that the person to their right is probably a liar. This gets the audience to laugh and then focus on her topic at the same time.
She goes on to give some shocking statistics (such as that on any given day, we're lied to up to 200 times) and delivers an intriguing talk that has been seen close to 13 million times.
"Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary."
Lastly, there are times when leading your audience to use their imaginations is the best bet. You can prompt them to do this by using the commands "imagine," "think of" or "picture this." These are just a few of the most powerful opening words for presentation.
Plane crash survivor Ric Elias, for example, uses this technique in the video above to quickly thrust his audience into the central scene of his harrowing story.
What about your next presentation? Have you thought about how you're going to set the mood for your talk? We've rounded up some of the best way to start a presentation.
When you're ready to get started creating your presentation, give Visme's presentation software a try! The tool comes with an AI writer that helps you generate killer content for your next presentation in seconds.
Plus, check out our post on how to end a presentation so you both start and end your speech with a bang.
And if you want to learn all our secrets on how to deliver an unforgettable presentation, as well as how to create visual slides with impact, grab our free e-book below.
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Nayomi Chibana is a journalist and writer for Visme’s Visual Learning Center. Besides researching trends in visual communication and next-generation storytelling, she’s passionate about data-driven content.
To give a successful presentation, whether in front of a client, student, colleague, or stranger audience or virtually, you must understand the difference between formal and informal presentation. This article will help you learn just that and provide information on delivering powerful presentations in both styles to effectively promote your skills and make your audience more receptive to your message. So, let’s dive in!
Your audience, supporting materials, and the amount of time you have to prepare in advance are the main elements that define a presentation as formal.
A presentation is considered formal when you are requested to share your thoughts with a person or group and given the opportunity to prepare. This type of presentation requires a totally different approach than presenting to your team during an informal discussion or weekly meeting.
Formal presentations often take place in an academic or professional setting and adhere to a specific set of guidelines. They can be delivered orally or via video chat, which enables participants to connect from different locations and meet on screen so they can see each other while speaking without having anybody else around to listen.
The different types of formal presentations include:
Now that you know the formal presentation definition and its types, let’s examine how to create one in more detail.
Crafting an excellent formal presentation that surpasses your audience’s expectations is an art that requires countless hours of practice to master.
Here at SlidePeak, we understand that a properly delivered formal speech can make a huge difference in how effectively someone expresses their thoughts. That’s why we’ve created this simple guide that will educate you on how to make your formal presentation PowerPoint the best it can be and help you prevent typical rookie mistakes.
Typically, the voice of a formal presentation is strong, authoritative, and appealing. Such a voice is crucial when presenting or speaking to a large audience. This comes from your ability to make your voice resonate since a resonant voice is more pleasing and can make you sound more confident. Speaking softly or mumbling, on the contrary, might give the impression that you are uncertain and undermine the strength of your presentation.
Don’t know where to start? Check this formal presentation example or enlist the help of PowerPoint presentation services to save time and ensure your ideas are presented in an appealing way that combines aesthetics alongside content.
When giving a formal presentation, there are also a few things to consider:
If you are going to give an online presentation, make sure to consider the below tips in addition to the ones above.
So, what is the difference between a formal and informal presentation? Read on to find out what an informal presentation is, what makes it different from a formal one, and how to give one like a pro.
Informal presentations, also known as impromptu presentations, can be presented in a variety of settings. They have the same structure as formal ones but are less formal. This type of presentation can be delivered in person or virtually via video chat and frequently has a more conversational tone.
An informal presentation is pretty common for business meetings and is typically prepared quickly, without much organization. It’s more like a conversation where everyone feels like they’re being spoken to directly by the presenter rather than watching the presenter talk to an audience from behind slides. This makes it a fantastic way to engage the audience. And unlike a formal, lecture-like presentation with a few questions at the end, informal presentations are often followed by vivid discussions.
Here are some excellent informal presentation examples to get you started:
Pro tip: If you have an outdated presentation on a similar topic or one with a similar structure but on a different topic, you can opt for a PPT redesign service and have it revamped while you practice your presentation or indulge in other important activities.
There are a few things to remember when delivering informal presentations, and they are as follows:
Both formal and informal presentations have their benefits. However, it’s crucial to take your particular situation into account to choose the most appropriate style, as formal presentations are more acceptable in a professional setting, while informal ones work better if there is no formality requirement (e.g., team discussion, conference, weekly meeting).
“But what is the secret to delivering powerful presentations in both styles?” you might ask. The answer is pretty straightforward: when you’re putting together your presentation, always ensure that your organization and research abilities work in harmony and find time to practice. Remember, practice makes perfect, and passion persuades. Polished presenting skills provide payoffs. Speak slowly and clearly, look your audience in the eyes, and give them something to talk about when your speech is over.
For assistance with the presentation design part, you can always count on slidepeak.com . Our dedicated team is at your service 24/7!
An oral presentation can be a confusing and intimidating prospect. Often people are unclear as to what it actually is. An oral presentation is a verbal report or lecture or address about a particular topic or set of topics. It may include visual props, slides or video clips, but the bulk of the content is delivered from a speaker to an audience through words. It can be overwhelming to think of how to write an oral presentation, particularly if you've never done it before.
It can also be scary because an oral presentation requires you to speak as the center of attention for a period of at least a few minutes. Many people are afraid of public speaking, and the idea of having to give an oral presentation can cause a great deal of anxiety. However, with preparedness and practice, you'll find that writing an oral presentation is less frightening than it seems.
Oral presentations are very different from written presentations. For one thing, the language you use in a written presentation, paper or article is significantly more formal than the kind of language that you'll use in an oral presentation. You'll want to make sure that your presentation is accessible to experts and non-experts, so unless they are absolutely necessary, you should take care to eliminate things like jargon, acronyms or insider terms that will make the presentation inaccessible to people who are not experts in your field. Oral presentations also require a connection and interaction with your audience. You'll need to lean heavily on your memory to be sure that you don't forget anything as you won't be reading off of a page. This is why writing an oral presentation requires significant practice and preparation.
Before preparing your oral presentation you'll likely need to do a decent amount of research. Regardless of whether or not you've written extensively about the topic prior to preparing your oral presentation, research is still a critical piece of preparing. Research is necessary to ensure that the information you're going to be giving is accurate and to the point. You may feel that you're already an expert on the topic you're going to discuss, but there is always the chance that you could learn more, and that the knowledge you gain from some research can change your oral presentation for the better.
Oral presentations, unlike a written report, require that you're able to hold forth on your topic in a relaxed conversational manner. This means that by the time you're ready to give your oral presentation, you'll have become an authority on the subject. The best way to do this is to do extensive research on the topic and get familiar with any adjacent topics that might be relevant or related. First, do a search to get all of the necessary background information on the topic you're planning to focus your oral presentation around. Then see what other research into the area has been done. Is there research that contradicts the research you have already read? Are there sources you have not consulted yet that may have valuable information for you to consider?
Make sure that your research is thorough and extensive, to avoid missing important information about your topic. It's also a good idea to see if there are any video presentations available on similar topics. This way you can see how other people have dealt with your topic in this context before, and perhaps get some tips on what to include and what to leave, and possibly get some help with the format and structure of your presentation.
As you begin to prepare for your oral presentation, you'll want to keep the focus of your presentation firmly in mind. Having a focus or organizing principle will help you with one of the key pieces of preparing for an oral presentation: creating an outline. Another word for an organizing principle is a thesis statement. As with a paper or an article, the thesis statement is the main point that you're trying to make. If you're speaking about more than one topic in your oral presentation, you may have more than one thesis or one for each topic.
An outline will help you organize your thoughts and the flow of the presentation, so you can take listeners through information that may be very complex in a way that makes sense to them. Many people may find listening to a presentation of new material confusing or challenging, so something to keep in mind is clarity and simplicity. This is where an outline is helpful.
Before beginning your outline, you'll want to get a rough list of everything you want to cover in your presentation. You can look for ideas by searching for an oral presentation example speech online or oral presentation tips for students. Make a list of bullet point topics that come to mind when you imagine the kinds of things you want to talk about. Then go back and cross out any points that are redundant and repetitious, and indicate if any points can be nested under a larger umbrella topic. Once you have a clear list of the items you want to discuss in your oral presentation, you can begin to create an outline.
An outline is a way to set up your oral presentation before you give it. This will help you structure the presentation and ensure that the information you're giving makes sense and has context. It's also a good idea to make an outline, so you can be sure that you don't leave out or forget any critical information during the course of your presentation. Armed with your list of bullet points, you're ready to begin to organize your presentation from beginning to end. An outline is a sort of like a map for your presentation. Where do you want to begin? What will be the conclusion?
Write down the topic you're planning to open with, then think logically about the sequence of points you want to make to follow it up. Figure out what the most natural flow is; in other words, find out where it makes sense to begin and where to go next. Paying attention to flow in your presentation is a key part of writing an oral presentation that will make sense to listeners. Jumping from topic to topic in a disjointed way can make your presentation confusing to the people listening. Try to make sure all the topics in your outline lead naturally from the one before it to the one after. The clearer your organizational method is, the better understood your oral presentation will be.
Because you're not going to be reading the presentation, the outline can be written in a note format made up of topic sentences that will prompt you to begin discussing the topic, rather than reading a pre-written text. It's important to keep in mind that you aren't going to write out your entire oral presentation. Speaking to an audience is very different than reading to an audience. You don't want the people listening to your oral presentation to feel like they're hearing someone read a paper. Instead, make your presentation as conversational as you can. This requires mastery of the material and a clear outline.
Under each bullet point in your outline, write down any words, phrases or notes that will help you to remember the content for that particular part of the presentation. Build your whole outline this way, laying out the topic sentences at the heading of each section and using them as a jumping off point to start speaking about each one. Once you've arranged your list of bullet points in the order you plan to discuss them, you'll want to jot down the particular topic sentences and points you hope to make in each section. While you want to make sure that you include all the relevant topics in your oral report,
Once you have completed your outline, you're ready to do a "dry run" of your presentation. Starting at the beginning, give the oral presentation once all the way through. For the first dry run, do the presentation alone. See if it makes sense, if it feels clear and if you're able to move from topic to topic in a way that flows naturally and seems cohesive. If there are any problems, or if things seem unclear during the presentation, go back and revise your outline. If you find yourself stuck for things to say about a certain part of the outline, that's a sign that you need to go back and do more research on that particular topic to make sure that it all flows together without an issue.
Besides things like speaking slowly, clearly and with authority, a practice run is also to help you weed out unnecessary content in your oral presentation. Very often, people who are preparing for an oral presentation are most used to writing essays and reports and including background details that they feel are necessary or enlightening but may be excessive for an oral presentation.
Once you've gotten your presentation tweaked to your liking, and you can perform it for yourself in a mirror with a feeling of confidence, it's time to bring in an audience. Ask one or two friends, family members or coworkers to help you with your oral presentation by listening to you run through it. After you've finished, ask them if it made sense, if you spoke clearly and if they had any questions. These topics are now very familiar to you, but they may not be familiar to your audience, so listen to their questions and feedback. They may be able to point out places where you need more information or need to be clearer.
Getting feedback from people unfamiliar with your topic is also a good way to find out what questions an audience may have that you hadn't yet thought of. This can be helpful for you in terms of rewriting your outline or rewriting your oral presentation altogether to make it clearer, easier to understand and thus a more effective presentation.
Practicing with an audience will also help you relax and talk about your topic in a more conversational and less stiff manner. Once you give your oral presentation to your audience, you may find that some of the things you wrote in your outline feel redundant or unnecessary. If that's the case, you should plan to revise and remove anything that you think doesn't serve your message. Once you've practiced a few times and feel that you've made all necessary adjustments, keep running through the presentation again, either alone or with an audience, to further help you remember the flow of the topics and guarantee that you won't need to read too much from your outline.
Ashley Friedman is a freelance writer with experience writing about education for a variety of organizations and educational institutions as well as online media sites.
How to make your presentation sound more like a conversation.
The main difference between strong, confident speakers and speakers who seem nervous in front of the room is in how relaxed and conversational they appear. Here are some basic pointers that will help you create a conversational tone when speaking, regardless of the size of your audience.
1. Avoid using the word, “presentation.” Every time you say, “I’m here to give you a presentation on X,” or, “In this presentation, you’ll see…,” you are emphasizing the formal, structured, sometimes artificial nature of the interaction. No one wants to be “presented” to. Instead, use language that emphasizes a natural, conversational exchange. “We’re here today to talk about X,” or “Today I’ll be sharing some ideas regarding Y.” You can even go so far as to say, “I’m glad we have time together today to discuss Z.” Even if your talk is not going to truly be a dialogue, you can use language that suggests engagement with the audience.
2. If you are using PowerPoint, avoid using the word “slide.” Instead of talking about the medium, talk about the concepts. Swap out, “This slide shows you…,” for, “Here we see….” Instead of saying, “On that slide I showed you a moment ago,” say, “A moment ago we were discussing X. Here’s how that issue will impact Y and Z.” Casual conversations don’t usually involve slide decks. Just because your complicated presentation on tax exposure, supply chain issues, or new health care regulations requires you to use slides, doesn’t mean you have to draw attention to that fact that the setting is formal and structured.
3. For many large-group events, speakers are provided with what’s called a “confidence monitor,” a computer screen that sits on the floor at the speaker’s feet showing the slide that appears on the large screen above the speaker’s head. Avoid using confidence monitors. Our natural inclination when using a confidence monitor is to gesture at the bullet point we’re discussing at the moment. However, we are pointing to a bullet point on the screen at our feet, which the audience can’t see, so it creates a disconnect between us and the audience. Instead, stand to the side of the large screen and gesture at the bullet point you’re talking about so that the audience knows which point you are discussing at the moment.
4. Don’t tell your audience, “I want this to be interactive.” It’s your job to make it interactive. If you are delivering the type of presentation where your audience size allows you to create true engagement with your listeners, create that connecting in stages to “warm up” the audience. Stage One engagement is to ask the audience a question relevant to your topic that you know most of the audience members can respond to affirmatively. “Who here has ever bought a new car?” or, “How many of you have ever waited more than 5 minutes on hold on a customer service line?” Raise your hand as you ask the question to indicate to the audience how to respond. Whoever has raised their hand has now participated in the discussion. They have indicated a willingness to engage. Stage Two engagement is calling on one of the people who raised their hand and asking a specific, perfunctory question. Again, it needs to be a question they can answer easily. If your first questions is, “Who here has bought a new car?” you can then call on someone and ask, “How long ago,” or “What kind of car did you buy most recently?” If your first question was, “Have you ever waited on hold for more than 5 minutes,” you can’t ask, “What company were you calling at the time?” The people who raised their hands weren’t thinking of a specific instance; they were just thinking broadly about that type of experience. You could, however, call on someone and ask, “Do you prefer when they play music or ads for the company’s products?” Anyone can answer that question. At that point, you are in an actual dialogue with that person. Stage Three engagement is asking them a question where they need to reveal something more personal. “How does that make you feel when you hear those ads?” You’ve warmed up your audience and drawn them in with baby steps. Now you have actual, meaningful audience participation.
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5. Use gestures. When we’re speaking in an informal setting, we all use hand gestures; some people use more than others, but we all use them. When we try to rein in our gestures, two things happen that diminish our speaking style. First, we look stiff and unnatural. We look like we are presenting a guarded or cautious version of ourselves; we look less genuine. Second, hand gestures burn up the nervous energy we all have when speaking in front of a large group. That’s good. When we try to minimize our hand gestures, we tie up that nervous energy and it starts to leak out on odd ways, where we start to tap our foot, fidget with our notes or microphone, or tilt our head side to side to emphasize key points. Just let the gestures fly. It’s unlikely they will be too large or distracting. I have coached people on their presentation skills for 26 years. In that time, I have met three people who gestured too much. Everyone else would benefit from using their gestures more freely.
The impact we have as communicators is based on the cumulative effect of many different elements of our delivery. These suggestions alone won’t make you a terrific presenter. They will, however, add to the overall package your present of yourself when speaking to large audiences.
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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Presentations > Six tips for recording a presentation
Your latest presentation is filled with crucial information and key concepts your colleagues need to remember. Record and archive it for easy reference and absorption.
Whether you’re recording a presentation for work, a webinar or school, both you and your colleagues will greatly appreciate having it available to reference. You can absorb information at your pace, ensuring that you retain pertinent information, without having to rely solely on your notes. While the method of recording depends on the virtual meeting platform or whether its in person, here are some guidelines on how to record you presentation:
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High-quality recording equipment is essential for producing professional-looking and sounding presentations. Laptops are equipped with microphone and a high-resolution webcam, but it’s always a good idea to consider investing in higher quality recording equipment.
Before starting your presentation, it’s crucial to test your recording equipment to ensure everything is working properly. Check the audio levels, video quality, and any additional accessories you may be using, such as lighting or a green screen. Conducting a test run will help identify any technical issues that need to be addressed. Review the virtual meeting platform you are using to ensure that the recording feature is enabled, so you won’t have to search for it when the presentation time rolls around.
Choose a quiet, well-lit environment for recording your presentation. Minimize background noise and distractions to ensure clear audio and video quality. Consider using a neutral background or a virtual background to maintain a professional appearance. Natural lighting is ideal, but if that’s not possible, invest in good quality lighting equipment to ensure your face is well-lit and visible.
Organize your presentation materials in a logical order to facilitate smooth delivery. Create an outline or script to guide your presentation, making sure to include key points, transitions, and visual aids. Practice your presentation multiple times to become familiar with the contents and ensure a confident delivery. If you have multiple presenters, solidify the speaking order and designate one person to facilitate the presentation.
Even though you’re recording your presentation, it’s essential to engage with your audience as if they were present in the room with you. Encourage interaction by asking questions, prompting viewers to think critically, and inviting them to share their thoughts or experiences in the comments section. Respond to comments and questions promptly to foster a sense of community and connection with your audience.
Keep track of time during your presentation to ensure that you stay within the allotted timeframe. Plan your presentation carefully, allocating sufficient time to cover each topic or section. If you find yourself running out of time, prioritize the most critical points and consider saving less crucial information for a follow-up or supplementary material.
For more ways to improve presentation skills, like calming presentation anxiety and connecting with a virtual audience , learn more presentation tips .
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6/ Engage Emotionally. Connect emotional levels with your audience by appealing to their aspirations, fears, desires, or values. They help create a deeper connection and engagement from the very beginning. Make sure your introduction is concise and to the point. Avoid unnecessary details or lengthy explanations.
Apply the 10-20-30 rule. Apply the 10-20-30 presentation rule and keep it short, sweet and impactful! Stick to ten slides, deliver your presentation within 20 minutes and use a 30-point font to ensure clarity and focus. Less is more, and your audience will thank you for it! 9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule. Simplicity is key.
First things first: the date's in the diary and you need to prepare. Let's break it down. 1. Preparing your presentation. Imagine you're a designer in the automotive industry and your boss has asked you to give a presentation. The subject: the future of the car and how it will fit with all the other modes of transport.
Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired ...
This clarifies the overall purpose of your talk and reinforces your reason for being there. Follow these steps: Signal that it's nearly the end of your presentation, for example, "As we wrap up/as we wind down the talk…". Restate the topic and purpose of your presentation - "In this speech I wanted to compare…". 5.
Step 1. Develop Your PowerPoint Presentation's 'Thesis'. Right now, before you get any further in the process, write out what your topic is in one sentence. Think of it as a mini thesis for your presentation. To be effective, your single sentence "thesis" must be specific, relevant, and debatable.
3 - Create An Outline. The success of your presentation depends on how well your audience can understand it. If you're delivering a presentation that continuously jumps back and forth from one idea to another, your audience won't follow and you'll lose them. Develop an outline that will guide the flow of your presentation.
A formal presentation involves much more preparation. A formal presentation is much longer, far less conversational, and perhaps intended for a wider audienc...
1. Give your presentation an introduction, a main message, and a conclusion. Some people summarise this as 'say what you're going to say, say it, then say what you've said'. However, that is not the whole story. Your introduction needs to 'set the scene' a bit and give a broad outline of what you are going to cover in your presentation.
Presentation skills are the abilities and qualities necessary for creating and delivering a compelling presentation that effectively communicates information and ideas. They encompass what you say, how you structure it, and the materials you include to support what you say, such as slides, videos, or images. You'll make presentations at various ...
Formal Presentations. Presentations give you the opportunity to share and receive feedback on your ideas and research findings. This page offers basic guidelines for organizing, designing, and delivering formal presentations. ... Instead, write down your points on note cards and organize the cards, so you can see the entire structure at a ...
Get started with TED Masterclass. When preparing for your presentation, there are 5 steps to keep in mind when preparing for your presentation. These include: choosing the right software for your needs, organizing your files, preparing your presentation materials, practice, and make sure to do a final test run.
4. Practise presentation flow. As well as practising for the ideas and what you want to say, practise how you want your presentation to flow. Think of it almost as a symphony, with high points, slow movements and crescendos. If it's important, think about how you want your audience to feel, what emotions you want them to have, and when. 5.
Follow these tips to help you create a presentation that will engage your audience: 1. Keep your presentation simple. When putting your presentation together, remember that simpler is better. Many presenters follow the "10-20-30" rule, which is to use 10 or fewer slides, keep your presentation under 20 minutes and use at least 30-point font.
11. "Let's embark on a journey through our discussion on…". 12. "I'm delighted to have the chance to share my insights on…". 13. "Thank you for the opportunity to present to such an esteemed audience on…". 14. "Let's set the stage for an engaging discussion about…". 15.
Body. Create a skeleton outline of your presentation by breaking down this main message into smaller parts. Use bullet points or headings to organize these bits of information. Think of the main points as the big chapters and the subpoints as the smaller sections within those chapters.
How to create an engaging introduction. Consider using the tips below to engage your audience before your next presentation: 1. Tell your audience who you are. Introduce yourself, and then once your audience knows your name, tell them why they should listen to you. Example: "Good morning. My name is Miranda Booker, and I'm here today to ...
The purpose of formal presentations is to provide information to a group of people with a few questions at the end. Informal presentations, however, are about providing information, listening to the reaction, and generating a discussion. It becomes more like a conversation and the audience will be more involved. -Keep visual aids to a minimum.
Jerz > Writing > [ Academic | Technical] This document briefly describes how to write and deliver a formal oral presentation on an academic or professional subject.It should be useful for anyone who wants to know how to speak in public. Note: by "formal presentation," I don't necessarily mean a Shakespeare monologue or a scientific treatise on robot-assisted microsurgery.
1 Make a provocative statement. "I want to discuss with you this afternoonwhy you're going to fail to have a great career." One surefire way to get your audience's attention is to make a provocative statement that creates interest and a keen desire to know more about what you have to say. The presentation above, for example, does just that by ...
A presentation is considered formal when you are requested to share your thoughts with a person or group and given the opportunity to prepare. This type of presentation requires a totally different approach than presenting to your team during an informal discussion or weekly meeting. Formal presentations often take place in an academic or ...
Paying attention to flow in your presentation is a key part of writing an oral presentation that will make sense to listeners. Jumping from topic to topic in a disjointed way can make your presentation confusing to the people listening. Try to make sure all the topics in your outline lead naturally from the one before it to the one after.
1. Avoid using the word, "presentation." Every time you say, "I'm here to give you a presentation on X," or, "In this presentation, you'll see…," you are emphasizing the formal ...
Create an outline or script to guide your presentation, making sure to include key points, transitions, and visual aids. Practice your presentation multiple times to become familiar with the contents and ensure a confident delivery. If you have multiple presenters, solidify the speaking order and designate one person to facilitate the ...