Oct

9

Preparing for an oral presentation

October 9, 2009 |  Tagged , , | Leave a Comment

Good preparation makes you confident and results in a good talk, so prepare your talk and then practice your delivery:

INTRODUCTION
Plan to introduce your presentation with an attention-grabber, like a joke or an anecdote about your topic. Telling it will help you relax and warm your audience to the presentation. Also in the introduction, tell the audience what they’re about to hear by summarizing the most important parts of your presentation.

BODY
Purpose
Determine your purpose: to inform/teach or persuade/convince. Write it down as a purpose statement and try to make it more specific.

Take a few minutes to think about your audience:

  1. Who is your audience?
  2. Is everyone in the audience as familiar with your topic as you are?
  3. How can you make your topic interesting to everyone?

Brainstorm ideas on your topic.
Brainstorm the topic. The topic is broad, so you need to narrow it down by brainstorming again Narrow your point of focus. Your goal is to pick one aspect of your topic to focus on. What do you need or want to tell people about your topic?

 Select the key ideas
From your list of brainstorming ideas, pick 5. These are the key concepts you want to introduce to your audience.

 Organize your ideas

  1. Put each point in the order you are going to say them. Eg your most important point can go either first or last. Look again at the order of your points. Are they in a logical sequence? Do they build from the weakest to the strongest point.
  2. List each main point and develop two or three supporting facts.

CONCLUSION  
Use your conclusion to remind the audience what they’ve heard. Restate your most important conclusions and reiterate your most convincing evidence. Give the audience a sense of closure by wrapping up your presentation.

PREPARE YOUR TALK

  1. Put these points on cards (or paper that will fit in the palm of your hand). Perhaps type them onto a Powerpoint slide. Each slide can be one of the main points. Then print the slides, cut them up and they become your cue cards for the actual presentation.
  2. Write out your introduction and conclusion. Intro should create interest, reveal topic, and preview main points. Conclusion sums up by repeating main points and suggesting implications or action for the audience

REHEARSE YOUR TALK USING CUE CARDS

  1. Practice, practice, practice!!!!!
  2. Practice your talk out loud until you really know it (but don’t memorize it!) and don’t read it.
  3. Repeat your presentation over and over again.
  4. Practice it before friends or family, your pets, in front of a mirror. Practice in your sleep and in your imagination.Speak slowly, clearly, and not too softly. Be careful not to say “um” or fidget.

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