- for students in economics -
If, simply put, management is the art of getting things done, then a presentation is a fast and potentially effective way of getting things done through other people.
A presentation puts things on display. But, first of all, it puts you on display. No matter how you look at it, a presentation ideally provides several advantages, both to the presenter and to the audience:
When giving a presentation, you provide evidence of your planning and leadership skills
You can motivate and inspire staff (subordinates) to undertake the tasks that you are presenting
Peers (colleagues in similar positions) can be persuaded of the benefits of your project and can offer support to achieve it
Bosses should be impressed with your skills and abilities and provide the resources necessary to you and your team
Even if the presentation is not delivered to people within the same company but to, for instance, potential customers or partners, replace 'subordinates'/'peers'/'bosses' in the equation by 'client' or 'partner', and you can still see the benefits of a good presentation.
A presentation may also offer a good opportunity for discussions - during the presentation itself or after. Of course, meetings are normally meant for debates and discussions, but the main advantage to you is that, unlike in a meeting, for a specified amount of time you are not going to be interrupted and have the liberty to make your points clearly.
It is essential to understand that, in the communication process involved in a presentation, the focus must be on reception, not on transmission; in other words, a presentation must be planned with an emphasis on the audience, not the sp 515c28f eaker. The speaker must adapt his/her presentation to the audience's knowledge, communication skills, interests. In real life, there is no such thing as an ideal audience. Your audience is always going to be made up of people, and people can have other things on their minds, or they may not have enough power of concentration to 'stay with you' throughout your presentation. Your main job in a presentation, therefore, is to get over these normal obstacles and deliver the 'message' in an understandable, memorable and effective manner.
How much time should be spent on planning a presentation? That depends on the importance of the objectives you have in mind, your audience, and, of course, your experience in delivering presentations. A rough approximation will be that you need about one hour of preparation for every five minutes of presentation.
a) set an objective
First of all, remember the two main types of communication: do you want your presentation to be informative or persuasive? From this point, you can get down to more specific objectives within these two general frameworks. Do you want to present your new project to the audience? Do you want to motivate your co-workers? Do you want to make the audience buy your product/service? Start by stating (for yourself) what the intention behind your speech is. And remember that one presentation cannot serve two or more objectives equally well - this means that, ideally, you should focus on one objective only. Of course, if you have decided that there are one or two other secondary objectives, you may touch upon them as well, as long as they do not distract the audience's attention from the main one. What would you prefer: to shoot at one target only and hit it, or to waste your 'ammunition' by shooting randomly at several targets and miss them all? If you cannot focus on your own objective, don't expect that the audience will. This brings us to the next step in planning the presentation.
b) think of the audience
Start from questions like: 'Who is the audience?', 'How many people will be attending?', 'What do they need to know?', 'What do they expect from the presentation?', 'How familiar are they already with the topic of my presentation?'
Asking questions, of course, is not enough. You should be able to come up with as many right answers as possible. Remember the people in your audience have their own aims, just as you have yours - the key to a successful presentation is to make them believe that they can achieve their goal while also achieving yours. All this may sound like a sales technique - well, it is. While delivering a presentation you are trying to 'sell' an idea to a group of potential buyers, your audience; even if the idea is great, they will not 'buy' it if you don't pay attention to their needs and you don't 'pack' that idea in a clear, attractive presentation.
c) think of the contents
Brainstorm your ideas about the contents of your presentation. Decide what is essential and relevant and what isn't - you must be selective. Make sure the contents of your presentation are going to match the objective and the audience: if, for instance, you have to deliver two presentations having the same objective to two different audiences, their contents would have to differ.
d) think of the structure (see III below)
Just as you must adapt the contents to your objective and audience, you must do the same with the structure of the presentation.
e) Rehearse your presentation
Take enough time to practice your presentation several times before delivering it. Rehearsing a presentation in front of a mirror or to an audience of empty chairs may seem strange, but it will offer you a chance to identify any weak points, gaps of information, or aspects relating to your voice, gestures and posture. Needless to say, this is the only way you can time the presentation and make sure it fits the number of minutes you have at your disposal. Especially if you know you can get nervous in front of an audience, don't feel embarrassed to rehearse in front of a mirror - this will help your self-confidence by getting you accustomed to the sound and modulations of your own voice, as well as to some pre-established aspects of body-language.
Once you have thought about the main objective of your presentation, about your audience and about the relevant contents you want to present, it's time you gave your thoughts some shape. No one - including yourself - is going to follow your ideas if they are not structured coherently and appropriately. Structure, however, must not get in the way of contents - these two elements should be harmonized. Depending on the other elements we have considered so far, there are several basic ways to structure your presentation.
a) sandwich
This is the easiest, most traditional format that can be used to structure a presentation. It consists of the typical beginning-middle-end format, where the main importance is granted to the 'middle', just as in a sandwich. The same format can be applied for all the sub-sections in other types of presentation.
b) sequence of arguments
This is also a simple structure that you can use. It consists of a series of statements logically connected among them, eventually leading to a conclusion. You must be aware, however, that this simplicity requires careful delineation between different sections; you may want to use frequent reminders of what the main point is and be explicit as to how one point leads to the next.
c) 'decomposition'
In this type of presentation you have one main topic which you break down (or 'decompose') into sub-topics, then you break down each sub-topic into smaller basic units. This type is extremely useful (and easy to use) in written communication, but remember that if you decide to use it for an oral presentation the hierarchy of topics and sub-topics must remain clear to the audience at any given moment. Therefore you need to remind your audience where each section fits into the hierarchy that you have in mind.
What the audience perceive is linear, given by the order in which you approach each section:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, etc.
What they should be aware of is the hierarchical structure of your argument:
A
d) question-oriented
This is a more open and more complex format and it consists of introducing a problem and some relevant background, presenting various solutions to that problem (while also listing the advantages and disadvantages for each solution), and in the end summarizing all possible options according to their pro's and con's. At this point, the presenter has one of two options: either he ends by offering the desired solution for the audience to endorse, or he initiates a discussion with the audience that would lead to the desired solution. As you can see, this format of presentation may also involve the audience's participation, which ads to the number of 'variables' that place your aim at a risk. The 'trick' you may want to use to reach your aim in this case, however, is to establish during the presentation your own criteria by which the possible options are going to be judged by the audience.
e) pyramid
This format is similar to the technique used by journalists to write a newspaper story. The article begins with a catchy first paragraph that contains the essence of the story. The following 2-3 paragraphs repeat the same essential information while adding further details to each point. The next section repeats the whole story but develops some of the themes and adds even more details. This can go on until the reporter has nothing else to add - until the story is 'over'. The editor then decides how important that story is and keeps as many of the 'layers' as necessary. There are two main advantages of this format of presentation. 1) it increases the audience's receptiveness, as the main points are repeated several times; deriving from this, a secondary advantage is that the audience experiences a kind of déja vu, as their familiarity with the ideas from one section to the other gives them the false impression they are their ideas. 2) the second advantage is that the presenter can adjust the length of the talk just as the editor of a newspaper can adjust the length of the article.
As in many other areas, the beginning is essential. Plan it carefully, focusing on these aspects:
a) getting attention
The first few minutes are likely to be disturbed by late-comers, or people getting comfortable in their chairs, or other such things. Your time is precious, however, and you should have it all planned how to get people's attention from the early stages.
b) establish the theme
Start by telling the audience what your objective is, unless for various reasons you decide that you want your objective 'kept secret' until a later point. This will warm them up and bring to their minds their own previous knowledge of the topic.
c) present the structure
To help the audience know what to expect, tell them briefly what your presentation is going to consist of - explain the structure of your talk.
d) set your role
Also at the beginning establish a relationship with your audience. This is best done by letting them know what 'role' you are going to play - you may find it useful to be their friend, or their colleague, or an expert, or even a judge - it all depends on them, your objective, and the format you have chosen for the presentation.
e) administrative issues
Even if you are one of the organizers of the event that made the presentation possible, even if you are not, telling people from the beginning what is going to happen after your presentation or other such administrative details may help you, as otherwise the lack of such info may distract them.
While the beginning is important because it helps you 'win over' the audience, the end is important as their final impression is probably the one they are going to remain with. In some formats the ending may consist of a summary of the main ideas; in others, it can be represented by a final culminating idea. In either case, do not make the mistake to tell them anything like 'this is going to conclude my presentation', as this will surely disconnect them. The best ending is probably the one that comes unexpectedly - for them, not for you!
In most cases by 'aids' we actually mean visual aids, though some sounds may be used occasionally. Partly because of television, people are accustomed to get any verbal message doubled (and reinforced) by some visual aid. You can use pictures, or an OHP, or a slide show, or even a video sequence. Try to remember that visual aids must aid, not distract attention, so be careful as to which visuals are really helpful and relevant. Besides, the more 'traditional' and 'old-fashioned' a visual aid is, the higher are the chances that you can fail to get the audience's attention (again, this is one of the reasons why you should know something about your audience). Just like any verbal part of the presentation, a visual aid must have a purpose - if it doesn't, remove it. Picking/designing that visual aid must be done having that purpose in mind. Also remember to present the visual focusing on the audience, not the aid.
a) eyes
Try to establish eye contact with every single member of the audience as often as possible. It may appear somewhat difficult to do so with larger audiences, but in fact it may be easier - with larger groups it is quite hard to say who exactly you are looking at, so more people will be convinced that it's them. Accompanying eye contact with a smile of acknowledgement (as long as it's a natural one.) will help, too.
b) voice
A natural, conversational voice sound is ideal, but it is quite difficult to obtain the very same voice we use in a conversation while delivering a presentation. A conversation has the advantage that interlocutors can stop talking and repeat/explain what they were saying if they notice the other(s) missed a point. That feedback from the audience during a presentation is limited, and interruptions are not (normally) possible. To keep the audience 'hooked', we should avoid a monotonous, boring voice. Voice should reflect emphasis laid on certain points in the presentation.
c) expression
This, too, should look as natural as possible - to ourselves and to the audience. A distracted facial expression will soon become boring and distracting for the audience.
d) body-language
Apparently 'minor' details like the position of the body or, especially, the presenter's hands' movements can influence considerably the audience. Hands should be used naturally, keeping in mind they should be an extension of what our voice is telling. We may not see our own hands while presenting, but the audience certainly will - therefore hands should be kept still as long as they don't 'make a point'. Fumbling with a pen or key-chain while delivering the presentation may tell the audience that we're bored or nervous.
a) make an impression
One way or another, you have to make an impression on your audience if you want their attention to stay with you. Your aim is to get the message across to them, but remember that the message itself is not worth anything if does not 'hit' the addressee.
b) repeat
Repeating the main points will only help your audience stay focused if repetition does not become boring itself. You may therefore want to say the same thing in a different manner, or add some explanation every time you do it; using the same words and the same tone/intonation pattern will get them off the track.
c) keep signaling
Your audience may miss a point because they don't know where to look for it, so you should keep 'signaling' for them. Verbal signs like "the essential point here is." or "let us remember that." etc., as well as appropriate body language, facial signals etc. will maintain (or re-establish) your rapport with the audience.
d) get graphical
How 'graphical' you will get in your presentation depends, of course, on the audience and the topic, but, generally speaking, it is far more effective to replace a very formal and abstract sentence like "We need to ensure a higher market penetration before we can expect significant profits" with a more familiar "We must make sure we have a bigger slice of the cake before we think of having desserts".
e) joke
You can include a pre-established joke in your presentation, or you can improvise as you go, if you are comfortable enough with this style of presentation. Just make sure the jokes do not offend the audience and that they do not become a distractor.
f) keep it short and simple
For an intellectually average audience, the language of your presentation should avoid very complex structures, abstract concepts and long sentences. The overall length of the presentation should also be considered.
g) everybody loves a story
If you can make your presentation sound like a parable, or a story, or even a personal anecdote, the audience is very likely to pay full attention as they will want to hear 'what comes next'. This can prove so useful that you may even feel free to invent a story if you can't think of a true one.
Once the presentation is over it would be extremely beneficial to you (and your future audiences) if you could get feedback. Identify all of the problems that may have occurred during the presentation and establish ways of avoiding them for future presentations.
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