Presentation Skills Essay

IntroductionPre displaceations be a way of communicating ideas and learning to a group. A effectual founding has limit It contains entropy that people need. Unlike reports, it must account for how much information the audition mickle absorb in unmatchable sitting. Structure It has a perspicuous beginning, middle, and end. It must be sequenced and paced so that the auditory modality can under pedestal it. Where as reports have appendices and foot nones, the presenter must be cargonful not to loose the audition when wandering from the main point of the founding. Packaging It must be well prepared. A report can be reread and portions skipped over, unless the audience is at the mercy of a presenter. Human Element A wide presentation pass on be remembered much to a greater extent than a good report beca engagement it has a person attached to it. But you still need to analyze if the audiences needs would not be better met if a report was sent instead.The VoiceThe voice is probably the close to valuable tool of the presenter. It carries most of the content that the audience takes away. One of the oddities of speech is that we can easily tell others what is treat with their voice, e.g. too fast, too high, too soft, etc., but we have trouble harking to and c hanging our own voices.There are four main terms utilize for defining vocal qualities Volume How loud the sound is. The goal is to be tryd without shouting. Good utterers lower their voice to draw the audience in, and raise it to dupe a point. Tone The characteristics of a sound. An airplane has a different sound than leaves being rustled by the wind. A voice that carries fear can frighten the audience, sequence a voice that carries laughter can get the audience to smile. Pitch How high or low a note is. Pee Wee Herman has a high voice, Barbara Walters has a moderate voice, while James Earl Jones has a low voice. Color Both projection and tone variance can be in force(p) by taking thelin e This new policy is deviation to be exciting and saying it first with surprise, consequently with irony, then with grief, and finally with anger. The key is to over-act. think rough Shakespeares actors line All the worlds a stage presentations are the clearing night on BroadwayThere are both good methods for improving your voiceListen to it Practice comprehend to your voice while at home, driving, walking, etc. Then when you are at mould or with company, proctor your voice to see if you are using it how you want to.To really listen to your voice, cup your right hand close to your right ear and gently get around the -1-ear forward. Next, cup your left hand around your mouth and direct the sound straight into your ear. This helps you to really hear your voice as others hear itand it office be comp allowely different from the voice you thought it was Now practice moderating your voice.The BodyYour body communicates different impressions to the audience. People not only li sten to you, they also discoverer you. Slouching tells them you are indifferent or you do not careeven though you might care a great deal out On the other hand, displaying good posture tells your audience that you know what you are doing and you care ambiguously about it. Also, a good posture helps you to speak much than clearly and effective.Throughout you presentation, displayEye contact This helps to regulate the flow of communication. It signalals interest in others and increases the speakers credibility. Speakers who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey interest,concern, warmth, and credibility.Facial Expressions Smiling is a powerful cue that transmits happiness, friendliness, warmth, and liking. So, if you smile frequently you lead be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm, and approachable. Smiling is often contagious and others pull up stakes react favorably. They will be more comfortable around you and will want to listen to you more.Gestur es If you fail to question while speaking, you may be perceived as boring and stiff. A lively speaking style captures attention, makes the material more interesting, and facilitates showing.Posture and body predilection You communicate numerous messages by the way you talk and move. Standing erect and leaning forward communicates that you are approachable, receptive, and friendly. Interpersonal closeness results when you and your audience face all(prenominal) other. Speaking with your back turned or looking at the floor or ceiling should be avoided as it communicates disinterest.Proximity Cultural norms dictate a comfortable distance for interaction with others. You should look for signals of discomfort caused by invading others space. Some of these are rocking, leg swinging, tapping, and gaze aversion. Typically, in overlarge rooms, space invasion is not a problem. In most instances there is too much distance. To counteract this, move around the room to increase interaction wi th your audience. Increasing the proximity enables you to make better eye contact and increases the opportunities for others to speak.Vary your voice. One of the major(ip) criticisms of speakers is that they speak in a monotone voice. Listeners perceive this fiber of speaker as boring and dull. People report that they learn less and lose interest more quickly when perceive to those who have not acquire to modulate their voices.-2-Active ListeningGood speakers not only inform their audience, they also listen to them. By listening, you know if they are empathiseing the information and if the information is important to them. Active listening is non the same as hearing Hearing is the first part and consists of the perception of sound. Listening, the second part, involves an attachment of meaning to the aural symbols that are perceived. Passive listening occurs when the receiver has little motivation to listen carefully. Active listening with a purpose is used to gain information, to determine how some other person feels, and to understand others. Some good traits of effective listeners areSpend more sentence listening than talking (but of course, as a presenter, you will be doing most of the talking).Do not finish the sentence of others.Aware of biases. We all have them. We need to control them.never daydream or become abstracted with their own thoughts when others talk. allow the other speaker talk. Do not dominate the conversation.Plan responses after others have finished speakingNOT while they are speaking. Their full concentration is on what others are saying, not on what they are going to respond with.Provide feedback but do not interrupt incessantly. break up by looking at all the relevant factors and asking open-ended questions. Walk the person through analysis (summarize).Keep the conversation on what the speaker saysNOT on what interest them.Listening can be one of our most powerful communication tools Be sure to use it Part of the listening proce ss is getting feedback by changing and altering the message so the intention of the original communicator is understood by the second communicator. This is done by paraphrasing the words of the sender and restating the senders feelings or ideas in your own words, rather than repeating their words. Your words should be saying, This is what I understand your feelings to be, am I plant?It not only includes verbal responses, but also nonverbal ones. Nodding your head or squeezing their hand to show agreement, dipping your eyebrows to show you dont quite understand the meaning of their last phrase, or sucking air in deeply and blowing out hard shows that you are also exasperated with thesituation. Carl Roger listed quintuple main categories of feedback. They are listed in the order in which they occur most frequently in daily conversations (notice that we make judgments more often than we try to understand)-3-1. appraising(prenominal) Makes a judgment about the worth, goodness, or appr opriateness of the other persons statement.2. Interpretive Paraphrasing attempt to explain what the other persons statement mean.3. Supportive enterprise to assist or bolster the other communicator4. Probing Attempt to gain playitional information, continue the discussion, or clarify a point.Understanding Attempt to interpret completely what the other communicator means by her statements.NervesThe main enemy of a presenter is tension, which ruins the voice, posture, and spontaneity. The voice becomes higher as the throat tenses. Shoulders tighten up and limits flexibility while the legs start to shake and causes unsteadiness. The presentation becomes canned as the speaker locks in on the notes and starts to read directly from them. First, do not push nerves, welcome them Then you can get on with the presentation instead of focusing in on being nervous. Actors recognize the value of nervesthey add to the value of the performance.This is because adrenaline starts to kick in. Its a left over from our ancestors fight or flight syndrome. If you welcome nerves, then the presentation becomes a altercate and you become better. If you let your nerves take over, then you go into the flight mode by withdrawing from the audience. Again, welcome your nerves, recognize them, let them help you gain that infallible edge Do not go into the flight mode When you feel tension or anxiety, remember that everyone gets them, but the winners use them to their advantage, while the losers get overwhelmed by them.Tension can be reduced by performing some relaxation exercises. Listed beloware a couple to get you startedBefore the presentation Lie on the floor. Your back should be flat on the floor. Pull your feet towards you so that your knees are up in the air. Relax. Close your eyes. Fell your back bedcover out and supporting your weight. Feel your neck lengthening. Work your way through your body, relaxing one section at a time your toes, feet, legs, torso, etc. When finished, stand up slowly and try to maintain the relaxed feeling in a standing position.If you cannot lie down Stand with you feet about 6 inches apart, arms hanging by your sides, and fingers unclenched. Gently shake each(prenominal) part of your body, starting with your hands, then arms, shoulders, torso, and legs. Concentrate on shaking out the tension. Then slowly rotate your shoulders forth and the backwards. Move on to your head. Rotate it slowly clockwise, and then counter-clockwise.Mental Visualization Before the presentation, visualize the room, audience,and you giving the presentation. Mentally go over what you are going to do from the moment you start to the end of the presentation.-4-During the presentation Take a moment to yourself by getting a drink of water, take a deep breath, concentrate on relaxing the most tense part of your body, and then return to the presentation saying to your self, I can do itYou do NOT need to get rid of anxiety and tension Channel the energy into concentration and expressiveness.Know that anxiety and tension is not as noticeable to the audience as it is to you.Know that even the best presenters make mistakes. The key is to continue on after the mistake. If you pick up and continue, so will the audience. Winners continue Losers stop.Never drink alcohol to reduce tension It affects not only your coordination but also your awareness of coordination. You might not realize it, but your audience will QuestionsAlthough some people get a perverse pleasure from putting others on the spot, and some try to look good in front of the boss, most people ask questions from a genuine interest. Questions do not mean you did not explain the topic good enough, but that their interest is deeper than the average audience. unendingly allow time at the end of the presentation for questions. later inviting questions, do not rush ahead if no one asks a question. Pause for about 6 seconds to allow the audience to gather their thoughts. When a questio n is asked, repeat the question to ensure that everyone heard it (and that you heard it correctly). When answering, direct your remarks to the entire audience. That way, you keep everyone focused, not just the questioner. To reinforce your presentation, try to relate the question back to the main points.Make sure you listen to the question being asked. If you do not understand it, ask them to clarify. Pause to think about the question as the answer yougive may be correct, but ignore the main issue. If you do not know the answer, be honest, do not waffle. itemise them you will get back to themand make sure you doAnswers that last 10 to 40 seconds work best. If they are too short, they seem abrupt while longer answers appear too elaborate. Also, be sure to keep on track. Do not let off-the-wall questions sidetrack you into areas that are not relevant to the presentation. If someone takes issue with something you said, try to find a way to agree with part of their argument. For exampl e, Yes, I understand your position or Im glad you raised that point, but The idea is to praise their point and agree with them. Audiences sometimes tend to think of us verses you. You do not want to risk alienating them.Preparing the Presentation-5-Great presentations require some preplanning. First, read Meetings for an outline of preparing and conducting a meeting, such as acquiring a room, informing participants, etc. A presentation follows the same basic guidelines as preparing for a meeting. The second step is to prepare the presentationA good presentation starts out with unveilings and an icebreaker such as a story, interesting statement or fact, joke, quotation, or an activity to get the group warmed up. The introduction also needs an objective, that is, the purpose or goal of the presentation. This not only tells you what you will talk about, but it also informs the audience of the purpose of the presentation.Next, comes the body of the presentation. Do NOT write it out wor d for word. All you want is an outline. By jotting down the main points on a set ofindex cards, you not only have your outline, but also a memory jogger for the actual presentation. To prepare the presentation, ask yourself the followingWhat is the purpose of the presentation?Who will be attending?What does the audience already know about the subject?What is the audiences attitude towards me (e.g. hostile, friendly)?A 45 minutes talk should have no more than about seven main points. This may not seem like very many, but if you are to leave the audience with a clear go out of what you have said, you cannot expect them to remember much more than that.There are several options for structuring the presentationTimeline Arranged in sequential order.Climax The main points are delivered in order of increasing importance. Problem/Solution A problem is presented, a solution is suggested, and benefits are then given.Classification The important items are the major points.Simple to comple x Ideas are listed from the simplest to the most complex. done in reverse order.Can also beYou want to include some visual information that will help the audience understand your presentation. Develop charts, graphs, slides, handouts, etc.-6-After the body, comes the closing. This is where you ask for questions, provide a wrap-up (summary), and thank the participants for attending.Notice that you told them what they are about to hear (the objective), told them (the body), and told them what they heard (the wrap up).And finally, the important part practice, practice, practice. The main purpose of creating an outline is to develop a coherent plan of what you want to talk about. You should know your presentation so well, that during the actual presentation, you should only have to briefly glance at your notes to ensure you are staying on track. This will also help you with your nerves by giving you the confidence that you can do it.Your practice session should include a live session by practicing in front of coworkers, family, or friends. They can be valuable at providing feedback and it gives you a chance to practice controlling your nerves. Another great feedback technique is to make a video or audio tape of your presentation and review it critically with a colleague.HabitsWe all have a few habits, and some are more annoying than others. For example, if we say uh, you know, or put our hands in our pockets and jingle our keys too often during a presentation, it distracts from the message we are trying to get across.The best way to break one of these distracting habits is with immediate feedback. This can be done with a small group of coworkers, family, or friends. Take turns giving small off-the-cuff talks about your dearie hobby, work project, first work assignment, etc. It talk should last about five minutes. During a speakers first talk, the audience should listen and watch for annoying habits. After the presentation, the audience should agree on the wors t two or three habits that take the most away from the presentation. After agreement, each audience member should write these habits on a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper (such as the word Uh). Use a magic marker and write in BIG letters.The next time the person gives her or his talk, each audience member should wave the corresponding sign inFor most people, this method will break a habit by practicing at least once a day for one to two weeks.Tips and Techniques For Great Presentations If you have handouts, do not read straight from them. The audience does they should read along with you or listen to you read.not know if Do not put both hands in your pockets for long periods of time. This tends to make youlook unprofessional. It is OK to put one hand in a pocket but ensure there is no loose changeor keys to jingle around. This will distract the listeners.-7- Do not wave a pointer around in the air like a wild knight branding a sword to slay adragon. Use the pointer for what it is intended and then put it down, otherwise the audience will become fixated upon your sword,instead upon you. Do not lean on the podium for long periods. The audience will begin to are going to fall over.wonder when you Speak to the audienceNOT to the visual aids, such as flip charts or overheads. Also, do not stand between the visual aid and the audience. Speak clearly and loudly enough for all to hear. Do not speak in a pitch contour to emphasize your main points.monotone voice. Use The disadvantages of presentations is that people cannot see the punctuation and thiscan lead to misunderstandings. An effective way of overcoming this problem is to pause at the time when there would normally be punctuation marks. Use colored backgrounds on overhead transparencies and slides (such as discolour) asthe bright white light can be harsh on the eyes. This will quickly cause your audience to tire.If all of your transparencies or slides have clear backgrounds, then tape one blank yellow one on the ove rhead face. For slides, use a rubber band to hold a piece of colored cellophane over the projector lens. Learn the name of each participant as quickly as possible. Based upon the atmosphereyou want to create, call them by their first names or by using Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms. Tell them what name and title you prefer to be called. Listen intently to comments and opinions. By using a lateral thinking technique (addingto ideas rather than dismissing them), the audience will feel that their ideas, comments, and opinions are worthwhile. Circulate around the room as you speak. This movement creates a the audience.physical closeness to List and discuss your objectives at the beginning of the presentation. Let the audience know how your presentation fits in with their goals. Discuss some of the fears andapprehensions that both you and the audience might have. Tell them what they should expect of you and how you willcontribute to their goals.Vary your techniques (lecture, discussion, debate, fil ms, slides, reading,etc.) labour to the presentation before your audience arrives be the last one to leave. Be prepared to use an alternate approach if the one youve chosen seems to bog down.You should be confident enough with your own material sothat the audiences interests and-8-concerns, not the presentation outline,determines the format. Use your background,experience, and knowledge to interrelate your subject matter. When writing on flip charts use no more than 7 lines of text per page and no morethan 7 word per line (the 7/7 rule). Also, use bright and bold colors, and pictures as well as text. Consider the time of day and how long you have got for your talk. Time of daycanaffect the audience. After lunch is known as the graveyard section in training circles as audiences will feel more like a nap than listening to atalk. Most people find that if they practice in their head, the actual talk will take about 25 percent longer. Using a flip chart or other visual aids also adds to the time. Remember it is better to finish slightly early than to overrun.