Giving Effective

Presentations
Dr. Lisa G. Bullard
CHE 395

Outline

Overcoming the fear factor

Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options
Delivery and tone
Visuals
Handouts
Handling Q&A
Conclusions

Overcoming the Fear

Factor
1. Public speaking
2. Death
3. Heights
4. Spiders
5. Snakes

Overcoming the Fear

Factor
What are we afraid of?

Overcoming the Fear

Factor
How do we overcome that fear?

Outline

Overcoming the fear factor

Types of presentations

Types of Presentations

Low stakes vs. high stakes

Short vs. long
Informal vs. formal

Purpose of Presentations

To inform
To persuade
To build good will

Informative
Presentations

Reporting

Bringing the audience up to

date
Status report

Explaining

Providing information

Products
Procedures
Rules
Operations data

Persuasive Presentations

You want to convince

the audience to

Buy your product or

service
Support your goals or
concepts
Change their minds or
attitudes

Good Will Presentations

To build respect for a person, an

organization, or a product

Awards ceremony
Special recognition
Celebrations
Toasts

Outline

Overcoming the fear factor

Types of presentations
Knowing your audience

Knowing Your Audience

You must know

Who they are

Why they are there
What they expect to get
How they will react

Strategies for Defining

Your Audience

What is the size of the group?

What is the age distribution?
Is the audience mostly men, mostly
women, or mixed?
How do audience members rank within
their organization?

Strategies for Defining

Your Audience

Why are people attending?

How familiar are they with the topic?
What is the level of education?
What kind of reaction can you expect?

Believe it or not

Audiences want and expect

presenters to succeed
But they are also thinking, Whats
in it for me?

Outline

Overcoming the fear factor

Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options

Questions To Ask
Yourself

What does my audience expect to gain?

What do they already know?
What is the purpose of this presentation
(persuade, inform, entertain, or a
combination?)
What are my key points?
What one thing do I want them to
remember most?

A speech has two parts. You must state

your case, and you must prove it.
- Aristotle

1. Tell your audience what youre going to

tell them
2. Tell them
3. Then tell them what you told them

This doesnt mean repeat yourself three times.

Opening

Greeting
Short list of facts or figures
Question
Appropriate quote
Shocking statistics
Humor
Personal anecdote
Challenge or call to action

Body

Discuss the theoretical background behind

an experiment, review the experimental
design, and discuss the results of the
experiment.

Describe the components of the chemical

process from raw materials to products

Chronological progression

Body

Explain the symptoms of a problem. Go

through possible solutions. Show how
they dont work. Then give a solution
that will work.

List all the pros of an idea, plan, or

product. Then go through the cons,
showing how they are outweighed by
the pros.

Organize your presentation around three

aspects of the subject.

Conclusion

Summarize the
message

Repeat your key

points

Ask for an action

Make a
recommendation

Conclusion

Recreate the verbal imagery you used in

the opening, but with the addition of the
solution

If you began with an anecdote, end with

another, but with a play on words or some
memorable twist

End on a positive note, even when the

message is a difficult one

Outline

Overcoming the fear factor

Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options
Delivery and tone

Why Involve the

Audience?

To use up stored energy for

people who have been sitting
too long
To wake people up
To help the audience members
master a task
To give the audience members
hands-on experience with
your product

Delivery Details

Reading your speech vs. using

notecards or an outline
Keep your notes in a folder
Type your notes, if needed, with
triple spacing in a clear
font
Use appropriate gestures

Delivery Details

Keep your notes in a folder

Type your notes, if needed, with triple
spacing in a clear font
Stand tall
Smile naturally

Delivery Details

Pause before beginning, and breathe

between sentences!
Establish eye contact
No hands in pockets or change jingling
Dont sway
Avoid speech mannerisms (um, uh, like)

Delivery Details

Enunciate
Speak at a slower pace
than feels natural
Stand to the side of the
screen
Avoid reading the slides
Target 30-45 seconds per
slide, average

Outline

Overcoming the fear factor

Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options
Delivery and tone
Visuals

Visuals are important

when

The message is abstract or

complex
The key message is visual in
nature
You want to add emphasis to a
key point
The presentation is a how-to
session involving several steps
The presentation includes
numbers or calculations

Visuals include

Photographs
Graphs or plots
Symbols
Colors
Tables

Video clips
Maps
Diagrams
Cartoons
Props

Tips for Visuals

Use if you can, but dont force it

Dont make the slide too busy
Try to limit to 5 lines of type per page
Dark backgrounds are more readable
Use Arial or Helvetica fonts

Tips for Visuals

Make font large enough (this is 28 pt)

Dont get too many colors on one slide, or
change colors too often
Watch red and green together (color blind)
Avoid annoying animation (or sounds)

Outline

Overcoming the fear factor

Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options
Delivery and tone
Visuals
Handouts

Handouts

Clarify your message

Make the message easier to
understand
Reinforce key points
Mechanism for taking notes
Take home information

Outline

Overcoming the fear factor

Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options
Delivery and tone
Visuals
Handouts
Handling Q&A

Asking Q

Types of questions
Clarification
Fact checking
Correction
Application or extension
Affirming
Softball
Attack
Left field

Giving A

Be prepared by anticipating questions

Be familiar with the whole talk (not just your
part)
Thank them for the question (beginning or
end), or reinforce the questioner
Restate and confirm the question

Giving A

Give short, direct answersdont

wander
Dont pass the buck, but after giving
your best answer, you might refer
them to another team member
If you dont know, say sodont bluf
Ask them if you have answered their
question

Outline

Overcoming the fear factor

Types of presentations
Knowing your audience
Format options
Delivery and tone
Visuals
Handouts
Handling Q&A
Conclusions

Assignment 6 reminders

10 minute presentation
5 minutes Q&A
Professional dress (interview level)

Conclusions

Poor delivery cannot compensate for lack of

content, but it can damage or bury good
content.
Some people are natural speakers, but
everyone is capable of learning and
enhancing their own skills.
To improve, you can:

Seek opportunities to practice

Seek and incorporate feedback
Seek out good examples and learn from them

References

Daria Price Bowman, Presentations:

Proven Techniques for Creating
Presentations That Get Results (1998).