Sunday, March 22, 2009

Creating and Delivering an Effective Presentation by Megan Clipse

Preparing and delivering an oral presentation is much like writing, each must be logically organized and clear. A purpose must be defined as well as an audience, information must be presented in a clear and concise manner, and what information is necessary needs to be established. On the contrary, there are unique elements that make up the oral form of communication that also must be blended successfully into an effective presentation. The following are quick tips for when preparing, organizing, and delivering a presentation that will surely guide you to a powerful presentation!



Organizing/Creating a Presentation



  • Follow the same guidelines for preparation as if you were writing. (Introduction, Body, Closing, and use of transitions)

  • Logical Structure

  • Be Clear, Direct, and Precise in delivering the purpose

  • Support ideas throughout the presentation with specific examples

  • Use VISUALS!!! Be careful though, only use short sentences and common words, and easy-to-read design features. Below is a useful site with tips on using various kinds of visual aids provided by the United States Department of Labor. http://www.osha.gov/doc/outreachtraining/htmlfiles/traintec.html

Delivering Your Presentation


  • Practice, Practice, Practice! It will ease your nerves when the actual presentation day arrives and help the delivery flow smoother. Out loud and in front of a sample audience is the best.

  • Be aware of gestures used as the differ from culture to culture

  • Make eye contact

  • Move around

  • Project your voice and keep a nice pace/volume

  • Dress appropriately according to the presentation

References:

Writing That Works: Communicating Effectively on the Job ninth edition (2006). Authors: Charles T. Brushaw, Walter E. Oliu, and Gerald J. Alred.

The United States Department of Labor 2009. www.dol.gov

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5 comments:

  1. Andrew KamMarch 22, 2009 at 9:47 PM

    Megan i really liked your post and the detailed graph that you included! I agree that many times people do not make good presentations because they underestimate practicing how to give the presentation. Thanks for the tips!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Daniel WhiteMarch 23, 2009 at 11:23 AM

    I completely agree with you in saying that getting a lot of practice in is key to not being nervous and delivering a better speech. I really liked how you used bullets and your graph as it made it look that extra bit more professional.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Evan GrantMarch 23, 2009 at 2:33 PM

    Good post! Easy to read and to the point! Glad to see you pointed out to not clutter your visuals or powerpoint presentations. I hate it when people put up long paragraphs that you can't read in the short time that it's up there.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Duncan Tanner IIIMarch 23, 2009 at 3:28 PM

    I like this post the best becasue presentations are extremly hard for lots and lots of people in the business and professional community. Emotions such as axiousness and being nervous can cause stage fright and the message that the presenter wanted to deliver is usually not even absorbed by his/her audience. You tackled a difficult and important subject. Thank you. Try to include an audio/visual on your next post. Consider the photostory or moviemaker. If you and another person do it, it will count as two posts. Get back to me. Tell me what you think.

    ReplyDelete
  5. SheilaMarch 25, 2009 at 6:28 AM

    Nice graphic which clearly states what presentations should look like.

    ReplyDelete

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