Oral Presentations

Presentation content

“Presentations do not have a problem with lack of information. Most of the time there is too much. The biggest issue is the way you present your PowerPoint presentation.”

Many presenters think, "If it's new and dynamic; it will make my PowerPoint presentation much better."

PowerPoint is evil

Turns everything into bullet points Everything becomes phrase Format over content “PowerPoint is a competent slide manager

and projector. But rather than supplementing a presentation, it has become a substitute for it.”

Problem of slides & phrases

“When information is stacked in time, it is difficult to understand context and evaluate relationships.”

People learn and gain understanding by forming relationships, not by memorizing stuff

Proper slide design

Audience centered design is key Write text for the audience, not the speaker Write text that the audience can understand

without the speaker there.

Making the slides

Design for the audience, not the speaker Highlight the essence of your talk. Give enough information to be understood

without having heard the talk

Making the slides

Don’t use transitions.And, if you do, use only 1 transition type

Match the background to the talk.Beach scenes don’t fit your communication topic

Watch the use of colors or the text might be hard to read

Making the slides

Clip art does not make a good slide. Make the graphics contribute to the

presentation. One topic per slide. You don’t have to put

fill the slide with bullets.

Making the slides

Keep audience oriented The presentation should have

– title slide (includes your name)– overview slide– body slides– summary slide

Title slide

Title of your talk Your name if external presentation

– School/company– Contact information

Overview slide

Give an outline of your talk Help listener stay oriented Bullets match slide titles

Information slides

Enough text so the reader knows what you want them to remember. (not a 5-7 word rule)

Support for your talk; not the entire thing Include important points that the listener

should take away Giving a real long phrase or sentence is very

hard for the listener to process and also interferes with the talk

Not speaker notes

Include important points that the listener should take away

Often notes to the speaker that are not relevant to the audience

Slides should make sense to a person who has not attended the talk.

Typical speaker note slide

EthnographyInitial interviewsBuilding scenariosGroup discussionsVerification

Does this make sense to anyone but the speaker?

Watch transitions

Slide transitions are often distracting. Never use more than one for the entire

presentation. Definitely not a different one between each slide.

Avoid adding each bullet one at a time.

Conclusion slide

Wrap up of the talk Should closely match the outline slide Discuss the high points of each bullet

What should the listener take away

General slide design

Keep text large (at least 24-30 points) One main topic per slide No or one transition effect Use proper background Use proper graphics

– Kewl images and background is not cool

Giving the talk

Follow the same rules you learned for speaking without the use of PowerPoint

Eye contact– Talk to multiple audience members

Don’t read slides or notes Discuss slide topics in order Speak clearly Watch for nervous habits

Giving the presentation

NEVER read the slides without saying anything else.The audience can read. Your job is to provide additional information.

Short sample presentation

•What not to do

Journal overview

Design

Fonts White space Headings

Fonts

Fonts– Give interest– Readable

White space Heading

– Larger than text– Orient reader

End