Introduction This course aims at giving you the necessary language for a good presentation in English. It is followed by some examples and useful links to help you prepare to stand up before an audience and get them to pay attention to you.
Business Communication - Semester 2 Karine DUBOIS
What to say and how to say it: •Before you start: The 5 Ps of powerful presentations •The language used when presenting •Visual aids •Use of notes •Body language •Shooting fish
Business Communication - Semester 2 Karine DUBOIS
The 5 Ps of Powerful presentations Preparation 0 0 0 0 0 0
Presence
check the layout of the room look at the technical aspects prepare your visual aids with care practice out loud prepare for questions from your audience think about your appearance
Purpose 0 put the purpose of your presentation into
one simple sentence - this will make it clear in your mind as well as your audience's
0 You are the person people have come to listen to - make your presence known: 0 stand tall and confidently 0 speak clearly 0 be aware of your audience - take their reactions into account (do they look
puzzled? are they yawning? etc.)
Passion 0 If you care about what you are saying, your
audience is more likely to care too: 0 speak with passion, no matter the subject
Personality 0 Be yourself - you can't be anyone else! 0 but you can be a more confident,
professional, passionate self
Business Communication - Semester 2 Karine DUBOIS
The language used when presenting 5 rules:
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Avoid jargon Avoid slang. Be professional. Get the right balance of assertiveness without being domineering or downtrodden.
‌ - Smile!
Key phrases for presentations Click here
Business Communication - Semester 2 Karine DUBOIS
Visual aids A good presentation is usually backed up by a visual aid. This is often PowerPoint in professional presentations. The way PowerPoint is used varies enormously from being very good to being very, very bad. Some general rules you should try to respect when planning a presentation are the following: 0 Less is more:
Few slides can work better than many slides. Do not fall into the trap of putting your entire presentation up on the screen.
0 Images rather than words:
Your audience does not want to have to read text, pictures, graphs, photos etc can work well at getting the message across.
0 The '666' rule:
You should have no more than six words per bullet point, no more than six bullet points per slide, no more than six slides of text in a row. Business Communication - Semester 2 Karine DUBOIS
Check this excellent TED presentation by David JP Phillips to get more advice and avoid ÂŤ killing Âť your audience with a very bad PowerPoint presentation:
See this website: 10 Tips for Creating Successful Business Presentations for more advice on creating a effective PowerPoint presentation.
Business Communication - Semester 2 Karine DUBOIS
Use of notes 0 An oral presentation should focus on interactive speaking and listening, not
reading. If you read, you will quickly lose the attention of your audience, if they have to read, they won't thank you.
0 The demands of spoken and written language differ significantly. Spoken
language is shorter and less formal , it tends to be more direct.
0 Reading a prepared script ruins a presentation 0 You should prepare cue cards for yourself in advance (these should be no larger
than the size of your hand), these will permit you to discreetly remind yourself of the next point in your presentation. It is a good idea to have one cue card per slide shown. Number these cards in case you drop them due to nerves!
0 Documents distributed to the audience in relation to your presentation:
Your audience will be reading the handouts rather than listening to you. Parts of an effective presentation depend on creating suspense to engage the audience. If the audience can read everything you're going to say, that element is lost. The trick is to prepare handouts but to only distribute them at the end, you can periodically mention to the audience that they will receive the important details in written form at the end of your presentation. Business Communication - Semester 2 Karine DUBOIS
Body language It's not just what you say, but how you say it and believe it or not your body language has as much impact on your audience as the words you are using. The most important visual aid in any presentation is the speaker himself. Your facial expressions are important must be comfortable making gestures like this and like everything else, it takes practice. 0 Use your eyes, mouth and head to show your audience that you are interesting. 0 Do not cross your arms or put your hands on your hips while presenting - these gestures give off a negative image. 0 make eye contact with everyone - but do not stare at any one person (2 seconds is enough eye contact with one person) Movement 0 if you turn your back on your audience to look at the 0 Only move if there is a purpose in the movement: move screen, they can no longer see your face and they will just forwards to emphasise a point, move towards the screen to switch off point something out. 0 if you bury your face in your notes, the same will happen 0 Do not rock, march, sway or make any other irritating movement which could distract the audience. It's OK to gesture 0 This website gives some very useful tips on how to get your message across well when presenting. 0 Gestures will help to get your message across, one good tip is the bigger the audience, the bigger the gestures need to be. 0 One rough gauge is that gestures should be large enough to embrace most of the audience. When you speak to one person you make small gestures using your wrists, when talking to ten people you will move from the elbow and when talking to a very large audience it's acceptable to make gestures that start with the shoulder. However, you
Business Communication - Semester 2 Karine DUBOIS
Carmine Gallo outlines the three key things to remember about body language in this short video clip.
Business Communication - Semester 2 Karine DUBOIS
Shooting fish Watch the opening scene in the film Shooting Fish. It's a very successful dynamic presentation by a young entrepreneur. Notice how he keeps his audience riveted with gestures, facts and figures and even makes his audience stand up.
Business Communication - Semester 2 Karine DUBOIS
Business Communication - Semester 2 Karine DUBOIS