Oral Presentation skills - 1 - 2 - BCA - 3

Oral Presentation skills

1. Introduction and meaning:

• What is an oral presentation?

         

          Making a good oral presentation is an art that involves attention to the needs of your audience, careful planning, and attention to delivery. A good oral presentation is well structured; this makes it easier for the listener to follow.
 

Basically there are three parts to a typical presentation: the beginning, middle and end or (introduction, body and conclusion).

        The purpose of a presentation is to inform, to explain, and to persuade the audience or present a point of view. It may introduce a product or explain a process or narrate an experience; it is delivered to a small knowledgeable audience at a conference, a seminar or a business meeting. It is followed by questions from the audience. 

• Meaning and purpose of oral presentation:

       

       Presentation skills can be cultivated and developed with some knowledge of the formal aspects and with practice. A presenter does not have to be a brilliant speaker to make a good presentation.

~ As in the case of public speaking, preparation work has to be done in four stages:

1 Finding out about the environment in which the presentation is to be made

2 Preparing the text and the required visuals

3 Taking care of one’s physical appearance and body language

4 Practicing delivery of the talk

2. Structure and content

Introduction

Body of the presentation

Conclusion

1 introduction:

           The beginning of the presentation is engaging and clearly signals the start of the presentation. The opening should capture the audience's interest and clearly convey the topic or subject of the presentation. Introduction is the basic part of the presentation which leads audience to the main objectives of the presentation. The introduction gives the audience a satisfactory sense of what to expect and where the presentation is going. A clear preview of the presentations' structure and content is incorporated into the introduction. If introduction is well prepared and done then only the aims of presentation can be achieved. 

2 Body of the presentation:

          The two most important aspects of the body of a presentation are the content, and the organization of that content. The content must support the speaker's thesis. The speaker's choice of supporting material should be sufficient in quantity and of good quality. The sources cited are correctly cited. The resource materials used are credible, current, and sufficient in number for the scope of the presentation. The content of the presentation reflects the speaker's high level of knowledge of the subject area. Command of the subject area is reflected throughout the presentation. The organization of the presentation should be clear and points are presented in a logical order. The organization of the presentation signals clear and smooth transitions between key points.

        The audience must be able to easily follow the presentation. The audience for an oral presentation does not have the advantage of a person reading a paper with a thesis and argument. The speaker must keep in mind that with an oral presentation the listener has no text to refer back to for clarification of points. The listener at an oral presentation must be able to follow the logic and the points easily as the presentation progresses. If the audience can not follow, the presenter will lose the audience and fail at the presentation.

3. Conclusion

        The conclusion provides a clear summary of the key content points and reinforces the thesis or main purpose of the presentation.

        The audience is refocused on the key points, thesis and purpose of the presentation. The audience's attention is galvanized on the main points and purpose of the presentation. The conclusion should be engaging and clearly signals the end of the presentation. The speaker restates and reinforces the position he/she has taken.  The audience experiences a sense of closure and (if appropriate) a call to action.

Questions for students:

Q- What is the meaning of oral presentation?

Q - What is the purpose of oral presentation?

Q – How should we start the presentation?  
Q – What is the main body of the presentation?
Q – Explain in brief – Structuring the presentation.
 

 

Reference book:
- Business Communication. Sathya Swaroop Debasish & Bhagaban Das. PHI Learning Private Limited. New Delhi.