Copyright Brenda R. Sims 2014

 Plan an effective presentation  Prepare the content  Create visual aids  Rehearse  Prepare for emergencies  Make it dynamic

Effective Presentations Require Planning

 Will you use technical or industry terminology or acronyms? ◦ If so, will the audience understand the terminology and/or acronyms?  Is the audience familiar with the topic?  Do they have a positive attitude about the topic?  Do they have a negative attitude?

 What do you want to accomplish?  Do you want to ◦ Inform? ◦ Persuade (sell)? ◦ Both?

 Will the audience expect ◦ A formal presentation? ◦ An informal presentation?  What do you want the audience to do with the information?

 Know the time allowed for the presentation ◦ Listening takes twice as long as reading  Condense your presentation into its key points ◦ Refer the audience to written research, reports, handouts, etc. for details

Prepare and Organize for Success

 Grab the audience’s attention  Preview  Support  Summarize  Ask for questions

 Get the audience engaged ◦ Ask a question  By show of hand, what does... ? ◦ Tell a brief story

 Tell the audience what you will talk about ◦ Use the order used in the presentation

 Use one or more of the S.E.A.T.E.D approaches

 Use statistics that relate to the topic ◦ Statistics bring credibility ◦ Vague and not credible  Sales are up in the southwest region. ◦ Specific and credible  Sales in the southwest region have increased 12% between June 2013 and June 2014.

 Use examples that ◦ relate to the topic ◦ the audience can understand

 Use an analogy—especially for technical information ◦ Life is like a box of chocolates ◦ “... worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum" - Baz Luhrmann, Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen)

 Use the testimony of experts

 Use a visual aid

 Demonstrate your topic ◦ Videos ◦ Films ◦ Prototypes ◦ Photos

 End with power  Use one of the “SEATED” approaches to close  Know when to end

 “Who has the first question?”

 Define (or avoid) terms they may not understand  Clarify and support unfamiliar information, claims, or recommendations  Include information they will expect

Keep the Audience Engaged with Visual Aids

 Stay focused  Remember key points  Follow the organization of your presentation

 Stay in your allowed time  Remember what you planned to say  Explain complicated ideas

 Slides prepared with PowerPoint tm or Prezi tm  Films and videos  Demonstrations or prototypes  Handouts (of professional quality)  Posters (of professional quality)

 Select backgrounds without images behind the words  Use phrases, not sentences when appropriate  Brand the slide for UNT (or your organization) when appropriate

 Hydroelectric power has these disadvantages: ◦ It causes the loss of wildlife habitats ◦ It takes significant amounts of land for constructing the reservoir

 Disadvantages of hydroelectric power ◦ Loss of wildlife habitats ◦ Loss of land

 Sans-serif type  Type size the audience can read ◦ point type for text ◦ point type for headings  Uppercase and lowercase letters ◦ No all capital letters  Ample white (negative) space

Practice Really Does Make Perfect

 If possible, arrange the room to make you comfortable  Place the laptop so you can use it as a “teleprompter”

 Use a clicker  If presenting with a team, determine who will advance the slides

 Don’t stand in front of the screen  For team presentations, when you aren’t speaking, sit

You just never know

 Take backups of the slides  Take backups of visual aids  Have a backup plan if you will be using the Internet  Bring copies of the slides

And Make It Dynamic

 Before the presentation ◦ Shake hands ◦ Make casual conversation

 Introduce all members at the beginning of the presentation ◦ Saves time during the presentation  Avoid awkward transitions such as ◦ “Now John will talk about”

 You know more about your presentation than the audience

 Talk slowly and distinctly  Look the audience in the eye  Speak with enthusiasm and confidence  Avoid verbal pauses ◦ “um,” “ah,” “uh,” “you know”  Don’t read the slides  Keep within the time allowed you

 Use verbal transitions to alert the audience to a change ◦ “My second point is” ◦ “Next, I will discuss”  Use visual aids to signal a change

 Plan the presentation to take slightly less than the allowed time ◦ A few minutes short is better than a few minutes too long

 Repeat the question  Take a few seconds to think before you answer  If you don’t know the answer, say “I don’t know, but I’ll find out”

 Shutterstock