Advanced Technical Writing

Lecture 10

Oral Presentation

13 / 7 / 2013

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Oral Communication is different

from written communication

Listeners have one chance to hear your

talk and can't "re-read" when they get

confused

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Important of Oral Presentation

Oral presentation is part of the

professionals Career.

Presenting your talent and skills

Present your ideas clearly and

persuasively with self-assurance and

dynamic energy.

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Preparing for your presentation

I. Define Your Task

II. Know your audience

III. Collecting Data

IV. Developing (Organizing) the Topic

V. Outlining the presentation

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I. Define Your Task

Identify the topic of your presentation

Specify the kinds and amount of

information

Identify many key points that you want the

audience to understand.

List the important questions that you want

to answer in your presentation.

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II. Know your audience

What are the notable characteristics of

this audience? Curious? Cautious?

Eager? Expert?

Does this audience respect a formal or

informal style?

Does this audience value simplicity or

complexity?

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III. Collecting Data

Gather information more than you need

for the presentation to build confidence.

Use all sources of information like

brainstorming, written material, interviewing

others, and your own background

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IV. Developing (Organizing) the

Topic

Select the best organizational strategy

Problem-solution method of development

Comparison method of development

Cause-and-effect method of development

Specific-to-general method of development

General-to-specific method of development

Increasing-order-of-importance method of

development

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V. Outlining the presentation

Opening (Introduction)

Body

Closing (Conclusion)

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The Opening

Your opening is the most important

part of your speech.

It should catch the interest of your

audience, stimulate their curiosity,

and impress them.

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Ways to start your opening

A rhetorical question

Example: “Will colonizing outer space ever be practical?”

A dramatic story

Example: Terry Fox’s attempt to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research

A quotation from a famous person

Example: “Good order is the foundation of all good things.” Edmund Burke

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Ways to start your opening

Continue

A historical events

Example: “Do you remember where

you were when Neil Armstrong first

set foot on the moon?”

A reference from literature or the holly

book

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The Body

Begin the body with a statement of your theme.

Then state all the evidence and proof necessary

to support your theme statement.

The strength of your proof will sell your ideas.

Use analogies, stories, testimony, logic, statistic,

and examples to support your theme.

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The closing

Plan your closing as you planned your opening.

It is as important as the opening, because what you say in the closing is what your audience is most likely to remember.

Review, highlight and emphasize - key points, benefits, recommendations

Draw conclusions - where are we? ... what does all of this mean? ... what's the next step?

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A Generic Talk Outline

This talk outline is a starting point, not a

rigid template. Most good speakers

average two minutes per slide (not

counting title and outline slides), and thus

use about a dozen slides for a twenty

minute presentation

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A Generic Talk Outline Continue

Title/author/affiliation (1 slide)

Forecast (1 slide) Give gist of problem attacked and insight found (What is the one idea you want people to leave with? This is the "abstract" of an oral presentation.)

Outline (1 slide) Give talk structure. Some speakers prefer to put this at the bottom of their title slide.

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A Generic Talk Outline Continue

Background Motivation and Problem Statement (1-2 slides)

(Why should anyone care? Most researchers overestimate how much the audience knows about the problem they are attacking.)

Related Work (0-1 slides) Cover superficially or omit; refer people to your paper.

Methods (1 slide) Cover quickly in short talks; refer people to your paper

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A Generic Talk Outline Continue

Results (4-6 slides) Present key results and key insights. This is main body of the talk. Its internal structure varies greatly as a function of the researcher's contribution. (Do not superficially cover all results; cover key result well. Do not just present numbers; interpret them to give insights. Do not put up large tables of numbers.)

Summary (1 slide)

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A Generic Talk Outline Continue

Future Work (0-1 slides) Optionally give problems this research opens up.

Backup Slides (0-3 slides) Optionally have a few slides ready (not counted in your talk total) to answer expected questions. (Likely question areas: ideas glossed over, shortcomings of methods or results, and future work.)

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VI. Select Visuals Aid

Identify the purpose of your visual aid

to clarify a key point

to provide an illustrative example

to model

to summarize

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Select Visuals Aid Continue

If you pay attention to these four concept

as you put the visuals together, the end

products will be more effective:

1) Make it BIG

2) Keep it Simple

3) Make it Clear

4) Be Consistent

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Select Visuals Aid Continue

Select types of visual aids well matched to

the needs of your audience with respect to

specific portions of your presentation.

Examples:

Table, bar graph, line graph, flow chart,

pie graph, diagram, organizational

chart

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table - good for presenting groups of detailed facts

bar graph - can represent numerical qualities

line graph - shows how one quantify changes as a

function of change in another quantity

pie graph - effective for depicting the composition of

a whole

flow chart - means of representing successions of

events

organizational chart - usually depicts hierarchical

arrangement

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Bar graph

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

East

West

North

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Organizational chart

Board of director

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Pie graph

Production per year

1999

1998

1997

1996

1995

1994

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Select presentation vehicles

Overhead

chalkboard

Hand-out

Slides

Model

Computer screen

Poster

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Critique your visual aid

Is it large enough to be easily seen or is

it too small and detailed?

Is the contrast/color effective or

distracting?

Does it clarify a difficult concept or

introduce confusion?

Is the visual aid necessary or needless?

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VII. Practice your presentation

Maintain eye contact with the audience.

Eye contact gives

self-confidence

feedback (speed up, slow down, repeat your self)

Keep body movement quiet and natural.

Maintain appropriate voice volume.

Avoid wearing distracting clothing or

accessories.

Maintain a constant rate of speech

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Practice your presentation

Continue

Avoid being nervous by:

• Practice in front of classmates, colleagues, family or

friends.

• taking deep breaths

• distributing weight equally on both feet

Use Body Language Effectively: relaxed gestures, eye

contact; don't play with a pen or pointer.

don't block visual aids

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Be sensible about transparencies

The optimal number 8-10 per 10 minutes

talk

Avoid transparencies with 1 or 2 lines.

Avoid jam-packed transparencies

Text to be concise and self-explanatory

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Most people find the more they

practice, the more at ease they feel

when they give their presentation.

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Questions from the floor

Let questioner finish the question

Be prepare to rephrase the question

Keep the answer short

Deflect hostile questions and Never argue with questioner

Example I am sorry, but it appears we have a difference of opinion. This probably is not the proper forum for a debate but I’ll be happy to discuss the matter with you in private.

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Oral Presentation Evaluation Form Rate the Presentation (5= Excellent; 1= Poor NA= not applicable)

Comments would be very helpful. ID Number:____ Topic:________________________________

____1. Introduction: Did the introduction capture your interest; was necessary background given; was a clear purpose conveyed

___2. Organization: Was there a clear organization; were transitions between

sections clear and effective; did the organization lead to a clear conclusion?

___3. Content: Did the speaker support his points; was the supporting material relevant, up to date?

___4. Visual Aids: Were visual aids used effectively and appropriately, carefully prepared?

___5. Conclusion: Were key points reinforced; was a sense of closure provided; if appropriate, was a course of action proposed?

___6. Delivery: Were the speakers natural, enthusiastic; did they speak clearly; were appropriate gestures, posture, expressions used

___7. Discussion: Were questions answered accurately, clearly, effectively?

___8. Overall Rating General Comments .

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Have a nice

Day and see you on Monday