How to give an oral presentation

• View oral presentation as a process of anticipating & overcoming potential misunderstandings– Identify what is the confusion– Identify what is the strategy for explaining the

confusion

What is a good presentation?

• Informing is a poor way of presentation – It is not focused on understanding – Over-emphasis on hooking the audience to

gain its attention – Trying to establish its need for information– Too focused on form, Not contingent on

material; • Not all material is best explained via examples,

visual aids, frameworks, charts, it depends on the type of material you present

What is a Poor way of Presentation?

• Inform – Create awareness of latest information on

some topic (E.g., News reports)

• Explain• Improve understanding of something

audience is aware of but does not fully grasp

• Explaining helps deepen understanding or master a skill

Explaining vs. Informing

• Analyze audience’s source of ‘confusion’– What can the audience be confused about?– Why the audience might not understand info?

• Identify good, empirically supported techniques (explanations) for overcoming audience confusion– Rowan article

How to explain

Steps to follow to develop your presentation

Read assigned material

Is it a idea that ishard to believe?

Is it a concept? Is it a process?

Classify the aspect

Focus on one aspect

Examples, counter examples etc.

Identify invalid assumptions of implicit theory etc.

Model to explain processes or parts

• Answer ONE of the following : 1. What does a concept mean?

2. How are two things related?

3. Why are two things not related ?

• Your short presentations will answer the qs 1 your long presentation may answer qs 1 & 2 OR qs 1 & 3 (depending on support/non support for hypothesis)

Focus of Your Presentation

• Define concept to be explained by listing its features

• Give examples of concept

• Differentiate concept from confusing concept– Give examples of confusing concept that can

be mistaken for examples of the concept to be explained

– Compare features of the concept to be explained and the confusing concept

Steps to follow when explaining a concept….

One example on how to explain concepts

• What is a hypothesis – Examples of a hypothesis

• Frequent giving and receiving boosts productivity and social standing

• Perceived generosity is positively related to social status

Give examples of the concept

• A hypothesis is not a variable or a result – Examples

• A result= The level of frequent giving was high• A variable= The level of productivity was low

Differentiate concept from confusing concept

• Features of a hypothesis – Must be empirically testable– At least two variables must be involved

Sekaran, Saks

Define concept by listing features

Comparing examples of concept vs. counter concept

Hypothesis Result

•Frequent giving & receiving boosts productivity and social standing

•The instructor’s gender is female•The level of productivity is high•Frequent giving and receiving boosts productivity and social standing

Comparing features of concept vs. counter concept

Hypothesis Result

•A guess about the relationship between two variables

•An empirical fact about a variable•An empirical fact about the relationship b/w two variables

After developing content of your presentation, think about structure and ordering of that content

Structural Aspects of Presentation Slides

•Have a clear introductory & summarizing component with 3 or fewer points

•Are well structured & the logic of the organization is clear

•Have clear & accurate headings & subheadings

Examples of Intro & Summaries

Introduction SummaryWhat is a hypothesis

•A hypothesis is a guess about the relationship between two variables

• What is a summary? – More like “learning points”– It is a short descriptive review of what you

just explained

• An implication – E.g., Why audience should care about your

presentation– E.g., now that the audience knows about your

presentation how should they apply it

Summary vs. Implication

What’s next….

•Had a clear introductory & concluding component with 3 or fewer points

•Are well structured & the logic of the organization is clear

•Have clear & accurate headings & subheadings

• Titles for entire presentation– Should reflect the question you will answer– Can reflect the agenda (if short)

• E.g., What makes a good leader?

• Titles of each slide– Title should reflect the content of the slide– Titles should tell you the connection to the

previous slide– REFLECT LOGICAL ORGANIZATION

Titles

Titles of slides vs. Headings vs. subheadings

Title of slide is an accurate description of the content of the slide

Subheadings elaborate on points made in headings

Headings

• Titles of slides should connect with each other and form the structure of your presentation

Another feature of titles of slides

Putting it all together

An example of how to explain concepts with examples, counter examples & features, using good titles, headings & subheadings,

What is a Field Study

Examples

• Field study – Handgun magazine sales & gun related

deaths from Guns & Crime Article in Economist

– Conference Board study

• Sample Survey– Gallup Polls– Meta-analysis

Features differentiating research designs

• Degree to which 1. They Maximize generality of behaviors studied

2. The behavior being studied is independent of the setting

3. Settings are natural to the behavior being studied

4. results are specific of the Systems studied

5. Cause & effect are determined precisely

A tabular display of similarities & differences

between field study & sample survey

Differences & Similarities between Field Study & Sample Survey

Field Study Sample Survey

Particular Systems Hi Low

Contrived setting Low High

Setting Dependence High Low

Generality Low High

Precision Moderate Moderate

A graphic display of similarities & differences

between field study & sample survey

(also serves as summary)

Particular Behavior SystemsUniversal Behavior Systems

ObtrusiveOperations

UnobtrusiveOperations

NaturalSettings

ContrivedSettings

FieldStudies

FieldExperiments

LabExperiments

MaximumContext

MaximumPrecision

MaximumGenerality

Formal Theory

Sample Surveys

SettingIndependent

Behavior notmeasured

ComputerSimulations

Runkel& McGrath, 1972

ExperimentalSimulations

What you learned so far...

• How to generate the content of your short oral presentation

• How to structure the content

Additional types of explanations for Long

Presentation

• Why are the variables in your hypothesis are related

• Why the variables in you hypothesis are not related

How to explain why two things are related

1.Creating a good general impression

2.Conceptualize parts

• Provide a good general impression of phenomenon via….

• Graphics/Models• Verbal strategies

• Structure suggesting titles – Five dimensions of personality

• Organizing analogies – An organization is like a jazz quartet

• Model suggesting topic sentences – Need fulfillment works like a pyramid

• Note: Models/analogies should be commonly shared

1st step to explaining why two things are related

Example explanation of why two things are related

Using Previously read abstract on help & productivity

Frequency of Help

Productivity

Social Status

Giving a general impression

• Help audience conceptualize parts, processes, inter-relations via

• Transitional phrases, previews, summaries & explicit statements of relationships that help in refining mental models • Do not use short sentences and sacrifice words like

“because” and “for example”• Repeat/recreate initial comparisons

2nd step to explaining why two things are related

Frequency of Help

Productivity

Social Status

Efficiency in resource exchange

Information about others’ interests

Liking for helper

Example: Breaking down the process

1. Identify reason for hypothesis

2. Identify limitations of reasoning for hypothesis

3. Explain the reason for the counter hypothesis & how that reason is supported with empirical evidence

How to explain why hypothesis is not supported

• e.g., Participation does not lead more difficult goals being set

1. Identify reason for pro hypothesis– Participation results in more difficult goals

being set because subordinates want their supervisors to believe that they are highly capable and therefore choose more difficult goals than those that may be assigned to them by the supervisor

Example explanation of counter hypothesisStep 1

2. Demonstrate limitations of reason behind pro hypothesis

– Assumes that supervisors do not know the abilities of the subordinates and so assign easy goals

Example explanation of counter hypothesisStep 2

3. Explain the reason for the counter hypothesis & how that reason is supported with empirical evidence

– When supervisors know the abilities of subordinates, participation does not result in more difficult goals as shown in results of study x....

Example explanation of counter hypothesisStep 3

What you learned today

• How to generate the content of a presentation of ‘research’– Define variables– Explain why things are related– Explain why things are not related

– How to structure the content