Employing Good Presentation Technique

Oral presentations can occur in a wide range of contexts and for a range of purposes so it can be difficult to provide a general list of rules that covers all occasions. However, the following is provided as a guide: be confident and enthusiastic. Promote enthusiasm for what you are about to say; and adopt a relaxed upright posture throughout. Never slouch. A lectern can be used, if available, and can provide welcome support, particularly if the speaker is a little nervous or inexperienced.

Try not to remain fixed in the one spot, but don't pace up and down either ? something which an audience can find extremely distracting. An occasional step can be used to emphasize a point, provide animation, maintain attention (and relieve tension). Don't read from your paper. Use your written notes/palm cards as prompts.

Pace your talk for greatest effect. Pause to allow the audience time to take in new points and to absorb the contents of visual aids. Don't rush through points at the risk of leaving your audience behind. Speak clearly. At all costs avoid, 'ers', 'ums' and 'ahs' when speaking. Talk naturally, using simple language and short sentences.

Project your voice. Ensure you can be heard by everyone in the audience, but do not shout as this can be extremely annoying to the audience over an extended period, and tends to preclude the effective use of intonation. Talk to the audience, not the ceiling, floors or walls. Face the audience as much as possible even when using visual aids that may be projected behind you.

Speak at a comfortable pace. Oral presentations generally require a delivery speed that is less than the speed of normal conversation. Avoid speaking too quickly ? which commonly occurs if the speaker is nervous - but neither should the speech be too laboured. Adjust your speed down if you feel that you are not getting through to the audience or if you are jumbling words. Vary the tone of your voice. (Tone is the quality in your voice that expresses feeling.) Vary the tone to give life to your talk ? express warmth and sincerity or allow yourself to reveal how you feel about certain points. Remember that speaking in a monotone is monotonous for an audience. Use your voice to add emphasis to an important point. Use inflections and emotions in your voice. Show a genuine interest in your material.

Avoid speaking in a high pitched voice which will soon irritate an audience. A high pitch is often due to shallow breathing brought about by nervousness. Deep, steady breathing and a deliberate attempt to lower the pitch will help to reduce nervousness. A low pitched voice is pleasing to the audience and is comfortable for the speaker. A variation in pitch can be useful to add emphasis to a point ? but should be used sparingly.

Use pauses effectively. Inexperienced speakers think of pauses as a failure in fluency and try to avoid them. In fact, pauses are a major device used by experienced speakers to provide emphasis. Pauses in the correct places can help the audience to better understand the meaning of what you have to say. A long pause can also be used to give emphasize to a point by allowing it to sink in.

Use gestures to emphasize your points, but don't overdo this. Natural gestures will add a further dimension to your presentation but their overuse can readily distract or annoy an audience.

Avoid actions such as wringing the hands, putting hands in pockets or swaying backwards and forwards that suggests that you are nervous and not in control. Also avoid annoying habits such as continually tapping a pen on a lectern, waving a pointer about, or jangling money in your pockets.

Maintain eye contact with your audience. This not only helps to maintain the rapport between the speaker and the audience but it will enable you to gauge how the talk is going and to make changes if necessary. Maintaining eye contact with the audience will also help you to avoid common problems such as labouring over the written notes, or muffling your speech by ?speaking to the lectern' or ?speaking to the projector screen'. A good technique is to divide your audience into three sections (left, middle and right) and look at representatives from each for periods of a few seconds in turn. Alternatively, you may prefer to sweep your gaze across the room as you speak.

Pay attention to the audience. If they appear not to be following your talk then take action to remedy this ? for example, by slowing your pace, by putting particular emphasis on important points, or reiterating important statements.

Use visual aids effectively.

Stop talking when a slide is first displayed to allow the audience to adjust to it and to soak up its contents.

Ensure that the audience can see your visual aids ? don't stand in such a way as to obscure their viewing by parts of the audience.

When finished with a slide, remove it so that it doesn't serve to distract the audience. Projectors should be turned off during periods when no slide is being shown. (This removes both light and noise distractions.)

Regularly monitor the clock (or place your watch on the lectern) and keep to your time limit. If you find that you are falling behind then you should modify your talk rather than go over time to any considerable degree.

Task 7 Can you google? Let?s do it!

I.http://www.itdesk.info/en/developing-presentations-quiz/

http://www.motivational-depot.com/quiz/speakers/quiz-1/speaker-quiz-1.htm

II. Choose the correct reported speech version of each statement. Each question has only one correct answer. Visit http://esl.about.com for more practice quizzes, as well as study sheets and information on grammar, vocabulary, listening, reading and writing.

1. Tom said, 'I want to visit my friends this weekend.'

a. Tom said he wants to visit his friends that weekend.

b. Tom said he wanted to visit his friends that weekend.

c. Tom said he wanted to visit his friends this weekend.

2. Jerry said, 'I'm studying English a lot at the moment.'

a. Jerry said he was studying English a lot at that moment.

b. Jerry said he was studying English a lot at the moment.

c. Jerry said I was studying English a lot at that moment.

3. They said, 'We've lived here for a long time.'

a. They said they have lived there for a long time.

b. They said they lived here for a long time.

c. They said they had lived there for a long time.

4. He asked me, 'Have you finished reading the newspaper?'

a. He asked me if had I finished reading the newspaper.

b. He asked me if I had finished reading the newspaper.

c. He asked me if I finished reading the newspaper.

5. 'I get up every morning at seven o'clock.', Peter said.

a. Peter said he got up every morning at seven o'clock.

b. Peter said I got up every morning at seven o'clock.

c. Peter said he had got up every morning at seven o'clock.

6. Susan reassured me, 'I can come tonight.'

a. Susan told me I could come that night.

b. Susan told me she could come that night.

c. Susan told me she could come tomorrow evening.

7. She said, 'I really wish I had bought that new car.'

a. She told me she really wished she bought that new car.

b. She told me she really had wished she had bought that new car.

c. She told me she really wished she had bought that new car.

8. Jack said, 'He must be guilty!'

a. Jack said he must have been guilty.

b. Jack said he must have be guilty.

c. Jack said he must has been guilty.

9. Cheryl asked her, 'How long have you lived here?'

a. Cheryl asked her how long she has lived there.

b. Cheryl asked her how long she lived there.

c. Cheryl asked her how long she had lived there.

10. He said, 'I must get going. Otherwise, I'm going to be late.'

a. He told me he had to get going. Otherwise, he was going to be late.

b. He told me he had to get going. Otherwise, I was going to be late.

c. He told me he has to get going. Otherwise, he was going to be late.

11. She said, 'I've worked here since I left my last job.'

a. She told me that she worked there since she had left her last job.

b. She told me that she had worked there since she had left her last job.

c. She told me that she had worked there since she left her last job.

12. You said, 'I will help you!'

a. You said you would help me!

b. You said I would help you!

c. You said you would help her!

13. She asked me, 'When are we going to leave?'

a. She asked me when she was going to leave.

b. She asked me when we were going to leave.

c. She asked me when we are going to leave.

14. Peter said, 'I may bring someone with me to the party.'

a. Peter said he might bring someone with him to the party.

b. Peter said he might have brought someone with him to the party.

c. Peter said he might bring someone with her to the party.

15. My friend said, 'I will have finished my homework by the time you arrive.'

a. My friend told me he would have finished his homework by the time I arrived.

b. My friend told me he would have finished his homework by the time he arrived.

c. My friend told me he would had finished his homework by the time I arrived.

16. Mark asked me, 'Why do you want to study Ukrainian?'

a. Mark asked her why I wanted to study Ukrainian.

b. Mark asked me why did I want to study Ukrainian.

c. Mark asked me why I wanted to study Ukrainiana.a.

17. Marcia said, 'I have been waiting for you for over an hour.'

a. Marcia said she had been waiting for me for over an hour.

b. Marcia said she was waiting for me for over an hour.

c. Marcia said she had waited for me for over an hour.

18. Alison said, 'I had eaten before you arrived.'

a. Alison told me she had eaten before I had arrived.

b. Alison told me I had eaten before I had arrived.

c. Alison told me she had eaten before she had arrived.

19. Lenny sang, 'I want to get away, I want to fly away.'

a. Lenny sang he wanted to get away, he wanted to fly away.

b. Lenny sings he wanted to get away, he wanted to fly away.

c. Lenny sang he wanted to get away, he wants to fly away.

20. Jason asked me, 'Are you coming with me?'

a. Jason asked me if I came with him.

b. Jason asked me if I was coming with him.

c. Jason asked me if I was coming with you.

Additional information.

Date: 2016-06-12; view: 213