Chapter 12 Designing and Delivering Business Presentations

Chapter 12 Designing and Delivering Business Presentations

Chapter 12 Designing and Delivering

Business Presentations

Learning Objectives

1Plan a business presentation that accomplishes the speaker’s goals and meets the audience’s needs.

2Organize and develop the three parts of an effective presentation.

3Select, design, and use presentation visuals effectively.

4Deliver speeches with increasing confidence.

5Discuss strategies for presenting in alternate delivery situations such as culturally diverse audiences, teams, and distance presentations.

Chapter Overview

In today’s environment, delivering a successful business report involves not only making an effective spoken presentation but incorporating appropriate visuals as well. The chapter emphasizes timeless techniques of spoken delivery as well as visual and graphic design principles. Because the ability to give presentations using alternate delivery situations is important in today’s workplace, the chapter covers strategies for responding to a culturally diverse audience and effective team and distance presentations.

Key Terms

Articulation 206

Extemporaneous presentation 205

Impromptu presentation 205

Internet conferencing 214

Manuscript presentation 204

Memorized presentation 204

Oral briefings 194

Phonation 205

Pronunciation 207

Chapter Outline

PLANNING AN EFFECTIVE BUSINESS PRESENTATION 194

Identify Your Purpose 195

Know Your Audience 196

ORGANIZING THE CONTENT 197

Introduction 197

Body 199

Closing 200

DESIGNING COMPELLING PRESENTATION VISUALS 200

Types of Presentation Visuals 200

Design of Presentation Visuals 202

Design Tips for Audience Handouts and Notes Pages 203

REFINING YOUR DELIVERY 204

Delivery Method 204

Vocal Qualities 205

Delivery Style 207

ADAPTING TO ALTERNATE DELIVERY SITUATIONS 210

Culturally Diverse Audiences 210

Team Presentations 212

Distance Presentations 213

PowerPointSlides

Lecture Slides — Students can review key chapter concepts on the Lecture Slides (found on the companion website (Student’s Resources)). Slides can be downloaded for convenient printing of handouts for taking class notes.

Slide Number and Title

Chapter 12 Designing and Delivering Business Presentations
Learning Objectives
Preparing an Effective Presentation
Organizing Your Presentation
An Effective Introduction . . .
Crafting an Effective Body
Crafting an Effective Closing
Presentation Design Principles
Vocal Qualities Enhance Presentation Style
Speaking to Culturally Diverse Audiences
Delivering as a Team
Adapting Presentations for Distance Delivery

E-lectures — Slides with engaging narration of key concepts—useful as reinforcement of lectures and exam reviews—are available through the CourseMate site for BCOM3.
Resource Slides — A larger deck of slides for instructors for displaying in the classroom; these slides for class enrichment and solutions to activities and applications are also available at the companion website (Instructor’s Resources) and on the Instructor’s CD.

Slide Number and Title

Chapter 12 Designing and Delivering Business Presentations
Learning Objectives
Learning Objective 1 Plan a business presentation that accomplishes the speaker’s goals and meets the audience’s needs.
Preparing an Effective Presentation
Identifying Your Purpose
Knowing Your Audience
Learning Objective 2 Organize and develop the three parts of an effective presentation.
Organizing Your Presentation
Effective Attention-Getters
An Effective Introduction . . .
Crafting an Effective Body
Making Your Presentation Easy to Understand
Crafting an Effective Closing
Learning Objective 3 Select, design, and use presentation visuals effectively.
Benefits of Presentation Visuals
Types of Presentation Visuals
Presentation Design Principles
Using Text Effectively
Ineffective Slide Design: What Does Not Work
Effective Slide Design: Why It Works
Ineffective Slide Content: What Does Not Work
Effective Slide Content: Why It Works
Learning Objective 4 Deliver speeches with increasing confidence.
Types of Delivery Methods
Vocal Qualities Enhance Presentation Style
Achieving Good Vocal Quality
Learning Objective 5 Discuss strategies for presenting in alternate delivery situations, such as culturally diverse audiences, team and distance presentations.
Speaking to Culturally Diverse Audiences
Delivering as a Team
Adapting Presentations for Distance Delivery
Using Videoconferencing Appropriately

Teaching Suggestions

Learning Objective 1

Plan a business presentation that accomplishes the speaker’s goals and meets the audience’s needs.

Planning an Effective Business Presentation

Ask students to relate their experiences with hearing ineffective presentations, whether in a classroom, student organization, or business environment.
Ask them what made the presentation ineffective.
Discuss the importance of getting the audience’s attention. Remind students of the quote, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
Discuss the ease of creating and transporting electronic visual aids; ask students whether they think presenters apt to overuse visual aids rather than focusing on content? Why or why not?

Resource slide 4: Preparing an Effective Presentation

Identify Your Purpose and Know Your Audience

Show the visual as you lead a discussion of important considerations when planning an effective presentation.

Resource slide 5: Identifying Your Purpose

Resource slide 6: Knowing Your Audience

Ask students whether the opening or the closing is the most critical portion of a presentation and to provide justification for their opinion.
Ask students how knowing your audience would change your content and possibly your delivery method.

Learning Objective 2

Organize and develop the three parts of an effective presentation.

Organizing the Content

Show the visual as you preview the three-part structure of an effective presentation.
Ask students how long each part should be in relation to the total presentation time. What happens if the introduction or conclusion is missing? Too long?

Resource slide 8: Organizing Your Presentation

Introduction

Show the visual as you discuss important elements of an effective introduction.

─Capture attention and involve the audience.

─Establish rapport with the audience. Stress that students should take the time in the introduction to establish credibility and expertise on the topic and to create a connection with the audience.

─Present the purpose statement. Make sure the audience knows why they should listen and why the information is beneficial to them.

─Preview the points that will be developed. Reveal the points of the outline to help the audience move through your presentation more easily.

Resource slide 10: An Effective Introduction . . .

Show the visual as you lead the class in a discussion of techniques for gaining audience attention and holding interest.

─Emphasize that a quotation provides the following benefits: (1) expresses thoughts more clearly, (2) adds a spark to your speech, (3) gets points across (4) adds authoritativeness, and (5) commands attention and respect.

Resource slide 9: Effective Attention-Getters

─Emphasize that presenters should avoid (a) unoriginal or overused statements such as “My name is . . .” or “It is a pleasure . . .” (b) apologies for lack of preparation, late arrival, and so on, and (c) potentially offensive jokes and gimmicks.

Ask students to share examples of speeches they recall vividly. What techniques did the presenter use to accomplish the goals of an effective introduction?
Assign Application 3 that requires students to critique a well-known speaker of their choice. Ask students to share their observations.

Body

Show the visual as you discuss techniques for making the body of a presentation effective.
Show the visual as you discuss techniques for making the presentation easy for the audience to understand.

Resource slide 11: Crafting an Effective Body

Resource slide 12: Making Your Presentation Easy to Understand

Show the visual as you discuss the elements of an effective summary.
Remind students to practice the introduction and the close until they can deliver it without stumbling. This extra practice is necessary because the introduction and summary are critical to the overall effectiveness of the presentation.

Resource slide 13: Crafting an Effective Closing

Assign Application 4, which involves giving an extemporaneous presentation. Students may gather their information and outline the topic. Visuals may be prepared after the discussion of that topic occurs.

Learning Objective 3

Select, design, and use presentation visuals effectively.

Designing Compelling Presentation Visuals

Showing the visual as you discuss the benefits of using presentation visuals.
Ask students the advantages of using class visuals. How are students impacted in classes where visuals are not used? How do their experiences relate to other audiences?

Resource slide 15: Benefits of Presentation Visuals

Types of Presentation Visuals

Refer students to Figure 12-1 on page 201 and display the visual as you introduce the choices available in visuals. What are the benefits and drawbacks of each type?
Assign students to organize and research a topic for a presentation and prepare visuals to fit the topic. When students prepare their visuals, have them prepare at least one type other than the common electronic presentation slides.

Resource slide 16: Types of Presentation Visuals

Design of Presentation Visuals

To introduce this topic, show Comedian Don McMillan’s video, “How Not to Use PowerPoint” that humorously uses PowerPoint snafus to stress that computer technology has raised the standards for presentation visuals; however, inexperienced designed often misuse and overuse PowerPoint slides.
Discuss the “docu-points” electability PowerPoint slideshow that the Hillary Clinton campaign emailed to all House Democrats that included nine slides, 275 words, one table, three bar charts, and two pie charts. Ask the students to explain why “docu-points” are usually less effective than a concise, well-designed handout or summary report.
After this discussion, have students complete Activity 5 that requires them to generate a list of additional faux pas that you have observed in the design and use of presentation visuals. Develop a two- to three-minute presentation conveying this information in a workplace setting.
Project the visual as you initiate the discussion of effective design of presentation visuals. Stress that each of these components is important to slide design, and that a flashy slide will not make up for a lack of content. Design principles are illustrated in the ineffective/effective slides in Figure 12-2 (slide content). Additional explanation appears in the discussion on page 204.

Resource slide 17: Presentation Design Principles

Involve students in contrasting the effective and ineffective example shown in Figure 12-2 and provided on the visual (poor example-left and good example-right) as you emphasize each design principle. Refer students to the full explanation on page 204 of the textbook.

Resource slide 19: Ineffective Slide Design: What Does Not Work

Resource slide 20: Effective Slide Design: Why It Works

Stress the importance of clear, concise content including:

Titles that accurately describe the exact nature of the information contained on the slides and using titles that engage the audience to keep his/her attention focused on the speaker and the visual.

Parallel structure in bulleted lists. Also, emphasize that each item in the list should have a common element that is described accurately by the title. For example, each item in the visual is a value of using stories in a presentation.

Discuss that readability is a key criterion for slide design, which requires high contrast between the background and foreground.
To reinforce the design principles, use the following activities:

Resource slide 21: Ineffective Slide Content: What Does Not Work

Resource slide 22: Effective Slide Content: Why It Works

Assign Activity 4a-c that provides students individual and team practice in improving presentation visual design and content. Project the solutions as you reinforce slide design principles. Assign 4c if students have not completed it earlier.

Learning Objective 4

Deliver speeches with increasing confidence.

Refining Your Delivery

Ask the class which of the four presentation delivery methods they think is used most often by professionals in their field. Use their input to lead naturally to a discussion of memorized, manuscript (scripted), impromptu, and extemporaneous presentations.

Resource slide 24: Types of Delivery Methods

Assign Activity 3 and allow class time for students to critique their speaking ability after presenting an impromptu speech.
Show the visuals as you lead a class discussion on the qualities of an effective voice.

Resource slide 25: Vocal Qualities Enhance Presentation Style

Resource slide 26: Achieving Good Vocal Quality

Case Assignment 1: Now About That Accent . . .

Have students read the case and complete the activities as directed.
Lead a discussion of how accent will likely affect the chosen career paths of individual students in the class. Take a poll as to whether students feel their accent will be a positive influence, a negative influence, or no influence on their career progression.

Delivery Style

Before the presentation

Lead a discussion of techniques for practicing effectively.
Discuss public speaking anxiety and ways to alleviate that anxiety, including PRACTICE!
Use these teaching suggestions to help alleviate fear:
Emphasize that fear of public speaking can be overcome with time and practice.
Present the following baseball analogy that Bert Decker cites in You’ve Got to Be Believed to be Heard. Major league baseball players are considered successful if they bat above .300—if they hit the ball 30 percent of the time. Your chances of delivering an effective speech are much better. Why jeopardize your career by not even attempting public speaking?
Ask students to work in a small group to list their fears related to public speaking. Through discussion, compile one master list. Point out to students that their fears are common to virtually everyone.

Learning Objective 5

Discuss strategies for presenting in alternate delivery situations such as culturally diverse audiences, team, and distance presentations.

Adapting to Alternative Delivery Situations

Discuss situations business presenters face where they have to adapt quickly and easily to a different situation. Remind students that audience consideration should be a major factor in planning a presentation. Using these considerations, presenters should be able to respond to the special needs of a culturally diverse audience, deliver a presentation as a team, and deliver in a distance format, such as through web interface or videoconferencing.

Culturally Diverse Audiences

Show the visual as you lead a discussion about guidelines for speaking to an intercultural audience.
Review guidelines for writing to an intercultural audience. (See slides provided in Chapter 6.) Discuss the similarities between adaptation for writing and for speaking.
Relay that in Japanese and Chinese cultures, business cards are extremely important and must be handled with care because damage to the card represents damage to the individual. Remind students to keep these cultural differences in mind when presenting to a culturally diverse audience.

Resource slide 28: Speaking to Culturally Diverse Audiences

Team Presentations

As you show the visual, lead a discussion of why it is not advisable to “wing it” in a team presentation.
Ask students to comment on how a news broadcast team (made up of one or more newscasters, a sportscaster, and a meteorologist) presents a seamless delivery in a 30-minute news program.
Lead a discussion as to whether an individual presentation or a team presentation presents more challenges.

Resource slide 29: Delivering as a Team

Distance Presentations

Lead a discussion as to why distance presentations are growing in popularity and discuss how travel policies for companies have changed in the last five years.
Discuss various changes in the way presentations are delivered:

─Many presentations are now made available over the Internet, so presenters must be aware of how the presentation will be used or distributed in the future.

─Discuss the podcast as a new option for distance delivery of information. Remind students that a podcast may include visuals and voice or voice only. Emphasize the need for a conversational style in podcasts that make the listener “see” the subject. Much of podcasting appeals to the imagination in the way that radio broadcasts did in its heyday.

Discuss some of the communication challenges posed by distance presentations and show the visuals as you discuss guidelines for adapting a presentation for distance delivery.

Resource slide 30: Adapting Presentations for Distance Delivery

Resource slide 31: Using Videoconferencing Appropriately

Summary

If facilities to videotape presentations are available, schedule team presentations so that other teams constitute the audience. Videotapes should be made available for student review (feedback). Refer students to the Check Your Communication checklist as a guide for planning as well as evaluation of their presentations.
A suggested grading sheet for the oral component of a report project completed collaboratively is available at the Instructor’s website.
Team presentations are usually less threatening than individual ones. Three- and four-person teams can be assigned to prepare and make presentations.
Additional business topics that might be used for individual or team reports include the following:

─Officers’ reports to a corporate shareholders’ annual meeting. Each team may select its own corporation from any available annual reports. Students play roles as officers making financial, marketing, social responsibility, production, or long-range planning reports.

─One person serves as moderator, and the other three, as panel participants.

─Presentation of the advantages and disadvantages of financial investments. Team members should plan the discussion around common stocks, corporate bonds, tax-exempt instruments, bank deposits, and federal obligations such as Treasury bills.

Ask students to complete selected activities at the end of the chapter. Remind students to study the suggestions in the “Check Your Communication” checklist when planning and delivering a speech or oral report and designing visuals.

Assign the interactive quizzes for Chapter 12 that appear on the student website and in your online course. Assure students that completing this assignment will be an excellent review for an objective test on the material and for completing future writing assignments successfully.

Use Case Assignment 1, “Now About that Accent,” to prepare students for an analytical writing assignment. Have students complete the activities and use the writing assignments as preparatory practice in writing about a multi-faceted issue or in writing an argument for a particular point of view.

Chapter Review