You and your audience[1]

What will interest your audience?

  • Who are your audience?
  • Why are you are talking to this group of people on this particular topic?
  • How will the level at which you pitch your talk be shaped by what you know about your audience?

–their background knowledge?

–any preliminary reading they may have done?

–their familiarity with relevant terminology?

–what they might expect from your talk?

–their interests?

  • To plan material with audience background, interests and needs in mind

–List all the things you know or have found out about your topic.

–Eliminate all those items you think your audience might already know about.

–Eliminate anything that is not important for your audience to know.

Keep doing this until you are left with one or two new and dynamic points. These should not be already known to your audience, and should be interesting and useful to them. These points should form the basis of your presentation.

Structuring formal oral presentations[2]

Formal talks are structured. They have a beginning (the introduction), a middle (the body) and an end (the conclusion). Plan to spend about one quarter of your presentation on the introduction and conclusion. Work out how many main points you can make in the middle part of your presentation – for a 15 minutes talk, three main points would be plenty.

The beginning introduces the presentation by:

  • stating the topic
  • stating the aims of your presentation
  • outlining the scope and limits of your talk
  • making clear an argument if you intend to put one forward
  • defining any key terms
  • giving a plan of your presentation, and
  • capturing the interest of your audience.

The body of the presentation develops the topic by:

  • keeping to the topic
  • expanding the plan in an explicit and logical point-by-point sequence
  • clearly identifying the main points which you have carefully selected
  • providing reasons and evidence to support your main points
  • using examples or analogies or data to help explain general statements, and
  • including handouts or audiovisual aids to help convey more detailed information.

The conclusion rounds off your presentation by:

  • restating and drawing together your main points
  • reminding your listeners of your argument if you put one forward
  • tying the conclusion in to your introduction
  • evaluating the significance of the information presented
  • formulating some conclusions, and
  • briefly suggesting any implications which follow from what you have said.

Delivering oral presentations

Confidence and timing

  • Rehearse so that you are reasonably fluent – in particular, practise exactly what you will say in your introduction so that you get off to a confident start.
  • A novice speaker may need to rely on detailed notes to give a talk, but try to avoid simply reading out a mini-lecture. As you become more confident, you should be able to rely on notes (e.g. palm cards, a mind map) which focus on main points or to speak from outline of talk.
  • If you rehearse your presentation you are much more likely to deliver your talk within the time limit and to pace your talk well, rather than going over time or running out of material. As you become more skilled, you can also practise pacing different sections of your talk, e.g. allowing more time for more complex material.

Delivery

  • Do you have a choice of whether you sit or stand to deliver all or part of your talk? Which would you prefer? Which is more suitable for the venue and the group?
  • The start of your talk is all-important. Be clear and specific about your topic and aim. Engage the audience’s interest, perhaps by using a key quote, a couple of memorable facts, or a few up-to-date statistics. You might want to use a relevant brief anecdote with which this particular audience can connect, or throw in a controversial statement if you are comfortable with this.
  • Novice presenters may find it more comforting to mostly look down at their notes and avoid much eye contact, but practise looking at your audience for at least some of the time and especially at the start. If you are nervous, choose two or three friendly faces to look at while you become more confident. As you become more experienced, you can work on developing an awareness of your whole audience and be prepared for some interaction with listeners.
  • Advanced presenters know how to use their voices effectively and to make effective use of the delivery space. They also develop a personal style which is based on their own personality – a quieter person doesn’t have to become an extrovert simply because that works for someone else. However they also develop a repertoire of styles for different audiences and different purposes. Giving a talk can be fun!

Further resources

Student Learning Resource Centre

Booth, Vernon, 1993, 2nd edn, Communicating in science: Writing a scientific paper and speaking at scientific meetings, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge [England]; New York, NY, USA . SL 808.0665 BOO 1993

Bozek, Phillip E., 1991, 50 one-minute tips for better communication, Crisp Publications, Los Altos, California. SL 658.45 BOZ

Lethbridge, Roger C., 1991, Techniques for successful seminars and poster presentations, Longman Cheshire, South Melbourne. SL 658.456 LET

Peel, Malcolm, 1992, Successful presentation in a week, Hodder & Stoughton, Sevenoaks, Kent. SL 658.4 PEE 1992

Prone, Terry, 1989, Just a few words, Poolberg, Dublin.SL 808.51 PRO

Smith, Terry, 1991, 2nd edn, Making successful presentations: a self-teaching guide, Wiley, New York. SL 808.51 SMI

Websites

Delivering the 12 minute talk (University of Canberra).

Oral Presentations (by David A. McMurrey, Austin Community College).

Effective Presentations. Part of an online tutorial series provided by Kansas University Medical Center.

Designing Effective Oral Presentations. Provided by the Rice Online Writing Lab (the Rice OWL, of course).

The Art of Communicating Effectively -- Tips for Presenters. A commercial site developed by Art Feierman and Presenting Solutions, Inc.

The Virtual Presentation Assistant (The University of Kansas).

On line technical writing: (by David A. McMurrey, Austin Community College, Austin, Texas).

4Iain Hay, 1996, Communicating in geography and the environmental sciences, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, p.113.

5M.Rosanna McEvedy, Gillian Packham and Patricia Smith et al., 1986, Studying in Australia: Speaking in academic settings, Nelson, Melbourne, p. 35. In Lorraine Marshall, 1999, A learning companion, 3rd edn,Murdoch University, Murdoch, p. 109.