1. Delivering the presentation
Good job
building engaging and effective presentations!
2. Recap
We now understand that
we need to plan the presentation before building slides. And those
slides should be built to support the story we want to convey.
3. Practice
Now, it's time to discuss delivery. One of the most important things
is to practice.
Writing a script is helpful.
The idea isn't to memorize it by heart, but to use it as a guide to efficiently articulate the reasonings and insights.
The more we practice, the more familiar we will become with our content.
Moreover, we should anticipate follow-up questions, and think about appropriate answers to them.
4. Practice
Practicing means rehearsing as close to the presentation context as possible, which
involves standing up,
using the actual slides,
and speaking out loud.
As we practice we can identify distracting patterns or filler words such as "um", "so" or "like".
Additionally, sometimes things don't sound as good spoken as they looked when written.
It is also an opportunity to find linking statements, or sentences to transition from one slide to the other.
Last but not least, we should also practice how to answer to follow-up questions we have anticipated.
5. Deliver the presentation
Practicing our presentation many times is an effective way to be familiar with our content. But there are a couple of things we should consider while delivering the presentation.
The first thing is being aware of our emotions. The audience will pick up on them.
If we are self-assured, they are going to be confident in our content. If we look nervous or confused, they might be unconvinced.
6. Deliver the presentation
How long the audience's attention span lasts varies depending on the setting, but researchers agree it's between 5 and 20 minutes.
So we should go the extra mile to keep the audience engaged. We can use eye contact, interactivity, questions - the idea is simply to talk to them, not at them.
We're building a relationship with our audience: let's show empathy, act as a guide. We shouldn't use sentences like "as you know", or "obviously". We might damage our connection with the audience if they feel like they don't understand something, or if they are uncomfortable asking questions.
7. Deliver the presentation
We should make sure our presentation doesn't last longer than the allocated time. The audience will get impatient if we take longer than expected, and their attention will drop dramatically.
8. Deliver the presentation
The audience will understand us better if we make pauses. If we want to convey urgency, it's OK to talk a little faster. But after conveying the idea, we should breathe and give the audience time to think.
9. Deliver the presentation
Finally, we should always open up for questions either during or at the end of the presentation. It will show that we are open to feedbacks, interested in what our audience has to say, and willing to help them understand our message.
10. An effective oral presentation
So in general, to give a good oral presentation we should always remember:
to talk to the audience (and not at it),
that less is more,
that the take-home message should be consistent and persistent,
to practice,
and to prepare for follow-up questions.
11. Let's practice!
Let's make sure you can deliver an effective and clear presentation!