CHAPTER 12

Business Presentations

Multimedia Instructor Version 2010 Thomson South-Western

Getting Ready for an Oral Presentation

Know your purpose. What do you want your audience to believe, remember, or do when you finish? Aim all parts of your talk toward your purpose.
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Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 12, Slide 3

Getting Ready for an Oral Presentation

Organize the conclusion
Identify your purpose

Organize the body Organize the introduction

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Understand your audience

Chapter 12, Slide 4

Getting Ready for an Oral Presentation

Understand your audience. Friendly, neutral, uninterested, hostile? How to gain credibility? How to relate this information to their needs?
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How to make them remember your main points?

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 5

Organizing Content
Capture attention in the introduction.
Grab listeners attention and get them involved by opening with a promise, story, startling fact, question, quotation, relevant problem, self-effacing story, or some other tactic. Identify yourself and establish your credibility. Preview your main points.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 6

Succeeding With Four Audience Types

Friendly Neutral Uninterested Hostile

Click icon for more details.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 12, Slide 7

Ten Techniques for Getting Your Audiences Attention

A Promise
By the end of my talk, you will . . . .

Dramatell a moving
story; describe a problem.

Eye contactcommand
attention by making eye contact with as many people as possible.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 8

Ten Techniques for Getting Your Audiences Attention

Movementleave the lectern area. Move toward the audience. Questionsask for a show of hands. Use a rhetorical question. Demonstrationsinclude a member of the audience. Samples, gimmicksaward prizes to volunteer participants; pass out samples.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 9

Ten Techniques for Getting Your Audiences Attention

Visualsuse graphics and other visual aids. Dressprofessional dress helps you look more competent and qualified Appeal to the audiences selfinterestaudience members want to know, What's in it for me?
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 10

Organizing Content
Organize the body logically.
Develop two to four main points. Streamline your topic and summarize its principal parts. Arrange the points logically by a pattern. Prepare transitions to guide the audience. Have extra material ready. Be prepared with more information and visuals if needed.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 11

Organizing Content
Summarize in the conclusion.
Summarize your main themes. Provide a final action-oriented focus that tells listeners how they can use this information or what you want them to do. Include a statement that allows you to depart the podium gracefully and leaves a lasting impression.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 12

Patterns for Organizing the Body of Your Presentation Pattern Example

Chronology Describe the history of a problem, organized from the first sign of trouble to the present. Geography/ Arrange a discussion of the changing space demographics of the workforce by regions, such as East Coast, West Coast, and so forth. Topic/function/ Organize a report discussing mishandled conventional airline baggage by the names of airlines. grouping

Pattern
Comparison/ contrast (pro/con) Journalism pattern

Example
Compare organic farming methods with those of modern industrial farming.

Explain how identity thieves ruin your good name by discussing who, what, when, where, why, and how. Arrange a report describing fluctuations in housing costs by house value groups (houses that cost $100,000, $200,000, and so forth). Organize from most important to least important the reasons a company should move its headquarters to a specific city.
Chapter 12, Slide 14

Value/size

Importance

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Pattern
Problem/ solution Simple/ complex

Example
Discuss a problem followed by possible solutions. Organize a report explaining genetic modification of plants by discussing simple seed production progressing to complex gene introduction. Analyze whether two companies should merge by presenting the best case result (improved market share, profitability, employee morale) opposed to the worse case result (devalued stock, lost market share, employee malaise).
Chapter 12, Slide 15

Best case/ worst case

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Supporting Your Main Points* Type

Example

Use
Illustrate Clarify Add interest

Comments

Story

Introduce in groups of two or three. Consider preceding or following with relevant story. Prove point Adapt to audience. Illustrate Must support thesis. Control length.
Chapter 12, Slide 16

*Supplementary lecture. Not included in textbook.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Type Quotation

Comments Cite source. Paraphrase or read verbatim. Follow up with restatement or explanation. Comparison Improve Link familiar with unfamiliar. understanding Be sure comparison or Add figurative analogy is valid. interest Statistics Prove point Link to audience needs. Add credibility Use sparingly; round off. Support with visuals, handouts.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 17

Use Prove point Add credibility Add interest

Building Rapport Like a Pro

Analogies
Worst- and best-case scenarios

Metaphors
Building Audience Rapport with Effective Imagery Similes Personal anecdotes

Personalized statistics

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 12, Slide 18

Building Rapport Like a Pro

Effective Imagery
Analogy a comparison of something familiar with something unfamiliar To understand how the heart is divided, imagine a house with two rooms upstairs and two downstairs.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 12, Slide 19

Building Rapport Like a Pro

Effective Imagery
Metaphor an implied, nonliteral comparison The old office building became a money pit. Simile a comparison that includes the words like or as His mind works like a computer.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 20

Building Rapport Like a Pro

Other Ways to Connect With Your Audience
Personal anecdotes Personalized statistics Worst- and best-case scenarios

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 12, Slide 21

Using Verbal Signposts to Transition

Previewing
Now let's look at three reasons for . . .

My next major point focuses on . . .

As you can see, we have two primary reasons explaining . . . Let me review the two major factors I've just covered. . . Up to this point, I've concentrated on . . .; now let's look at another significant factor . . . I've just discussed three reasons for X. Now I want to move on to Y.
Chapter 12, Slide 22

Summarizing

Switching Directions

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Sending Positive Nonverbal Messages

Look professional. Animate your body. Punctuate your words. Use appropriate eye contact. Get out from behind the podium. Vary your facial expressions.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 12, Slide 23

Multimedia slides Objects for demonstration

Transparencies

Enhancing Your Presentation With Visual Aids

Handouts Flipcharts or whiteboards

Video

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 12, Slide 24

Characteristics of Visual Aids

Pros
Professional effect Graphic options Easy to make and update Easy to prepare, update, and use Readily available equipment

Medium

Cons
Requires costly equipment and practice to use Equipment may fail May seem outdated Holds speaker close to projector Poor photo reproduction
Chapter 12, Slide 25

Multimedia slides

Transparencies

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Characteristics of Visual Aids

Pros
Encourages audience participation Enhances recall Inexpensive Easy to create, modify, or customize on the spot

Medium

Cons
Risks unauthorized duplication and loss of audience control Requires talent Difficult to see Cumbersome to transport

Handouts

Flipcharts or whiteboards

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 12, Slide 26

Characteristics of Visual Aids

Pros
Accurate portrayal of content Suggests serious preparation

Medium

Cons
Expensive to create and update Incompatibility issues

Video

Realistic effects Increases audience participation

Props

Extra work and expensive to transport and replace Limited use with large audience
Chapter 12, Slide 27

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Preparing a Visually Appealing PowerPoint Presentation

Analyze the situation and purpose.
Live presentation? Self-running presentation? Saved on server for anytime viewing?

Analyze the situation and purpose.

Bold colors? Animation? Sound effects? Bells and whistles?
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 28

Preparing a Visually Appealing PowerPoint Presentation

Adapt your text and color selections.
6-x-6 rule: Maximum of six bullets per screen, six words per bullet Combine harmonious colors, borders, bullet styles, and fonts. Use light text on dark background for darkened rooms. Use dark text on light background for lighted rooms.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 29

Preparing a Visually Appealing PowerPoint Presentation

Organize your slides.
Translate major headings into slide titles. Use blueprint slides strategically. Build bullet points with short phrases.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 30

Preparing a Visually Appealing PowerPoint Presentation

Compose your slideshow. Create a template to serve as background. Avoid visual clichs; find a fresh template that complements your purpose. Choose layout and design options.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 12, Slide 31

Preparing a Visually Appealing PowerPoint Presentation

Compose your slideshow.

Alter layouts by repositioning, resizing, or changing fonts. Consider adding variety and pizzazz but dont overdo it. Numeric information is easier to understand when shown in graphs and charts.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 32

Preparing a Visually Appealing PowerPoint Presentation

Compose your slideshow.

Create a slide only if it

helps audience follow your ideas highlights points you want audience to remember introduces or reviews key points provides a transition between points illustrates and simplifies complex ideas.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 33

Preparing a Visually Appealing PowerPoint Presentation

Revise, proofread, and evaluate your slideshow.
Use PowerPoints Slide Sorter View to rearrange, insert, and delete slides. Edit wording to achieve parallel form. Strive for conciseness and precision. Check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Are color choices visually appealing?
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 34

Preparing a Visually Appealing PowerPoint Presentation

Use PowerPoint effectively.
Allow plenty of time to set up and test equipment. Always bring backups. Consider transferring your presentation to a CD or a USB flash drive. Look at the audience, not the screen. Do not read from a slide. Paraphrase.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 35

Preparing a Visually Appealing PowerPoint Presentation

Use PowerPoint effectively.
Leave the lights as bright as possible. Use a radio remote control to advance slides. Use a laser pointer to highlight slide items. Dont rely totally on your slides. Remember that the audience came to see and hear you.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 36

Polishing Your Delivery and Following Up

Delivery Method
If you are using a slideshow, practice thoroughly so that you can speak extemporaneously without notes. If you are speaking without a slideshow, use notes but try to talk to the audience conversationally. Beware of reading from a script: BORING!
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 37

Stage Fright Symptoms

Stomach butterflies Pounding heart Shortage of breath Sweaty palms

Dry throat Unsteady voice Trembling hands Tied tongue Wobbly knees
Chapter 12, Slide 38

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Combating Stage Fright

Just before you begin to talk, take some deep breaths. Convert your fear into anticipation and enthusiasm. Select a familiar, relevant topic. Prepare 150 percent. Use positive self-talk.
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 39

Combating Stage Fright

Shift the focus from yourself to your visual aids. Ignore stumbles; keep going. Don't admit you're nervous. Feel proud when you finish. Reward yourself.

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 12, Slide 40

Putting It All Together

Before your presentation

During your presentation

After your presentation

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Chapter 12, Slide 41

Putting It All Together

Before During After

Prepare thoroughly. Rehearse repeatedly. Time yourself. Dress professionally. Check the room. Greet members of the audience. Practice stress reduction.
Chapter 12, Slide 42

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Putting It All Together

Before During After

Begin with a pause. Present your first sentence from memory. Maintain eye contact. Control your voice and vocabulary. Skip the apologies. Incorporate pauses when appropriate
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 43

Putting It All Together

Before During After

Show enthusiasm. Put the brakes on. Move naturally. Use visual aids effectively. Avoid digression. Summarize your main points.
Chapter 12, Slide 44

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Putting It All Together

Before During After

Distribute handouts. Encourage questions. Repeat questions. Reinforce your main points. Keep control. Avoid Yes, but answers. End with a summary and appreciation.
Chapter 12, Slide 45

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Effective On-the-Job Oral Presentations

The video explains how to apply the 3-x-3 writing process to developing and delivering an effective oral presentation.

Click to play
Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e Chapter 12, Slide 46

END
Multimedia Instructor Version 2010 Thomson South-Western