978-0134562186 Chapter 16 Lecture Note Part 1

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Part 6: Developing and Delivering Business Presentations

In Part 6, students learn how to plan effective presentations, overcome the anxieties that every speaker

feels, respond to questions from the audience, and embrace the Twitter-enabled backchannel. They will

find some tips and techniques for succeeding with online presentations, an increasingly common mode of

communication in today’s environment. And they’ll learn to complement presentations with compelling

visual materials and learn how to create presentation slides that engage and excite an audience.

Chapter 16: Developing Presentations in a Social Media Environment

This chapter shows students how to adapt the three-step process to business presentations. It includes

sections on overcoming anxiety, handling questions, embracing the backchannel, and giving presentations

online.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Planning a Presentation

Analyzing the Situation

Selecting the Best Combination of Media and Channels

Organizing a Presentation

Defining Your Main Idea

Limiting Your Scope

Choosing Your Approach

Preparing Your Outline

Crafting Presentation Content

Adapting to Your Audience

Developing Your Presentation

Presentation Introduction

Presentation Body

Presentation Close

Delivering a Presentation

Choosing Your Presentation Method

Practicing Your Delivery

Preparing to Speak

Overcoming Anxiety

Handling Questions Responsively

Incorporating Technology in Your Presentation

Embracing the Backchannel

Giving Presentations Online

Learning Catalytics is a “bring your own device” student engagement, assessment, and classroom

intelligence system. It allows instructors to engage students in class with real-time diagnostics. Students

can use any modern, web-enabled device (smartphone, tablet, or laptop) to access it. For more

information on using Learning Catalytics in your course, contact your Pearson Representative.

LECTURE NOTES

Section 1: Planning a Presentation

Learning Objective 1: Describe the tasks involved in analyzing the situation for a presentation and

organizing a presentation.

Oral presentations offer important opportunities to put all your communication skills on display,

including:

Research

Planning

Writing

Visual design

Interpersonal communication

Nonverbal communication

Presentations also demonstrate your ability to think on your feet, grasp complex business issues, and

handle challenging situations—all attributes of successful employees.

To avoid the jitters when presenting, keep three points in mind:

Everybody gets nervous when speaking in front of groups, even experienced professionals.

Being nervous is a good thing; it means you care about the topic, the audience, and career

success.

With practice, you can convert nervous feelings into positive energy that helps you give more

compelling presentations.

Preparing a professional-quality presentation takes time—a week or two for one-hour presentation.

Planning oral presentations is much like planning any other business message. The same four tasks apply:

Analyze the situation.

Gather information.

Select the right medium.

Organize the information.

Analyzing the Situation

Analyzing the situation for an oral presentation involves defining your purpose and developing an

audience profile:

The purpose of most presentations is to inform or to persuade.

Make sure your purpose is crystal clear in order to maximize the opportunity and show

respect for your listeners’ time and attention.

When developing an audience profile, try to anticipate the likely emotional state of your audience

members.

Also consider the specific circumstances in which you’ll be making your presentation. The four basic

formats have distinct advantages and disadvantages:

Classroom or theater seating, in which all chairs or desks face forward: keeps attention

focused on the speaker; usually the best method for accommodating large audiences; inhibits

interaction among audience members.

Conference table seating, in which people sit along both sides of a long table and the speaker

stands at one end: common arrangement for smaller meetings; promotes interaction among

attendees; tends to isolate the speaker at one end of the room.

Horseshoe seating, in which tables are arranged in the shape of a “U”: improves on

conference table seating by allowing the speaker to walk between the tables to interact with

individual audience members; impractical for large audiences; requires enough tables.

Café seating, in which people sit in groups at individual tables: best for breakout sessions and

other small-group activities; places some in the audience with their backs to the speaker,

making it awkward for both them and the presenter.

All these variables can influence not only the style of your presentation but also the content. In a

public environment full of distractions, it’s best to keep content simple and short to retain audience

attention.

Selecting the Best Combination of Media and Channels

When selecting the right medium for oral presentations there is an array of choices, which include:

Live, in-person presentations

Webcasts

Webinars (online presentations that people either view live or download later from your

website)

Screencasts (recordings of activity on computer displays with audio voiceover)

Twebinars (online events that combine a webinar with the use of Twitter as a backchannel)

Explore these options early in your planning efforts so that you can take full advantage of the media

at your disposal.

Organizing a Presentation

The possibilities for organizing a business presentation fall into two basic categories.

Linear presentations (e.g., typical PowerPoint presentation) are like printed documents in the sense

that they are outlined like conventional messages and follow a predefined flow from start to finish.

Appropriate for:

Speeches

Technical and financial presentations

Other presentations in which you want to convey your message point by point

Nonlinear presentations (e.g., Prezi) don’t flow in any particularly direction but rather give the

presenter the option to move back and forth between topics and up and down in terms of level of

detail. Useful when you want to:

Show complicated relationships

Zoom in and out between the “big picture” and specific details

Explore complex visuals

Have the flexibility to move from topic to topic in any order

Prezi is sometimes viewed as more dynamic and engaging way, but keep several points in mind:

Always match the tool to the task, not the other way around.

Your message is what matters—not the software. If they are used poorly, even the best

software features only get in the way.

PowerPoint and other slide programs aren’t limited to creating boring, linear flows of bullet

points.

Organizing a presentation involves the same tasks as organizing a written message:

Define your main idea.

Limit your scope.

Select the direct or indirect approach.

Outline your content.

Class discussion question: Have you tried nonlinear presentation tools such as Prezi? What do you

consider the strengths and weaknesses of this approach? How did your audience respond?

Defining Your Main Idea

Identify the most important message you want audience members to take away with them.

Make sure your purpose is based on a clear understanding of audience needs so that you can deliver

information your audience truly cares about.

Limiting Your Scope

Limiting your scope is particularly vital with presentations, for two reasons:

For most presentations, you must work within strict time limits.

You have audience attention for only a finite amount of time.

The only sure way to know how much material you can cover in a given time is to practice.

Factor in time for introductions, breaks, demonstrations, question-and-answer sessions, and anything

else that takes away from your speaking time.

Consider a hybrid approach by presenting key points in summary form and give people printed

handouts with additional detail.

Choosing Your Approach

For short presentations, organize your presentation much as you would a brief written message:

Use the direct approach if the subject involves routine information or good news.

Use the indirect approach if the subject involves negative news or persuasion.

For short presentations, plan your time well:

Introduction: spend a minute or two to arouse interest and to give a preview of what’s to

come.

Body: be prepared to explain the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your subject.

Closing: review the points you’ve made, and close with a statement that will help your

audience remember the subject of your speech.

If the purpose of the presentation is to inform, use the direct approach and a structure imposed

naturally by the subject:

Importance

Sequence

Chronology

Spatial orientation

Geography

Category

If your purpose of the presentation is to analyze, persuade, or collaborate, organize your material

around:

Conclusions

Recommendations

Logical arguments

Use the direct approach if the audience is receptive, and the indirect approach if you expect

resistance.

Presentations have one important advantage over written reports: you can readjust quickly if you need

to.

Regardless of the length of your presentation, remember that simplicity of organization is especially

valuable in oral communication.

No matter what the length, look for opportunities to integrate storytelling into the structure of your

presentation. The dramatic tension at the heart of effective storytelling will capture and keep the

audience’s attention.

Preparing Your Outline

A presentation outline helps organize your message, and it serves as the foundation for delivering

your speech. Prepare your outline in several stages:

State your purpose and main idea and then use these to guide the rest of your planning.

Organize major points and subpoints in logical order, expressing each major point as a single,

complete sentence.

Identify major points in the body first and then outline the introduction and close.

Identify transitions between major points or sections, and then write these transitions in

full-sentence form.

Prepare bibliography or source notes; highlight those sources you want to identify by name

during your talk.

Choose a compelling title. Make it brief, action oriented, and focused on what you can do for

the audience.

Prepare both a detailed planning outline and a simpler speaking outline that provides all the

cues and reminders you need to present the material.

To prepare an effective speaking outline, follow these steps:

Start with the planning outline. Then strip away what you don’t plan to say directly to the

audience.

Condense points and transitions to key words or phrases.

Add delivery cues, such as places where you plan to pause for emphasis or use visuals.

Arrange your notes on numbered cards or use the notes capability in your presentation

software.

Section 2: Developing a Presentation

Learning Objective 2: Explain how to adapt to your audience and develop an effective opening, body, and

close for a presentation.

Although you usually don’t write out a presentation word for word, you still engage in the writing process

by:

Developing your ideas

Structuring support points

Phrasing your transitions

Depending on the situation and your personal style, the eventual presentation might follow your initial

words closely, or you might express your thoughts in fresh, spontaneous language.

Adapting to Your Audience

The style of your presentation is influenced by several significant factors:

Audience size

Venue (in person or online)

Subject

Purpose

Budget

Time available for preparation

Time allotted for your talk

If you’re speaking to a small group, particularly people you already know, you can use a casual style

that encourages audience participation. If you’re addressing a large audience, or if the event is

important, establish a more formal atmosphere.

Crafting Presentation Content

Like written documents, presentations are composed of distinct elements:

Introduction

Body

Close

Presentation Introduction

A good introduction arouses the audience’s interest in your topic, establishes your credibility, and

prepares the audience for what will follow.

Arousing Audience Interest

Some subjects are naturally more interesting to some audiences than others.

If you will be discussing a matter of profound significance that will personally affect the members

of your audience, chances are they’ll listen.

Other subjects call for more imagination. Here are six ways to arouse audience interest:

Unite the audience around a common goal.

Tell a story. Well-told stories are naturally interesting and can be compelling.

Pass around product samples or other stories.

Ask a question to get the audience actively involved in your presentation.

Share a startling statistic.

Use humor, but make sure any comments are relevant, appropriate, and not offensive to

anyone in the audience.

Regardless of which technique you choose, make sure you can give audience members a reason

to care and to believe that the time they’re about to spend listening to you will be worth their

while.