Steps of an Oral Presentation

Visual aids will help you with your presentation.

Giving an oral presentation can be nerve-wracking for many people. Whether you're presenting a research project to your fellow classmates in college or are pitching a new idea to a room full of your colleagues, you'll need to convey your ideas clearly. Preparation is the most important part of any oral presentation. You'll need to understand the material and understand who your audience is. Practicing your presentation --- and timing it in front of a mirror or other people --- will also help you to be relaxed when it's time to speak to your crowd.

Instructions

1. Hand out an outline of your presentation to your audience. This will help them follow along with the topics and get back on track if they have to leave the room for a few minutes.

2. Clearly explain the purpose of your presentation. You can even develop a mission statement to cement your objective in your audience's minds. This is the thesis of your presentation and what everything you speak about should relate back to.

3. Present the evidence, facts or ideas that support your main objective. Use examples and material that your audience can relate to.

4. Incorporate visual aids into your presentation. People will retain information better if they have a graph or picture to look at as well. Make sure to explain your visual aids, though, instead of just letting your audience figure them out for themselves.

5. Summarize your main points and the information that you need to stick with the audience. Do this in a way that will leave an impression on everybody. You can use clever wording or an interesting quote that people will remember. You can also use a visual aid for this purpose.

6. Ask your audience for questions, remarks or feedback. Make sure to answer each person completely before moving on to the next comment. Chances are, if one person has a question, others are wondering the same thing. Clear up any confusion by making sure everybody understands a piece of information before moving on.

Tips & Warnings

• Check out the room where you'll be giving your presentation ahead of time. You'll want to know exactly where you can set up your computer, projector and other aids. Also, you'll be able to determine how much you'll have to project your voice or if you'll need a microphone.

• When giving an oral presentation, speak slowly. Even if you feel like you're speaking too slow, chances are your audience feels that you're speaking at a good pace. Also, make eye contact with several people in your audience. This is a way of engaging them and keeping them interested in what you're saying. SEE REF 2

References

• Princeton: Steps to Preparing an Oral Presentation
• Rollins: Class Presentation Guidelines