{"id":1818,"date":"2016-09-19T15:23:51","date_gmt":"2016-09-19T15:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-collegesuccess\/?post_type=chapter&p=1818"},"modified":"2016-10-26T22:20:16","modified_gmt":"2016-10-26T22:20:16","slug":"text-preparing-a-presentation","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-buffalo-wmopen-collegesuccess\/chapter\/text-preparing-a-presentation\/","title":{"raw":"Text: Preparing a Presentation","rendered":"Text: Preparing a Presentation"},"content":{"raw":"

Think About\u00a0Audience<\/h2>\r\nNow that you've learned a bit about the various types of presentations, it's helpful to turn to another important part of presenting: the audience. Like reading and writing, presenting is a form of communication. Whether you're presenting information, giving a demonstration, creating a poster, or trying to change people's minds,\u00a0your goal is to get your message across to your audience. For that reason, it\u2019s important to remember\u00a0that they may not interpret the information you are presenting exactly as you have. It\u2019s your job as a presenter to explain your ideas using specific details, succinct and clear wording (avoid jargon), vivid descriptions, and meaningful images. As you organize your presentation, keeping this imaginary audience in mind can\u00a0help you\u00a0gauge how much background information and context to provide.\r\n

Choosing Media and Format for Visual Aids<\/h2>\r\nPerhaps you\u2019ve heard the phrase \u201cDeath by PowerPoint\u201d to explain that all-too-familiar feeling of being slowly bored to death by a thoughtless presenter who's droning on and on about\u00a0boring\u00a0slide after boring slide. If you'd like to know what the experience is about, and you have time for a laugh, watch the following video, starring stand-up comedian Don McMillan. McMillan pokes fun at bad presentations, but he\u00a0has some very sound\u00a0advice about what not to do<\/em>.\r\n\r\n