There are many situations in which you may be called upon to present information orally instead of, or in addition to, doing a written report. You may have to present informally to a small group at a meeting, you may be asked to teach a small or large group about some new software or procedure, or you may be asked to more formally address a large group at a conference. You plan oral presentations of any sort in the same way you plan written ones, by identifying your purpose and audience, and using that to determine your content and organization. The process is the same—it’s just the product that’s slightly different.

• While you may speak many words, oral presentations require you to hone your written language down to essentials to be shown on PowerPoint slides or written on a chart or whiteboard.
• Oral presentations rely heavily on visuals to illustrate concepts and engage your audience.
• Oral presentations rely heavily on tone, which can be more varied than the clear, straightforward tone that characterizes most written technical communications.

Characteristics of Effective Oral Presentations

The following characteristics help to create effective oral presentations:

Clear structure

Presentations should have a clear beginning, middle, and end.

• The introduction should immediately clarify your topic, purpose, and method of approach. Provide a brief overview in the introduction, and find a way to emphasize the importance of your topic, which will help create audience interest.
• The middle should use clear headings for each major concept. Work on transitions when you rehearse the presentation on your own, inserting words that link ideas from topic to topic, so that an audience understands how one piece of information leads into the next.
• The end should briefly summarize your main points and offer a concluding thought. You may also want to leave time to answer audience questions at the end, to make sure they understand your main points.

Appropriate Content

The content of any presentation needs to be directly aligned with the presentation’s purpose. When speaking, it’s relatively easy to go off on a tangent, but you should avoid straying into other topics that do not relate to your main purpose. Content also needs to be developed and specific enough so that your audience can understand all of your main points. Plan to explain any technical aspect of your topic clearly and understandably. Don’t race through complex, technical information if it’s needed in the presentation; instead, explain it carefully without jargon, so that audience members with varied technical background can understand.

Appropriate Visuals

Use photographs, diagrams, charts, graphs, and tables as appropriate to support the presentation’s content and illustrate key points. Depending on the type and context of your presentation, you might also use posters, infographics, or other types of visual displays. All visuals with text should be large enough so that they are easy to read, although text in visuals should be kept to a minimum. Use at least one visual in an oral presentation, and preferably more. Make sure you discuss key elements of your visuals. Point out things about them; explain them to the audience.

Clear, Appropriate Language

Language should be appropriate to the audience in terms of vocabulary and sentence structure (simpler is better), jargon, and tone. Avoid language that shows bias, and avoid grammatical errors.

Engaging Presentation

The way you deliver a presentation affects the whole presentation.

• Show appropriate enthusiasm through tone of voice. If you’re engaged in the topic, it’s more likely that your audience will engage as well.
• Speak clearly, loudly, and slowly enough so that everyone can follow.
• Be conscious of—and try to eliminate—too many “uh,” “you know,” “OK” and other verbal fillers. It’s OK to take a brief, silent pause, as that gives listeners time to process what you’re saying.
• Make eye contact with audience members or groups, and make sure to look at different places in the room so that you eventually look at everyone or every location.
• Stay alert to signs of disinterest (e.g., texting, flipping through papers) and shift your volume or location in the room to encourage your audience to listen.
• Be conscious of how you’re standing or sitting so that you appear natural. Avoid too much gesturing and, conversely, try not to appear frozen. But do sit or stand straight.
• Above all, although you’ll have notes or a script for your presentation, don’t simply read! Reading takes you away from engaging with your audience and often sounds too stilted and formal, which lessens audience interest. Practice your presentation enough so that you’re familiar with the content and don’t have to read.

PowerPoint

Well-designed visuals foster audience engagement. PowerPoint is probably the most common form of visual aid used in presentations, and it has its pros and cons. However, while there are other presentation tools, PowerPoint is a standard workplace tool, so it would be wise to learn how to use it effectively. The key concept to remember is that your PowerPoint slides should supplement and illustrate what you want to say to your audience.

Five things to do when using PowerPoint:

1. In general, use one slide per main idea. After the introductory slide, you should have at least one slide for each important concept in your presentation. Each of these slides should have a heading that identifies that main point.
2. If you need more than one slide per main idea, use the same heading with p. 2, p. 3, etc., or with (cont’d). You can also use unique sub-headings for additional slides that relate to a main idea.
3. Pare language to just the essential words and phrases, which are often offered in a bulleted list.
4. Choose visuals that are easy to read and that illustrate the concept on the slide.
5. Although the practice used to be to design all slides within one presentation in similar ways, more recent practice involves switching the slide layout at points, while still using the same template, to maintain visual interest.

Five things not to do when using PowerPoint:

1. Do not create text-heavy or all-text slides. Don’t simply put your written report into slides.
2. Do not use small size type; you need at least 12-point and usually larger for your audience to be able to read. Also do not choose a fancy font. Use a simple sans serif font such as Calibri or Arial.
3. Do not choose a “busy” or too colorful template, as that will distract from the slide’s content. Choose a simple template or a blank one.
4. Limit colored text, as it’s harder to read. For the most part, choose high contrast between text and background.
5. Do not include animations, swirling text, or anything that flashes.

The following videos provide tips for creating effective PowerPoint slides.

Virtual Presentations

Since virtual presentations are a particular type of oral presentation, most of the characteristics of effective oral presentations apply with just a few differences or additions, which consist of the following:

Ground Rules

Establish ground rules at the start of the presentation.

• Explain how to chat or raise a hand, if such explanation is necessary.
• Let people know whether you or a helper will be monitoring chat during the presentation.
• Let your audience know whether you’ll stop at intervals or wait until the end of the presentation to address questions and comments.
• Ask participants to mute their mikes or mute everyone yourself, if the system allows that, and let your audience know they’ll be muted.
• Explain whether you’ll be sharing your screen or will be presenting live. Especially if presenting live, you may want people to turn off their cameras during your presentation so that your audience’s attention is on you and your information.

Length

Be very brief in virtual presentations. Attention spans wander, and your audience may start multi-tasking if your presentation is too long. Aim for about ten (10) minutes maximum for a straight presentation. If you need more time, incorporate some way to break up the presentation with a poll, a quick activity, or a question for which you briefly take answers. Note that if you use any of these interactive strategies, you need to plan for them in your presentation so that you refer to their outcome when you switch back to solo presentation mode.

Lighting, Background, and Sound

No matter if you’re sharing a PowerPoint presentation from your computer screen, at some point during a virtual presentation, it’s likely that you’ll appear on camera. Test the system beforehand to make sure lighting is appropriate—not too dim or too shadowy. Choose a simple, professional background, even if you’re presenting from home. The pre-established backgrounds that some systems offer may be fun, but if you’re using one, make sure it’s simple, clean, and professional. If you’re using your computer’s microphone rather than a headset, realize that it will pick up other sounds, so move your phone, family, and pets into another room.

You as a Prepared Presenter

Prepare yourself to present professionally, even if you are presenting from home. Dress appropriately. Sit up straight. You may even decide to stand. Look directly into your camera so that it does not seem as though you’re looking elsewhere on the screen. Experiment with the technology beforehand so you can use it smoothly. If you decide to share your screen, turn off other tabs to minimize pop-ups and mistakes going to the wrong tab. If you have a video, PowerPoint slides, or other technology that runs the risk of not functioning properly, have back-up links and files to send to your audience.

The following video illustrates tips for using Skype or any other synchronous, online presentation tool.