Guidelines for Oral Presentations

Presentations are brief discussions of a focused topic delivered to a group of listeners in order to impart knowledge or to stimulate discussion. They are similar to short papers with an introduction, main body and conclusion.  The ability to give brief presentations is a learned skill and one that is called on frequently in the workplace. 

Preparation 
Visual Aids 
Handouts 
Practice 
Delivery 
Equipment Tips 
Delivery Tips 
Fear and Nervousness 
Role of the Audience 
Evaluation 

Preparation
Preparation is the key to giving an effective presentation and to controlling your nervousness.  Know your topic well.  You will be the expert on the topic in the classroom. Good preparation and the realization that you are the expert will boost your self-confidence.  After your research, you will find that you know much more about your topic than you will have time to present.  That is a good thing.  It will allow you to compose a good introduction, to distill out the main, most important points that need to be made, and to finish with a strong conclusion. 

• Know your topic – become an expert 
• Learn as much about the topic as you can to boost your self-confidence
• Have an idea what the background is of your audience is so you will know how     much detail to go into and what kinds of things you may have to define 
• Prepare an outline of topic.  Bullet or number the main points. 
• An 8-minute talk is roughly equivalent to 4 double spaced pages in 12-pt. font and 1” margins - however, never read a presentation.  Write out your presentation if you need to organize your thoughts, but then outline this text for the actual    presentation. 

• Keep visual aids simple and uncluttered. 
• Use color and contrast for emphasis but use them in moderation 
• Use a font large enough to be seen from the back of the room 
• A rule of thumb:  slides are readable from the back of a room if they are readable at a distance of 9 feet from a 15” monitor 
• For an 8-10 minute talk use no more than 10 slides or overheads 
• If using PowerPoing, strongly resist the temptation to use sound effects and   dramatic slide transitions 

A handout should be 1-2 pages long and consist of: 

• Your name 
• Title of course 
• Date of presentation 
• Title of your presentation 
• Brief abstract (50 word summary of your presentation) 
• A brief outline of your presentation including the major points 
• A bibliography of references used to inform the presentation 

Delivery
To deliver your presentation you will have to overcome your nervousness and deal with room conditions.  Good preparation should allay most of your nervousness; realizing that everyone feels nervous before a presentation should also help.  Your presentation will never go exactly as you think it will – fortunately, they usually go better than you expect. However, if you are using any kind of technology (overhead projector or PowerPoint) be prepared for something to go wrong and have a backup plan. 

Equipment tips: 

• Workout details with equipment before the day of your presentation
• Know how to operate the equipment you choose to use 
• If you are using PowerPoint, have a backup copy on a disk 
• Consider making overhead transparencies of your PowerPoint slides in case     there is a problem with the technology 
• Consider making print duplicates of your slides or transparencies in case there is a problem with electricity or bulbs 
• Do not expect a network connection to work when you need it.  Have any web  sites you hope to show available as offline copies on a disk.  Work offline      whenever possible to avoid slow network response 

• Begin your presentation by telling your audience what your topic is and what you will be covering.  Audiences like to have a guidepost. 
• Avoid reading your remarks 
• Dress neatly and appropriately.   The rule of thumb is to dress one level nicer      than the audience will be dressed. 
• Do not wear a hat of any kind 
• Speak in a clear, audible voice – loud enough to be clearly heard in the back      row.  Never, ever mumble 
• Stand up straight, don’t slouch or drape yourself around the podium.  Don’t be    afraid to move around the  room – moving around is good, it causes the audience to pay attention 
• Don’t rock back and forth on your heels, don’t tap a pencil or play with pencil or  pointer – don’t do things that will distract from your content. 
• Never apologize to your audience for the state of your knowledge or your degree   of preparation.  The audience wants to have confidence in you – you are the       authority, do nothing to undermine your authority. 
• Never mention anything that could have been in your talk but wasn’t 
• Make frequent eye contact with the audience.  Really look at the audience as    you talk to them.  Engaging them directly with your eyes transfers a bit of your   energy to them and keeps them focused on your content.  Making eye contact  says that you are in charge of the room and for a presentation – that’s what you want. 
• If you use slides or PowerPoint avoid the tendency to speak to the screen       instead of to the audience.   Be so familiar with your visual aids that the only     reason you look at them is to point something out. 
• Never turn your back on the audience and try to avoid walking in front of the       projector 
• Adhere strickly to your time limit.  Organize your main points and rate of speech  so that you speak for your allotted minutes.  You will be surprised how quickly the time goes. 
• At the conclusion of your presentation ask for questions.  Encourage questions   with your eyes and your body language.  Respond to questions politely,       good-humoredly, and briefly.   Take a quick moment to compose your thoughts   before responding if you need to – but do not fill the moment with uh…. 
• At the end of your presentation, summarize your main points and give a strong   concluding remark that reinforces why your information is of value. 
• Show some enthusiasm 

The role of the audience
Presentations involve both a speaker and the audience.  People in the audience play a role in how well a presentation goes.  People in the audience have an obligation to: 

• Listen politely 
• Make occasional eye contact with speaker 
• Take notes or jot down interesting facts 
• Control negative facial expressions 
• Control bored body language 
• Do not put your head down on the desk or tilt your head back to sleep 
• Control the impulse to constantly check watch 
• Expect a Question & Answer period to be part of the presentation 
• Participate in Question & Answer period – either by listening or by posing a         question. 
• Prepare to remain attentive throughout the Q&A – speakers will dismiss their     audience 
• Remain seated until the speaker is finished 

A. Organization and Development of Content 

Opening statement gained immediate attention? 
Purpose of presentation made clear? 
Previewed contents of speech? 
Main ideas stated clearly and logically? 
Organizational pattern easy to follow? 
Main points explained or proved by supporting points? 
Variety of supporting points (testimony, statistics, etc.) 
Conclusion adequately summed up main points, purpose?

Presenter “owned the space” and was in control? 
Held rapport with audience throughout speech? 
Eye contact to everyone in audience? 
Strong posture and meaningful gestures?

Visuals clear and visible to entire audience? 
Creative and emphasized main points? 
Presenter handled unobtrusively and focused on audience?

Volume 
Rate (pacing) 
Pitch 
Quality 
Energetic and included everyone in dialogue?

E.  Comments

Evaluation criteria from: 
D'Arcy, Jan.  1998. Technically speaking: a guide for communicating
          complex informaton.  Columbus: Battelle Press, p. 160. 

This page was prepared by 
Deborah Carter Peoples 
Ohio Wesleyan University Libraries