Oral
Presentations
Oral Presentations
Oral presentations are one of the most common assignments in college
courses. Scholars, professionals, and students in all fields desire to
disseminate the new knowledge they produce, and this is often
accomplished by delivering oral presentations in class, at conferences,
in public lectures, or in company meetings. Therefore, learning to
deliver effective presentations is a necessary skill to master both for
college and further endeavors.
Oral presentations typically involve three important steps: 1) planning,
2) practicing, and 3) presenting.
1. Planning
Oral presentations require a good deal of planning. Scholars estimate that approximately 50% of all
mistakes in an oral presentation actually occur in the planning stage (or rather, lack of a planning stage).
Make sure to address the following issues:
Audience:
Focus your presentation on the audience. Your presentation is not
about how much you can say, but about how much your audience
can understand.
Organize your information into three to five points/categories.
Audiences can only easily remember a maximum of three to five
points.
Build repetition. Listening is much different than reading. Your
audience cannot go back and read over something they missed or
did not understand. Build repetition through internal summaries,
transitions, analogies, and stories.
Introduction:
Introduce yourself if needed, providing your affiliation and/or credibility.
Create an effective opening that will interest your audience: pose a question, give an amazing
fact, or tell a short, interesting story.
Reveal your topic to the audience and explain why it is important for them to learn about.
Give a brief outline of the major points you will cover in your presentation.