The Art of Effective Presentation Mohamed A. El-Sharkawi Smart - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Mohamed A. El-Sharkawi 1

The Art of Effective Presentation

Mohamed A. El-Sharkawi Smart Energy Lab (SEL) Department of Electrical Engineering University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195-2500 e-mail: elsharkawi@ee.washington.edu web: http://SmartEnergyLab.com

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Popular Myths and Mistakes

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Myth 1: Details

“Audience wants a lot of in-depth details in order to evaluate the speaker’s ideas.”

• Actually, listeners want talks to be

– easily followed – well organized

• Simplifying and repeating the main idea will result in

increased attentiveness and retention. “less is more.”

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Myth 2: Style is Unimportant

“Content is everything. Style is unimportant and enthusiasm is offensive.”

• Actually, audience wants

– effective style, which included better visual assistance – more enthusiasm – Unenthusiastic delivery will ruin a speaker’s effectiveness.

• Keep in mind

– Body language and tone of voice together account for as much as 90% of the overall message impact.

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Myth 3: Style is Unimportant

“The text on the visuals is more important than the speaker.”

• Actually:

– Presenters traditionally rely too much on slides. – Often, audiences find slides distracting and boring.

• Speaker is always the focal point of presentation

– Visual assistance helps – Pace of the presentation is important. – Flow of the information presented is important.

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Myth 4: Strategic Organization is Unimportant

“Strategic organization is not critical.

– as long as we supply all the details, the audience is capable of drawing the appropriate conclusions. – jump into the body of the presentation. – the objective of the talk can be at the end of the talk.”

• Actually, speaker must not rely on the audience to fill in gaps and reach

appropriate conclusions.

• Speaker must understand different types of presentations, organization,

and strategies for a particular type of speech.

• Don’t leave your audience missing the big picture!

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Strategic Planning of Presentation

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Ultimate Goal of a Presentation

• Provide highlights of your subject to
• 1. Stimulate intellectual thought
• 2. Encourage discussions

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Successful Presentation

• Successful presentation has

– Logical flow of motivation/ideas/results – Fluent language capability – Well prepared visual material

• Practice, practice and practice are essential for

skilled presentations

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Before you Start

• 1. Know the purpose of your presentation
• 2. Know your audience (peers vs. general audience)
• 3. Know your time limits
• A 30 minutes presentation
• No more than 4-5 main points could be covered adequately
• Audience expects only highlights
• Use illustrations

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Before you Start

• Ask yourself questions:

– What kind of approach can best bring your message across? – Will it be better to ‘beat around the bush’ or to be direct? – What kind of support will be most effective?

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Keep in Mind

• Don’t waste others’ time; make your points

– Simple – Clear – Sequential – Concise

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Presentation Modality

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Basic Formula for Presentation Organization

1. Opening – grab attention 2. Introduction – “Why bring this topic up?” 3. Body – bulk of the presentation

– Every important point that you make must provide support

• Statistics, analogies
• Testimony
• Illustrations
• Specific examples
• … ...

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Basic Formula for Presentation Organization

4. Conclusion – summarize briefly main points 5. Close – last strong sentences that leave the audience with something to remember –Must tie to your main idea and should tie to your opening to be effective

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Openings

• Purpose

– Grab the audience’s attention so that they will want to hear more – Should be a “grabber” or “attention seeker” – Not only arouse interest, but also suggest the theme of the speech – Openings can be dramatic, emotional, humorous or rhetorical – Give a big picture

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Good Openings

• Startling question:

– “Can fasting kill you?”

• Challenging statement:

– “A great part of world civilization is based on Islamic innovations?”

• An appropriate short quotation or illustration
• A surprising generalization:

– “Seattleites are coffee addicts”

• An exhibit – object, article, picture
• Personal story related to the subject

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Poor Openings

• A long or slow-moving quotation
• A self introduction
• An apologetic statement
• Story or joke which does not connect to the

theme

• A sour remark

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Closings of Presentation

• Purpose

– Stress your objectives – Leave the audience with something to remember – Closing is the “clincher”, ultimately the “result getter”. – Closing can be dramatic, emotional, or humorous – Closing must tie with your opening and your theme – Poor closing can seriously detract from an otherwise excellent presentation – Don’t run out of time and hassle the closing

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Good Closings

• A call or an appeal for definite action
• An appropriate short quotation or illustration
• An exhibit – an object, article, picture
• A personal challenge

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Poor Closings

• An apologetic statement
• A stale remark
• Hurried out statement

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Harvard Formula of Persuasive Speeches

• 1. Point of View
• 2. Reasons
• 3. Examples

Evidence

• 4. Point of view

restated

• 5. “You” oriented

“Smoking is hazardous for your life” “Smoking causes cancer” “50,000 people die per year from cancer” “If you want a long full life, give up cigarettes” “Take the first step tonight and sign up for ‘no more smoking’ seminar”

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Visual Assistance

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Visual Assistance

• Studies show that people store and access information in three

primary ways:

– Visually, auditorially, kinesthetically

• Adults absorb, retain and learn:

– 10% of what they read – 20% what they hear – 30% what they read and hear – 50% what they hear and see – 90% what they do

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Visuals

• Visuals support the speech, they are NOT the primary message

– used to clarify the message

• You must practice your main points of the presentation without relying on the

visuals

• Visuals should assist you in controlling

– Pace of the presentation – Flow of the information

• Important! – When you transition from one visual to the next, introduce the

topic area of the next visual before it is revealed.

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Creating Your Visuals

• A max of 12 lines per visual

–Do not put too much information within a single visual

• A title for each visual

–Title must be meaningful

• Simple readable labels

–Labels on charts or graphs should be meaningful, specific and precise

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Creating Your Visuals

• Readable from the back of the room

–Print size at least 20 points

• No more than 3-5 major points

–Each point must be easily identifiable –Use highlights, colors, bullets, different text size

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Delivery Techniques

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Presentation Delivery

• Body language

– Contributes 55% toward message impact

• Tone of voice

– Contributes 38% toward message impact

• Actual words

– Contributes 7% toward message impact

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Body Language Eye Contact

• Eye contact is a primary and vital part of interpersonal

communication

• By gazing directly into another’s eyes we establish link/closeness
• When speaking to audience, maintain eye contact with audience

members; don’t focus on one person

• Perception of distrust are created when eye contact is NOT

maintained.

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Body Language Lectern or Podium

• Try not to stand behind lectern or podium
• Have no barrier between you and the audience
• Perception of you trying to distance yourself from

audience makes your talk cold and detached.

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Body Language Facial Expression

• Speaker must be certain that his/her words and

his/her face are communicating the same message.

• If not, he/she will leave the audience confused and

uncertain of the true message.

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Body Language Gestures

• Most expressive part of body language
• Speaker uses his hands and arms to illustrate his words
• Basic gestures show things such as: weight, shape,

direction, importance, comparison, contrast

• Don’t fumble with a pencil, watch, or ring while you

speak

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Voice: Volume

• Speaker should express excitement and enthusiasm for

the topic

• Volume should be varied in strength and intensity to add

emphasis and dramatic impact to your presentations

– Through volume control, the audience can infer the speaker’s message

• Many speakers control voice to “sound professional”, but

professionals do just the opposite!!

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Voice: Consistency

• Tendency to talk too loudly or softly

– Common problem is ‘fading voice’. – Deliver presentation in a clear voice at a conversational level – Consider the room where you are speaking

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Voice

Convey Life, Color and Melody

• Voice should not sound flat or wooden.
• A thin high-pitched tone lacks authority and appeal; it is

harsh and unpleasant.

• Cultivate deeper tones.
• “one-note” pitch is also a problem – boring.

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Voice: Rate

• Fast rate – sense of excitement; rapid sequence of events
• Avoid slow rate

– Listeners start daydreaming

• Avoid rapid rate

– Listeners become frustrated and “tune out”.

• Most effective speaking rate falls within the range of 120-160 words per

minute.

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Exercising Your Presentation Muscle

• Improvements only happen by practice, Practice, Practice, and practice

– You need to practice good speaking skills by delivering oral presentations on a regular basis

• Person with a strong presentation muscle can

– think a problem through – communicate his/her thought more effectively – express his thoughts well enough to persuade others to see his point of view – efficiently instruct others – speak effectively before an audience of any size

• Often job/promotion/salary depends on speaking skills!!!

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Practice

• Improvements only happen by practice, Practice, Practice, and practice
• Your ultimate Goal is to “be effective Communicator in every Situation”
• Practice presentations with various time constraints

– 5 minute presentation (a quick summary to your supervisor) – 15 minute presentation (for conference) – 45-50 minute presentation (for job talk, invited talk, keynote) – 55-100 minute presentation (for classroom and thesis defense)

• Practice the art of asking good questions. It is also oral and memorable

communication

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Conclusion

• Good Presentation

– Stimulates intellectual thought – Encourages discussions

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Where to get More Info

• Watch TED talks; they often have great speakers
• Search youtube for “Good presentation skills,” especially the
• nes developed by academia

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Thank You for Listening