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How to Make an Oral Presentation

by janey

The very thought of making an oral presentation is enough to make
many people -- old as well as young -- want to stay in bed on the
day of the presentation.  So daunting is the thought of standing
up in front of a room full of people and speaking that most
people will avoid this as far as possible.  Unfortunately there
are many situations in life, especially during school life, where
you are required to make an oral presentation as part of your
subject grade.
  
If you find yourself in the position of needing to speak in
front of the class there are a few things that you can do to
prepare yourself for this experience, and if you follow them, you
won't find it nearly as traumatic as you think it's going to be.
You might even enjoy it!

Presentation Preparation:  Know your stuff.  Whatever it is
you're going to be speaking about, make sure that you know it
backwards, forwards, inside out.  Practice what you're going to
say, and if possible have someone time you so that you manage to
get in all the important points within the time limit you're
given for the presentation.  Create a cheat sheet of all the
questions -- with the appropriate responses -- that you think
will come up if there's to be a question and answer session after
your presentation you're already prepared.  Of course there's
always a possibility that someone will ask something that's not
on your list, but at least you'll have done some thinking about
the questions and so be prepared about how to go about answering
the ones that aren't on your cheat sheet.

Who's the Audience?  Know who you're going to be speaking to. 
This will help you to make your presentation interesting.  If
you're presenting to your classmates, keep it on their level. 
Make it interesting.  Where possible, use examples that they can
relate to.  If you can, make it funny (within the context of your
subject area) so that they don't start to chatter or switch off.

Involving the audience in some way is another way of actively
engaging with them, perhaps asking them a question relevant to
your presentation such as "how many of you know?"  Or "how many
of you have ever?"  If no-one responds, ask again.  If still no
response, make a comment like it's obviously a good thing that
you're there then or they'd miss out on knowing about it!  If
some people respond, then indicate that this is great because
they'll already have some idea about what you're talking about.

Audio Visual Aids: During your presentation preparation think
about ways that you can use any audio or visual aids in your
presentation.  These could include music, speech, overhead
projection sheets that show bullet points of your main
presentation themes (only reveal each point as you start to speak
about it so that you are keeping their interest going by not
showing the entire list at once.
 
Speak -- Don't Read:  A presentation isn't to show that you know
how to read.  You are presenting your subject, not reading about
it.  Make sure that you know your information, and you have a
plan of what you're going to say but don't read word-for-word
from a "script" that you've created.  A presentation where the
person at the front of the room is making eye contact with the
audience, and has a tone that is varied, is going to hold the
audience's attention.  Someone who looks down constantly at their
papers and speaks in a monotone voice won't.
  
End with a Bang:  Well not literally!  But finish your
presentation with some form of audience interaction such as "Do
you feel you've learned anything?"  "Hands up if you're still
awake?"  Or some other form of question that requires action from
them will ensure that you've ended with them all still with you. 
You could also end with some form of humor related to your
subject area which again will give interaction as they will
laugh.
  
Oral presentations are rarely as bad as you think they're going
to be.  Make sure that you're prepared and you remember to look
at your audience instead of reading a "script", and to interact a
little with them, and you'll be just fine!

Jane Saeman runs an In-Home Tutoring service called Aim High
Tutors.  Find out about how to help your student <a
href="http://www.aimhightutors.com">reach their full
potential</a>  at http://www.aimhightutors.com/blog

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