Presentation Skills
Welcome Back - Presentation Skills, Part II
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken
place.”
-- George Bernard Shaw
The top three most valuable nuggets you have learned so far:
1.
2.
3.
Objectives
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Review Presentation Skills, Part I
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Identify the purpose of a presentation
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Discuss the effective use of visual aids
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use voice to add variety to a presentation
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Recognize appropriate gesturing
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Describe different technologies used for communication
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Presentation Skills
Purpose of the Presentation
There are several different types of presentations that you can use to convey your
message. The type can vary depending on how you “interpret” the presentation.
These can include informing, persuading, motivating, inspiring, entertaining,
instructional, farewell, commemorative, roast or toast, retirement, and many
other categories.
One reason that there are so many interpretations is that some presentations
have elements of multiple types combined. For example, you can inform an
audience and you can persuade an audience; you can inform but not persuade;
but it is very difficult to persuade an audience without some element of
informing. Or, you can motivate and inspire, or inspire and persuade, or
entertain and roast, just to give a few examples.
How do they differ?
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Informing
Persuading
Motivating
Inspiring
Entertaining
Notes:
When they walk away…what do you want your audience to understand, feel, or
do…in ONE sentence.
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Presentation Skills
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Effective Use of Visual Aids
Suggested Guidelines
Key Point – a visual aid should be just that – visible and an aid to your message
Most Common Visual Aids
 Boards (Chalk, Blackboard or Marker Board)
 Flip Chart
 Projectors (LCD, Slides, or Overhead)
 DVD
 Objects
 Photographs
 Person
Using Flipcharts
DO:
 When possible, use paper with small squares
 Write small reminder messages in pencil on the flipchart
 Staple two sheets together for ease of flipping
 Save your sheets if possible to re-use
DON’T:
 Use too many colors
 Use colors that are difficult to see
 Use tiny or sloppy writing (if you have poor penmanship, ask an audience
member to assist)
 Use too many words
Number of Slides: A good guideline is no more than 1 slide per 1 minute
interval. For a 10-minute talk, that is no more than 10 slides. Hit the main points
of the designated topic first, and then fill in if there is still time.
Allow Plenty of Space on the Slides: Slides are useless if they are unreadable
or crowded. Full sentences should rarely be used on slides. Instead, phrases that
indicate the key points that you want to discuss should appear on the slide. An
outline style is much better than paragraphs.
Suggested Font Sizes for Slides
 Titles: 44 points +/- 4
 Body: 32 points +/- 4
 Arial is suggested as the most visible font (Sans Serif family of fonts)
 No more than 8 lines on a page; no more than 8 words per line
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Presentation Skills
Pictures, Illustrations, and Figures: Pictures and figures are worth a
thousand words. Examples through pictures can significantly aid understanding
and keep an audience’s attention. Be sure to incorporate figures whenever
possible. If the graphic requires written words to explain it, it may not be an
effective presentation graphic. Save it for the handout. The worst visual is a
projection of a black and white typewritten page, or a big table of numbers too
small to read. Your visuals should complement your spoken words, not replicate
them.
Use Color Wisely: Many studies support the benefits of using colors wisely
when presenting. The effects of color choice are often subliminal, but they can
have a powerful impact on audiences. Consider red. Red has associations with
some strong negatives, particularly in business and science. It typically
represents financial loss and danger (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Use red to show danger
The color of stoplights and stop signs is also red. A wise presenter would use it to
represent a negative trend or, perhaps, a competitor. In addition to its negative
connotations, red can be hard to see, particularly over a distance. For this reason,
avoid using any lengthy red text. Also, green and red are most closely associated
with color-blindness, so avoid over use of either of these colors.
Beyond red, Power Point lets you tap into a vast palette of colors. Here is a list of
wise color choices for creating presentations.
For Background:
Dark blue (solid, no gradient)
 vs. Black: Blue is easier on the eye (softer contrast)
 vs. White/Clear: Blue eliminates screen glare
 Be aware of pictures on the background. If they are not very light
(watermark), they can distract your audience and even though there are
words on top of the background, they will be harder to see.
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Presentation Skills
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VISUALS
VISUALS
1.You (the most important visual aid)
2.Pictures (only to enhance)
3.Key Words (keep it simple)
4.Colors (yellow, golden, or white)
1.You (the most important visual aid)
2.Pictures (only to enhance)
3.Key Words (keep it simple)
4.Colors (yellow, golden, or white)
Blue is softer on the eyes; easier to read
White tends to cause glare
For Text:
Antique gold or yellow font
 Best contrast with dark blue
 Tends to be the most prominent element
 Best for shorter text, such as titles
 Works well for highlighting and emphasis
White font
 Very good contrast with dark blue
 Grabs less than yellow
 Good for longer text, other than titles
 Neutral color
A frame around your slide also adds to visibility. This can be a very simple line
frame, as shown on the blue slide above.
Using Animation: Transitions, if any, should be simple. Use fly-ins (of key
words, for example) sparingly. When considering fly-ins, ask yourself why you
want to use them. If the answer is because they look "cool" or because they add
life to your presentation, do not use them. Use your own personal energy to add
life to the presentation. YOU are the most important visual in your presentation.
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Presentation Skills
Using Graphs and Charts: Graphics should provide at-a-glance
comprehension with minimal distractions. Avoid legends by labeling lines
directly whenever possible. Eliminate anything unnecessary or distracting, such
as "minor" tick marks, 3D bars of 2D data, background lines and boxes on
graphs, and high-contrast grids on charts.
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Limit the data
Size pie charts accurately
Double check the numbers (issue of credibility)
Avoid three-dimensional bars (hard to see the actual numbers)
Visibility for Visuals
 2 inches (5 cm) of character height for every 20 feet of distance between the
visual and the audience
 8-foot rule: Print out your visual. Tape it to the wall. Step back 8 feet. If you
can read it easily, it's the right size
 Know the size of your room and make sure your chosen visual aid will still
work to enhance your message in the room (i.e., can it be seen by all
participants?)
Pros and Cons of Visual Aids
Pros:
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Help gain audience attention
Can use instead of speaker notes
Audience receives message in a uniform way
Cons:
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If inappropriate visual aid, your audience can be distracted
Tendency to talk to visual aid
Equipment malfunction concerns
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Presentation Skills
Using Your Voice to Present
The principal Elements of Vocal Variety are: Volume, Pace,
Tone, Quality, and Pause.
A conversational style voice should be your base style from where you add
variety.
Volume
Different levels of volume can be used as follows:
 Loud: emphasis, excitement, climax, punch-line
 Normal: as the base level of your speech i.e., conversational style which is
adequate for the audience to hear but not overpowering
 Quiet: conspiratorial, secrecy, contrast, intimacy
Pace
Different levels of pace can be used as follows:
 Fast: excitement, fast action
 Normal: as the base level of your speech for example, conversational style
which is approximately 125 – 160 words per minute which ensures full
pronunciation
 Slow: contrast, clarity, relaxed, slow action
Tone (pitch)
The tone should reinforce the spoken words. Examples of different tones are:
assertive manner, friendly manner, pleading manner, questioning manner.
You can use different pitches as follows:
 High: excitement, assertive, fear
 Normal: deeper voices and conversation style are easier to listen to
 Low: tiredness, slow action, boredom
Quality
Experience increases confidence which serves to improve the voice.
Voice training exercises will improve the quality and pleasantness of your voice.
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Presentation Skills
Pause (can be the most deafening sound of all)
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Before & particularly after when emphasizing something
When you are changing the subject
Suspense before delivering the punch line
Time for the audience to laugh
Speakers who have a naturally quiet voice may:
 Speak louder
 Speak more often to increase confidence and strength
 Speak in an assertive tone
 Speak with lots of vocal variety
A Good Speaking Voice
A good speaking voice should have the following attributes:
 The tone has a friendly, pleasant tone.
 It is natural, reflecting the true personality and sincerity of the speaker.
 It has life and vitality, even when it isn’t very loud.
 It portrays various shades of meaning, never sounding monotonous or
emotionless.
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Presentation Skills
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Considerations for Gesturing
Be Natural
 Gesturing response should be natural and have a meaning – not thought
about
 Don’t inhibit yourself and stiffen the message
 Keep your arms away from your body for better flow
Be Involved
 Be involved with what you are saying – the gestures should flow with the
words you speak
 Gestures are total body movements, from the shoulders, never the elbow
Know Your Audience
 The larger the audience, the larger the required gestures
 Is this an audience that you need more gestures to engage? For example,
younger audiences may need greater gesturing stimulation; older audiences
may feel threatened by too many gestures
Record to Reward
 Videotaping yourself is the very best way to become a better speaker. The
video will help you see how the gestures are working for you, or against you.
This will be your springboard to greater speaking success.
Ask for Help
 If you know you have some gestures you would like to get rid of, but don’t
realize you are using them until you see yourself videotaped, asked you family
and friends to help you by mimicking you when you use the gesture – not in
public, of course, but while you are practicing your presentation.
Be Aware
 LET GO of the lectern or podium
 Do not point at your audience
 Strive to include all members of your audience with your gestures
 Even when using Power Point, gesturing helps keep your message fresh
 Avoid positions like fig leaf, prayer, circle with fingers, steepling, etc.
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Presentation Skills
“Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who
with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true.”
-- Charles Dickens
Technology and Communication
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Presentation Skills
11
Social Media Quick Glossary – Subject to Change DAILY
(Adapted from www.hubspot.com)
Social Media - Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social
interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques.
Adobe Connect is software used to create information and general presentations,
online training materials, web conferencing, learning modules, and user desktop
sharing.
Blog - Blog is a word that was created from two words: “web log.” Blogs are
usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary,
descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are
commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a
verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Adobe Captivate is an electronic learning tool which can be used to author
software demonstrations, software simulations, branched scenarios, and
randomized quizzes in .swf format (an abbreviation for “ShockWave Flash”).
Facebook - Facebook is a social utility that connects people with
friends, co-workers, family, classmates, etc. Facebook is the largest
social network in the world with more than 500 million users.
Flickr - Flickr is a social network based around online picture
sharing. The service allows users to store photos online and then
share them with others through profiles, groups, sets and other
methods.
Foursquare - Foursquare is a social network in which friends share
their locations and connect with others in close physical proximity
to each other. The service uses a system of digital badges to reward
players who “check-in” to different types of locations.
HootSuite - HootSuite is a web-based Twitter client. With
HootSuite, you can manage multiple Twitter profiles, preschedule tweets, and view metrics.
LinkedIn - LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site.
Launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional
networking. As of June 2010, LinkedIn had more than 70 million
registered users, spanning more than 200 countries and territories
worldwide
MySpace - MySpace is a social networking website owned by News
Corporation. MySpace became the most popular social networking
site in the United States in June 2006 and was overtaken
internationally by its main competitor, Facebook, in April 2008.
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Presentation Skills
Podcast - A podcast, or non-streamed webcast, is a series of digital
media files, either audio or video, that are released episodically and
often downloaded through an RSS feed.
RSS (most commonly expanded as Really Simple Syndication) is a
family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated
works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a
standardized format.
Skype - Skype is a free program that allows for text, audio and video
chats between users. Additionally, users can purchase plans to
receive phone calls through their Skype account.
Twitter - Twitter is a platform that allows users to share 140character-long messages publicly. User can “follow” each other as a
way of subscribing to each other’s' messages. Additionally, users can
use the @username command to direct a message towards another
Twitter user.
Video Blog - A video blog is a blog that produces regular video content often
around the same theme on a daily or weekly basis. An example of a successful
video blog is Wine Library TV.
A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images,
documents, and videos and allows people to navigate slides and leave comments
in 5 ways - using voice (with a mic or telephone), text, audio file, or video (via a
webcam).
Webinar - A webinar is used to conduct live meetings, training, or presentations
via the Internet.
Wiki - A wiki is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number
of interlinked web pages via a web browser, allowing for collaboration between
users.
Wikipedia - Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative,
multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit
Wikimedia Foundation. Its 15 million articles (over 3.3 million in
English) have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the
world, and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with
access to the site.
YouTube - YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can
upload, share, and view videos. Three former PayPal employees
created YouTube in February 2005. In November 2006, YouTube,
LLC was bought by Google Inc. for $1.65 billion, and is now
operated as a subsidiary of Google. YouTube is the largest video
sharing site in the world.
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Presentation Skills
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Questions for Discussion
What technology do you use to communicate? Why? Pros and Cons?
What technology have you used in this program? What did you like? Dislike?
Why?
What do you think?
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Communication
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Social Skills
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Information
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Business Impact (banking, credit cards, postage, IRS)
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Family/Friends
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Presentation Skills
References:
Miller, Tammy A. My Life is Just Speech Material, And So is Yours.
Lighthearted Press, 2009
Social Media definitions taken in part from: www.hubspot.com
All Materials Copyright ©Tammy A. Miller, Tammy Speaks, LLC