Name : Miss Natsinee
Puyngen
Subject : English Conversation for Business Communication
Section : 3
Class Schedule : 09.00-12.00 Wednesday
Presentations skills and public speaking skills are
very useful in many aspects of work and life. Effective presentations and
public speaking skills are important in business, sales and selling, training,
teaching, lecturing and generally entertaining an audience. Developing the
confidence and capability to give good presentations, and to stand up in front
of an audience and speak well, are also extremely helpful competencies for
self-development too. Presentations and public speaking skills are not limited
to certain special people - anyone can give a good presentation, or perform
public speaking to a professional and impressive standard. Like most things, it
simply takes a little preparation and practice.
The
formats and purposes of presentations can be very different, for example: oral
(spoken), multimedia (using various media - visuals, audio, etc), powerpoint
presentations, short impromptu presentations, long planned presentations,
educational or training sessions, lectures, and simply giving a talk on a
subject to a group on a voluntary basis for pleasure. Even speeches at weddings
and eulogies at funerals are types of presentations. They are certainly a type
of public speaking, and are no less stressful to some people for being out of a
work situation.
Presentations
can also be categorized as vocational and avocational . In addition, they are
expository or persuasive. And they can be impromptu, extemporaneous, written,
or memorized. When looking at presentations in the broadest terms, it's more
important to focus on their purpose.
Tips for effective presentations
Preparation and knowledge are the pre-requisites for
a successful presentation, but confidence and control are just as important.
Remember and apply Eleanor Roosevelt's maxim that
"no-one can intimidate me without my permission".
Remember also that "Depth of conviction counts
more than height of logic, and enthusiasm is worth more than knowledge",
(which in my notes from a while back was attributed to David Peebles, and I'm
sorry not to be able to provide any more details than that).
Good presenting is about entertaining as well as
conveying information. As well, people retain more if they are enjoying
themselves and feeling relaxed. So whatever your subject and audience, try to
find ways to make the content and delivery enjoyable - even the most serious of
occasions, and the driest of subjects, can be lifted to an enjoyable or even an
amusing level one way or another with a little research, imagination, and
humour.
Enjoyment and humour are mostly in the preparation.
You don't need to be a natural stand-up comedian to inject enjoyment and humour
into a presentation or talk. It's the content that enables it, which is very
definitely within your control.
You have 4 - 7 seconds in which to make a positive
impact and good opening impression, so make sure you have a good, strong, solid
introduction, and rehearse it to death.
Try to build your own credibility in your
introduction, and create a safe comfortable environment for your audience,
which you will do quite naturally if you appear to be comfortable yourself.
