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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation
- Carmine Gallo
Five tips to set yourself apart.
Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).
I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.
- Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman (St. Martin’s Press).
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How to Deliver Effective Presentations
Last Updated: April 27, 2024 Fact Checked
This article was co-authored by Maureen Taylor . Maureen Taylor is the CEO and Founder of SNP Communications, a leadership communications company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has been helping leaders, founders, and innovators in all sectors hone their messaging and delivery for almost 30 years, and has worked with leaders and teams at Google, Facebook, Airbnb, SAP, Salesforce, and Spotify. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 584,923 times.
Delivering presentations is an everyday art form that anyone can master. To capture your audience's attention, present your information with ease and confidence. Act as if you are in a conversation with your audience, and they will pay attention to you. To get this level of fluency, write an engaging narrative, use more visuals than text in your slides, and practice, practice, practice.
Rehearsing Your Presentation
- Deliver your summary to them in friendly, direct language, as if you were telling the story to a friend in a bar.
- In fact, you can tell the story to a friend in a bar. However, telling a colleague over coffee can work just as well.
- Get them to tell you what their takeaway was. If they can summarize your message accurately, that's a good sign.
- Ask them to be your coach.
- Give them your presentation once or twice and let them ask you questions and give feedback.
- Ask them to point out moments that are dull or confusing.
- Write down what you're afraid of. What exactly worries you when you give a speech? Looking foolish? Being asked a hard question? Write down your exact fears, and then consider them each individually.
- Think about what you will do in each situation. For instance, if your fear is, "I'll forget what I'm saying," you can prepare a plan like, "If I forget what I'm saying, I'll pause, scan my notes, and find the next important point I need to make."
- Catch your negative thoughts, and calm them. If you think, "I'm going to get nervous and sweaty," replace it with, "I have important information to deliver and everyone is going to pay attention to that."
- Give yourself extra time if you plan to take questions, or if you anticipate lots of digressions.
- This doesn't mean sticking to a strict script every time. Instead, when you rehearse, improvise freely. Deliver your main points, but include quips and anecdotes that occur to you as you go. You'll remember the best ones when you actually deliver the presentation.
Delivering Your Presentation with Confidence
- Remind yourself that your audience likely can't see your nerves.
- Take a deep breath and exhale before you go on stage.
- If there are too many people to really see faces, just look boldly into the crowd.
- Move your hands as you speak. Don't wave them, as this will make you look nervous. Instead, try calmly gesturing with your palm out when you make a point. If you describe a shape, draw it in the air with your hands.
Crafting a Compelling Presentation
- Have a clear through line that runs through all parts of your presentation, leading to your main point.
- Include stories that put your listeners into a situation. Get their energy with tactile details (sound, sight, smell, taste, touch) and descriptions of an emotional state.
- Include moments of reflection in which you share how you felt or feel.
- As always with humor in a work setting, remember that humor varies widely between cultures. Avoid making any jokes that make fun of anybody's sex, gender, race, class, or ability. Remember to "punch up"—if your jokes take someone on, take on someone with more power than you, rather than less.
- If you get nervous, try starting your presentation with a simple joke or a funny story. It will put you and your audience at ease.
- Ask the crowd to consider something or imagine something, and hold a moment of quiet while they do.
- Interactive moments make great pivots from one section of your talk to another.
- Will these be experts, or newcomers to your ideas? If they're experts, you'll need to present them with specific, technical, and new ideas. If they're newcomers, plan to introduce them more generally to your topic, and avoid technical terms.
- Will audience members be on your side from the start, or will they need persuading?
- Will you have a large, faceless crowd, or a small group? If you're working with a small group, you can include them in parts of your presentation through questions, personal digressions, and conversations.
How Should You End a Presentation?
Expert Q&A
You Might Also Like
- ↑ http://firstround.com/review/This-Advice-From-IDEOs-Nicole-Kahn-Will-Transform-the-Way-You-Give-Presentations/
- ↑ https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/rehearse-your-presentation
- ↑ https://www.comm.pitt.edu/speech-anxiety
- ↑ https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writing-speaking-resources/speech-anxiety
- ↑ https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/speaking-audience
- ↑ https://www.toastmasters.org/resources/public-speaking-tips/gestures-and-body-language
About This Article
If you're worried about delivering an effective presentation, go over your notes again and make sure your presentation is telling a story with a distinct beginning, middle, and end. This type of structure will make it easier for people to follow along, and when you finish your presentation, they'll be more likely to remember what it was about! If you're still unsure, try practicing in front of other people before the big day. By rehearsing your presentation in advance, you'll not only feel more comfortable when you present it in front of an audience, but you can also get helpful feedback from your peers to make your presentation even better. Alternatively, if you're feeling a little nervous, identify what exactly you're afraid of happening during your presentation, and then come up with a plan for each scenario so you're less stressed about it. For example, if you're worried about forgetting what to say next, you could make a list of all the important points you need to make and have it with you during your presentation. For tips from our Communications co-author, like how to appear confident during a presentation, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No
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Complete Guide for Effective Presentations, with Examples
July 9, 2018 - Dom Barnard
During a presentation you aim to look confident, enthusiastic and natural. You’ll need more than good words and content to achieve this – your delivery plays a significant part. In this article, we discuss various techniques that can be used to deliver an effective presentation.
Effective presentations
Think about if you were in the audience, what would:
- Get you to focus and listen
- Make you understand
- Activate your imagination
- Persuade you
Providing the audience with interesting information is not enough to achieve these aims – you need to ensure that the way you present is stimulating and engaging. If it’s not, you’ll lose the audience’s interest and they’ll stop listening.
Tips for an Effective Presentation
Professional public speakers spend hours creating and practicing presentations. These are the delivery techniques they consider:
Keep it simple
You shouldn’t overwhelm your audience with information – ensure that you’re clear, concise and that you get to the point so they can understand your message.
Have a maximum of three main points and state them at the beginning, before you explain them in more depth, and then state them at the end so the audience will at least remember these points.
If some of your content doesn’t contribute to your key message then cut it out. Also avoid using too many statistics and technical terminology.
Connect with your audience
One of the greatest difficulties when delivering a presentation is connecting with the audience. If you don’t connect with them it will seem as though you’re talking to an empty room.
Trying to make contact with the audience makes them feel like they’re part of the presentation which encourages them to listen and it shows that you want to speak to them.
Eye contact and smile
Avoiding eye contact is uncomfortable because it make you look insecure. When you maintain eye contact the audience feels like you’re speaking to them personally. If this is something you struggle with, try looking at people’s foreheads as it gives the impression of making eye contact.
Try to cover all sections of the audience and don’t move on to the next person too quickly as you will look nervous.
Smiling also helps with rapport and it reduces your nerves because you’ll feel less like you’re talking to group of faceless people. Make sure you don’t turn the lights down too much before your presentation so you can all clearly see each other.
Body language
Be aware of your body language and use it to connect:
- Keep your arms uncrossed so your body language is more open .
- Match your facial expressions with what you’re saying.
- Avoid fidgeting and displaying nervous habits, such as, rocking on your feet.
- You may need to glance at the computer slide or a visual aid but make sure you predominantly face the audience.
- Emphasise points by using hand gestures but use them sparingly – too little and they’ll awkwardly sit at your side, too much and you’ll be distracting and look nervous.
- Vary your gestures so you don’t look robotic.
- Maintain a straight posture.
- Be aware of cultural differences .
Move around
Avoid standing behind the lectern or computer because you need to reduce the distance and barriers between yourself and the audience. Use movement to increase the audience’s interest and make it easier to follow your presentation.
A common technique for incorporating movement into your presentation is to:
- Start your introduction by standing in the centre of the stage.
- For your first point you stand on the left side of the stage.
- You discuss your second point from the centre again.
- You stand on the right side of the stage for your third point.
- The conclusion occurs in the centre.
Watch 3 examples of good and bad movement while presenting
Example: Movement while presenting
Your movement at the front of the class and amongst the listeners can help with engagement. Think about which of these three speakers maintains the attention of their audience for longer, and what they are doing differently to each other.
Speak with the audience
You can conduct polls using your audience or ask questions to make them think and feel invested in your presentation. There are three different types of questions:
Direct questions require an answer: “What would you do in this situation?” These are mentally stimulating for the audience. You can pass a microphone around and let the audience come to your desired solution.
Rhetorical questions do not require answers, they are often used to emphasises an idea or point: “Is the Pope catholic?
Loaded questions contain an unjustified assumption made to prompt the audience into providing a particular answer which you can then correct to support your point: You may ask “Why does your wonderful company have such a low incidence of mental health problems?” The audience will generally answer that they’re happy.
After receiving the answers you could then say “Actually it’s because people are still unwilling and too embarrassed to seek help for mental health issues at work etc.”
Be specific with your language
Make the audience feel as though you are speaking to each member individually by using “you” and “your.”
For example: asking “Do you want to lose weight without feeling hungry?” would be more effective than asking “Does anyone here want to lost weight without feeling hungry?” when delivering your presentation. You can also increase solidarity by using “we”, “us” etc – it makes the audience think “we’re in this together”.
Be flexible
Be prepared to adapt to the situation at the time, for example, if the audience seems bored you can omit details and go through the material faster, if they are confused then you will need to come up with more examples on the spot for clarification. This doesn’t mean that you weren’t prepared because you can’t predict everything.
Vocal variety
How you say something is just as is important as the content of your speech – arguably, more so.
For example, if an individual presented on a topic very enthusiastically the audience would probably enjoy this compared to someone who covered more points but mumbled into their notes.
- Adapt your voice depending on what are you’re saying – if you want to highlight something then raise your voice or lower it for intensity. Communicate emotion by using your voice.
- Avoid speaking in monotone as you will look uninterested and the audience will lose interest.
- Take time to pronounce every word carefully.
- Raise your pitch when asking questions and lower it when you want to sound severe.
- Sound enthusiastic – the more you sound like you care about the topic, the more the audience will listen. Smiling and pace can help with this.
- Speak loudly and clearly – think about projecting your voice to the back of the room.
- Speak at a pace that’s easy to follow . If you’re too fast or too slow it will be difficult for the audience to understand what you’re saying and it’s also frustrating. Subtly fasten the pace to show enthusiasm and slow down for emphasis, thoughtfulness or caution.
Prior to the presentation, ensure that you prepare your vocal chords :
- You could read aloud a book that requires vocal variety, such as, a children’s book.
- Avoid dairy and eating or drinking anything too sugary beforehand as mucus can build-up leading to frequent throat clearing.
- Don’t drink anything too cold before you present as this can constrict your throat which affects vocal quality.
- Some people suggest a warm cup of tea beforehand to relax the throat.
Practice Presentation Skills
Improve your public speaking and presentation skills by practicing them in realistic environments, with automated feedback on performance. Learn More
Pause to breathe
When you’re anxious your breathing will become quick and shallow which will affect the control you have on your voice. This can consequently make you feel more nervous. You want to breathe steadily and deeply so before you start speaking take some deep breaths or implement controlled breathing.
Controlled breathing is a common technique that helps slow down your breathing to normal thus reducing your anxiety. If you think this may be useful practice with these steps:
- Sit down in an upright position as it easier for your lungs to fill with air
- Breathe in through your nose and into your abdomen for four seconds
- Hold this breathe for two seconds
- Breathe out through your nose for six seconds
- Wait a few seconds before inhaling and repeating the cycle
It takes practice to master this technique but once you get used to it you may want to implement it directly before your presentation.
Completely filling your lungs during a pause will ensure you reach a greater vocal range.
During the presentation delivery, if you notice that you’re speaking too quickly then pause and breathe. This won’t look strange – it will appear as though you’re giving thought to what you’re saying. You can also strategically plan some of your pauses, such as after questions and at the end of sections, because this will give you a chance to calm down and it will also give the audience an opportunity to think and reflect.
Pausing will also help you avoid filler words , such as, “um” as well which can make you sound unsure.
- 10 Effective Ways to use Pauses in your Speech
Strong opening
The first five minutes are vital to engage the audience and get them listening to you. You could start with a story to highlight why your topic is significant.
For example, if the topic is on the benefits of pets on physical and psychological health, you could present a story or a study about an individual whose quality of life significantly improved after being given a dog. The audience is more likely to respond better to this and remember this story than a list of facts.
Example: Which presentation intro keeps you engaged?
Watch 5 different presentation introductions, from both virtual and in-person events. Notice how it can only take a few seconds to decide if you want to keep listening or switch off. For the good introductions, what about them keeps you engaged?
More experienced and confident public speakers use humour in their presentations. The audience will be incredibly engaged if you make them laugh but caution must be exercised when using humour because a joke can be misinterpreted and even offend the audience.
Only use jokes if you’re confident with this technique, it has been successful in the past and it’s suitable for the situation.
Stories and anecdotes
Use stories whenever you can and judge whether you can tell a story about yourself because the audience are even more interested in seeing the human side of you.
Consider telling a story about a mistake you made, for example, perhaps you froze up during an important presentation when you were 25, or maybe life wasn’t going well for you in the past – if relevant to your presentation’s aim. People will relate to this as we have all experienced mistakes and failures. The more the audience relates to you, the more likely they will remain engaged.
These stories can also be told in a humorous way if it makes you feel more comfortable and because you’re disclosing a personal story there is less chance of misinterpretation compared to telling a joke.
Anecdotes are especially valuable for your introduction and between different sections of the presentation because they engage the audience. Ensure that you plan the stories thoroughly beforehand and that they are not too long.
Focus on the audience’s needs
Even though your aim is to persuade the audience, they must also get something helpful from the presentation. Provide the audience with value by giving them useful information, tactics, tips etc. They’re more likely to warm to you and trust you if you’re sharing valuable information with them.
You could also highlight their pain point. For example, you might ask “Have you found it difficult to stick to a healthy diet?” The audience will now want to remain engaged because they want to know the solution and the opportunities that you’re offering.
Use visual aids
Visual aids are items of a visual manner, such as graphs, photographs, video clips etc used in addition to spoken information. Visual aids are chosen depending on their purpose, for example, you may want to:
- Summarise information.
- Reduce the amount of spoken words, for example, you may show a graph of your results rather than reading them out.
- Clarify and show examples.
- Create more of an impact. You must consider what type of impact you want to make beforehand – do you want the audience to be sad, happy, angry etc?
- Emphasise what you’re saying.
- Make a point memorable.
- Enhance your credibility.
- Engage the audience and maintain their interest.
- Make something easier for the audience to understand.
Some general tips for using visual aids :
- Think about how can a visual aid can support your message. What do you want the audience to do?
- Ensure that your visual aid follows what you’re saying or this will confuse the audience.
- Avoid cluttering the image as it may look messy and unclear.
- Visual aids must be clear, concise and of a high quality.
- Keep the style consistent, such as, the same font, colours, positions etc
- Use graphs and charts to present data.
- The audience should not be trying to read and listen at the same time – use visual aids to highlight your points.
- One message per visual aid, for example, on a slide there should only be one key point.
- Use visual aids in moderation – they are additions meant to emphasise and support main points.
- Ensure that your presentation still works without your visual aids in case of technical problems.
10-20-30 slideshow rule
Slideshows are widely used for presentations because it’s easy to create attractive and professional presentations using them. Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slideshows should follow a 10-20-30 rule :
- There should be a maximum of 10 slides – people rarely remember more than one concept afterwards so there’s no point overwhelming them with unnecessary information.
- The presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes as this will leave time for questions and discussion.
- The font size should be a minimum of 30pt because the audience reads faster than you talk so less information on the slides means that there is less chance of the audience being distracted.
If you want to give the audience more information you can provide them with partially completed handouts or give them the handouts after you’ve delivered the presentation.
Keep a drink nearby
Have something to drink when you’re on stage, preferably water at room temperature. This will help maintain your vocal quality and having a sip is a subtle way of introducing pauses.
Practice, practice, practice
If you are very familiar with the content of your presentation, your audience will perceive you as confident and you’ll be more persuasive.
- Don’t just read the presentation through – practice everything, including your transitions and using your visual aids.
- Stand up and speak it aloud, in an engaging manner, as though you were presenting to an audience.
- Ensure that you practice your body language and gesturing.
- Use VR to practice in a realistic environment .
- Practice in front of others and get their feedback.
- Freely improvise so you’ll sound more natural on the day. Don’t learn your presentation verbatim because you will sound uninterested and if you lose focus then you may forget everything.
- Create cards to use as cues – one card should be used for one key idea. Write down brief notes or key words and ensure that the cards are physically connected so the order cannot be lost. Visual prompts can also be used as cues.
This video shows how you can practice presentations in virtual reality. See our VR training courses .
Two courses where you can practice your presentations in interactive exercises:
- Essential Public Speaking
- How to Present over Video
Try these different presentation delivery methods to see which ones you prefer and which need to be improved. The most important factor is to feel comfortable during the presentation as the delivery is likely to be better.
Remember that the audience are generally on your side – they want you to do well so present with confidence.
Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.
7.2 Methods of Presentation Delivery
Jordan Smith; Melissa Ashman; eCampusOntario; Brian Dunphy; Andrew Stracuzzi; and Linda Macdonald
The Importance of Delivery
Delivery is what you are probably most concerned about when it comes to giving presentations. This section is designed to help you give the best delivery possible and eliminate some of the nervousness you might be feeling. To do that, you should first dismiss the myth that presenting is just reading and talking at the same time. Presentations have more formality than talking. During a presentation, such as an oral report, you should project professionalism. This means meeting the expectations of your situation and audience. Start by being well groomed and wearing clean, appropriate clothes for the situation. Professionalism in speaking also means being prepared to use language correctly and appropriately for the audience and the topic, making eye contact with your audience, projecting confidence, and knowing your topic very well.
Methods of Presentation Delivery
There are four methods of delivery that can help you balance between too much and too little formality and memorization when giving a presentation.
Impromptu Speaking
Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without advance preparation. You have probably done impromptu speaking many times in informal, conversational settings. Self-introductions in group settings are examples of impromptu speaking: “Hi, my name is Jocelyn, and I’m an account manager.” Another example of impromptu presenting occurs when you answer a question such as, “What did you think of the report?” Your response has not been pre-planned, and you are constructing your arguments and points as you speak.
The advantage of this kind of speaking is that it is spontaneous and responsive in a group context. The disadvantage is that the speaker is given little or no time to think of the central theme of their message. As a result, the message may be disorganized and difficult for listeners to follow.
This step-by-step guide may be useful if you are called upon to give an impromptu presentation in public:
- Take a moment to collect your thoughts and plan the main point you want to make. You might write a few keywords on a notepad if you have one near.
- Thank the person for inviting you to speak. Avoid making comments about being unprepared, called upon at the last moment, on the spot, or feeling uneasy.
- Deliver your message, making your main point as briefly as you can while still covering it adequately and at a pace your listeners can follow.
- If you can use a structure, using numbers if possible: “Two main reasons . . .” or “Three parts of our plan. . .” or “Two side effects of this drug. . .” Timeline structures are also effective, such as “past, present, and future” or “East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast”.
- Thank the person again for the opportunity to speak.
- Stop talking (it is easy to “ramble on” when you do not have something prepared). If in front of an audience, do not keep talking as you move back to your seat.
Impromptu presentations are generally most successful when they are brief and focus on a single point.
For additional advice on impromptu speaking, watch the following 4-minute video from Toastmasters: Impromptu Speaking :
(Direct link to Toastmasters Impromptu Speaking )
Manuscript Presentations
Manuscript presentations are the word-for-word iteration of a written message . The advantage of reading from a manuscript is the exact repetition of original words. In some circumstances, this exact wording can be extremely important. For example, reading a statement about your organization’s legal responsibilities to customers may require that the original words be exact. Acceptable uses of a manuscript include
- Highly formal occasions (e.g. a commencement speech)
- Particularly emotional speeches (e.g. a wedding speech, a eulogy)
- Situations in which word-for-word reading is required (e.g. a speech written by someone else; a corporate statement; a political speech)
- Within a larger speech, the reading of a passage from another work (e.g. a poem; a book excerpt).
Manuscript presentations, however, have a significant disadvantage: Your connection with the audience may be affected. Eye contact, so important for establishing credibility and relationship, may be limited by reading, your use of gestures will be limited if you are holding a manuscript, and a handheld manuscript itself might appear as a barrier between you and the audience. In addition, it is difficult to change language or content in response to unpredictable audience reactions. Reading a manuscript is not as easy as one might think. Keeping your place in a manuscript is difficult and most of us will sound monotone.
- Write the speech in a conversational style, and
- Practice your speech so that it flows naturally.
Preparation will make the presentation more engaging and enhance your credibility:
- Select and edit material so that it fits within your time limit;
- Select material that will be meaningful for your particular audience;
- Know the material well so that you can look up at your audience and back at the manuscript without losing your place; and
- Identify keywords for emphasis.
An essential part of preparation is preparing your manuscript. The following suggestions are adapted from the University of Hawai’i Maui Community College Speech Department:
- Use a full 8.5 x 11inch sheet of paper, not notecards.
- Use only one side of the page.
- Include page numbers.
- Use double or triple line spacing.
- Use a minimum of 16 pt. font size.
- Avoid overly long or complex sentences.
- Use bold or highlight the first word of each sentence, as illustrated by the University of Hawai’i.
- Add notations—“slow down,” “pause,” “look up,” underline keywords, etc. as reminders about delivery.
- Highlight words that should be emphasized.
- Add notes about pronunciation.
- Include notations about time, indicating where you should be at each minute marker.
To deliver the speech effectively, make sure you are comfortable with the manuscript delivery style. To engage your audience,
- Practice your presentation.
- Try to avoid reading in a monotone. Just as contrast is important for document design, contrast is important in speaking. Vary your volume, pace, tone, and gestures.
- Make sure that you can be clearly understood. Speak loud enough that the back of the room can hear you, pronounce each word clearly, and try not to read too fast.
- Maintain good eye contact with your audience. Look down to read and up to speak.
- Match gestures to the content of the speech, and avoid distracting hand or foot movements.
- If there is no podium, hold the manuscript at waist height.
Memorized Speaking
Memorized speakin g is the recitation of a written message that the speaker has committed to memory. Actors , of course, recite from memory whenever they perform from a script in a stage play, television program, or movie scene. When it comes to speeches, memorization can be useful when the message needs to be exact and the speaker does not want to be confined by notes.
The advantage to memorization is that it enables the speaker to maintain eye contact with the audience throughout the speech. Being free of notes means that you can move freely around the stage and use your hands to make gestures. If your speech uses visual aids, this freedom is even more of an advantage. However, there are some real and potential costs.
First, unless you also plan and memorize every vocal cue (the subtle but meaningful variations in speech delivery, which can include the use of pitch, tone, volume, and pace), gesture, and facial expression, your presentation will be flat and uninteresting, and even the most fascinating topic will suffer and you will not effectively engage your audience. (Manuscript speaking often suffers the same fate.) Second, if you lose your place and start trying to ad lib, the contrast in your style of delivery will alert your audience that something is wrong. More frighteningly, if you go completely blank during the presentation, it will be extremely difficult to find your place and keep going. Memorizing a presentation takes a great deal of time and effort to achieve a natural flow and conversational tone.
Extemporaneous Presentations
The extemporaneous speaking style benefits from the flexibility and naturalness that comes with impromptu speaking as well as the benefits of well-developed content and organization that comes with manuscript or memorized speaking. This presentation delivery style maximizes all of the benefits of the various presentation styles while minimizing their challenges.
Extemporaneous presentations are carefully planned and rehearsed presentations, delivered in a conversational manner using brief notes or a slide deck . By using notes rather than a full manuscript, the extemporaneous presenter can establish and maintain eye contact with the audience and assess how well they are understanding the presentation as it progresses.
To avoid over-reliance on notes or slides, you should have a strong command of your subject matter. Then select an organizational pattern that works well for your topic. Your notes or slide deck should reflect this organizational pattern. In preparation, create an outline of your speech.
Watch some of the following 10-minute videos of a champion speaker presenting an extemporaneous speech at the 2017 International Extemporaneous Speaking National Champion. :
(Direct link to 2017 International Extemporaneous Speaking National Champion video)
Presenting extemporaneously has some advantages. It promotes the likelihood that you, the speaker, will be perceived as knowledgeable and credible since you know the speech well enough that you do not need to read it. In addition, your audience is likely to pay better attention to the message because it is engaging both verbally and non-verbally. It also allows flexibility; you are working from the strong foundation of an outline, but if you need to delete, add, or rephrase something at the last minute or to adapt to your audience, you can do so.
Adequate preparation cannot be achieved the day before you are scheduled to present, so be aware that if you want to present a credibly delivered speech, you will need to practice many times. Extemporaneous presenting is the style used in the great majority of business presentation situations.
Test your knowledge of presentation delivery styles:
7.2 Methods of Presentation Delivery Copyright © 2022 by Jordan Smith; Melissa Ashman; eCampusOntario; Brian Dunphy; Andrew Stracuzzi; and Linda Macdonald is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
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12.2 Methods of Presentation Delivery
The importance of delivery.
Delivery is what you are probably most concerned about when it comes to giving presentations. This chapter is designed to help you give the best delivery possible and eliminate some of the nervousness you might be feeling. To do that, you should first dismiss the myth that public speaking is just reading and talking at the same time. Speaking in public has more formality than talking. During a speech, you should present yourself professionally. This doesn’t necessarily mean you must wear a suit or “dress up”, but it does mean making yourself presentable by being well groomed and wearing clean, appropriate clothes. It also means being prepared to use language correctly and appropriately for the audience and the topic, to make eye contact with your audience, and to look like you know your topic very well.
While speaking has more formality than talking, it has less formality than reading. Speaking allows for flexibility, meaningful pauses, eye contact, small changes in word order, and vocal emphasis. Reading is a more or less exact replication of words on paper without the use of any non-verbal interpretation. Speaking, as you will realize if you think about excellent speakers you have seen and heard, provides a more animated message.
Methods of Presentation Delivery
There are four methods of delivery that can help you balance between too much and too little formality when giving a presentation.
Impromptu Speaking
Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without advance preparation. You have probably done impromptu speaking many times in informal, conversational settings. Self-introductions in group settings are examples of impromptu speaking: “Hi, my name is Steve, and I’m an account manager.” Another example of impromptu presenting occurs when you answer a question such as, “What did you think of the report?” Your response has not been preplanned, and you are constructing your arguments and points as you speak. Even worse, you might find yourself going into a meeting and your boss says, “I want you to talk about the last stage of the project. . . “ and you had no warning.
The advantage of this kind of speaking is that it’s spontaneous and responsive in an animated group context. The disadvantage is that the speaker is given little or no time to contemplate the central theme of his or her message. As a result, the message may be disorganized and difficult for listeners to follow.
Here is a step-by-step guide that may be useful if you are called upon to give an impromptu presentation in public:
- Take a moment to collect your thoughts and plan the main point you want to make.
- Thank the person for inviting you to speak. Avoid making comments about being unprepared, called upon at the last moment, on the spot, or feeling uneasy.
- Deliver your message, making your main point as briefly as you can while still covering it adequately and at a pace your listeners can follow.
- If you can use a structure, using numbers if possible: “Two main reasons . . .” or “Three parts of our plan. . .” or “Two side effects of this drug. . .” Timeline structures are also effective, such as “past, present, and future or East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast”.
- Thank the person again for the opportunity to speak.
- Stop talking (it is easy to “ramble on” when you don’t have something prepared). If in front of an audience, don’t keep talking as you move back to your seat.
Impromptu presentations: the presentation of a short message without advance preparation . Impromptu presentations are generally most successful when they are brief and focus on a single point.
For additional advice on impromptu speaking, watch the following 4 minute video from Toastmasters: Impromptu Speaking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GefKPy5YYHI[/embed ]
Manuscript Presentations
Manuscript presentations are the word-for-word iteration of a written message . In a manuscript presentation, the speaker maintains their attention on the printed page except when using visual aids. The advantage of reading from a manuscript is the exact repetition of original words. In some circumstances this can be extremely important. For example, reading a statement about your organization’s legal responsibilities to customers may require that the original words be exact.
A manuscript presentation may be appropriate at a more formal affair (like a report to shareholders), when your presentation must be said exactly as written in order to convey the proper emotion or decorum the situation deserves.
However, there are costs involved in manuscript presentations. First, it’s typically an uninteresting way to present. Unless the presenter has rehearsed the reading as a complete performance animated with vocal expression and gestures, the presentation tends to be dull. Keeping one’s eyes glued to the script prevents eye contact with the audience. For this kind of “straight” manuscript presentation to hold audience attention, the audience must be already interested in the message and presenter before the delivery begins.
It is worth noting that professional speakers, actors, news reporters, and politicians often read from an autocue device, commonly called a teleprompter, especially when appearing on television, where eye contact with the camera is crucial. With practice, a presenter can achieve a conversational tone and give the impression of speaking extemporaneously and maintaining eye contact while using an autocue device. However, success in this medium depends on two factors: (1) the presenter is already an accomplished public speaker who has learned to use a conversational tone while delivering a prepared script, and (2) the presentation is written in a style that sounds conversational and in spoken rather than written, edited English.
Extemporaneous Presentations
Extemporaneous presentations are carefully planned and rehearsed presentations, delivered in a conversational manner using brief notes . By using notes rather than a full manuscript, the extemporaneous presenter can establish and maintain eye contact with the audience and assess how well they are understanding the presentation as it progresses. Without all the words on the page to read, you have little choice but to look up and make eye contact with your audience.
Watch the following 10 minute video of a champion speaker presenting his extemporaneous speech: 2017 International Extemporaneous Speaking National Champion — Connor Rothschild Speech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzoUu1fDmWE[/embed ]
Presenting extemporaneously has some advantages. It promotes the likelihood that you, the speaker, will be perceived as knowledgeable and credible since you know the speech well enough that you don’t need to read it. In addition, your audience is likely to pay better attention to the message because it is engaging both verbally and nonverbally. It also allows flexibility; you are working from the strong foundation of an outline, but if you need to delete, add, or rephrase something at the last minute or to adapt to your audience, you can do so.
The disadvantage of extemporaneous presentations is that it in some cases it does not allow for the verbal and the nonverbal preparation that are almost always required for a good speech.
Adequate preparation cannot be achieved the day before you’re scheduled to present, so be aware that if you want to present a credibly delivered speech, you will need to practice many times. Because extemporaneous presenting is the style used in the great majority of business presentation situations, most of the information in the subsequent sections of this chapter is targeted toward this kind of speaking.
Memorized Speaking
Memorized speakin g is the recitation of a written message that the speaker has committed to memory. Actors , of course, recite from memory whenever they perform from a script in a stage play, television program, or movie scene. When it comes to speeches, memorization can be useful when the message needs to be exact and the speaker doesn’t want to be confined by notes.
The advantage to memorization is that it enables the speaker to maintain eye contact with the audience throughout the speech. Being free of notes means that you can move freely around the stage and use your hands to make gestures. If your speech uses visual aids, this freedom is even more of an advantage. However, there are some real and potential costs.
First, unless you also plan and memorize every vocal cue (the subtle but meaningful variations in speech delivery, which can include the use of pitch, tone, volume, and pace), gesture, and facial expression, your presentation will be flat and uninteresting, and even the most fascinating topic will suffer. Second, if you lose your place and start trying to ad lib, the contrast in your style of delivery will alert your audience that something is wrong. More frighteningly, if you go completely blank during the presentation, it will be extremely difficult to find your place and keep going. Obviously, memorizing a typical seven-minute presentation takes a great deal of time and effort, and if you aren’t used to memorizing, it is very difficult to pull off. Realistically, you probably will not have the time necessary to give a completely memorized speech. However, if you practice adequately, your approach will still feel like you are being extemporaneous.
12.2 Methods of Presentation Delivery Copyright © 2019 by Andrew Stracuzzi and Brian Dunphy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
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How to Deliver Great Presentations
Presenting like a pro.
Written by the Mind Tools Content Team
Key takeaways:
- Connect with and understand your audience . Who is attending and why? What are their needs and expectaions?
- Prepare your content . How to start and finish strong. Tips to keep your audience engaged.
- Deliver confidently . Get comfortable with your visual aids. How to use body language effectively.
- Control the environment . Practice, practice, practice! Handling equipment failures. Have a back up plan.
Ever been to a really bad presentation? You know, the kind where the speaker stands behind the podium, uses slides that mirror what he is saying directly, and includes lots of data tables to validate his position.
But. "What's so bad about that?" you ask. "Isn't that how most presentations are given?" Yes. That is how most presentations are delivered, but that doesn't mean that's the most effective way to deliver them. This kind of presentation risks boring your audience to the point where they start wishing for a fire alarm to go off so they can escape. And once you lose someone, it is next to impossible to bring her attention back.
If the information you are presenting is important enough for you to deliver orally, then it demands an appropriate amount of planning and preparation so that the information you present is memorable – for the right reasons. Give a bad presentation and you'll be remembered all right: it just won't be the type of impression you want to leave in anyone's mind.
When someone presents well, it sends the message that the person is capable, confident, intelligent, and competent. These people get noticed and that type of attention bodes well for your career. Even if you don't make formal presentations in your current position, think about the future and keep in mind that you do have to present your ideas and opinions on a daily basis. The same basic principles of effective delivery apply.
Four Principles of Great Presentations
- Connect With and Understand Your Audience.
- Prepare Your Content.
- Deliver Confidently.
- Control the Environment.
1. Connect With and Understand Your Audience
To deliver a great presentation you have to consider the following audience characteristics:
- Profile – Who are they? What is the common element that brings them together?
- Needs – Why are they attending the presentation? What do they need to know after you've finished?
- Wants – What do they want from the presentation? Do they want to increase knowledge, learn something or be entertained? How can you connect their interests with your message?
- Expectations – What do they expect in terms of content and length?
- Current Knowledge – How much explanation do you need to provide? What assumptions can you make?
When you know your audience, you can prepare content that appeals to them specifically. If you pass over this first crucial step you risk delivering a presentation that is content rich and relevance poor.
2. Prepare Your Content
Now that you know who you are presenting to and why they are there, you can determine what to present. Here are some tips for content preparation:
- Don't try to cover everything. As Voltaire said, "The secret of being a bore is to tell all." Great presentations stimulate thoughts, questions, and discussion. Develop your content so that it covers the main points but leaves room for the audience to apply the information to their own circumstances.
- Start off well with a great hook – you only have a few minutes right at the start to fully engage the audience. Don't use this time to present background information. Get your audience charged up and eager to listen. Make the relevance immediately obvious.
- Also, start by telling your audience where you are heading. Don't make them wait for your conclusion, tell them up front what your premise or purpose is. This helps your audience stay focused. They may or may not agree with you at the start, but they will be able to quickly spot all of your supporting arguments.
- Your presentation should have five to seven take-away points. This follows the chunking principle , which you can learn more about here .
- Tell a story, make comparisons, and use lots of examples. Be sure to mix up the type of content to stimulate audience interest.
- Present your ideas logically using supporting evidence as necessary.
- Provide only as much background information as needed.
- Outline actions or next steps that are required.
- Develop a strong close, including a summary. Bring your conclusions back around to audience need and the hook you created. Consider ending with a question designed to stimulate further discussion.
For a similar but a subtly different approach, see our article on the Rhetorical Triangle .
3. Deliver Confidently
There are two main aspects of your delivery: your visual aids and your style. We'll look at them separately.
Unless your presentation is very short, you will need some sort of visual aid to keep the attention of your audience. There is a fine line, though, between drawing attention to your points, and distracting the audience from what you are saying. Here are some key factors to consider when designing slides:
- Keep slides simple and easy to understand.
- When explaining, start with the overall concept and then move to the details.
- The information on the slide should add value to your presentation or summarize it – it is not meant to be your presentation.
- Ensure that any charts, graphs or tables you include are very simple and easy to read. Use them sparingly.
- Use images (clip art and photos) sparingly and make sure the image means something and isn't just there to fill up space.
- Use pleasant color schemes, high contrast, simple fonts, and bold and italic to add meaning to words.
- Don't use fly-ins, fade-ins or outs or other animations unless absolutely necessary to really emphasize a point. How many times have you been put into a hypnotic state watching words or lines fly into a presentation?
Delivery Style
The way you deliver the content is often what makes or breaks a presentation. Here are some pointers to remember:
- Use gestures for meaning, not for comfort. Try not to talk with your hands or move about carelessly. Everything you do should have purpose i.e. gesture to the visual aid to draw the audience's attention.
- Pause for effect after main points or after you present a visual aid.
- Step out from behind the podium and connect with your audience – make sure you have a remote control device to change slides or cue other types of visuals.
- Talk loudly enough for people at the back to hear, or use a microphone.
- Make eye contact and hold it for three to five seconds. Any less and it looks like you are merely scanning the crowd.
- Be passionate – show your audience that you care about what you are saying.
- Consider putting up a blank or low-content screen between slides – this puts the attention where it should be: on you!
- Change your pace and style from time to time.
- Be natural – don't try to be a comedian if you're not.
- Finish early rather than late.
When you present with confidence and authority, your audience will pay attention and react to you as someone who is worth listening to. Fake it if you need to, by turning your nervousness into creative and enthusiastic energy.
4. Control the Environment
You won't ever eliminate all sources of problems, but through diligent planning and preparation, you can mitigate your risks.
- Practice, practice, practice: The ultimate goal is to deliver your presentation note-free. Short of that, you want to be sure you are comfortable with the material and that nothing comes as a surprise. Consider practicing in front of a video camera and reviewing your delivery. Don't take short-cuts here because it shows! The point is for the presentation to look effortless – when you struggle, the audience focuses on you, and not on what you are saying.
- Keep the lights on: when you darken the room, the screen stands out, not you. And it also encourages sleep, which you want to avoid at all costs!
- Always have back-ups and a backup plan. What if you forget your material? What will you do if the CD won't load? What if the equipment doesn't arrive on time? Plan for as many contingencies as possible.
- Dress appropriately for the situation – find out in advance what the dress code will be.
- Have a policy for answering questions – let your audience know when they can ask questions so you aren't inappropriately interrupted.
- Finish on time, every time. Last impressions are just as important as first ones.
Presenting is not a natural activity and to do it well requires careful thought and lots of practice.
You can choose to be average, or even below average, by simply emulating what most other presenters do. Or, you can take your presentations to the next level and leave your audiences with a powerful message that they remember, while keeping them interested and connected from start to finish.
To do this you need to pay strict attention to your audience analysis, content preparation, delivery style, and the external environment. When you control these for optimum audience relevance, interest, and engagement you are ready to deliver a great presentation.
The final element you must add is lots and lots of practice. Make your next presentation great by planning and preparing well in advance and making it look like it does come naturally to you.
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How To Make A Presentation: The Importance of Delivery
Chetan saiya.
Earlier on our blog, we featured the four keys to a great presentation. These four elements are Content, Design, Structure and Delivery. Today we’re going to highlight the important aspects of the delivery and ultimately how to make a presentation great .
The substance of your presentation is valuable, but delivery matters just as much. It determines success or failure. How you present your content, engage your audience, and leave an impact are delivery elements that can turn an ordinary presentation into an unforgettable experience. This blog explores not only what to include but also how to deliver effectively. We emphasize the crucial role of delivery in leaving a lasting impression, whether you’re in a room full of professionals.
2 Major Consequences if the Presentation is not Delivered Effectively.
1. loss of audience engagement:.
Ineffective delivery can lead to a disengaged audience. When a presentation lacks enthusiasm, clarity, or engagement, attendees are more likely to lose interest and become distracted. This can result in reduced retention of key information and a missed opportunity to convey your message effectively. Without engagement, your audience may leave the presentation without a clear understanding of your content.
2. Diminished Impact and Influence:
A poorly delivered presentation can diminish your overall impact and influence. Even if you have compelling content, ineffective communication can significantly reduce its impact. It may compromise your ability to persuade, inspire, or inform your audience, ultimately impacting the desired outcomes of your presentation . Inadequate delivery can leave your audience unconvinced, unimpressed, or uninspired, making it challenging to achieve your intended goals.
We have been building and delivering presentations at CustomShow for over a decade and at Sales Graphics for 40 years before that, so we’ve seen our share of presentations. So here are several keys of delivery that we have observed over the years.
CustomShow can be instrumental in enhancing the effective delivery of presentations . The tool streamlines and enhances the delivery process with its user-friendly interface and feature-rich platform. It offers a variety of tools and capabilities, including interactive elements, multimedia integration, and professionally designed templates, all of which contribute to creating presentations that captivate the audience and effectively convey information. Through its user-centric design and accessible features, CustomShow empowers presenters to focus on their delivery, helping them engage their audience more effectively and leave a lasting impact. An often overlooked factor in presentation success is the effective management of logistics and planning, especially when organizing multiple presentations across various locations or departments. Having the flexibility to present on multiple platforms, or even shifting from a conference room to a virtual meeting, means that the logistics behind your delivery strategy must be seamless. Implementing a tool to optimize your delivery routes can enhance not only the physical flow of presentations but also provide consistency and efficiency. This logistical preparation ensures that your content remains impactful no matter the location or format, allowing you to focus fully on delivering your message with clarity and confidence.
The Right Delivery: It Doesn’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing.
- Even if you nail the content, design and structure, it doesn’t mean a thing if no one sees it. Presentations, whether they concern marketing or the explanation of what constitutes a witness signature, transcend mere documents or files; they represent a dynamic experience shared between a presenter and their audience.
- Delivery – both by the presenter and by the presentation technology they use. Whether presenting in a boardroom, off an iPad, over the Web or as a print-out, the right delivery can make all the difference between a great presentation, a missed opportunity, or a presentation disaster. All the other elements don’t matter if the delivery just doesn’t work.
- Delivery refers to both how the Presenter delivers the presentation and what platform the presentation is delivered on. Presentation skills are necessary for anyone who plans on making a living from presentations or whose business depends on giving effective presentations . For example, if you start selling through Amazon , you can present the new products or changes in your existing products engagingly. We’ve worked with a wide range of presentation coaches and read a lot on the subject, and taking the time to find out more about your presentation skills and how they can be improved will always return results.
- Just as important as the Presenter’s skills are the platform and technology used to deliver your great presentation . The tool you use to deliver your presentation is one of the most overlooked elements of a presentation. Just as your content, design and structure need to match the situation and audience, how you deliver your presentation matters. Whether you’re presenting about eCommerce platforms, B2B industries , or SaaS products, the way you deliver also matters a lot. Presenting to a boardroom full of senior executives may require a different tool than a one-on-one presentation over lunch. Webinars or conference calls call for a different type of technology as well. Often people pick the presentation tool that they’re most familiar with or just happen to be there (aka PowerPoint). People don’t think about what the specific delivery needs are.
- PowerPoint used to be the only option -whether you were handing out print-outs, presenting on a projector, or emailing someone a follow-up. We compiled a list of PowerPoint alternatives. Which one is right for you depends on your content, your design, and your audience. For businesses that rely on presentations to close business. We think it’s important to find a platform that supports both a wide range of content and design options as well as a wide range of structure and delivery options. iPad-only presentation apps are great for that particular audience but can’t be repurposed or extended to other situations. The same goes for desktop software that requires a laptop and can’t be collaborative or shared over the Web.
In closing, understanding how you need to deliver your presentations across your organization. And then choosing a platform that supports those delivery options can be the difference between just an assortment of documents, data and design versus a library of GREAT presentations.
Check out all four keys here and if you’re interested in learning more about CustomShow schedule a free demo today.
Read more on: What do you Need to Think About Before Designing the Presentation?
Every good presentation is a good presentation builder that fits the intricacies and identity of your organization. At CustomShow, we believe our presentation software can do just that.
Read more on : When Creating a Presentation Based on Lots of Data, What Principle Should You Bear in Mind?
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IMAGES
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Methods of Presentation Delivery. There are four methods of delivery that can help you balance between too much and too little formality when giving a presentation. Impromptu Speaking. Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without advance preparation. You have probably done impromptu speaking many times in informal ...
Read more on Business communication or related topics Power and influence, Presentation skills and Public speaking Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of ...
The final presentation delivery method is the one we recommend and use most frequently. Extemporaneous delivery can be defined as practiced and prepared, but flexible. The story of "Goldilocks and the 3 Bears" can help us here. With memorized and manuscript delivery, we are in Papa Bear territory where everything feels a bit too rigid, too ...
Think of your presentation as a story. As you write, instead of organizing your presentation by topics and subtopics, organize it along a story arc. Start by setting the stage, then pull your audience into a tale with an exciting climax. It may help to start your presentation with a question or a dilemma so they feel involved from the start.
During a presentation you aim to look confident, enthusiastic and natural. You'll need more than good words and content to achieve this - your delivery plays a significant part. In this article, we discuss various techniques that can be used to deliver an effective presentation. Effective presentations
This presentation delivery style maximizes all of the benefits of the various presentation styles while minimizing their challenges. Extemporaneous presentations are carefully planned and rehearsed presentations, delivered in a conversational manner using brief notes or a slide deck. By using notes rather than a full manuscript, the ...
Methods of Presentation Delivery. There are four methods of delivery that can help you balance between too much and too little formality when giving a presentation. Impromptu Speaking. Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without advance preparation. You have probably done impromptu speaking many times in informal ...
The same basic principles of effective delivery apply. Four Principles of Great Presentations. Connect With and Understand Your Audience. Prepare Your Content. Deliver Confidently. Control the Environment. 1. Connect With and Understand Your Audience. To deliver a great presentation you have to consider the following audience characteristics:
Delivery - both by the presenter and by the presentation technology they use. Whether presenting in a boardroom, off an iPad, over the Web or as a print-out, the right delivery can make all the difference between a great presentation, a missed opportunity, or a presentation disaster.
These points will help you ensure that your presentations are as effective as possible and deliver on your presentation goals. Subscribe To Newsletters. BETA. THIS IS A BETA EXPERIENCE.