Corey Place & Gena Gilbertson
This chapter discusses how one should prepare for professional oral communication. It discusses the different types of presentations that you one must adjust to accoring to its audience as well as just the type of approach that the speaker wishes to take in delivering out his message. The three type of presentations that are explained by Burnett in her text are; informal, formal, and class presentations. Informal presentations are generally more laid back simply because these presentations are in the company of people that you know and are very comfortable speaking with. Burnett does make it clear though that even though the presentation is informal, the speaker must still know the information he/she wishes to deliver greatly to ensure better delivery of ideas. Formal presentations are typically more difficult to prepare for because you do not always knows the people in the audience so research is required to make sure that the information you provide will be able to make sense to your intended audience. Burnett tells us that basically there are no time limits on these types of presentations. There can be seminars that can be all day events with several different types of presentations made about the same idea but all of them may simply be in a different atmosphere or just done a little differently than the others.
A very important area discussed in this chapter as well is the different types of audiences that there are in this area of discussion. Burnett goes on to list four different audiences, along with some of the characteristics of each:
-Professional peers- assume that you of high expertise and tend to ask more questions.
-Non-expert professionals- tend to be higher-ups in the company who make decisions for the benefit of the company but have limited knowledge on the technological facts of what may go into the decision.
-International audiences- these audiences may take more reseach into how you would like to do your presentation simply because the information that is native in your country may mean differently or negatively in your audiences country. You may want more visual aspects for this audience to put emphasis on main points more.
-General audiences- this audience tends to be more diverse with all just being around for a similar goal but coming from all different areas. Inolvement with the audience is key with this type of audience.
Towards the middle of the chapter we are given some main points on how to organize the information in your presentation and how to effectively deliver your message. Burnett gives us tips explaining the importance of reviewing your main points and emphasizing them throughout the presentation. Using illustrations to deliver the idea of your main points more effectively. and to provide a sense of humor which will help stimulate someinterest in the speech while varying your pace of delivering your presentation to help keep the audience interested. With these tips in mind we are given a rundown on PowerPoint presentations. These are very effective tools in delivering main points to an audience because the transitions can be smoothly delivered, and PowerPoint is able to be used by anyone trying to deliver any message successfully. Some of the things that can doom a presentation are given on P. 622 for example; too many bullets, too small of font size, poor resolution of visuals, ect.
Another effective thing that can be used during a presentation is handouts. Burnett explains that during the presentation, by using handouts the audience can take notes to better retain some of the main points that you have discussed in your presentation. It gives them a better understanding of your terminology while giving the audience references to look at for further information once the presentation is over. If you are thinking about using handouts as a tool for this purpose there are a couple of things Burnett adds that you should think about first. When should you distribute handouts? How much detail should handouts include? How should you refer to handouts during the presentation? What is the real value of your handouts? All of those well thought out questions can greatly improve the success that a handout can make in your presentation.
Finally the end of the chapter discusses how the presenter should present his or herself for the presentation. You must look the part to deliver whatever message it may be. Usually comedians tend to look and dress like the audience that they are trying to reach, similarly a CEO for a fortune 500 compnay will appear very formal and professional when trying to deliver points about his work. Along with looking the part speakers need to have good voices for speaking that can effectively hit all the areas of the room in which it is speaking. Varying pace, perhaps some comic relief if called upon is important as well. Burnett lists alot of good tips for public speaking on P. 634 for current and future presenters; wear appropriate clothing, handle notes comfortably, make eye contact, handle mistakes smoothly, relax your hands, relax your feet, move naturally, use the podium comfortably. All these tips can help make you a better presenter in whatever field your intended audience happens to be in.
The last thing Burnett discusses in this chapter is active listening. This is important in helping someone in the audience better grasp the concepts that the speaker is giving the audience. You must determine a purpose and keep that in your mind to keep somewhat of a theme going in your mind. Next you must indentify the points that the presenter is giving, and watch the reactions of the speaker to get what information he is putting more emphasis on. Lastly make connections with all the information obtained during the presentation. Summarize the information so that you walk away feeling better informed on the issue that was just discussed.
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8 comments:
I found this chapter pretty informational. In my major, interior design, we tend to stay away from powerpoints for presentations. We typically use our presentation boards which we have prepared for our class to help our audience understand our design. I have witnessed a wide range of presentation formats throughout my college years. Powerpoint is probably the most commonly used.
When reading this chapter I read about the three different kinds of presentations. I have given both informal presentations and classroom presentations, but never a very formal presentation. I have been to formal presentations such as all day dietetic seminars.
I found the segment on organizing a professional presentation most beneficial and important. Organization is a huge part of a presentation. If you lack organization then the comprehension of the audience is going to be unclear. On page 617 Burnett gave a great table of examples for organizing information. I like seeing examples of what is being said and this table did a good job of that. Another table that I found important was on page 634, it was a good review of speech 100.
Oral presentations are something that we all have been familiar with since elementary, or at least high school. It is clear that oral presentations are not exclusively audio presentations, they can easily be complimented by visual aids. The audience you present too can determine the type of presentation techniques you use. For instance formal presentations to employee-peers can use more complex descriptions because they are knowledgeable, but international presentations should visual aids to focus on main points because they will be easily translated.
In my experience with oral presentations I have had good luck with using visuals. There are many things to consider when preparing presentations. Audiences, prior knowledge, organization are some of the key points to include.
It is hard not to think about the different types of presentations especially when in school. It is because we all do it all the time in classes, and sometimes even at work or internships. so when reading this chapter i instantly think of this class because of how we all give presentations at least once a week.
Chapter seventeen talks about how to engage in oral communication. The three types of presentations are informal, formal, and class presentation. When preparing a presentation, a person should always think about the audience and their expectations. I have experience from making several presentations throughout my school years.
Presenting to an audiance is something that we will all do in school or work. Getting your point across to a client can cost the difference of getting the job or not. You can never be too good at presenting.
When giving presentations, formal and class presentations are much more involved but as Burnett stresses, it is still important to know what you are presenting so the information is correctly received.
This chapter seemed to go into more detail about the types of audiences. When preparing the information based on the type of presentation, it is a good idea to combine that with the type of audience for maximum effect. Bringing your audience back to the main points of the presentation is a good idea to bring all topics together.
As a teacher, I used to to to workshops and you can really tell who has prepared and who has not...
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