Business Presentation

Business Presentations

When preparing an oral presentation it is very useful to use Guffeys 3x3 writing process. Write down the key concepts that you want to present, and analyze the different ways people will want to use the information. Having all the information ready and being able to explain in further detail. Decide how you want to open the presentation and anticipate how the audience is going to take in the information.

When you get into the ‘writing stage’ start with researching. Collecting all the information that you want to address and more, so you are ready to fill in any gaps. Then organizing the information, to make sure everything flows together nicely to make the most sense. When you are giving a presentation, tell people what you are going to say, then say it, and then review what you just said. Prepare visual aids with the most amount of information with the least amount of words. Keeping to a tasteful presentation and eye contact to keep the audience interested. When you have everything put together, make sure you go over it. Reread it out loud to hear yourself talking. Doing this a few times will help you catch and mistakes and also give you more practice.

Everyone gets nervous when getting up in front of people and speaking, it is human and it’s okay. But there are ways to help overcome your fears. They always say ‘practice makes perfect’, and that is true for everything. When you practice your presentation, you will become better acquainted with the information and more comfortable talking about it. When you are up and ready to present, take a moment, don’t rush into it, slow down and take pauses. Establishing eye contact with a few people in the audience like you are just talking to one person helps calms the nerves, and don’t forget to breath.

When deciding to use power point in your presentation there are a few things you need to think of first. An inspirational presentation, like a pep talk, has very few points you need the audience to remember, perhaps only one key point. A highly informational presentation, like a training program, can have many points that you want the audience to remember in order to improve their job performance. To help the audience remember your message, you should use visual aids. There are many different forms, including handouts, workbooks, cards, and yes, PowerPoint. The most popular usage of PowerPoint is when we use the title and bullet points to reinforce the key points we are speaking about. An even more effective way to use PowerPoint as a visual aid is to use photographs to help tell a story that illustrates your point.

PowerPoint should not necessarily be the only recall aid you use, but it could be a valuable tool in helping your audience remember and act on your points. When you plan a presentation think about an inspirational or an informational presentation. Then consider