1 Summary of Learning Outcomes

1.1 Discuss two important first steps in preparing for business

presentations
- Excellent presentation skills are sought by employers and will benefit you at any career stage
- Presentations can be informative or persuasive, face-to-face or virtual, performed in front of
big audiences or small groups, and elaborate or simple
- Business professionals give a variety of business presentations including briefings, reports,
podcasts, virtual presentations, and webinars
- Savvy speakers know what they want to accomplish and are able to adjust to friendly,
neutral, uninterested, as well as hostile audiences

1.2 Explain how to organize your business presentations to build

audience rapport
- In the introduction, capture the audience’s attention, introduce yourself, establish your
credibility, and preview the main points
- Organize the body around two to four main points; arrange them according to chronology,
space, function, comparison/contrast, a journalistic pattern, value/size, importance,
problem/solution, simple/complex, or best case/worst case
- In the conclusion summarize the main topics of your talk, leave the audience with a
memorable take-away, and end with a statement that provides a graceful exit
- Build rapport by using effective imagery, verbal signposts, and positive nonverbal messages

1.3 List contemporary visual aids and design practices that help
presenters overcomes the monotony of bullet points
- Your audience is more likely to retain your talk if you use well-prepared visual aids because
images are more memorable than text; this phenomenon is called pictorial superiority
- Good visuals emphasize and clarify main points, increase audience interest, prove you are
professional, illustrate your message better than words alone, and serve to jog your memory
- Common types of visual aids are multimedia slides, zoom presentations, videos, handouts,
flipcharts and whiteboards, as well as props
- In good hands presentation software such as PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, or Google Slides is
helpful; aspire to using more images and less text
- Whenever possible, expert speakers move beyond boring bulleted text and choose relevant
vivid images

1.4 Create a memorable error-free multimedia presentation that

shows a firm grasp of basic visual design principles
- The purpose and the audience determine the slide design, which includes, color, images, and
special effects
- Building a presentation involves organizing and composing slide content; avoiding overused
templates; and revising, proofreading, and evaluating the final product
- The seven steps to creating impressive multimedia slides are as follows: start with the text,
select a template, choose images, create graphics add special effects, create hyperlinks, and
post online
1.5 Name delivery techniques for use before, during, and after a
presentation to keep the audience engaged
- When delivering a business presentation, don’t memorize your talk or read from notes;
rather, speak extemporaneously and use notes only when you’re not using presentation
software
- When enduring a fight-flight-freeze response due to performance anxiety, note that this
involuntary reflex is normal in stress situations such as public speaking; even professional
performers experience stage fright
- Before your presentation prepare and rehearse, time yourself, dress professionally, check
the room and equipment, greet members of the audience, and practice stress reduction
- During the presentation deliver your first sentence from memory, maintain eye contact,
control your voice, show enthusiasm, slow down, move naturally, use visual aids skillfully,
and stay on topic
- After the presentation distribute handouts, invite and repeat questions, reinforce your main
points, avoid Yes, but answers, and end with a summary and appreciation

2 Creating effective business presentations

2.1 Speaking skills and your career
Correlate with success and upward mobility depending on how much you enjoy public speaking and
how effective you are at it

2.2 Understand presentation types

Some presentations are informative, whereas others are persuasive

Some are face-to-face, others, virtual

Some are performed before big audiences, whereas others are given to smaller groups

Some presentations are elaborate, others are simple

Briefing - Overview or summary of an issue, proposal, or problem

- Delivery of information, discussion of questions, collection of
feedback
Report - Oral equivalent of business reports and proposals
- Information or persuasive oral account, simple or elaborate
Podcast - Online, prerecorded audio clip delivered over the Web
- Opportunity to launch products, introduce and train employees,
and sell products and services
Virtual Presentation - Collaboration facilitated by technology (telephone or Web)
- Real-time meeting online with remote colleagues
Webinar - Web-based presentation, lecture, workshop, or seminar
- Digital transmission with(out) video to train employees, interact
with customers, and promote products

2.3 Knowing your purpose

- What do you want your audience to believe, remember, or do when you finish?
- Aim all parts of your talk toward your purpose
2.4 Knowing your audience
- Friendly, neutral, uninterested, hostile?
- How to gain credibility?
- How to relate this information to their needs?
- Which of the following would be most effective in making my point? Facts? Statistics?
Personal experiences? Expert online? Humor? Cartoons? Graphic illustration?
Demonstrations? Analogies?
- How to make them remember your main points

3 Organizing presentations to connect with audiences

Good organization contributes to audience comprehension and retention. The following
presentation plan is recommended:

- Step 1: tell them what you are going to tell them

- Step 2: tell them
- Step 3: tell them what you have told them

in other words, repeat your main points in the introduction, body, and conclusion of your
presentation

3.1 Types of Visual Aids:

Multimedia Slides.

Handouts.

Zoom Presentations.

3.2 Moving Beyond PowerPoint Bullets

PowerPoint presentations are a staple in business but can lose effectiveness if overused or poorly
designed.

Over three decades, many ineffective presentations have hurt PowerPoint's reputation.

Experts suggest avoiding excessive text and "chartjunk" by using more images and storytelling to
communicate powerful messages. Presentation expert Garr Reynolds encourages creativity, urging
presenters not to rely on technology or others' habits.

However, some content, like complex data, is better suited for handouts than for slides, as noted by
communication consultant Nancy Duarte, who advocates for simplicity and clarity in presentations.

4 Preparing engaging multimedia presentations

4.1 Analyzing the Situation and Purpose
4.2 Adjusting Slide Design to Your Audience
The Meaning of Color. In the U.S., blue represents credibility, tranquility, and trust, making it a
popular choice for business presentations and social media. Green symbolizes growth, money, and
stability, while purple conveys spirituality, royalty, and humor. For text, use colors with high
contrast, such as white or yellow on dark backgrounds. Adjust slide colors based on presentation
settings: light text on dark backgrounds for dark rooms, and dark text on light backgrounds for well-
lit rooms. Avoid using dark text on dark backgrounds or light text on light backgrounds. Also,
remember that colors may appear less vibrant when projected onto a screen.
The Power of Images. Adapt the amount of text on your slide to how your audience will use the
slides.

The Impact of Special Effects. Just as you anticipate audience members' reactions to color, you can
usually anticipate their reactions to special effects. Using animation and sound effects-flying objects,
swirling text, clashing cymbals, and the like—only because they are available is not a good idea.
Special effects distract your audience, drawing attention away from your main points. Add animation
features only if doing so helps convey your message or adds interest to the content.

Organizing Your Presentation. When you prepare your presentation, translate the major headings in
your outline into titles for slides.

Composing Your Presentation. During the composition stage, many users fall into the trap of
excessive formatting and programming. They waste precious time fine-tuning their slides or canvas
and don't spend enough time on what they are going to say and how they will say it. To avoid this
trap, set a limit for how much time you will spend making your slides or canvas visually appealing.
Your time limit will be based on how many "bells and whistles" (a) your audience expects and (b)
your content requires to make it understandable.

Create a slide or canvas only if it accomplishes at least one of the following purposes:

• Generates interest in what you are saying and helps the audience follow your ideas

• Highlights points you want your audience to remember

• Introduces or reviews your key points

• Provides a transition from one major point to the next

• Illustrates and simplifies complex ideas

Learning outcome 5: Name delivery techniques for use before, during, and after a presentation to
keep the audience engaged.

5 Refining delivery, rehearsing, and performing your

talk
5.1 Choosing a Delivery Method
Avoid Memorizing Your Presentation. Unless you are an experienced performer, you will sound
robotic and unnatural if you try to recite your talk by heart.

Don't Read From Your Notes. Reading your business presentation to an audience from notes or a
manuscript is boring, and listeners will quickly lose interest. Because reading suggests that you don't
know your topic well, the audience loses confidence in your expertise.

Deliver Your Presentation Extemporaneously. The best plan for delivering convincing business
presentations, by far, is extemporaneous delivery, especially when you are structuring your talk with
a multimedia presentation

Know When Notes Are Appropriate. If you give a talk without multimedia technology, you may use
note cards or an outline containing key sentences and major ideas, but beware of reading from a
script.
5.2 Combating Stage Fright
5.3 Before Your Presentation
Prepare Thoroughly.One of the most effective strategies for reducing stage fright is knowing your
subject thoroughly. Research your topic diligently and prepare a careful sentence outline.

Rehearse Repeatedly.When you rehearse, practice your entire presentation. In PowerPoint you may
print out speaker's notes, an outline, or a handout featuring miniature slides, which are excellent for
practice. If you don't use an electronic slideshow, place your outline sentences on separate note
cards. You may also wish to include transitional sentences to help you move to the next topic as you
practice.

Time Yourself. Most audiences tend to get restless during longer talks. Therefore, try to complete
your presentation in 20 minutes or less. If you have a time limit, don't go over it.

Dress Professionally. Dressing professionally for a presentation will make you look more credible to
your audience.

Check the Room and the Equipment. If you are using a computer, a projector, or sound equipment,
be certain they are operational. Before you start, check the lighting, the electrical outlets, and the
position of the viewing screen.

Greet Members of the Audience. Try to make contact with a few members of the audience when
you enter the room, while you are waiting to be introduced, or when you walk to the podium.

Practice Stress Reduction. If you feel tension and fear while you are waiting your turn to speak, use
stress-reduction techniques, such as deep breathing.

5.4 During Your Presentation

Start With a Pause and Present Your First Sentence From Memory. When you first approach the
audience, take a moment to make yourself comfortable. Establish your control of the situation.

Maintain Eye Contact. If the size of the audience overwhelms you, pick out two individuals on the
right and two on the left. Talk directly to these people. Don't ignore listeners in the back of the
room.

Control Your Voice and Vocabulary. This means speaking in moderated tones but loudly enough to
be heard. Eliminate verbal static, such as ah, er, like, you know, and um.

Show Enthusiasm. If you are not excited about your topic, how can you expect your audience to be?
Show passion for your topic through your tone, facial expressions, and gestures.

Skip the Apologies. Avoid weak openings, such as I know you have heard this before, but we need to
review it anyway. Or: I had trouble with my computer and the slides, so bear with me.

Slow Down and Know When to Pause. Many novice speakers talk too rapidly, displaying their
nervousness and making it very difficult for audience members to understand their ideas. Put the
brakes on and listen to what you are saying.

Move Naturally. If you have a lectern, don't hide behind it. Move about casually and naturally. Avoid
fidgeting with your clothing, hair, or items in your pockets.

Control Visual Aids With Clickers, Pointers, and Blank Screens. Discuss and interpret each visual aid
for the audience. Move aside as you describe it so people can see it fully.
Avoid Digressions. Stick to your outline and notes. Don't suddenly include clever little anecdotes or
digressions that occur to you on the spot.

Summarize Your Main Points and Drive Home Your Message. Conclude your presentation by
reiterating your main points or by emphasizing what you want the audience to think or do.

5.5 After Your Presentation

Distribute Handouts. If you prepared handouts with data the audience will not need during the
presentation, pass them out when you finish to prevent any distraction during your talk.

Encourage Questions but Keep Control. If the situation permits a question-and-answer period,
announce it at the beginning of your presentation. Then, when you finish, ask for questions.

Repeat Questions. Although you may have heard the question, some audience members may not
have. Begin each answer by repeating the question.

Reinforce Your Main Points. You can use your answers to restate your primary ideas

Avoid Yes, but Answers. The word but immediately cancels any preceding message.

Try replacing it with and. For example, Yes, X has been tried.

End With a Summary and Appreciation. To signal the end of the session before you take the last
question, say something like We have time for just one more question.

As you answer the last question, try to work it into a summary of your main points.