Starting Out

1. Select a topic you are interested in; it will make writing and giving your presentation much easier. Make sure your topic fits the assignment and that it is expansive enough to fill the time allotted but not so vast that it cannot be covered sufficiently.

2. Brainstorm. Write down anything and everything that comes to mind about your topic. Don’t dismiss any ideas. Try to think of a large quantity of ideas so you can choose the best ones. Encourage exaggerated ideas and build from ideas you have already had. You can also ask for input from others for a broader view of your topic.

3. Determine your audience. Your audience will determine the level of formality of your presentation. If you are giving a specialized speech, define any terms the audience may not know. Pinpoint areas in your speech where the audience may disagree with you and strengthen your argument in that section.

Organizing

Write a thesis for your presentation just as you would for a paper, then make a list of your key points and order them from weakest to strongest. Your introduction should grab your audience’s interest. Try a strong photo on your title slide. While that slide is viewed, introduce your topic, present your thesis, and give your audience an overview or a sense of the presentation’s direction. The conclusion should end on a strong note—don’t simply summarize. It’s boring. Think of an example or idea that will stay with the audience and back it up with a strong or memorable image.

Editing

Once you have framed the basic presentation, cut the text on the slides to a bare minimum– just what is necessary to enhance or illustrate your spoken words. Slides are like billboards. People will look at them only for a second before they divert their attention elsewhere, which, of course, should be you. Placing a paragraph on a slide will misfire, as your audience will either try too hard to read it and miss what you are saying or read it before you finish speaking, making what you have to say irrelevant. In PowerPoint, “ctrl B” will blacken the screen, a good trick if you want to turn the audience’s attention away from the visual for a short time.

In addition to ensuring the content on your slides is short and concise, your presentation as a whole should be condensed to keep the audience’s attention. If a lengthy presentation is necessary, make sure it is dynamic enough to keep them focused. Rehearse your presentation ahead of time so you know how long it will be, adding time for questions or comments from the audience.

Slides, like anything else written, need proofreading. You do not want to embarrass yourself on presentation day with a “their” instead of a “there” blown up 50x on a projector screen.

Bells and Whistles

Make your presentation visually interesting. Default design templates are not a bad way to go if you are design-challenged; however, design is useful to learn for those making slide presentations often. (See the University Writing Center’s handout on designing presentation slides for more information.) Use charts, graphs, and diagrams to illustrate your points. Make sure all visual aids are related directly to your presentation content.

Having a legible font size is one of the most important aspects of your slides. If you have minimal text on your slide, as you should, making the font large enough to read should not be a problem. If you have Microsoft PowerPoint, here is a tip to see if your text is legible: Go to slide sorter view and adjust the zoom to 66%. If you can read the slides, so can your audience.

Many people take advantage of bullets when creating their slides. Bullets are not always a good thing, and should be used sparingly and in the right context (making a list). Sub-bullets look messy and visually complex although one level of sub-bullets on a slide is fine. Make sure each bullet begins with the same style of capitalization and ends with consistent punctuation. (Either they all end with a period or they all end with nothing). If your slide looks too crowded, something is wrong.

Don’t get carried away with the animation or transitions features. Minimal animation can add a nice touch to your presentation, but too much “checkerboard in” special effects look cheesy. Use attention-grabbing animation only where you need to add emphasis and stick with classic options such as “fade in” as opposed to “spiral in.” Animations should be fast—you don’t want to bore your audience while your title takes two minutes to scroll across the screen. Your animation should make sense and look natural according to the layout of your information. (For example, the title should never appear last.) Above all, animation should not hinder the legibility of your slides.

Strong stage presence will take your presentation much further than good slides. When you are presenting, make sure you have energy and “give a speech.” DON’T read from your slides. Stand up and move around, make interesting gestures, and maintain eye contact with your audience. If you are actively participating in your presentation, so will your audience.

References

Duarte, Nancy. Slideology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations. Sebastopol: O’Reilly. 2008.

Faigley, Lester. Writing: A Guide for College and Beyond. New York: Pearson-Longman. 2007.

Quotations are a favorite device of orators. Often used as attention grabbers, they can support or illustrate a speaker’s ideas. Some quotations are used because they lend authority to the speaker or because they sound artful—a quote from a famous writer like Henry David Thoreau is convincing both because Thoreau said it and because of the eloquence of his words. However, quotations should not replace your own words or overshadow your message.

Incorporating Quotations

Always acknowledge your sources in a speech, including quotations. Cite every source clearly (1) while speaking, (2) on a handout, or (3) on a slide. For example, while speaking, you might tag the quotation so the audience knows when the quote begins and ends. In the example that follows, the tag–the part explaining the quote’s source – is bolded.

According to Strunk and White, “The habitual use of the active voice . . . makes for forcible writing.” [Voice change or pause indicates the end of the quotation.] They advise that writers always check sentences for passive voice and consider revising them to use active voice.

Note the ellipses (the three dots) indicate the word “however” was deleted from its place in the original text, (shown below). You can delete or make small adjustments in wording, as long as the original meaning is preserved, to make a quotation fit smoothly into your speech.

Alternatively, you might write out a quotation on a handout or slide and give the complete source information
(the title, page number, the place and date of publication, and so on), as in the example that follows.

“The habitual use of the active voice, however, makes for forcible writing. This is true not only in narrative principally concerned with action, but in writing of any kind. Many a tame sentence of description or exposition can be made lively and emphatic by substituting a transitive in the active voice for some such perfunctory expression as there is, or could be heard.”

William Strunk and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th ed. NY: Longman, 1999.

No matter which method you select —speech, handout, or slide—you should always tell your audience when you are citing a source directly (using the exact words of the author) or paraphrasing your source (putting someone else’s ideas into your own words). Following is an example of the same quotation in paraphrased or indirect form. Notice you should still acknowledge the source.

Like Strunk and White, writers should always check sentences for passive voice and consider revising them to use active voice. The active, in their opinion, should be used for all types of writing because of its strength and clarity.

Direct Quoting Versus Paraphrasing

Direct quotations are most effective when they are brief, when they convey your message more clearly than you would, and when they are particularly witty, compelling, or articulate.

Paraphrasing is better than using direct quotations when a quote’s wording is too difficult to understand. It is also better to paraphrase if a particular quote is longer than two or three sentences.

Placement of Quotations

Introductory quotations lead into a subject and are usually at the beginning of a speech. They should be captivating. Effective introductory quotations set the tone and framework for the speech.

Embedded quotations are placed throughout the presentation. They are used to add evidence to your speech.

Transitional quotations can be used to separate the major parts of a speech–introduction, conclusion, or main points. An effective technique is to present transitional quotes on a slide with a relevant visual such as a photograph.

Conclusive quotations should be memorable and leave the audience with a sense of closure or something to consider.

Pitfalls and Perils

It’s a good idea to keep quotations short because you want to focus on your ideas and not bore the audience by reading long passages aloud. Likewise, be wary of overusing quotations and remember the audience wants to hear what you have to say.

Avoid quotations that have no relevance to your speech; carefully consider a quotation’s purpose and its benefits to your presentation.

Consider your audience. If you are speaking to people who may not know Plato, there is no point in using his name. Instead, refer to him as “an ancient Greek philosopher.” In the example above, many people will recognize Strunk and White as the authors of the famous writing manual, The Elements of Style. Audiences who haven’t read much about writing, however, probably won’t. For these audiences, it’s useful to provide a clue, like “Strunk and White, who wrote an often used writing manual called The Elements of Style . . .”

If you use a maxim or proverb, you don’t need to cite. Although you don’t want to fill your speeches with clichés, a well-placed proverb or maxim can help your audience understand or relate to your point.

Many websites and reference books suggest familiar quotes for speeches, such as this handout’s quote from Mark Twain. In general, if the quote is simply for interest or to add style to your speech, it is sufficient to acknowledge the original author or orator. If, however, you are using the quote as evidence to support a point or lend authority to your argument, cite the full source.

Be prepared. Know your topic inside and out. Study your audience: who will be there? Does the group claim a common identity on which you could capitalize? What does the audience want to hear? Being mentally prepared will boost your confidence.

Practice. Practice in front of a casual audience and then take their advice seriously. Your mock audience may include friends and peers. Practice in front of a mirror to improve your gestures, posture, and body movements. If you can arrange it, use a video camera and record yourself to see ways you can improve.

Make a checklist. Inventory what you need before the day of the speech, so you won’t forget things and can focus on performing rather than panicking at the last minute.

Check out the space. Check ahead of time that the technology you are using is compatible with your presentation space, that the podium is at the right height, and that everything works.

Dress confidently. Dress slightly better than you anticipate your audience will dress. This will help you build authority.

Stand up straight. Stand up straight with legs in a confident, slightly wide stance. Acting strong will make you feel more confident and help you build rapport with your audience.

Make eye contact. Try to establish and maintain eye contact with your whole audience, but remember a blank stare or hostile glowering is as bad as no eye contact at all.

Read your audience. Connect with your audience through eye contact and humor, and adapt to their body language. Building rapport with your audience will strengthen your confidence and being confident will build rapport.

Work it out. Transfer your nervous energy into physical energy. Don’t waste it. Excite your crowd through body movement, interaction with the audience, and voice inflection.

Hold something. Instead of pacing up and down, tapping your foot, or shaking your hands, have something small in your hand that you can squeeze (unnoticeably) to relieve any nervous energy. This could be a paperclip, poker chip, or post it with a quote for your speech.  However, make sure your audience never sees the object.

When things go wrong. Because problems with technology are frequent and unpredictable, be prepared to give your presentation without slides or a microphone. If an unforeseen problem arises during your speech, act confident and move on. If a member of your audience is disruptive or rude, maintain your temper and treat him or her with the utmost professionalism. That way, you will win the audience’s respect and sympathy. Use mistakes to bond with the audience by laughing them off, rather than dwelling on them or over apologizing.

Keep this rule in mind: dress slightly better than you anticipate your audience will dress. Be sure you plan your outfit ahead of time so you are not panicking at the last minute, looking for a clean shirt.  Layers are a good choice, so that you can adjust your clothes to the room temperature.

The most important principle is to match your appearance to the occasion and the audience. If you’re giving a presentation to a class, dressing slightly more formally than you do every day is fine. However, when you have an audience of professionals, you should dress up with a jacket, suit, or office wear. Don’t dress for a wedding or a nightclub.

Men

Don’t underestimate the statement you can make by taking off a jacket or loosening a tie. These motions signal to your listeners that you want to take on a friendlier, more informal, persona.  Make sure facial hair is trimmed and neat. If you are on stage, make sure your shoes are polished as they are eye-level with the front row of your audience. Your tie should be conservative, without goofy prints or cartoon characters, and its color should not attract attention.  Be prepared and bring a backup tie or coat in case something goes wrong.

Women

Go for business casual rather than cocktail party: understated makeup, low heels, or flats if heels are uncomfortable, and no cleavage. In strong lighting, dark makeup can look dull and hide your eyes; keep this in mind, as eye contact is extremely important to any presentation. Keep your hair out of your eyes and away from your face. Stay away from noisy or shiny jewelry that could distract your audience. Avoid tight clothing as it draws attention to your body, which will probably make you self-conscious. A cardigan or jacket is a good way to layer.

 Check out our What Not to Wear Video.

Space and Proximity

Before your speech, consider how to use the available space and how close you will be to your audience. Crouching low may be used to share “secrets,” while standing tall with hands raised can emphasize extreme points or emotion in your content. A step towards your audience can draw them in and emphasize your point, while a step backward may be used to show reservation or hesitation.

In addition, consider using left to right space appropriately. People respond to visual change, so an effective way to keep your audience’s attention is to move left to right every time you transition in your speech. The use of different parts of the stage for different parts of your speech is an efficient way to visually organize your content and maintain audience attention.

A good practice is to become familiar with your presentation space beforehand. Check out the physical space and make sure you can work around any equipment. If you plan on using a podium, make sure it is adjusted to suit your height. Test the microphone, laser pointer, and slide projector to ensure they work.

Podiums

A podium allows speakers a place to rest their arms or notes.  The height of the podium should be adjusted so that it does not obstruct the audience from seeing you.  Be sure to use hand gestures rather than gripping the podium and appearing nervous.  Look at your audience, not down at your notes. You can also move out from behind the podium to emphasize parts of your speech. The podium is associated with more formal styles of speaking, so if you want to be more informal or to get close to your audience to make an impact, don’t use one.

Slides or Overheads

You are more persuasive when your facial expressions and gestures are visible; you never want your slides to overpower your presence. Don’t stand in front of the light source to avoid creating a shadow on your slides, and don’t block the slides with your body or angle your body toward the projection too much. Stand slightly to the left or right and use a laser pointer if needed. Remote controls are also helpful. Be aware of lighting: it’s best not to darken a room too much because the audience needs to see you, not just a set of slides.

Large Rooms

Large rooms and auditoriums can be a challenge to orators.  With a large audience, there is a risk of excluding people sitting in the back or on the sides. Also, in large spaces, speakers are often subjected to bright lights on stage, which makes seeing the audience difficult. To work around these problems, try coordinating your speaking points to places on stage. Move around for each section of the speech, as suggested in the figure on the back of this page.

Small Rooms

Small rooms and intimate spaces allow the orator to see the audience’s reaction easily and to connect completely through eye contact, talking to specific people, or walking close to them. Sometimes a microphone isn’t needed, but be sure to ask the audience in the back if they can hear your normal voice—you may think you can shout through your presentation, but eventually you will sound strained. In a small conference room, do not sit at the table and narrate slides from the sidelines. Stand front and center. You can create interest and emphasize your points in a small space by walking in a straight line:

Body Language

Body language is a powerful form of non-verbal communication. Your body can communicate passion, enthusiasm, or other emotions that may influence your audience. Sudden movements can grab attention to emphasize a point, and conversational hand motions can make your presentation charismatic and descriptive.

Eye Contact

Direct eye contact is one of the most important aspects of a presentation. Eye contact can pull the audience into your speech, maintain their attention, and make them feel more connected to you. Depending on the size of your audience, try shifting your gaze in a triangular pattern to encapsulate everyone, looking from the back-left to the front-center to the back right or front-right to back-center to front-left.  Keep in mind that even when you can’t see everyone, everyone is likely focusing on you.

Facial Expression

Facial expressions can change the meaning of a word or phrase, humor or sober an audience, and illustrate emotion. While over-use may detract from your content, proper use of facial expression can add interest to your speech. You may want to practice in front of a mirror or camera to check your expressions. The higher the level of professionalism, the more toned down your expression should be.

Posture

Different postures communicate attitudes you may take as a speaker: stand up straight for confidence or slouch to show insecurity or sadness. In general, you should stand up straight with legs in a confident, slightly wider stance. Acting strong will make you feel more confident and help you build rapport with your audience. If you tend to get nervous, transfer your nervous energy into physical energy. Don’t waste it. Excite your crowd through body movement, interaction with the audience, and voice inflection.

Gestures

Gestures should not draw attention to themselves or distract from your message. Use gestures to highlight or clarify your ideas, but make sure they are appropriate to your audience, the topic of your presentation, and the occasion of your speech. While making a fist may be a powerful way to emphasize a point, many audiences would find it aggressive.  The best way to prepare gestures is to practice in front of a mirror until they come naturally.

References

Axtell, Roger. The Do’s and Taboos of Body Language Around the World. New Jersey: Wiley, 1998.

The Elements of Slide Design

Simplicity is an essential design principle for slides. Slides will be cleaner, sleeker, more professional, and more legible with a simple color palette and consistent shapes. You should not include every detail of your topic on every slide; save that space for striking visuals, and provide detail in your speech.

Color schemes present unlimited possibilities, but it’s best to use premade sets found in presentation programs or online when you’re first getting started. Muted colors are the safest for professional settings (the University Writing Center most often uses maroon, black, grey and white); however, splashes of bright colors are acceptable if used with good taste. You may also use color if it fits with a theme. Examples of thematic colors include company approved colors, brand colors, or a color associated with your subject such as green for ecological topics.

Composition of each slide is another aspect to keep in mind. People read from top to bottom and left to right, so the elements in your slide should lead the viewer’s eyes in those directions. Avoid “unnatural” placement such as a title in the bottom, right-hand corner.

Margins matter, even on presentation slides. Do not attempt to squish content onto a slide by moving it to the edge of the screen— it looks messy and unprofessional. Choose your margins for a presentation and then decrease the font size (keeping it legible, at least 24 pt.) or separate your information into two slides to maintain margins. There should also be space between objects (i.e., a text box and an image). If you use the premade layouts provided by your slide program, you shouldn’t have a problem. If you design your own layout, consider using gridlines as you work to keep objects aligned and separated.

Adding to Your Slides

The slide in the example on the left uses art and bright colors; it manages to be conservative and professional by remaining simple and clean. Make sure the art you use clearly connects to your content—don’t use a picture of a stage when you’re talking about the stages of a process. Good quality photographs will take your presentation to a higher level of professionalism. Stock photo websites such as Morguefile.com or Texas A&M’s Marketing and Communications offer thousands of high-quality photographs. Use photos that are simple and of the highest resolution possible. Clip art drawings should be used with discretion because they often look cheesy and create inconsistency throughout a presentation. Use your own graphics and photographs wherever possible to make your presentation unique. For clean, colorful diagrams, Microsoft provides a unique tool called SmartArt.

If you are not using your own images or stock images, provide a citation that indicates the source. You can’t just use a search engine and copy any image you like without indicating its source.

If you enlarge a photo (or any picture), view the slide show to make sure the image is not pixilated (fuzzy) due to your expansion. If you decide to use drawings, all of the images should be in the same color scheme and the same style. (Try the Format > Recolor option if they aren’t originally the same color.) Many clip art images can be modified by selecting, right clicking, and “ungrouping.” This allows the user to delete, move, or recolor specific shapes in the image.

Photos can be used as slide backgrounds to capture attention; however, on photo background slides, use minimal text and make sure the font color is readable. Also make sure the photo you’ve chosen isn’t too busy and that it doesn’t distract from your information. Be careful when using the “select transparent color” tool to remove a background on an image because the tool will remove all of that certain color in the image. Only use the tool if the background is one pure color (white); otherwise, you will be left with a pixel-y mess. Avoid placing a picture with a white background onto a slide with a dark background.

Typography is the art and technique of working with type. If your artistic skills are lacking, typography is a great alternative to enhance your presentation. The University Writing Center uses interesting punctuation as a form of typography in most of its publications. Working with typography does not mean changing the font on every slide, however. Your presentation should have, at most, three fonts(although there are some exceptions). Fonts to stay away from include Chiller, Ravie, Curlz Mt and other unprofessional “cutesy” or decorative fonts.

Most importantly, find a way to be “conservatively liberal” in your designs. Use graphics and colors conservatively, but think of new, inventive ways to use them. Your designs can be interesting and fun and still look professional.

Conversations

During conversation, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• When speaking to someone who has a speech impairment, don’t simply pretend to understand – ask for clarification when needed. Don’t let sensitivity become an obstacle to learning.
• If you are speaking to someone who has an interpreter or aide, don’t communicate indirectly. It is more respectful to address your conversation partner directly.

Presentations

In unfamiliar settings, be prepared to interact with a broad variety of special needs. Following are a few general guidelines to ensure you include all audience members:

• Make sure seating arrangements can accommodate individuals with physical limitations (e.g., wheelchairs) and any interpreters or aides.
• Do not depend on one delivery method (only spoken or only slides and charts).
• Describe all visual aids orally for the visually impaired.
• Provide printed handouts in electronic formats so that text can be enlarged or narrated with text-to-speech software. Word Processed .doc or .docx files are the safest; text-based .pdf files will also work.
• Supplement oral expression with slides or diagrams for the hearing impaired.
• Varied, stimulating presentation formats help accommodate attention deficient attendees.
• When no interpreter is present, avoid walking around during the presentation because it can make lip-reading difficult for the hearing impaired.
• Keep facial hair trimmed; it may present obstacles to lip-readers.

References

Davis, B. G. (1993). Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publisher