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The text below contains several recommendations for giving effective presentations.
The key to a successful oral presentation is to keep things simple. I try to stick to three points. I give
an overview of the points, present them to the audience, and summarize them at the end.
My purpose or desired outcome, the type of audience, and the message dictate the formality of the presentation; the kind
of visuals, the number of anecdotes, and the jokes or examples that I use. Most of my presentations are designed to
sell, to explain, or to motivate. When I plan the presentation, I think about the audience. Are they professionals
or nonprofessionals? Purchasers or sellers? Providers or users? Internal or external? My purpose and
the audience mix determine the tone and focus of the presentation.
When I make a presentation, I use the visuals as the outline. I will not use notes. I like to select the
kind of visual that not only best supports the message but also best fits the audience and the physical location. PowerPoint,
slides, overhead transparencies, and flip charts are the four main kinds of visuals I use.
PowerPoint and slide presentations work well when I am selling a product or an idea to large groups (15 people or more).
It this format, I like to use examples and graphs and tables to support my message in a general way.
In small presentations, including one-on-ones and presentations where the audience is part of the actual process, I like
transparencies or flip charts. They allow me to be more informal.
I get very, very nervous when I speak in public. I handle my nervousness by just trying to look as if, instead
of talking to so many people, I'm walking in and talking to a single person. I don't like to speak behind lecterns.
Instead, I like to get out and just be open and portray that openness: 'I'm here to tell you a story.'
I try very hard for people to enjoy my presentations by showing enthusiasm on the subject and by being sincere.
I try not to use a hard sell -- I just try to report or to explain -- and I think that comes across. In addition, it
helps that I am speaking about something that I very strongly believe in and something that I really, really enjoy doing.
Luis E. Lamela, February 11, 1997
From Business and Administrative Communication
By Kitty Locker, Irwin McGraw-Hill, 1998.
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