Dr Protiva Rani Karmaker

Ralph Waldo Emerson opined, “Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel". Through his words, a magical and deep impact of spoken words for persuading, motivating and influencing others’ thoughts, beliefs and actions is revealed. Nowadays, presentation has become an excellent platform in business as well as the academic world to share and pass information to an audience through spoken words or by using visual aids like slides, along with spoken words.  Here, there are some tips and techniques to organise a powerful and successful presentation.

Firstly, understanding the topic is essential for delivering an effective presentation. It helps to organise the content of the presentation effectively. Through brainstorming, the presenter may generate several ideas or solutions about his/her topic before choosing the best ones. Hence, it may help to select a topic or key points of presentation or to organise visuals, etc.

Secondly, the clearly defined objectives have great value for successful presentation.  They help to determine why you really need to give the presentation. The best way to meet your objectives is to have all members of the audience hear the same message at the same time, to answer all questions, and to give them a chance to exchange views so that they can express themselves freely. Your objectives should be pertinent and clearly presented.

Thirdly, understanding the audience is the soul of an effective presentation. The presenter should know the background experience, current knowledge and motivation of the audience. He/She should also know the attitude of the audience.  It is important to know the age and context of the audience.  Knowledge about the time, flexibility about visuals, about content, about delivery and about ending is essential too.

Fourthly, to connect the audience in your presentation or to make them stay interested in what you are delivering, visuals such as pictures, charts, graphs or slides are deemed essential. Designs of visuals should be simple, clear, and visible to all, including the person sitting at the farthest point of the screen. Visuals should be colourful for the purpose, but not only meant for decoration. Moreover, mastery of skills to operate an online presentation is highly important.

Fifthly, many of us feel nervous in formal situations. We feel anxious, more helpless, more heart palpitations, a shaky voice, forgetfulness, etc, while delivering a speech in front of a big audience.  In controlling nervousness, scaffolding helps gradually. In addition. Knowing the material, preparing and presenting at home, visualising the situation, relaxing, taking a pause, sound sleep before night all help to remain stable and confident.

On the sixth place, your should be careful about your attire. As quoted by Albert Einstein, “ Light travels faster than sound.” That is why certain people appear bright until you hear them speak. There is a reflection of our good hearts in our faces.  Even though in a formal presentation, there is a need for formal attire. Clothes should not be too colourful or dazzling.  It should be comfortable, well-fitted and free from wrinkles. Formal dress up gives a professional look and makes us more confident.  There are a lot of other things like starting on the right foot, building rapport, managing eye contact, avoiding biased words, slang, etc, managing body language, etc.  Sometimes, bringing examples from real life or taking shelter of humour makes a presentation more lively.

Finally, when the question and answer session starts, a presenter needs to be honest and patient. The adage, “A good speaker is a good listener”, highlights the need to listen to questions with a humble attitude.   Presentation reflects your wit. In the end part your humble attitude, smiling or witty look may help you to remain connected with the audience for a long time.  Overall, the success of a presentation depends on Practice and Practice. These tips may be helpful to some of you.

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The writer is a Professor, Institute of Modern Languages, Jagannath University