what is verbal presentation in business studies

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How to prepare and deliver an effective oral presentation

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• Peer review
• Lucia Hartigan , registrar 1 ,
• Fionnuala Mone , fellow in maternal fetal medicine 1 ,
• Mary Higgins , consultant obstetrician 2
• 1 National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
• 2 National Maternity Hospital, Dublin; Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medicine and Medical Sciences, University College Dublin
• luciahartigan{at}hotmail.com

The success of an oral presentation lies in the speaker’s ability to transmit information to the audience. Lucia Hartigan and colleagues describe what they have learnt about delivering an effective scientific oral presentation from their own experiences, and their mistakes

The objective of an oral presentation is to portray large amounts of often complex information in a clear, bite sized fashion. Although some of the success lies in the content, the rest lies in the speaker’s skills in transmitting the information to the audience. 1

Preparation

It is important to be as well prepared as possible. Look at the venue in person, and find out the time allowed for your presentation and for questions, and the size of the audience and their backgrounds, which will allow the presentation to be pitched at the appropriate level.

See what the ambience and temperature are like and check that the format of your presentation is compatible with the available computer. This is particularly important when embedding videos. Before you begin, look at the video on stand-by and make sure the lights are dimmed and the speakers are functioning.

For visual aids, Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Mac Keynote programmes are usual, although Prezi is increasing in popularity. Save the presentation on a USB stick, with email or cloud storage backup to avoid last minute disasters.

When preparing the presentation, start with an opening slide containing the title of the study, your name, and the date. Begin by addressing and thanking the audience and the organisation that has invited you to speak. Typically, the format includes background, study aims, methodology, results, strengths and weaknesses of the study, and conclusions.

If the study takes a lecturing format, consider including “any questions?” on a slide before you conclude, which will allow the audience to remember the take home messages. Ideally, the audience should remember three of the main points from the presentation. 2

Have a maximum of four short points per slide. If you can display something as a diagram, video, or a graph, use this instead of text and talk around it.

Animation is available in both Microsoft PowerPoint and the Apple Mac Keynote programme, and its use in presentations has been demonstrated to assist in the retention and recall of facts. 3 Do not overuse it, though, as it could make you appear unprofessional. If you show a video or diagram don’t just sit back—use a laser pointer to explain what is happening.

Rehearse your presentation in front of at least one person. Request feedback and amend accordingly. If possible, practise in the venue itself so things will not be unfamiliar on the day. If you appear comfortable, the audience will feel comfortable. Ask colleagues and seniors what questions they would ask and prepare responses to these questions.

It is important to dress appropriately, stand up straight, and project your voice towards the back of the room. Practise using a microphone, or any other presentation aids, in advance. If you don’t have your own presenting style, think of the style of inspirational scientific speakers you have seen and imitate it.

Try to present slides at the rate of around one slide a minute. If you talk too much, you will lose your audience’s attention. The slides or videos should be an adjunct to your presentation, so do not hide behind them, and be proud of the work you are presenting. You should avoid reading the wording on the slides, but instead talk around the content on them.

Maintain eye contact with the audience and remember to smile and pause after each comment, giving your nerves time to settle. Speak slowly and concisely, highlighting key points.

Do not assume that the audience is completely familiar with the topic you are passionate about, but don’t patronise them either. Use every presentation as an opportunity to teach, even your seniors. The information you are presenting may be new to them, but it is always important to know your audience’s background. You can then ensure you do not patronise world experts.

To maintain the audience’s attention, vary the tone and inflection of your voice. If appropriate, use humour, though you should run any comments or jokes past others beforehand and make sure they are culturally appropriate. Check every now and again that the audience is following and offer them the opportunity to ask questions.

Finishing up is the most important part, as this is when you send your take home message with the audience. Slow down, even though time is important at this stage. Conclude with the three key points from the study and leave the slide up for a further few seconds. Do not ramble on. Give the audience a chance to digest the presentation. Conclude by acknowledging those who assisted you in the study, and thank the audience and organisation. If you are presenting in North America, it is usual practice to conclude with an image of the team. If you wish to show references, insert a text box on the appropriate slide with the primary author, year, and paper, although this is not always required.

Answering questions can often feel like the most daunting part, but don’t look upon this as negative. Assume that the audience has listened and is interested in your research. Listen carefully, and if you are unsure about what someone is saying, ask for the question to be rephrased. Thank the audience member for asking the question and keep responses brief and concise. If you are unsure of the answer you can say that the questioner has raised an interesting point that you will have to investigate further. Have someone in the audience who will write down the questions for you, and remember that this is effectively free peer review.

Be proud of your achievements and try to do justice to the work that you and the rest of your group have done. You deserve to be up on that stage, so show off what you have achieved.

Competing interests: We have read and understood the BMJ Group policy on declaration of interests and declare the following interests: None.

• ↵ Rovira A, Auger C, Naidich TP. How to prepare an oral presentation and a conference. Radiologica 2013 ; 55 (suppl 1): 2 -7S. OpenUrl
• ↵ Bourne PE. Ten simple rules for making good oral presentations. PLos Comput Biol 2007 ; 3 : e77 . OpenUrl PubMed
• ↵ Naqvi SH, Mobasher F, Afzal MA, Umair M, Kohli AN, Bukhari MH. Effectiveness of teaching methods in a medical institute: perceptions of medical students to teaching aids. J Pak Med Assoc 2013 ; 63 : 859 -64. OpenUrl

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

2.6 Improving Verbal Communication

Learning objectives.

• List and explain the use of six strategies for improving verbal communication.
• Demonstrate the appropriate use of definitions in an oral or written presentation.
• Understand how to assess the audience, choose an appropriate tone, and check for understanding and results in an oral or written presentation.

Throughout the chapter we have visited examples and stories that highlight the importance of verbal communication. To end the chapter, we need to consider how language can be used to enlighten or deceive, encourage or discourage, empower or destroy. By defining the terms we use and choosing precise words, we will maximize our audience’s understanding of our message. In addition, it is important to consider the audience, control your tone, check for understanding, and focus on results. Recognizing the power of verbal communication is the first step to understanding its role and impact on the communication process.

Define Your Terms

Even when you are careful to craft your message clearly and concisely, not everyone will understand every word you say or write. As an effective business communicator, you know it is your responsibility to give your audience every advantage in understanding your meaning. Yet your presentation would fall flat if you tried to define each and every term—you would end up sounding like a dictionary.

The solution is to be aware of any words you are using that may be unfamiliar to your audience. When you identify an unfamiliar word, your first decision is whether to use it or to substitute a more common, easily understood word. If you choose to use the unfamiliar word, then you need to decide how to convey its meaning to those in your audience who are not familiar with it. You may do this in a variety of ways. The most obvious, of course, is to state the meaning directly or to rephrase the term in different words. But you may also convey the meaning in the process of making and supporting your points. Another way is to give examples to illustrate each concept, or use parallels from everyday life.

Overall, keep your audience in mind and imagine yourself in their place. This will help you to adjust your writing level and style to their needs, maximizing the likelihood that your message will be understood.

Choose Precise Words

To increase understanding, choose precise words that paint as vivid and accurate a mental picture as possible for your audience. If you use language that is vague or abstract, your meaning may be lost or misinterpreted. Your document or presentation will also be less dynamic and interesting than it could be.

Table 2.2 “Precisely What Are You Saying?” lists some examples of phrases that are imprecise and precise. Which one evokes a more dynamic image in your imagination?

Table 2.2 Precisely What Are You Saying?

Consider Your Audience

In addition to precise words and clear definitions, contextual clues are important to guide your audience as they read. If you are speaking to a general audience and choose to use a word in professional jargon that may be understood by many—but not all—of the people in your audience, follow it by a common reference that clearly relates its essential meaning. With this positive strategy you will be able to forge relationships with audience members from diverse backgrounds. Internal summaries tell us what we’ve heard and forecast what is to come. It’s not just the words, but also how people hear them that counts.

If you say the magic words “in conclusion,” you set in motion a set of expectations that you are about to wrap it up. If, however, you introduce a new point and continue to speak, the audience will perceive an expectancy violation and hold you accountable. You said the magic words but didn’t honor them. One of the best ways to display respect for your audience is to not exceed the expected time in a presentation or length in a document. Your careful attention to contextual clues will demonstrate that you are clearly considering your audience.

Take Control of Your Tone

Does your writing or speech sound pleasant and agreeable? Simple or sophisticated? Or does it come across as stuffy, formal, bloated, ironic, sarcastic, flowery, rude, or inconsiderate? Recognizing our own tone is not always easy, as we tend to read or listen from our own viewpoint and make allowances accordingly.

Once we have characterized our tone, we need to decide whether and how it can be improved. Getting a handle on how to influence tone and to make your voice match your intentions takes time and skill.

One useful tip is to read your document out loud before you deliver it, just as you would practice a speech before you present it to an audience. Sometimes hearing your own words can reveal their tone, helping you decide whether it is correct or appropriate for the situation.

Another way is to listen or watch others’ presentations that have been described with terms associated with tone. Martin Luther King Jr. had one style while President Barack Obama has another. The writing in The Atlantic is far more sophisticated than the simpler writing in USA Today , yet both are very successful with their respective audiences. What kind of tone is best for your intended audience?

Finally, seek out and be receptive to feedback from teachers, classmates, and coworkers. Don’t just take the word of one critic, but if several critics point to a speech as an example of pompous eloquence, and you don’t want to come across in your presentation as pompous, you may learn from that example speech what to avoid.

Check for Understanding

When we talk to each other face-to-face, seeing if someone understood you isn’t all that difficult. Even if they really didn’t get it, you can see, ask questions, and clarify right away. That gives oral communication, particularly live interaction, a distinct advantage. Use this immediacy for feedback to your advantage. Make time for feedback and plan for it. Ask clarifying questions. Share your presentation with more than one person, and choose people that have similar characteristics to your anticipated audience.

If you were going to present to a group that you knew in advance was of a certain age, sex, or professional background, it would only make sense to connect with someone from that group prior to your actual performance to check and see if what you have created and what they expect are similar. In oral communication, feedback is core component of the communication model and we can often see it, hear it, and it takes less effort to assess it.

Be Results Oriented

At the end of the day, the assignment has to be complete. It can be a challenge to balance the need for attention to detail with the need to arrive at the end product—and its due date. Stephen Covey suggests beginning with the end in mind as one strategy for success. If you have done your preparation, know your assignment goals, desired results, have learned about your audience and tailored the message to their expectations, then you are well on your way to completing the task. No document or presentation is perfect, but the goal itself is worthy of your continued effort for improvement.

Here the key is to know when further revision will not benefit the presentation and to shift the focus to test marketing, asking for feedback, or simply sharing it with a mentor or coworker for a quick review. Finding balance while engaging in an activity that requires a high level of attention to detail can be challenge for any business communicator, but it is helpful to keep the end in mind.

Key Takeaway

To improve communication, define your terms, choose precise words, consider your audience, control your tone, check for understanding, and aim for results.

• Choose a piece of writing from a profession you are unfamiliar with. For example, if you are studying biology, choose an excerpt from a book on fashion design. Identify several terms you are unfamiliar with, terms that may be considered jargon. How does the writer help you understand the meaning of these terms? Could the writer make them easier to understand? Share your findings with your class.
• In your chosen career field or your college major, identify ten jargon words, define them, and share them with the class.
• Describe a simple process, from brushing your teeth to opening the top of a bottle, in as precise terms as possible. Present to the class.

Covey, S. (1989). The seven habits of highly effective people . New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Business Communication for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

Partner Center

Ideas and insights from Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

Powerful and Effective Presentation Skills: More in Demand Now Than Ever

When we talk with our L&D colleagues from around the globe, we often hear that presentation skills training is one of the top opportunities they’re looking to provide their learners. And this holds true whether their learners are individual contributors, people managers, or senior leaders. This is not surprising.

Effective communications skills are a powerful career activator, and most of us are called upon to communicate in some type of formal presentation mode at some point along the way.

For instance, you might be asked to brief management on market research results, walk your team through a new process, lay out the new budget, or explain a new product to a client or prospect. Or you may want to build support for a new idea, bring a new employee into the fold, or even just present your achievements to your manager during your performance review.

And now, with so many employees working from home or in hybrid mode, and business travel in decline, there’s a growing need to find new ways to make effective presentations when the audience may be fully virtual or a combination of in person and remote attendees.

Whether you’re making a standup presentation to a large live audience, or a sit-down one-on-one, whether you’re delivering your presentation face to face or virtually, solid presentation skills matter.

Even the most seasoned and accomplished presenters may need to fine-tune or update their skills. Expectations have changed over the last decade or so. Yesterday’s PowerPoint which primarily relied on bulleted points, broken up by the occasional clip-art image, won’t cut it with today’s audience.

The digital revolution has revolutionized the way people want to receive information. People expect presentations that are more visually interesting. They expect to see data, metrics that support assertions. And now, with so many previously in-person meetings occurring virtually, there’s an entirely new level of technical preparedness required.

The leadership development tools and the individual learning opportunities you’re providing should include presentation skills training that covers both the evergreen fundamentals and the up-to-date capabilities that can make or break a presentation.

So, just what should be included in solid presentation skills training? Here’s what I think.

The fundamentals will always apply When it comes to making a powerful and effective presentation, the fundamentals will always apply. You need to understand your objective. Is it strictly to convey information, so that your audience’s knowledge is increased? Is it to persuade your audience to take some action? Is it to convince people to support your idea? Once you understand what your objective is, you need to define your central message. There may be a lot of things you want to share with your audience during your presentation, but find – and stick with – the core, the most important point you want them to walk away with. And make sure that your message is clear and compelling.

You also need to tailor your presentation to your audience. Who are they and what might they be expecting? Say you’re giving a product pitch to a client. A technical team may be interested in a lot of nitty-gritty product detail. The business side will no doubt be more interested in what returns they can expect on their investment.

Another consideration is the setting: is this a formal presentation to a large audience with questions reserved for the end, or a presentation in a smaller setting where there’s the possibility for conversation throughout? Is your presentation virtual or in-person? To be delivered individually or as a group? What time of the day will you be speaking? Will there be others speaking before you and might that impact how your message will be received?

Once these fundamentals are established, you’re in building mode. What are the specific points you want to share that will help you best meet your objective and get across your core message? Now figure out how to convey those points in the clearest, most straightforward, and succinct way. This doesn’t mean that your presentation has to be a series of clipped bullet points. No one wants to sit through a presentation in which the presenter reads through what’s on the slide. You can get your points across using stories, fact, diagrams, videos, props, and other types of media.

Visual design matters While you don’t want to clutter up your presentation with too many visual elements that don’t serve your objective and can be distracting, using a variety of visual formats to convey your core message will make your presentation more memorable than slides filled with text. A couple of tips: avoid images that are cliched and overdone. Be careful not to mix up too many different types of images. If you’re using photos, stick with photos. If you’re using drawn images, keep the style consistent. When data are presented, stay consistent with colors and fonts from one type of chart to the next. Keep things clear and simple, using data to support key points without overwhelming your audience with too much information. And don’t assume that your audience is composed of statisticians (unless, of course, it is).

When presenting qualitative data, brief videos provide a way to engage your audience and create emotional connection and impact. Word clouds are another way to get qualitative data across.

Practice makes perfect You’ve pulled together a perfect presentation. But it likely won’t be perfect unless it’s well delivered. So don’t forget to practice your presentation ahead of time. Pro tip: record yourself as you practice out loud. This will force you to think through what you’re going to say for each element of your presentation. And watching your recording will help you identify your mistakes—such as fidgeting, using too many fillers (such as “umm,” or “like”), or speaking too fast.

A key element of your preparation should involve anticipating any technical difficulties. If you’ve embedded videos, make sure they work. If you’re presenting virtually, make sure that the lighting is good, and that your speaker and camera are working. Whether presenting in person or virtually, get there early enough to work out any technical glitches before your presentation is scheduled to begin. Few things are a bigger audience turn-off than sitting there watching the presenter struggle with the delivery mechanisms!

Finally, be kind to yourself. Despite thorough preparation and practice, sometimes, things go wrong, and you need to recover in the moment, adapt, and carry on. It’s unlikely that you’ll have caused any lasting damage and the important thing is to learn from your experience, so your next presentation is stronger.

How are you providing presentation skills training for your learners?

Manika Gandhi is Senior Learning Design Manager at Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. Email her at [email protected] .

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1.15: Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

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Learning Objectives

• Discuss verbal communication and its role in business
• Discuss nonverbal communication and its role in business

Verbal Communication

Verbal communication is perhaps the most obvious and understood mode of communication, and it is certainly a powerful tool in your communication toolbox. Put simply, verbal communication is the sharing of information between two individuals using words.

Spoken versus Written Communication

While we typically focus on speech while talking about verbal communication, it’s important to remember that writing is also a form of verbal communication. After all, writing uses words too!

Imagine for a moment that you’re a college student who is struggling with material in a class. Rather than simply giving up, you decide that you’re going to ask your instructor for the guidance you need to make it through the end of the semester. Now, you have a few choices for using verbal communication to do this. You might choose to call your instructor, if they’ve provided contact information, or talk to them in person after class or during office hours. You may take a different approach and send them an email. You can probably identify your own list of pros and cons for each of these approaches. But really, what’s the difference between writing and talking in these situations? Let’s look at four of the major differences between the two:

• Formal versus Informal: We generally use spoken communication informally while we use written communication formally.
• Synchronous versus Asynchronous: Synchronous communication is communication that takes place in real time, such as a conversation with a friend. In contrast, asynchronous communication is communication that is not immediate and occurs over longer periods of time, such as letters, email, or even text messages.
• Recorded versus Unrecorded: Written communication is generally archived and recorded for later retrieval while spoken communication is generally not recorded.

Benefits of Spoken Communication

Spoken communication can be a conversation, a meeting, or even a speech. Spoken communication is powerful in that it allows for input from every part of the social communication model. You encode your thoughts into the spoken word and look to your audience to decode and take the message in. You can ask for feedback directly to confirm understanding of your message.

In a world where we do most of our talking by email and text, spoken communication is a breath of fresh air. Leverage the power of spoken communication to create relationships—you can establish a rapport and a sense of trust with your audience when you speak with them. Spoken communication allows you to bond on a more emotional level with your listeners.

Spoken communication also also makes it easier to ensure understanding by addressing objections and clearing up misunderstandings: you can adjust your message as you communicate it, based on the feedback you’re getting from your audience. Spoken communication allows you to walk away from a conversation with a higher degree of certainty that your message was received.

Practice Questions

https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...sessments/8494

Verbal communication is a powerful tool, and it’s made even more powerful when paired with listening and nonverbal communication.

Nonverbal Communication

We’ve already employed a little bit of nonverbal communication with the active listening skills we’ve previously discussed: nodding, facial expressions, leaning toward the speaker to show interest—all of those are forms of nonverbal communication. Body language can reinforce your spoken message or it can contradict it entirely.

There’s a myth that says that when you speak, only 35 percent of your communication is verbal and 65 percent of it is nonverbal. That’s not entirely true (or else foreign languages would be much easier to understand!). But it’s absolutely true that nonverbal communication can make or break your message. Here are some types of nonverbal communication and the effects they can have on the success of your communication:

• Facial expressions: Your teenage cousin we referred to at the beginning of this section might have told you he was happy, but his apathetic facial expression may have communicated different information. Facial expressions—happy, sad, angry—help you convey your message. Be aware of your facial expression when you talk and particularly when you listen, which is when it’s easy to forget.
• Gestures: When you speak, a gesture can make your message stronger. Pointing out something you want your listener to look at more closely is an example of nonverbal communication that makes your message understood. Motioning warmly toward a coworker who deserves special recognition, making a fist to show frustration or anger, such gestures help further engage your audience when you speak.
• Proximity: How close you are to your audience when you speak sends a nonverbal message. If your size is imposing and you leave a very small distance between you and your listener, it’s likely your nonverbal communication will be a bit threatening. On the other hand, giving someone too much space is an awkward nonverbal communication that might confuse your listener.
• Touch: Shaking an audience member’s hand, putting your hand on his shoulder: these are nonverbal cues that can affect the success of your message. Touch communicates affection, but it also communicates power. In fact, when women touch a listener, it’s often assumed that they’re being affectionate or conveying empathy, but when a man touches a listener, it can be taken as a sign of communicating power or even dominance.
• Eye contact: Making and maintaining eye contact with an audience when you’re verbally communicating or listening communicates to the other party that you’re interested and engaged in the conversation. Good eye contact often conveys the trait of honesty to the other party.
• Appearance: Your clothing, hair, and jewelry are also a part of nonverbal communication. If you put a dachshund pin on your lapel each morning (because you have a pet dachshund), that says something about you as a person. Similarly, the quality and condition of your clothing, how it fits, if it’s appropriate for the season—all of these things speak nonverbally about you as a communicator.

Nonverbal communication reveals a lot about you as a communicator and how you relate to other people. It pays to be aware of the elements of your nonverbal communication so you can maximize the impact of your message.

https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...sessments/8495

• Verbal and Nonverbal Communication. Authored by : Freedom Learning Group. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Spoken Versus Written Communication. Authored by : Scott T Paynton and Linda K Hahn. Provided by : Humboldt State University. Located at : https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Survey_of_Communication_Study . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

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Part 8: Interpersonal communications

8.6 Oral presentations

Questions for reflection.

• Who is someone whose presentation style you admire? Describe it. What do they do when they present that you like? Why do you like it?
• How do you feel when you have to present? Do you feel nervous? Excited? Stressed out? What do you do to manage these emotions?
• What do you do to prepare for a presentation?
• What strategies or techniques do you use when you present? How might this differ from one context, culture, or environment to another?

Many people have very limiting beliefs about presentations and their own abilities to give one.  Examining your skills, fears, and preferences can be helpful in becoming more comfortable in presenting.

You don’t have to be perfect

Letting go of perfection can be the hardest guideline to apply to ourselves. It’s also in our nature to compare ourselves to others. You might forgive a classmate for the occasional “umm” during a speech, but then turn right around and spend a lot of mental effort chastising yourself for making the same error in your presentation. We all have distinct strengths and weaknesses. Knowing yourself and where you need to improve is an important first step. Recognizing that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and that you won’t become a world-class speaker overnight, may be easier said than done.

It may help to recognize that your listeners don’t want to see you fail; on the contrary, they want you to do well because when you do, they will be able to relax, enjoy, and understand your presentation. You might be surprised to know that not everyone counts each time you say “umm.” However, if you do tend to say “umm,” “ahhh,” or other filler phrases repeatedly, they can distract your audience from your message.

Organization is important

Have you ever thought of a great comeback to something someone said a while after they said it? Wouldn’t it have been nice to be quick and articulate and able to deliver your comeback right then and there? Speaking in public gives you a distinct advantage over “off the cuff” improvisation and stumbling for the right comeback. You get to prepare and be organized. You know you’ll be speaking to an audience in order to persuade them to do, think, or consider an idea or action.

What issues might they think of while you are speaking? What comebacks or arguments might they say if it were a debate? You get to anticipate what the audience will want to know, say, or hear. You get to prepare your statements and visual aids to support your speech and create the timing, organization, and presentation of each point. Many times in life we are asked to take a position and feel unprepared to respond. Speaking in public gives you the distinct opportunity to prepare and organize your ideas or points in order to make an impact and respond effectively.

Speaking in public is like participating in a conversation

This may sound odd at first, but consider the idea of an “enlarged conversation” described by Julia Wood (2001). She expresses a clear connection between everyday speech and public dialogue. Sometimes we take a speech turn, while at other times we remain silent while others take their turn. We do this all day long and think nothing of it. We are often the focus of attention from friends and colleagues, and it hardly ever makes us nervous. When we get on a stage, however, some people perceive that the whole game has changed. It hasn’t. We still take turns, and the speaker will take a longer turn as part of an enlarged conversation. People in the audience will still communicate feedback and the speaker will still negotiate their turn just the way they would in an everyday conversation. The difference is all about how we, as the speaker, perceive the context.

Some people feel that the level of expectations, the need for perfection, or the idealistic qualities we perceive in eloquent speakers are required, and then focus on deficiencies, fears, and the possibility of failing to measure up. By letting go of this ideal, we can approach the challenge with a more pragmatic frame of mind. The rules we play comfortably by in conversation every day are the same as we shift to a larger conversation within the context of public speaking. This viewpoint can offer an alternative as you address your apprehensions and can help you let go of unrealistic expectations.

What makes a presentation successful

A successful presentation occurs when the presenter and the audience connect. Authenticity and passion can resonate so much with an audience that it can outweigh elements otherwise considered pitfalls. What you bring to the audience affects what they get from your presentation.

Verbal cues

Do you have a deep, low voice, or a high-pitched one? We all have a normal speaking pitch where we are most comfortable, but we can move our pitch up or down. Use pitch inflections to make your delivery more interesting and emphatic. If you don’t change pitch at all, your delivery will be monotone, which gets boring for the audience very quickly.

Do you speak softly or loudly? Adjust the volume of your voice to your environment and audience. If you’re in a large auditorium, speak up, or better yet, use a microphone! It’s not a badge of honour to avoid using a microphone; use one to help make your presentation accessible to those who may have hearing disabilities. You may need to use more volume to compensate for ambient noise like traffic or an air conditioner, or for presenting in room with a lot of hard surfaces (where the sound can bounce off and echo). You can also use volume strategically to emphasize the most important points in your speech.

Stress certain words in your speech to add emphasis to them, that is, to indicate that they are particularly important. You may also use a visual aid to emphasize key points by using photographs or charts.

Enunciation

Practice enunciating your words, which means practicing saying each word distinctly. If you speak too quickly, the end of one word can start to blend into the start of another. One way to compensate for this is to practice slowing down your rate of speech by taking a micro-break between each word. If you’ve ever been told you sound like you’re mumbling (early in my career, I was told this all the time!), it helps to focus practice moving your lips, jaw, and tongue as you say each word and to speak with more volume. These techniques can seem difficult to remember in the moment of giving a presentation, but it can get easier with practice (which I know from experience!).

Are you a fast or slow speaker? The pace that you speak at will influence how well the audience can understand you. Pause for breath naturally during your speech. Your speaking rate should be appropriate for your topic. A rapid, lively rate communicates enthusiasm, urgency, or humour. A slower, moderated rate conveys respect and seriousness. By varying your rate within a speech, you can emphasize your main points and keep your audience engaged.

Filler words

Try to minimize the use of filler words, such as like, er, um, and uh, because they can be distracting if they are overused. One way to find out whether you use filler phrases is to record yourself presenting and then watch it. You might be surprised to find out you’re unconsciously saying something over and over–or that you only said twice what you thought you’d repeated a hundred times! Once you are aware of your tendency to use filler phrases, eliminating them can become a goal for improvement. A technique I find helpful is to try substituting a short pause in place of where I catch myself about to say a filler word.

Non-verbal cues

Gestures and body language.

A gesture is “a movement of part of the body, especially a hand or the head, to express an idea or meaning” (OxfordDictionaries.com, 2015). You can use these to channel nervous energy into an enhancement of your speech, reinforcing important points, but they can be distracting if overused. If the audience is busy watching your hands fly around, they will not be able to concentrate on your words.

Watching a recording of yourself presenting can also be informative for other reasons. It can help you pick up on your body language cues that might be distracting for your audience. For example, you might see if you sway or rock; wring or rub your hands repeatedly; or fiddle with papers, pens, or other objects in your hands. Many of these habits are often carried out unconsciously because of nervousness. Once you’re aware of doing these things, you can work to eliminate them. But how do you stop, for example, swaying or twirling your cue cards if you don’t even realize you’re doing it? Preparation and practice are key.

Here are some techniques to try:

• If you are swaying or rocking out of nervousness, trying to stand perfectly still might be incredibly difficult. Instead, consider turning that swaying or rocking into a gentle pacing.
• If you wring or rub your hands, you can instead try gesturing as you speak.
• If you fiddle with any objects that are in your hands, then make sure you present with empty hands! For example, if you don’t have papers in your hand, you won’t be able to twirl them, and if you don’t have a pen in your hands, you won’t be able to click it open and closed.

Eye contact

By recording yourself presenting and practicing in front of friends or family, you can also gauge what level of eye contact you are making. If you find you’re presenting to just one or two people in the audience, you can try practicing looking in a “Z” gaze at the audience. Look first at the back left corner, then the back right, move to the front left, and then the right front. You can then move in reverse or start back at the beginning.

If you find you’re having difficulty maintaining eye contact with the audience, try looking between people in the audience, cycling between 3 or 4 different areas. While you still may not be making eye contact with anybody, you will at least be looking out at the entire audience rather than at your feet, your notes, or at the wall at the back of the room.

Silence is a powerful technique if used well, but it is often overlooked. They can add emphasis and dramatic effect when you are speaking. They can also allow your audience some time to process the information you are sharing.

Presentation techniques

There are many different presentation techniques that you can use, but there is no single technique that may be “correct” or “the best.” The key is to use the ones you think will help you connect with your audience and help maintain their interest in your presentation.

The following list describes some strategies you can consider using in your presentation. It’s important to note that this is not an exhaustive list or and it’s not an exhaustive or comprehensive discussion of these techniques.

Audience references – Highlight something common to the audience that will make them interested in the topic.

Current events – Refer to a current event in the news that demonstrates the relevance of your topic to the audience.

Question – Ask either a question that asks for a response from your audience, or a rhetorical question, which does not need a response but is designed to get them thinking about the topic.

Personal reference – Refer to a story about yourself that is relevant to the topic.

Storytelling – Include an anecdote, a narrative, or a story.

Storytelling can be a very powerful technique to help you connect with your audience. For better or worse, audiences are likely to remember anecdotes and narratives long after the statistics are forgotten. Human beings love stories and often will walk away from a speech moved by or remembering a powerful story or example more than anything else. A story can be a brief component in your presentation, or you can structure your entire presentation as a story.

From a Euro-Western dominant culture point of view, stories will often have linear structures, which is a “classic formula [where] a protagonist with goals meets an unexpected obstacle and a crisis results. The protagonist attempts to overcome the obstacle, leading to a climax, and finally a denouement. (There can also be interruptions and plot twists)” (Anderson, 2016, p. 65). However, this is but one perspective on storytelling. Storytelling structure, Protocols, and formats can differ from culture to culture.

For example, Dr. Jo-Ann Archibald, a member of the Sto:lo Nation and an Indigenous studies scholar at the University of British Columbia, describes how some Indigenous stories may not have a clear beginning, middle, or end (2012b). She also explains how Indigenous stories may have more than one meaning and they need to be told within context, including who the storyteller is, where that person is from, what culture is represented in the story, and the purpose of the story (Archibald, 2012b). Furthermore, Dr. Archibald describes how there may be Protocols around the telling of Indigenous stories, such as who can tell the story, to whom, when, where, and how (Archibald, 2012a).

Watch Dr. Jo-Ann Archibald (Q’um Q’um Xiiem, Sto:lo Nation) talk about Indigenous stories and their framework >>

Watch Dr. Jo-Ann Archibald (Q’um Q’um Xiiem, Sto:lo Nation) talk about including Indigenous stories >>

Furthermore, stories can be shared through spoken or written word, dance (such as the Lion Dance during Chinese New Year), music (such as hip hop), or visual means (such as art displays or interactive websites). ‘Welila’ogwa Irene Isaac, a member of the ‘Namgis First Nation and a contributing author to Knowing Home: Braiding Indigenous Science with Western Science, Book 1 , describes how other cultural practices can be forms of storytelling as well, saying that “central to the cultural and spiritual practices of the Kwakwaka‘wakw people is the Potlatch or Winter Ceremonies when stories are retold, dramatized, and shared” (2016, Chapter 14, para. 2).

What is important to take away from this brief discussion is that members of your audience may have different understandings of and experiences with what form a story takes, how it is structured, who can tell it, when it can be told, and how they (the audience) are to reflect on and interact with it. Before incorporating a story in your presentation, it’s critical to consider context; Protocols; your audience; and your own relationship to the story, the story creator (or owner), and the culture from which it originates.

Preparing to Present

Here are some strategies for preparing to present.

As you rehearse and practice your presentation, try to identify the weaknesses in your delivery to improve on them. Try practising in front of a mirror or even recording yourself and playing it back. It’s also helpful to get feedback from a supportive audience at this stage. Perhaps a few family members or friends could watch you give your presentation and provide some feedback. These sessions should help you get comfortable and help you remember what you want to say without having to constantly refer to notes.

If at all possible, access the room where you will be presenting. This way you can get a feel for its setup and decide how you will stand or move during your presentation.

If you are using technology to support your presentation (i.e., PowerPoint slides or a projector), test everything before you begin. Do a microphone check and test its volume, view your slides on the computer you will be using, check any weblinks, play videos to test their sound, or make a call to test the phone connection prior to your teleconference. Your audience will get restless quickly if they arrive and are expected to wait while you fix a technical problem. This can also make you seem disorganized and hurt your credibility as an authoritative speaker.

Contingency planning

Well before the day of your presentation, ask yourself, “What could go wrong?” This might sound like a good way to stress yourself out, but it can actually be very helpful. If you anticipate the worst-case scenario and are prepared for it, problems on the day of your presentation are less likely to bother you.

Anderson, C. (2016). TED Talks: The official TED guide to public speaking. Toronto, ON: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Archibald, J. (2012a). On including Indigenous stories. A video retrieved from https://vimeo.com/46515730 .

Archibald, J. (2012b). On Indigenous stories and their framework. A video retrieved from https://vimeo.com/46993624 .

gesture. (2015). OxfordDictionaries.com. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gesture

Issac, W.I. (2016). Knowing Home: Braiding Indigenous Science with Western Science, Book 1 . An open textbook retrieved from https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/knowinghome .

Wood, J. (2001).  Communication mosaics: An introduction to the field of communication (2nd ed.) . Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Acknowledgement

My sincere gratitude is extended to Andrea Niosi, an instructor of marketing at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, for her generosity  and constructive feedback in critically reviewing the storytelling topic included in this chapter.

Attributions

This chapter contains material taken from several sources:

• Part 3 (Presentations) in the   Professional Communications OER  by the Olds College OER Development Team, which is used under a  CC-BY 4.0 International license . (You can download this book for free at  http://www.procomoer.org/ .)
• Exploring Public Speaking: The Free Dalton State College Public Speaking Textbook, 3rd edition , which is used under a CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
• Chapter 10.4 “Myths and realities of public speaking”  in  Business Communication for Success , which is used under a  CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 International  license
• Chapter 14 Storytelling is our Textbook and Curriculum Guide: Understanding Kwakwaka‘wakw Science Knowledge and Way of Life Through Story in Knowing Home: Braiding Indigenous Science with Western Science, Book 1 , which is used under a CC-BY-NC-SA International 4.0 license

Introduction to Professional Communications Copyright © 2018 by Melissa Ashman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Ten Steps to Preparing an Effective Oral Presentation

• Determine the purpose of your presentation and identify your own objectives.
• Know your audience and what it knows.
• Define your topic.
• Arrange your material in a way that makes sense for your objectives.
• Compose your presentation.
• Create visual aids.
• Practice your presentation (don’t forget to time it!)
• Make necessary adjustments.
• Analyze the room where you’ll be giving your presentation (set-up, sight lines, equipment, etc.).
• Practice again.
• ← Answering Questions
• Novice v. Expert Problem Solvers →

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• A Beginner's Guide to Giving an Oral Presentation

• How to Use Keynote Remote to Control Presentation from iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch
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Giving an oral presentation is a common part of any business, whether you’re talking to colleagues, clients, or partners. It’s your chance to persuade, inform, or update them. But rushing in unprepared can lead to less-than-stellar results. So, the key to achieving your objective, whatever it may be, depends on one thing: preparation.

This guide is here to help you dedicate the necessary time to make and rehearse your presentation. With the right approach, you’ll deliver an effective oral presentation PPT that leaves a lasting impression. Now, get ready to transform your next meeting into a confident and persuasive experience.

In this article

Part i: what is oral presentation in business communication, informative presentations, instructive presentations, persuasive presentations, sales deck presentations, product marketing presentations, training and development presentations, data-driven presentations, progress report presentations, pitch deck presentations, demonstrations, blackout unnecessary slides, speak slower to avoid filler words, use ai presentation generator, complement texts with visuals, engage your audience.

An oral presentation is a form of verbal communication delivered to an audience. It is a way to share information, persuade them of an idea, or keep them updated. Visual aids like slides, handouts, or demonstrations often support a speaking presentation.

Oral presentations in business communication have several purposes. These include explaining new projects, pitching client ideas, or delivering team updates. Depending on what works, you can do it solo or with a team and keep it short or long.

However, an effective oral presentation doesn’t just happen on its own.

When making oral presentations, ensure they are well-organized, informative, and engaging. They follow a clear structure, with an introduction, body, and conclusion. You should also be confident, enthusiastic, and able to connect with the audience on a personal level.

Now that we’ve laid the groundwork for business oral presentations, let’s dive into the different types you’ll come across. The next part will uncover a variety of business presentations, each with its own goal.

Part II: 10 Different Types of Presentations in Business

Not all speaking presentations are the same. Different business situations call for different styles. Before you think of what you’ll say, figure out which presentation type works best for your audience. Here are the common types of business presentations you can give:

Informative presentations aim to equip attendees with knowledge of a chosen theme. Imagine presenting industry trends to your team or explaining a new company policy. These business presentations focus on clear communication and factual accuracy.

The instructive presentation aims to equip the audience with skills or knowledge they can apply practically. Think of a training session on using a new software program or a workshop on effective negotiation. This business presentation focus shifts to step-by-step guidance and practical exercises.

In a persuasive oral presentation, the goal is to win people over to your viewpoint. Be it convincing investors or pitching a new marketing plan, the deal is to build a solid case. You want compelling arguments, strong data, and a clear call to action.

Designed for sealing the deal, using a sales deck for your oral presentation highlights the value of a product or service. It emphasizes features, benefits, and why it’s better, all while tackling possible concerns. Salespeople often pull these out in client meetings or when pitching to investors.

A product marketing presentation focuses on creating awareness and excitement about a product. It targets a broader audience, not just potential customers, and aims to generate interest and brand recognition. Think of product launches, industry conferences, or social media marketing campaigns.

Training presentations are crucial for giving employees the skills they need. Whether it’s welcoming new hires or boosting leadership skills, the format changes based on the context. Usually, there’s a mix of instruction, practice, and chances to ask questions. You can use this for your oral presentation to ensure everyone’s up to speed in a way that works.

In data-driven presentations, facts and stats take the spotlight. You can add visuals for research, market trends, or data-backed solutions when making oral presentations. The trick is turning complex info into a clear, punchy story with eye-catching charts.

A progress report presentation updates a project, initiative, or campaign. They often involve data and metrics to show progress toward goals and objectives. These business presentations are crucial for maintaining transparency and building trust among stakeholders.

The pitch deck presentation hustles to get funding for a fresh business idea. Picture quick pitches, like selling your vision to venture capitalists. They zoom in on the problem you’re solving, what makes you stand out, and the promise of success. It’s all about packing a punch quickly to make your oral presentation stick.

These oral presentations go beyond words – they show it in action. Whether it’s software, new gear, or tricky procedures, the focus is on demonstrating. It’s a powerful way for the audience to see exactly how things work and throw in questions for a clearer picture.

Knowing the types of business presentations available is crucial. The next section will empower you to deliver effective oral presentations, regardless of your chosen format.

Part III: Techniques for Giving an Effective Oral Presentation

So, you’ve crafted an amazing presentation deck that captures your vision. Or you are starting with an idea for the oral presentation. Now comes the real challenge: delivering it in a way that grabs attention and keeps everyone hooked. Let’s explore some oral presentation techniques to make it a captivating experience.

Imagine a screen packed with text. Boring. No one wants to read a novel on a slide. Instead, blackout slides that reiterate points you’ll cover verbally. Focus on primary points and leave the details for handouts.

Speaking and presenting too fast can sound rushed and nervous. Slow down your pace and articulate clearly. It allows the audience to absorb your message and creates a sense of confidence. Plus, it helps you avoid filler words like “um” and “uh” that can distract from your message.

We all know you’re passionate about your business idea. However, securing investment requires captivating investors and presenting a vision that resonates deeply. Making a compelling pitch deck traditionally meant long hours of wrestling with design software and agonizing over content.

But what if you could lessen the time to create an oral presentation PPT to a few minutes?

Tools like AI presentation generators can help with structure and flow and even suggest visuals. Wondershare Presentory is one of the best in the market that can help automatically create a starting point for your slides. It makes an initial outline for your review. Then, Presentory generates stunning presentations with text, formatting, and imagery in PPT format. All these are based on a keyword or your topic.

Presentory is valuable for busy professionals and people who need to save time without compromising quality. But it doesn’t stop boosting your work efficiency here. This tool also empowers you to customize the design and content of the AI-generated oral presentation PPT. Furthermore, Presentory offers several additional benefits:

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• Integration of resources: Level up your PPT slides. The built-in AI helps you find high-quality images and graphics to make your presentation pop.
• One-click streaming: Reach your audience across platforms. Presentory allows you to stream your oral presentation on Teams, YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Google Meet, and more platforms.
• Enhanced visuals: Import pictures and videos or add animations for a more dynamic presentation.
• Recording: Get your presentation ready for the big day. Use the teleprompter to record yourself practicing and feeling confident.

How To Make an Effective Oral Presentation PPT Using AI?

Presentory empowers you to focus on the speaking and presentation aspects while the AI takes care of the rest. Follow these steps below to create an effective oral presentation PPT for free online:

Step 1: Open the Wondershare Presentory app dashboard in your web browser. Sign in with your Google Account or create a new one.

Step 2: Click Create Presentation AI from the Home page to start.

Step 3: Select Begin with a topic to use AI and generate an outline.

Step 4: Enter your topic in the text box, then click Continue to let AI create the content outline. You can also select from one of the suggested keywords to explore first.

Step 5: Review the AI-generated outline and click Continue if satisfied.

Step 6: Select a template you want to use for the presentation, then click Generating to apply.

Step 7: Tailor your presentation. Edit text, switch slides, add images, and experiment with different layouts and themes to personalize your presentation.

Step 8: Click Share from the upper navigation pane, choose the file format from the pop-up window, then click Export presentation to save the PPT.

Images, infographics, and videos are powerful tools to engage your audience and reinforce your message during oral presentations. But don’t just throw random visuals in there. They should complement your words, not replace them. Choose visuals that are clear, relevant, and support your points.

Giving oral presentations shouldn’t be one-sided lectures. Get your audience involved. Ask questions, encourage participation, and invite discussion. Maybe even throw in a poll or a quick activity to keep them on their toes. Remember, your goal is to present information, connect with your audience, and make them care about your message.

You’ve got the ideas, the passion, the drive. But when it comes to giving an oral presentation , the pressure’s on. Traditional presentation tools can be time-consuming. Relying solely on “best practices” might leave you blending into the background. You need an edge, a way to grab attention and captivate your audience from the get-go.

However, making a compelling oral presentation PPT often takes time and expertise. That’s why you need to incorporate AI tools into your workflow. Try Wondershare Presentory - it is your partner in business communication success. Start creating presentations that win today.

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How to Prepare and Give a Scholarly Oral Presentation

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Building an academic reputation is one of the most important functions of an academic faculty member, and one of the best ways to build a reputation is by giving scholarly presentations, particularly those that are oral presentations. Earning the reputation of someone who can give an excellent talk often results in invitations to give keynote addresses at regional and national conferences, which increases a faculty member’s visibility along with their area of research. Given the importance of oral presentations, it is surprising that few graduate or medical programs provide courses on how to give a talk. This is unfortunate because there are skills that can be learned and strategies that can be used to improve the ability to give an interesting, well-received oral presentation. To that end, the aim of this chapter is to provide faculty with best practices and tips on preparing and giving an academic oral presentation.

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Gore-Felton, C. (2020). How to Prepare and Give a Scholarly Oral Presentation. In: Roberts, L. (eds) Roberts Academic Medicine Handbook. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31957-1_42

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Business Presentation: The Ultimate Guide to Making Powerful Presentations (+ Examples)

A business presentation is a purpose-led summary of key information about your company’s plans, products, or practices, designed for either internal or external audiences. Project proposals, HR policy presentations, investors briefings are among the few common types of presentations. 

Compelling business presentations are key to communicating important ideas, persuading others, and introducing new offerings to the world. Hence, why business presentation design is one of the most universal skills for any professional. 

This guide teaches you how to design and deliver excellent business presentations. Plus, breaks down some best practices from business presentation examples by popular companies like Google, Pinterest, and Amazon among others! 

3 General Types of Business Presentations

A business presentation can be given for a number of reasons. Respectively, they differ a lot in terms of content and purpose. 

But overall, all types of business presentations can be classified as:

• Informative
• Persuasive 
• Supporting 

Informative Business Presentation 

As the name suggests, the purpose of an informative presentation is to discern the knowledge you have — explain what you know. It’s the most common type of business presentation out there. So you have probably prepared such at least several times. 

Examples of informative presentations:

• Team briefings presentation 
• Annual stakeholder report 
• Quarterly business reviews
• Business portfolio presentation
• Business plan presentation
• Project presentation

Helpful templates from SlideModel:

• Business plan PowerPoint template
• Business review PowerPoint template
• Project proposal PowerPoint template
• Corporate annual report template

Persuasive Business Presentation 

The goal of this type of presentation is to persuade your audience of your point of view — convince them of what you believe is right. Developing business presentations of this caliber requires a bit more copywriting mastery, as well as expertise in public speaking . Unlike an informative business presentation, your goal here is to sway the audience’s opinions and prompt them towards the desired action. 

Examples of persuasive presentations:

• Pitch deck/investor presentations
• Sales presentation  
• Business case presentation 
• Free business proposal presentation
• Business proposal PowerPoint template
• Pitch deck PowerPoint template
• Account Plan PowerPoint template

Supporting Business Presentation 

This category of business PowerPoint presentations is meant to facilitate decision-making — explain how we can get something done. The underlying purpose here is to communicate the general “action plan”. Then break down the necessary next steps for bringing it to life. 

Examples of supporting presentations:

• Roadmap presentation
• Project vision presentation 
• After Action Review presentation 
• Standard operating procedure (SOP) PowerPoint template 
• Strategy map PowerPoint template 
• After action review (ARR) PowerPoint template 

What Should Be Included in a Business Presentation?

Overall, the content of your business presentation will differ depending on its purpose and type. However, at the very minimum, all business presentations should include:

• Introductory slide 
• Agenda/purpose slide
• Main information or Content slides
• Key Takeaways slides
• Call-to-action/next steps slides

We further distill business presentation design and writing best practices in the next section (plus, provide several actionable business PowerPoint presentation examples!). 

How to Make a Business Presentation: Actionable Tips

A business presentation consists of two parts — a slide deck and a verbal speech. In this section, we provide tips and strategies for nailing your deck design. 

1. Get Your Presentation Opening Right 

The first slides of your presentation make or break your success. Why? By failing to frame the narrative and set the scene for the audience from the very beginning, you will struggle to keep their interest throughout the presentation. 

You have several ways of how to start a business presentation:

• Use a general informative opening — a summative slide, sharing the agenda and main points of the discussion. 
• Go for a story opening — a more creative, personal opening, aimed at pulling the audience into your story. 
• Try a dramatic opening — a less apparent and attention-grabbing opening technique, meant to pique the audience’s interest. 

Standard Informative Opening 

Most business presentation examples you see start with a general, informative slide such as an Agenda, Problem Statement, or Company Introduction. That’s the “classic” approach. 

To manage the audience’s expectations and prepare them for what’s coming next, you can open your presentation with one or two slides stating:

• The topic of your presentation — a one-sentence overview is enough. 
• Persuasive hook, suggesting what’s in it for the audience and why they should pay attention. 
• Your authority — the best technique to establish your credibility in a business presentation is to share your qualifications and experience upfront to highlight why you are worth listening to. 

Opening best suited for: Formal business presentations such as annual reports and supporting presentations to your team/business stakeholders. 

Story Opening 

Did you ever notice that most TED talks start with a quick personal story? The benefit of this presenting technique is that it enables speakers to establish quick rapport and hold the listener’s attention. 

Here’s how Nancy Duarte, author of “Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations” book and TED presenter, recommends opening a presentation: 

You know, here’s the status quo, here’s what’s going on. And then you need to compare that to what could be. You need to make that gap as big as possible, because there is this commonplace of the status quo, and you need to contrast that with the loftiness of your idea. 

Storytelling , like no other tool, helps transpose the audience into the right mindset and get concentrated on the subject you are about to discuss. A story also elicits emotions, which can be a powerful ally when giving persuasive presentations. In the article how to start a presentation , we explore this in more detail.

Opening best suited for: Personal and business pitches, sales presentations, other types of persuasive presentations. 

Dramatic Opening 

Another common technique is opening your presentation with a major statement, sometimes of controversial nature. This can be a shocking statistic, complex rhetoric question, or even a provocative, contrarian statement, challenging the audience’s beliefs. 

Using a dramatic opening helps secure the people’s attention and capture their interest. You can then use storytelling to further drill down your main ideas. 

If you are an experienced public speaker, you can also strengthen your speech with some unexpected actions. That’s what Bill Gates does when giving presentations. In a now-iconic 2009 TED talk about malaria, mid-presentation Gates suddenly reveals that he actually brought a bunch of mosquitoes with him. He cracks open a jar with non-malaria-infected critters to the audience’s surprise. His dramatic actions, paired with a passionate speech made a mighty impression. 

Opening best suited for: Marketing presentations, customer demos, training presentations, public speeches. 

Further reading: How to start a presentation: tips and examples. 

2. Get Your PowerPoint Design Right

Surely, using professional business PowerPoint templates already helps immensely with presentation deck design since you don’t need to fuss over slide layout, font selection, or iconography. 

Even so, you’ll still need to customize your template(s) to make them on brand and better suited to the presentation you’re about to deliver. Below are our best presentation design tips to give your deck an extra oomph. 

Use Images, Instead of Bullet Points 

If you have ever watched Steve Jobs’s presentations, you may have noticed that he never used bullet-point lists. Weird right? Because using bullet points is the most universal advice in presentation design. 

But there’s a valid scientific reason why Jobs favored images over bullet-point texts. Researchers found that information delivered in visuals is better retained than words alone. This is called the “ pictorial superiority effect ”. As John Medina, a molecular biologist, further explains :

“Hear a piece of information, and three days later you’ll remember 10% of it. Add a picture and you’ll remember 65%.”

So if your goal is to improve the memorability of your presentation, always replace texts with images and visualizations when it makes sense. 

Fewer Slides is Better

No matter the value, a long PowerPoint presentation becomes tiring at some point. People lose focus and stop retaining the information. Thus, always take some extra time to trim the fluff and consolidate some repetitive ideas within your presentation. 

For instance, at McKinsey new management consultants are trained to cut down the number of slides in client presentations. In fact, one senior partner insists on replacing every 20 slides with only two slides . Doing so prompts you to focus on the gist — the main business presentation ideas you need to communicate and drop filler statements. 

Here are several quick tips to shorten your slides:

• Use a three-arc structure featuring a clear beginning (setup), main narrative (confrontation), ending (resolution). Drop the ideas that don’t fit into either of these. 
• Write as you tweet. Create short, on-point text blurbs of under 156 symbols, similar to what you’d share on Twitter. 
• Contextualize your numbers. Present any relevant statistics in a context, relevant to the listeners. Turn longer stats into data visualizations for easier cognition. 

Consistency is Key 

In a solid business presentation, each slide feels like part of the connecting story. To achieve such consistency apply the same visual style and retain the same underlying message throughout your entire presentation.

Use the same typography, color scheme, and visual styles across the deck. But when you need to accentuate a transition to a new topic (e.g. move from a setup to articulating the main ideas), add some new visual element to signify the slight change in the narrative. 

Further reading: 23 PowerPoint Presentation Tips for Creating Engaging and Interactive Presentations

3. Make Your Closure Memorable 

We best remember the information shared last. So make those business presentation takeaways stick in the audience’s memory. We have three strategies for that. 

Use the Rule of Three 

The Rule of Three is a literary concept, suggesting that we best remember and like ideas and concepts when they are presented in threes. 

Many famous authors and speakers use this technique:

• “Duty – Honor – Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, and what you will be” . Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
• “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” are the unalienable rights of all humans that governments are meant to protect.” Thomas Jefferson 

The Rule of Three works because three is the maximum number of items most people can remember on their first attempt. Likewise, such pairings create a short, familiar structure that is easy to remember for our brains. 

Try the Title Close Technique

Another popular presentation closing technique is “Title Close” — going back to the beginning of your narrative and reiterating your main idea (title) in a form of a takeaway. Doing so helps the audience better retain your core message since it’s repeated at least two times. Plus, it brings a sense of closure — a feel-good state our brains love. Also, a brief one-line closure is more memorable than a lengthy summary and thus better retained. 

Ask a Question 

If you want to keep the conversation going once you are done presenting, you can conclude your presentation with a general question you’d like the audience to answer.

Alternatively, you can also encourage the members to pose questions to you. The latter is better suited for informational presentations where you’d like to further discuss some of the matters and secure immediate feedback. 

Try adding an interactive element like a QR code closing your presentation with a QR code and having a clear CTA helps you leverage the power of sharing anything you would like to share with your clients. QR codes can be customized to look alike your brand.

If you are looking for a smoother experience creating presentations on the fly, check out the AI PowerPoint maker —it offers everything you can ask forfrom presentation design in a couple of clicks.

12 Business Presentation Examples and What Makes Them Great 

Now that we equipped you with the general knowledge on how to make a presentation for business, let’s take a look at how other presenters are coping with this job and what lessons you can take away from them. 

1. N26 Digital Bank Pitch Deck 

This is a fine business pitch presentation example, hitting all the best practices. The deck opens with a big shocking statement that most Millennials would rather go to the dentist than step into a bank branch. 

Then it proceeds to discuss the company’s solution to the above — a fully digital bank with a paperless account opening process, done in 8 minutes. After communicating the main product features and value proposition, the deck further conceptualizes what traction the product got so far using data visualizations. The only thing it lacks is a solid call-to-action for closing slides as the current ending feels a bit abrupt. 

2. WeWork Pitch Deck

For a Series D round, WeWork went with a more formal business presentation. It starts with laying down the general company information and then transitions to explaining their business model, current market conditions, and the company’s position on the market.

The good thing about this deck is that they quantify their business growth prospects and value proposition. The likely gains for investors are shown in concrete numbers. However, those charts go one after another in a row, so it gets a bit challenging to retain all data points. 

The last part of their presentation is focused on a new offering, “We Live”. It explains why the team seeks funds to bring it to life. Likewise, they back their reasoning with market size statistics, sample projects, and a five-year revenue forecast. 

3. Redfin Investor Presentation 

If you are looking for a “text-light” business presentation example, Redfin’s investor deck is up to your alley. This simple deck expertly uses iconography, charts, and graphs to break down the company’s business model, value proposition, market share, and competitive advantages over similar startups. For number-oriented investors, this is a great deck design to use. 

4. Google Ready Together Presentation 

This isn’t quite the standard business presentation example per se. But rather an innovative way to create engaging, interactive presentations of customer case studies .

The short deck features a short video clip from a Google client, 7-11, explaining how they used the company’s marketing technology to digitally transform their operations and introduce a greater degree of marketing automation . The narrated video parts are interrupted by slides featuring catchy stats, contextualizing issues other businesses are facing. Then transitions to explaining through the words of 7-11 CMO, how Google’s technology is helping them overcome the stated shortcomings.

5. Salesforce Business Presentation Example 

This is a great example of an informational presentation, made by the Salesforce team to share their research on customer experience (CX) with prospects and existing customers.

The slide deck errs on the lengthier side with 58 slides total. But bigger topics are broken down and reinforced through bite-sized statistics and quotes from the company leadership. They are also packaging the main tips into memorable formulas, itemized lists, and tables. Overall, this deck is a great example of how you can build a compelling narrative using different statistics. 

6. Mastercard Business Presentation

This slide deck from Mastercard instantly captures the audience’s attention with unusual background images and major data points on the growth of populations, POS systems, and payment methods used in the upcoming decade.

Perhaps to offset the complexity of the subject, Mastercard chose to sprinkle in some humor in presentation texts and used comic-style visuals to supplement that. However, all their animations are made in a similar style, creating a good sense of continuity in design. They are also using colors to signify the transition from one part of the presentation to another. 

In the second part, the slide deck focuses on distilling the core message of what businesses need to do to remain competitive in the new payments landscape. The team presents what they have been working on to expand the payment ecosystem. Then concludes with a “title close” styled call-to-action, mirroring the presentation title.

7. McKinsey Diversity & Inclusion Presentation 

This fresh business slide deck from McKinsey is a great reference point for making persuasive business presentations on complex topics such as D&I. First, it recaps the main definitions of the discussed concepts — diversity, equity, and inclusion — to ensure alignment with the audience members. 

Next, the business presentation deck focuses on the severity and importance of the issue for businesses, represented through a series of graphs and charts. After articulating the “why”, the narrative switches to “how” — how leaders can benefit from investment in D&I. The main points are further backed with data and illustrated via examples. 

8. Accenture Presentation for the Energy Sector

Similar to McKinsey, Accenture keeps its slide deck on a short. Yet the team packs a punch within each slide through using a mix of fonts, graphical elements, and color for highlighting the core information. The presentation copy is on a longer side, prompting the audience to dwell on reading the slides. But perhaps this was meant by design as the presentation was also distributed online — via the company blog and social media. 

The last several slides of the presentation deck focus on articulating the value Accenture can deliver for their clients in the Energy sector. They expertly break down their main value proposition and key service lines, plus quantify the benefits. 

9. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Technical Presentation 

Giving an engaging technical presentation isn’t an easy task. You have to balance the number of details you reveal on your slides to prevent overwhelm, while also making sure that you don’t leave out any crucial deets. This technical presentation from AWS does great in both departments. 

First, you get entertained with a quick overview of Amazon’s progress in machine learning (ML) forecasting capabilities over the last decade. Then introduced to the main tech offering. The deck further explains what you need to get started with Amazon Forecast — e.g. dataset requirements, supported forecasting scenarios, available forecasting models, etc. 

The second half of the presentation provides a quick training snippet on configuring Amazon SageMaker to start your first project. The step-by-step instructions are coherent and well-organized, making the reader excited to test-drive the product. 

10. Snapchat Company Presentation

Snapchat’s business model presentation is on a funkier, more casual side, reflective of the company’s overall brand and positioning. After briefly recapping what they do, the slide deck switches to discussing the company’s financials and revenue streams.

This business slide deck by Snap Inc. itself is rather simplistic and lacks fancy design elements. But it has a strong unified theme of showing the audience Snapchat’s position on the market and projected vector of business development. 

11. Visa Business Acquisition Presentation 

If you are working on a business plan or M&A presentation for stakeholders of your own, this example from Visa will be helpful. The presentation deck expertly breaks down the company’s rationale for purchasing Plaid and subsequent plans for integrating the startup into their business ecosystem. 

The business deck recaps why the Plaid acquisition is a solid strategic decision by highlighting the total addressable market they could dive into post-deal. Then it details Plaid’s competitive strengths. The slide deck then sums up all the monetary and indirect gains Visa could reap as an acquirer. 

12. Pinterest Earnings Report Presentation 

Annual reports and especially earnings presentations might not be the most exciting types of documents to work on, but they have immense strategic value. Hence, there’s little room for ambiguities or mistakes. 

In twelve slides, this business presentation from Pinterest clearly communicates the big picture of the company’s finance in 2021. All the key numbers are represented as featured quotes in the sidebar with diagrams further showcasing the earning and spending dynamics. Overall, the data is easy to interpret even for non-finance folks. 

To Conclude 

With these business presentation design tips, presentation templates , and examples, you can go from overwhelmed to confident about your next presentation design in a matter of hours. Focus on creating a rough draft first using a template. Then work on nailing your opening slide sequence and shortening the texts in the main part of your presentation when needed. Make sure that each slide serves a clear purpose and communicates important details. To make your business presentation deck more concise, remove anything that does not pertain to the topic. 

Finally, once you are done, share your business presentation with other team members to get their feedback and reiterate the final design.

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Business Presentations, Corporate Presentations, Design, Design Inspiration, Examples, Executive Reports, Inspiration, Presentation Ideas Filed under Business

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Permanent Link: https://blogs.babson.edu/entrepreneurship/2016/08/12/verbal-and-nonverbal-presentation-techniques/

Living Entrepreneurship Blog / Babson Entrepreneurs

Verbal and nonverbal presentation techniques.

By Emily Denoble | August 12, 2016

Kerri Thompson with Summer Venture Program

Remember Amy Cuddy’s 2012 TED Talk in which she introduced the importance of “power posing?” She studied whether our nonverbals affect how we think and feel about ourselves, and as it turns out, they do. Cuddy found that people who for two minutes posed in “high power” positions, consisting of stretching out and taking up more space, had heightened levels of testosterone, which increases confidence, and reduced levels of the stress chemical cortisol. Put simply, standing as if you have power can make you feel as though you actually do.  Put even more simply, “fake it until you make it.”

The Speech Center’s Kerri Thompson led a workshop with the Summer Venture Program entrepreneurs, applying this concept to help prepare the teams for our recent Showcase in which they presented to investors and the local community. The presenters had been practicing their verbal delivery for weeks, but Thompson wanted them to keep in mind that that body language is equally important when presenting.

She reminded the group that “from the moment you walk in here, you need to own the room.” You can do this using several strategies, such as channeling your nervous energy into movement by casually walking from one side of the stage to the other between transitions in your presentation. And of course, you can practice your power pose. Standing in the “Wonder Woman” position (with feet shoulder-width apart, hands on your hips, and chest up) before your presentation will make you appear, and feel, more confident.

At this point, Thompson launched into tips for verbal presentation success. Before speaking, consider warming up your voice by staying hydrated and practicing tongue twisters. Thompson shared that “your voice is a muscle, so for it to sound powerful, it needs to be worked out.” She recommended going through deep breathing exercises five minutes before going onstage since it is easy to forget to breathe when you have pre-performance adrenaline. When on stage, attempt to sound conversational rather than monotone to maintain the audience’s interest. Thompson quoted Neffinger and Kohut , saying that “strength consists of two basic elements: the ability to affect the world, and the gumption to take action.” Convince the audience that you have both!

We were thrilled to see how the Summer Venture Program teams used this advice for Showcase, and hope that you consider holding a “power pose” before your next important event!

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Module 1: Communicating in Business

Verbal and nonverbal communication, learning objectives.

• Discuss verbal communication and its role in business
• Discuss nonverbal communication and its role in business

Verbal Communication

Verbal communication is perhaps the most obvious and understood mode of communication, and it is certainly a powerful tool in your communication toolbox. Put simply, verbal communication is the sharing of information between two individuals using words.

Spoken versus Written Communication

While we typically focus on speech while talking about verbal communication, it’s important to remember that writing is also a form of verbal communication. After all, writing uses words too!

Imagine for a moment that you’re a college student who is struggling with material in a class. Rather than simply giving up, you decide that you’re going to ask your instructor for the guidance you need to make it through the end of the semester. Now, you have a few choices for using verbal communication to do this. You might choose to call your instructor, if they’ve provided contact information, or talk to them in person after class or during office hours. You may take a different approach and send them an email. You can probably identify your own list of pros and cons for each of these approaches. But really, what’s the difference between writing and talking in these situations? Let’s look at four of the major differences between the two:

• Formal versus Informal: We generally use spoken communication informally while we use written communication formally.
• Synchronous versus Asynchronous: Synchronous communication is communication that takes place in real time, such as a conversation with a friend. In contrast, asynchronous communication is communication that is not immediate and occurs over longer periods of time, such as letters, email, or even text messages.
• Recorded versus Unrecorded: Written communication is generally archived and recorded for later retrieval while spoken communication is generally not recorded.

Benefits of Spoken Communication

Spoken communication can be a conversation, a meeting, or even a speech. Spoken communication is powerful in that it allows for input from every part of the social communication model. You encode your thoughts into the spoken word and look to your audience to decode and take the message in. You can ask for feedback directly to confirm understanding of your message.

In a world where we do most of our talking by email and text, spoken communication is a breath of fresh air. Leverage the power of spoken communication to create relationships—you can establish a rapport and a sense of trust with your audience when you speak with them. Spoken communication allows you to bond on a more emotional level with your listeners.

Spoken communication also makes it easier to ensure understanding by addressing objections and clearing up misunderstandings: you can adjust your message as you communicate it, based on the feedback you’re getting from your audience. Spoken communication allows you to walk away from a conversation with a higher degree of certainty that your message was received.

Practice Questions

Verbal communication is a powerful tool, and it’s made even more powerful when paired with listening and nonverbal communication.

Nonverbal Communication

We’ve already employed a little bit of nonverbal communication with the active listening skills we’ve previously discussed: nodding, facial expressions, leaning toward the speaker to show interest—all of those are forms of nonverbal communication. Body language can reinforce your spoken message or it can contradict it entirely.

There’s a myth that says that when you speak, only 35 percent of your communication is verbal and 65 percent of it is nonverbal. That’s not entirely true because so much depends on the context and situation. It is, however, absolutely true that nonverbal communication can make or break your message.

Here are some types of nonverbal communication and the effects they can have on the success of your communication:

• Facial expressions: Your teenage cousin we referred to at the beginning of this section might have told you he was happy, but his apathetic facial expression may have communicated different information. Facial expressions—happy, sad, angry—help you convey your message. Be aware of your facial expression when you talk and particularly when you listen, which is when it’s easy to forget.
• Gestures: When you speak, a gesture can make your message stronger. Pointing out something you want your listener to look at more closely is an example of nonverbal communication that makes your message understood. Motioning warmly toward a coworker who deserves special recognition, making a fist to show frustration or anger, such gestures help further engage your audience when you speak.
• Proximity: How close you are to your audience when you speak sends a nonverbal message. If your size is imposing and you leave a very small distance between you and your listener, it’s likely your nonverbal communication will be a bit threatening. On the other hand, giving someone too much space is an awkward nonverbal communication that might confuse your listener.
• Touch: Shaking an audience member’s hand, putting your hand on his shoulder: these are nonverbal cues that can affect the success of your message. Touch communicates affection, but it also communicates power. You can think about what kind of messages a job applicant may send through a weak handshake versus a firm one after having a job interview.
• Eye contact: Making and maintaining eye contact with an audience when you’re verbally communicating or listening communicates to the other party that you’re interested and engaged in the conversation. Good eye contact often conveys the trait of honesty to the other party.
• Appearance: Your clothing, hair, and jewelry are also a part of nonverbal communication. If you put a dachshund pin on your lapel each morning (because you have a pet dachshund), that says something about you as a person. Similarly, the quality and condition of your clothing, how it fits, if it’s appropriate for the season—all of these things speak nonverbally about you as a communicator.

Nonverbal communication reveals a lot about you as a communicator and how you relate to other people. It pays to be aware of the elements of your nonverbal communication so you can maximize the impact of your message.

• Verbal and Nonverbal Communication. Authored by : Freedom Learning Group. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Spoken Versus Written Communication. Authored by : Scott T Paynton and Linda K Hahn. Provided by : Humboldt State University. Located at : https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Survey_of_Communication_Study . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

What is verbal presentation?

It is speaking to someone, individual or a group. Oral presentation is Verbal Presentation. The more formal manner is Oral speech. But Verbal Speak is okay.

Basically it is someone talking perhaps in public and may have notes to help them along the way.

Verbal presentation is a method of delivering information or ideas to an audience through spoken words in a clear and engaging manner. It typically involves using effective communication skills, such as tone of voice, pacing, and body language, to convey a message effectively. Verbal presentations are commonly used in settings like meetings, conferences, and public speaking events.

Add your answer:

What is an example verbal signpost?

An example of a verbal signpost is saying "first of all" or "finally" to help guide listeners through the structure of your presentation or conversation. These verbal cues can help break down information into organized and understandable segments.

What is the definition of a verbal presentation?

A verbal presentation refers to the act of delivering information, ideas, or arguments to an audience orally. It typically involves the use of spoken words, gestures, and visuals to communicate and engage with the listeners. Verbal presentations are common in various contexts, such as academic settings, business meetings, conferences, and public speaking events.

What is verbal citations?

Verbal citations are references to sources that are mentioned aloud during a spoken presentation or conversation. They are used to give credit to the original authors or creators of the information being discussed and to provide credibility to the speaker's points. Verbal citations typically include the author's name and the source of the information.

What does monaluge mean?

"Monaluge" is not a recognized word in English. It could be a misspelling or a typo. If you meant "monologue," it refers to a long speech or verbal presentation given by one person.

What is oral presentation?

An oral presentation is a form of communication where a speaker delivers a message to an audience. It typically involves speaking in front of a group of people and using verbal communication to convey information, ideas, or persuade others. Oral presentations can be formal or informal and are commonly used in educational, business, and professional settings.

How can written presentation be enhanced by non verbal communication?

i don't know

What is a backchannel?

A backchannel is a real-time online discussion which occurs simultaneously with a verbal presentation.

What are some excellent verbal and written communication skills?

communications skills is divided in 3 : Oral, Written and Non-verbalOral:-Presentation-Audience awareness-Critical listening-Body languageWritten:-Academic writing-revision and editing-critical reading-presentation of DataNon-Verbal:-Audience Awareness-personal presentation-body language

What is verbal reporting?

A verbal report could be an oral report. When you give an oral report it means to do a report out loud without reading it. It's like a presentation.

What are the advantage of presentation?

One advantage of a presentation is the people that is present during the presentation can get a verbal and visual sense of understanding Presentations are a great way to connect with your audience. You can get your point across in a memorable way. To really make your point stick, you can pass out presentation folders packed with relevant information about your subject. I always print folders to pass out to clients before a big presentation.

How do you use vertical and non vertical communication?

Standing up or laying down. :P ___ I believe you may be referring to verbal and non-verbal communication, meaning what is said by actual words (verbal) vs. what is said by anything else, including your body, face, inflection, tone, meter, rythm, speaking style, presentation, haptics, volume, and more (non-verbal).

How can written presentation be enhanced by non-verbal method of communication?

Written presentation can be enhanced by incorporating non-verbal elements such as visuals, like images, charts, or graphs to make the content more engaging and easier to understand. Using formatting techniques such as bolding, italics, and color can also help emphasize key points. Additionally, including headings, subheadings, bullet points, and numbered lists can help organize information and improve readability.

Is whispering verbal or non verbal communication?

Whispering is verbal communication.

When was Moves Like Jagger?

Moves Like Jagger was a song recorded by Adam Lavigne and the band Maroon 5. Christina Aguilera also helped in the actual verbal presentation. It came out in the summer of 2011.

What has the author Temotio Espina Bugarin written?

Temotio Espina Bugarin has written: 'Verbal discrimination learning in a random mixture of two-, three-, and four-word items with two stimulus presentation rates'

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