Unit 1
Presentation skills
The four basic principles or the Four P’s of an effective Presentation Are Plan, Produce, Practice and Present.
Plan: To plan an effective Presentation one must keep the following factors in mind:
a. The Presenter must be clear about the goals of the Presentation.
b. The Presenter must do an audience analysis. He must be clear about the age, sex, socio-economic background, education level etc. of the audience to be able to prepare a Presentation that is suitable for them.
c. The Presenter must know the amount of time that has been allotted for the Presentation and then do effective time management.
d. A structure for the Presentation must be adopted. For example, it could either be text followed by images or vice versa or both text and images presented together; the images could either be clip arts or photographs: the tone of the text could either be formal or semi-formal or informal etc.
Produce: To produce an effective Presentation one must keep in mind the following basic design guidelines:
a. The font size should be about 30.
b. Too many font types should not be used.
c. Too many colours should not be used.
d. The background colours, designs and images should not be too cluttered.
e. The background colour should contrast with the font colour so that reading the text is easy.
f. 'A picture is worth a thousand words' is a well-known idiom and fact. Images always make a Presentation more attractive. However, the images used in a Presentation should be relevant and limited in number and they should have a similarity. For example, one should preferably use either photographs or clip art or cartoons etc.
g. There should ideally be only 6-8 lines per slide. h. There should ideally be only one point per slide. The Presenter must keep self-prompting notes handy.
j. Hand-outs may be given to the viewers to facilitate understanding and to reinforce the Presentation.
Practise: 'Practise makes perfect.' The more the practise, the higher will be the level of perfection. While practising for an effective Presentation one must do the following:
a. Go through the Presentation several times.
b. Identify and correct words that may have been misspelt or could be mispronounced.
c. Know the contents of the Presentation thoroughly so that reading the Presentation and reference to sell-prompting notes are minimized, and there is greater interaction with the audience.
d. Be familiar with the operation of the equipment to avoid fumbling at the time of Presentation.
e. Have a back-up plan ready.
f. Rehearse the Presentation, preferably in front of a mirror t identify one's shortcomings.
g. Record one's Presentation and view the recording to identify one' shortcomings.
Present: After planning, preparing and practicing comes presenting which is the final outcome. To do this effectively the following point must be kept in mind:
a. Speak loudly and clearly, but not too loudly.
b. Speak, don't read from the Presentation.
c. If a microphone is being used keep it at least 2- 4 inches away from the mouth.
d. Do not keep the microphone directly in front of the mouth. Keep i at an angle away from the mouth, either to the left or right Simply speaking. keep the microphone at an 11 o'clock or a o'clock position, not at a 12 o'clock position.
e. Face the audience and not the Presentation.
f. Make eye contact with the audience.
g. Do not keep a stiff posture.
h. Speak with ease, enthusiasm and confidence.
What is an OHP? How does it work?
An overhead projector OHP is a variant of a slide projector. It is used to display images to an audience. It shows information for images on a wall or screen by shining a light through a sheet which has information for images on it.
The OHP continuous to be a popular Audio-Visual (AV) Aid, even though with the growing use of LCD projectors and PowerPoint presentations its popularity is on the decline.
To make effective use of an OHP the following points must be kept in mind:
- Show pictures and diagrams using a pointer on the transparency rather than the screen.
- Use of felt pen or wax based pencil to add details how to make points on the transparency while displaying it.
- control presenting the information by covering the transparency with the sheet of paper and exposing it gradually as the presentation progresses. This is known as Progressive Exposure Technique.
- Stand on the side of the OHP while operating it.
- Stand to the left of the OHP if you are right-handed and to the right of it if you are left-handed.
- Face the audience and not the screen while making the presentation.
- The OHP should be place on a low table so that if neither blocks and presenter nor the screen.
- The top of the screen should be tilted forward towards the OHP to prevent the top of the text/image from appearing larger than the bottom. This is known as the "Keystone Effect."
- Carry a spare bub for an emergency.
- Switch off the OHP when not referring to a transparency to prevent it from overheating.
- Keep a fan/ an air conditioner on while operating an OHP to prevent it from overheating.
- Do not move the OHP immediately after use as the filament will b very hot and may break.
- Tape the power cord to the floor to prevent it from getting entangled or tripping over it.
EFFECTIVE USE OF TRANSPARENCIES
What is a Transparency?
A Transparency, also known as a Viewgraph or a Viewfoil is a thin sheet of transparent flexible material, usually of A4 size, either made of plastic or acetate. Clear Plastic Sheets and cleaned X-ray Plates can also be used as Transparencies. Matter can either be written or printed or photo copied on a Transparency which can then be used on an OHP to display matter to the audience.
- Steps to Prepare an Overhead Transparency:
1. Leave a margin on all four sides of the Transparency so that none of the matter is cut out.
2. Matter on the Transparency may be added during the course of their Presentation with a felt pen or a wax based pencil.
3. Use bold lettering and simple drawings with minimum labeling.
4. Place a sheet of plain paper between Transparencies so that they do not stick together.
5. Store Transparencies in an airtight container to protect them from moisture and contamination.
6. Switch off the OHP when not referring to the Transparency to prevent the OHP from overheating and mutilating the Transparency.
How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation?
The possible uses of PowerPoint are countless. A slide show can help an educator teach a lesson, illustrate an occasion in history, easily display statistical information, or be used for training in corporations. A slide show are often a valuable tool for teaching, sharing and learning. Whether presenting at a conference or convincing your parents to urge a puppy, PowerPoint presentations are useful regardless of what the subject and help communicate ideas to an audience. The invention of PowerPoint by Gaskins has saved presenters hours of painstakingly handcrafting displays, and created knowledgeable and straightforward thanks to relay information. the subsequent are steps on the way to create a basic PowerPoint presentation, however certain steps may vary slightly depending upon what version of PowerPoint you're using. This tutorial is specifically using PowerPoint 2007.
Step 1: Launch the PowerPoint Program
Launch the PowerPoint Program
When you launch the PowerPoint program, you'll be prompted to select what quite document you would like to make . prefer to create a blank presentation. If it doesn't ask you this, a blank presentation will automatically launch.
Step 2: Choosing a Design
The next thing you would like to try to to is decide what design you would like for the presentation. to try to to this, attend the 'Design' tab at the highest of the page. Scroll through all the choices and choose which one looks best for the presentation you would like. to urge a preview of what the planning will appear as if before applying it to the presentation, hover over the planning you would like to preview. This design is going to be automatically continued throughout the remainder of your presentation. Once you've got quite one slide, you'll add a special design for only one slide. to try to to this, select the slide you would like to vary the planning on by clicking thereon. it'll pop-up because the big slide within the screen. Then you'll right-click the planning you would like for this slide and choose 'Apply to chose Slide'. it'll appear thereon slide, but won't change the planning of the opposite slides.
Step 3: Create page
Create page
Click the primary box that says 'Click to feature title' and add the title of your presentation. Click rock bottom box to feature your name, or the other subtitle that you simply choose. Once you've got your text within the boxes, you'll change their font, size, color, etc. with the toolbar options at the highest. you'll change the dimensions of the text box by selecting it, then dragging the corners of the box. to maneuver the text boxes, select the box, and move your arrow over the border of the box. A four-arrow icon will appear, and clicking with this icon will allow you to maneuver the text boxes wherever you select.
- Step 4: Add More Slides
Chances are, you're getting to need quite one slide. There are a couple of ways you'll add more slides. Notice that there's a separate area to the left of the screen where your first slide is found. the primary thanks to add a slide is to right-click the world under where your first slide is found and choose 'New Slide'. a replacement slide will appear. The second thanks to add another slide it to click 'New Slide' within the toolbar above the slides. This button is split into two parts. the highest will insert a replacement slide with a default layout. you'll also click rock bottom half this button, which can allow you to settle on what sort of layout you would like. you'll choose a slide with two text-boxes and a title, one text-box, only a title, and lots of other options. you'll see your new slide appear to the left under the primary, also become the massive slide that you simply can edit. the planning you picked earlier will have carried over to the present slide. the planning will carry over for the remainder of the slides you create unless you opt to vary only one, like described earlier. the rule layout you chose will appear, and you'll then add in your information.
- Step 5: Add Charts, Pictures, Graphs, Etc.
If you would like to insert a chart, picture, graph, or the other graphic, click on the 'Insert' tab at the highest of the window. Here you'll see buttons of all the choices of what you'll insert into your slide. Click the designated box and insert what it's you would like to possess thereon slide. A second way you'll insert pictures and graphs is once you have an empty text or image box. Little pictures of an equivalent options you saw within the toolbox will show up within the middle of the box, and you'll click any of those to insert also. Once you've got your chart or picture, you'll add a border or edit it however you would like within the 'Format' tab.
- Step 6: Add Transitions
To add transitions in between your slides, click the 'Animations' tab at the highest of the page. Here you'll scroll through all the choices of transitions, and hover over them to ascertain a preview. Select the slide you would like the transition applied to, then click the transition you chose. you'll do that for each slide, selecting an equivalent or different transitions.
- Step 7: Changing the Order
Once you've got all of your slides made, you'll change the order of the slides. to try to to this, click and drag the slides from where they're to where you would like them within the order. Another possibility, which is especially useful if you presentation is longer, is to click the 'Outline' button. you'll find this small button above the left area where all of your slides are located smaller, on to the proper of the 'Slides' button. Here you'll see an inventory of all of your slides and you'll click and drag your slides to where you would like them.
- Step 8: Play the Presentation
Once you've got all of your slides completed and within the order you would like , view your slideshow. Click the 'Slide Show' tab at the highest of the page and choose 'From Beginning'. you'll undergo your entire slideshow, and alter slides by clicking or pressing the proper arrow. A shortcut to the present is pressing F5. Congratulations! you've got now made a PowerPoint presentation.
References
- Business communication - Vipul Prakashan
- Business communication - Manan Prakashan
- Business Communication- Dr. V.K. Jain
