Contents
Public Speaking Basics
How to Prepare Your Presentation
How to Select and Present Content
Overall Organizational Structure
Body Structures
Presentational Aids
Delivery
How to Practice Your Speech
How to Take Questions from the Audience
Common Public Speaking Problems and Solutions
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Presentational Aids
Presentational aids are any materials, props, or effects that enrich your presentation or make it clearer for your audience. They can include:
- Audio/visual materials (handouts, slide shows, etc.)
- Lighting effects
- Pictures, drawings, photos, and maps
- Graphs and charts
- Whiteboards, chalkboards, easels, and overhead projections
- Models, replicas, and inanimate objects
- People and performances
Overall Rules for Using Presentational Aids
Use presentational aids to simplify and clarify your speech, to create a picture, to focus attention, and to add color or sound. You can also use them in place of notes, to help keep yourself organized and on track.
- If you’re considering a particular type of presentational aid, think about its purpose and how it’s normally used. Does it meet your needs? If you don’t need it, don’t use it.
- Don’t go overboard: presentational aids should add to your presentation, not overwhelm or dominate the speech. You want the audience to connect to you, not to your chart.
- Make your aids visible, legible, and audible to the audience. With visual aids, use color to break up the main points visually.
- Interact with your presentational aids physically to create engaging body language.
- Use equipment that is relevant to the presentation and right for the environment in which you’re giving the presentation.
- Always have a backup plan in case any audio/visual aids malfunction.
Handouts
Handouts are among the most popular presentational aids because they’re so easy to create. If possible, you should always have a handout that emphasizes your main theme and your five main points. Whenever you do use a handout, keep the following in mind:
- Match your handout graphically to your presentation.
- Link your handout back to yourself (use an appropriate letterhead or include your contact information).
- Distribute your handouts at the end of the presentation—otherwise, your audience might be tempted to skip ahead or rely too heavily on the handout.
Computer Slideshows
Many presenters use computer programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint® to create professional-looking slideshow presentations. If you do:
- Keep the design of the slides simple. Avoid wild colors and flowery fonts (use Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana, or another similar font).
- Pace yourself appropriately. Each slide should be on the screen at least 10 seconds and no more than two minutes. Don’t let an old thought remain onscreen.
- Make sure each of your slides contains roughly the same amount of information. Break up any slides that are too long, and combine any slides that are too short. Observe the 4×4 rule—four lines per page, four words per line.
- Position yourself correctly. Stand close enough to the computer so that you don’t have to jump back and forth to advance the slides.
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