What makes a good oral presentation?

What Makes a Good Oral Presentation?

• Answer:

  Making an effective oral presentation is a skill that takes practice and a certain theatrical flair to pull off effectively. A good oral presentation takes into account the audience and the occasion, as well as being well written and compelling. The Audience Before preparing the presentation, presenters should think about who their audience is and what they want to learn. They should also gain a sense of how much the audience already knows about the topic. Finally, they should take the occasion into consideration: Is this an in-depth presentation on a specific topic or is it supposed to be a general overview? Writing a Presentation In order to create an effective oral presentation, the presenter must write for the audience. The content can't be too simple or it will become dull, and it can't be too complex or the audience will not be able to understand the information. Presenters should write down examples and anecdotes when possible to help the audience remember key points. A good presentation also incorporates a clear structure. The structure should include an introduction, a main body and a conclusion that summarizes everything said in a clear and concise manner. Delivering a Presentation If an oral presentation is good, then it is engaging enough for the audience to become interested in the topic and digest the information. Presenters should try to maintain a confident, warm voice that imparts knowledge to the audience in a comprehensible way. Good presenters generally practice their speeches many times until they can deliver the presentation in a fluid and comfortable manner. Presenting in an effective manner means maintaining a relationship with your audience. A good speaker will rarely look at notes, or the presentation will become tedious for the audience. Instead, he will create eye contact with audience members, write notes that cover key points of the speech (rather than write it down verbatim), and create visual aids so the audience will stay interested and be able to absorb the information.