Speech New Zealand - New Zealand Speech Board

USING TECHNOLOGY IN YOUR PRESENTATION

‘Technology on its own is not the answer – its what you do with it that counts’

It is simply a Visual Aid and should be used to reinforce the message not BE the message.

The most important aspect of your Presentation is YOU!

Receiver Based Communication: RBC

Understand your audience. Everything you show and say in your presentation must be understandable and relevant for your specific audience.

Technology is only an aid

Your purpose is to convey your message to your audience.

No amount of technology is going to overcome lack of vitality in your communication.

Ask yourself the question ‘Do I really need it’?

You need to get the basics right: passion and enthusiasm are more important than technical skills.

If technology helps you convey the message – then use it; but never substitute it for delivering a well structured, vital speech.

Technology is a Visual Aid and as such is used to:

· present facts, concepts and figures in a comparative or structured form

· aid comprehension and prevent misunderstanding

· reinforce your message

· maintain interest and help retention

· motivate the audience to make a decision

· add humour and spice

Aristotle’s 3 modes of proof

* Ethos credibility, gravitas, mana of the speaker

* Logos information, content

* Pathos appealing to the emotions of the audience

Effectively used, technology can contribute to all these modes of proof, especially logos and pathos.

Are you a technophobe?

If you can see that technology would clearly add some value to your presentation – go for it. Keep learning about new technology – try to be up to date.

Practise with it – have an expert on standby in case you have difficulties.

It can be effective to have someone controlling the slides, leaving you free to connect with your audience.

Have a back-up plan

Best laid plans can go wrong. Audiences get turned-off if you spend time trying to work out a problem. Have a backup plan; before you leave home practise the ‘what if it breaks down’ scenario; organise cards with bullet points of your main ideas, have hand-out material.

In an exam situation, you have limited time available to set up your equipment.

PowerPoint Presentations

Used correctly, PowerPoint can significantly enhance a presentation especially if you are presenting facts and figures. It can provide clarity and impact; the golden rule is:

Keep it simple, colourful and easy to read

Graphs can help your audience make sense of most financial information.

The most common mistake is looking at the screen instead of maintaining eye contact with the audience. Learn your material so that you don’t need to constantly refer to the screen. Use space effectively; don’t stand cramped between screen and computer.

It can be effective to have someone else controlling the slides, leaving you free to connect with your audience.

Keep them simple

PowerPoint offers a wealth of special effects and it’s tempting to use all those fancy borders and elaborate templates. Try to resist this temptation. Instead, choose the simple background that will enhance, not obscure, your message, and avoid adding logos and slide headings that significantly reduce the usable area of your visual.

Many visuals are ineffective because they are complicated and contain too much information. They become a distraction.

Analyse your most significant data and reject the rest.

Tables of figures, rarely make good visuals as they contain too much information and are difficult to read.

Pie charts and bar charts are simpler devices for relaying that kind of data but you need to ensure that the audience is directed to, and has time, to digest all the information.

Avoid adding too many verbal visuals. They can be a distraction as members of audience read at different speeds.

Tips for Power Point Presentation

· never read the presentation word for word off the screen; instead have a short statement on the screen that you expand on in your speech.

· keep it simple – no more than one idea per page.

· less is best. Too much text on the slide takes the focus off you. Preferably: no more than 5 words per sentence – no more than 5 sentences per page, and as few slides as you can get away with. Less than 5 is best. Bullet points are an excellent way of presenting material – no more than 3 bullet points per slide.

· use pictures or visuals to liven up the screen, but beware of too much detail – audience must have time to absorb all the information

· use contrast.

· avoid using the colour red as this makes it difficult to read information

· dream up exciting headings using adjectives. Be creative.

· be sure not to block the screen as you talk.

· maintain eye contact with your audience throughout your speech.

· don’t over-use PowerPoint – it can turn your audience off.

· if you are presenting overseas make sure you equipment is compatible.

Five Cardinal Sins to avoid in all Presentations:

1 No clear point. The audience leaves the presentation wondering what it was all about.

2 No audience benefit. The presentation fails to show how the information is relevant for the audience.

3 No clear flow. The sequence of ideas is so confusing that it leaves the audience behind, unable to follow.

4 Too detailed. So many facts are presented, including overly technical or irrelevant, that the main point is obscured.

Claire Marsh

Speech New Zealand

15 July 2008

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