Lecture 1

Class: BSc Sem 5

Subject : Business communication
Subject Code:
Chapter: Unit 2 Chp 2
Chapter Name: Presentation skills

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Today’s Agenda
1. Presentation

2. Pre- presentation stage

1. Who – Understanding the audience
2. Why – Determining the purpose
3. Types of presentations
4. What – Selecting the content
5. When – Deciding the time
6. Where – Knowing the setting
7. How – Organizing the content
8. How – Making the presentation

3. Tips for an effective presentation

4. Post presentation

5. Advantages & challenges

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1 Presentation

A presentation is a means of formal communication for expressing an idea or message to an audience.

Effective presentation requires preparation and generally follows three stages of development:

1. Pre-presentation skills
2. During presentation skills
3. Post – presentation skills

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2 Pre – presentation stage
Aristotle mooted the idea that all public presentations are some kind of balance of three rhetorical proofs:

• Logos is reasoned discourse through which humans are able

to perceive and make clear to others the difference between
what is good and what is evil. Logical arguments have the
advantage of making the speaker appear prepared and in Logos (logic)
command of the subject.
• Knowledge and logic have to be presented with the right body
language and emotional appeal to hold audience's attention. It
is also important for the audience to accept the credibility of
the speaker. Pathos Ethos
• The appropriateness of the content and trust in the speaker (emotion) (ethics)
will ensure that the presentation fulfils the objectives.
• Thus, a perfect balance of logos, pathos and ethos will ensure
a successful presentation.

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2 Pre – presentation stage
In the pre-presentation stage, in the context of the three principles of Aristotle, six questions -5 Ws and 1 H -
act as filters for determining the effectiveness and appropriateness of the presentation:

Who - understanding the audience, their expectation and their level of comprehension

Why - realising the purpose and objective of the presentation so as to make it relevant for the audience

What - keeping in mind the requirement of the audience and going through the process of sifting

When - timing of the presentation

Where - location or venue and the audience size

How - actual organisation of content and selection of appropriate tools

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2.1 Who – Understanding the audience
An audience is a collection of individuals each with a unique point of view. Audience analysis enables the
presenter to organize the verbal, visual and vocal delivery to suit their situations. Understanding the audience
can be done by three analysis:

1. Demographic analysis includes analysis of age, gender and cultural diversity.

2. Psychological analysis includes an analysis of audience on parameters like interested – disinterested,

favourable – unfavourable, captive – voluntary.

3. Environment/ need analysis includes factors like size of audience, occasion, etc.

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2.1 Who – Understanding the audience
A few rules with regard to the target audience are given below:
• Ensure appropriateness of the venue and equipment
• Use appropriate channels and media depending on the size of the particular audience
• Anticipate understanding and learning potential of the audience
• Adjust vocabulary and eliminate unfamiliar terms or unexplained acronyms

Audience analysis can be done before the presentation; however, as we shall later set it keeps happening during
the presentation also.

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2.2 Why – Determining the purpose
Determining the objective is of prime importance. Instead of information overload, cutting out the
extraneous and focusing on the critical ensures effectiveness.

At the outset, an answer to the base question “What is the purpose of the presentation?" enables the
speaker to identify and define the objective and help to find out whether the purpose is to inform,
persuade or motivate the audience.

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2.3 Types of presentation
• a presentation over • This kind of
video conferencing presentation provides
software and requires information to the
Internet connectivity. audience

Virtual Informative
Presentation Presentation

Motivational Persuasive
Presentation Presentation

• These rely on • In this presentation the

stimulating the speaker tries to
emotions and feelings persuade the audience.
of listeners as a method
of inducing action.
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2.4 What – Selecting the content
Decide what perspective should be presented to the audience. Collect the material on that particular aspect
from all available sources. Decide on how much to say about each subject.

Some basic considerations for deciding what needs to be included are as follows:
• If the content is manageable in time allotted for presentations
• If the content is challenging to the audience
• If the content is important to the organisational values

A presentation needs to have a well-defined format.

• The first step is to focus on the core ideas and outline titles tor each point.
• Decide on the actual sequence to be used. What will be said for each point has to be defined.
• Write the text in bullets and short phrases.
• The presenter will also want to decide if there are specific sounds or videos that they will be using on
some of the slides to make their point.

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2.5 When – Deciding the time
The time frame of the presentation is often decided by the audience or an outsider (for example, the
management or the organiser of the conference).

Depending on how much time is alloted to the presenter, the ideal sequence and timing of a presentation should
be such that it gives adequate time for rapport building, interaction with the audience and questions at the end.
Hence, it starts with letting the audience know what is coming up, detailing out the points and concluding by
summarising the main idea of the speech.

The structure of the presentation should be developed in such a way that the key messages of the presentation
can be delivered in varying lengths of time.

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2.6 Where – Knowing the setting
It is essential to check out the facilities at the venue before delivering a presentation.

The place and the facilities available impact the effectiveness of the presentation. Even if it is not possible to
check out the facilities a day in advance, it is advisable to arrive early and make sure that everything is in order.

Studying the location and checking out the acoustics and tools available ensures that the delivery is smooth and
free of glitches.

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2.6 Where – Knowing the setting
It is essential to check out the facilities at the venue before delivering a presentation.

The place and the facilities available impact the effectiveness of the presentation. Even if it is not possible to
check out the facilities a day in advance, it is advisable to arrive early and make sure that everything is in order.

Studying the location and checking out the acoustics and tools available ensures that the delivery is smooth and
free of glitches.

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2.7 How – Organizing the content
A professional presenter approaches the presentation with utmost planning and detailed strategy.
The presentation can broadly be divided into three parts.

• The introduction covers the main idea of the presentation giving the
Introduction audience a snapshot of what is coming up. It helps the audience know
the subject or purpose of the presentation and focus on the main idea.

• The main body of the presentation is the detailing of the key points,
which supports the main message. The main body should develop the
Main body
argument, anticipate and answer possible objections and lead up to a
logical conclusion.

• The conclusion is a summary of highlights or main points covered in the

Conclusion presentation under the various heads. The call for action is the main
objective of the conclusion.
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2.8 How – Making the presentation
A PowerPoint presentation is the best way to handle information and data as it incorporates key ideas and helps
track and prompt one’s memory.

Slide management:

A few points should be kept in mind:

• Make the slides attractive and readable. Use a consistent layout, or organisation of colours and images, on the
presentation materials
• Limit the number of slides depending on the time.
• Use key phrases and include only essential information.
• Capitalise consistently; avoid all CAPS or all small as the sentence case works best

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3 Tips for an effective presentation
• Know your audience – They want to learn practical applications
• Preview, present and review. Open with an overview of what you plan to present.
• Relevant humor can be very helpful.
• Do not read directly from the text or from your slides
• Make eye contact with all groups in the room
• Remember the language barriers and speak slowly and clearly into the microphone.
• Maintain a rapid pace with control.
• Stand near the projector facing the audience
• When making a PowerPoint presentation (which the audience expects these days) on multimedia projectors,
do not stand in the way of your audience and screen
• Keep copy to a minimum of not more than 6–7 words per line and not more than 6–7 lines per visual
• Keep copy simple, use several different visuals, each presenting one key point or relationship
• Disclose information progressively – use suspense
• Produce special work rather than copy from existing diagrams, illustrations, and technical drawings. Use
colour visuals.

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4 Post presentation
In this session, the speaker has the opportunity to reinforce the ideas and deepen the connection with the
audience. This is the stage for further establishing one's credibility. If the speaker handles the questions well,
people remember the presentation:

• Its best to repeat the question as it ensures that everyone has heard it; the speaker has understood it
correctly and also gained time to collect the thoughts before giving the answer
• Summarise the question if it is too long.
• While giving the answer, do not focus on the person who has raised the question. The best way is to look
at the questioner initially, and then make eye contact with others also so as to include them in the answer
• There would be some intelligent questions from the audience.
• The speaker need not answer an irrelevant question.
• In case the speaker does not know the answer, one should not bluff the audience. It is best to say that they
will get back later. Do not forget to talk to them afterwards

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5 Advantages & challenges

Advantages
Presentation allows the scope The biggest challenge of a
of instant feedback presentation is to hold the
Presentations allow the scope attention of the audience. The
of discussion. presentation must be made.
The speaker has control over Secondly, presentations do
the audience and can connect not leave any proof of
with them with greater ease correspondence.
The report or the idea gets
greater visibility through

Challenges
presentation

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