Formal Presentations

INTRODUCTION

Successful and inspiring speakers are remembered not only because they were eloquent,
humorous, or had a good style, in primarily and principally because their messages and ideas
caned a change in their audience's actions, attitudes, lives, or made the purpose dear to them This
is true for all types of presentations professional presentations, business speeches, classroom
lectures, and so on, especially in an age of instantaneous communication via telephone,
computer, and fax, Face-to-face business presentations are enormous time consumer- from
scheduling a date when everyone can attend, to making every arrangement necessary for the
presentation, it takes much more time and effort than it would have taken to send the same
message at an attachment in an email, in the form of a memorandum, circular, or notice.
Nevertheless, presentations still play an important role in business for obvious and good reasons.

Throughout our career, we are bound to encounter innumerable situations that require
professional presentations to be made. To mention a few, a team leader may have to present
before the corporate body about a product that his/her team has brought out, a top administrator
of an institution may have to present the goals, activities, and achievements of the institution to
an important visitor, a project manager may have to present before a committee the results of a
project recently undertaken by the company; a college student may have to attend seminars or
may have to present project reports to fellow students and faculty members. These situations call
for effective, memorable presentations. Although these circumstances differ in presentations do
not differ much.

The more successful our career, the more often will we be called upon to make presentations for
a variety of situations and audiences. Constant practice is the key to acquiring this skill. The
following points are to be attended to when preparing for a professional presentation.

 Planning: Occasion, audience, purpose, thesis, and material

 Outlining and structuring: Introduction, main body, and conclusion
 Choosing the mode of delivery
 Guidelines for effective delivery
 Body language and voice
 Visual aids

‘Half the world is composed of people who have something to say

and purpose, the strategies in making good can't, and the other half
who have nothing to say and keep on saying it' -Robert Frost-

Nuances and modes of speech delivery

All of us have listened to more than our share of bad presentations. We have sat through
presentations that were delivered so haltingly that we could not care what was being said. We
would also have come across presentations that were delivered smoothly but had practically put
us to sleep, as the presenter droned on endlessly. However, if delivered effectively and
efficiently, presentations can capture the audience's attention without the risk of being shuffled
aside. We can reveal our enthusiasm to the audience better than any other means of
communication and can address their questions or objections directly.

Modes of Delivery

What is it that makes our presentation hold the attention and interest of the audience? Our
manner of presentation, our vocal inflections, our perfectly timed pauses, our facial expressions,
and our gestures all these are part of an expert delivery. Even a dull and drab topic will turn out
to be more interesting if presented well, whereas a really interesting topic may appear to be dull
because of poor delivery. So one thing becomes clear-having something to say is not enough;
you must also know how to say it. Good delivery does not call attention to itself. It conveys our
ideas clearly, interestingly, and without distracting the audience. Most audiences prefer delivery
that combines a certain degree of formality with the best attributes of good conversation-
directness, spontaneity, animation, vocal and facial expressiveness and a lively scope of
communication. The following discussion provides some suggestions so as to enable one to
select the best mode of delivery for a presentation. There are four modes of delivery that can be
used for making presentations:

 Extemporaneous
 Manuscript
 Impromptu
 Memorization

Extemporaneous / speaking from notes mode

Extemporaneous presentation is by far the most popular and effective method when carefully
prepared. When speaking extempore we must prepare the notes beforehand and rehearse our
presentation. There is no need to learn every word and line by rote. Our presentation will sound
quite spontaneous to the audience, as after thorough preparation, we are speaking while thinking,
Careful planning and rigorous practice enable one to collect the material and organize it
meticulously. Let us look at some of the positive and negative aspects of this mode of
presentation.

Advantages

 As we have enough time to prepare for the presentation, we work hard on the theme/
central idea. We can present the theme in the best possible structured way.
 Thorough preparation on our part makes us feel secure and we carry out our
responsibility
 With self-confidence and assurance. Adaptation is also possible if the need arises. In
 Other words, the language of any written text does not bind us. We can be flexible in our
 use of language.
 Supporting material helps to present our points clearly and also adds weight to our
agreement. Appropriate selection of quotations, illustrations, statistics, etc., helps us to
substantiate our point.
 Our delivery sounds natural and spontaneous to the audience as it allows us to establish a
rapport with the audience through more eye contact. It enables us to move freely, with
ease.

Disadvantages

 If preparation is inadequate, we can get lost and find ourselves uncomfortable.

 If we rely too much on note cards and start reading out from them instead of just
consulting them for reference, then the speech will lose its spontaneity.

Manuscript/ reading manuscript mode

In manuscript presentation, material is written out and we are supposed to read it out aloud
verbatim. We are not supposed to memorize the speech and then recollect it. It is there in front of
us to read. But, we should be wise enough not to attempt to read a speech until we have become
proficient reader. Unfortunately most speakers are not readers. They make it uninteresting by
reading in a dull and monotonous way. However we can overcome this problem with consistent
efforts. We could maybe rehearse with friend or colleague. For effective use of this mode, we
should go through the material several times beforehand until we become absolutely familiar
with the text. We should strive to choose material designed to achieve understanding. We should
know bar is written is where.

Advantage

 It is a permanent and accurate record of whatever we have to say

 There is no chance of tampering with the facts and figures.
 The material is organized systematically. We just have to keep in mind the step-by-sty
development of main points.
 Language gets polished because we can write and rewrite our material until we feel
satisfied on all counts.

Disadvantages

 Since we will be reading from the manuscript, we get less time for making proper eye
contact, which is essential to feel the pulse of our audience.
 Since we will be reading to the audience, we cannot talk to them. There is not much
scope either for non-verbal communication.
 Adaptation is rather difficult, if the need arises, to give a different twist to our material In
the absence of effective reading skill, we fumble over words, lose our pace, and min
 punctuation marks, etc. This adds up to an uninteresting speech and loss of audience
attention.
 Conversational flavour along with vocal inflection takes a back seat here, which is a great
asset for a speaker.

Impromptu mode

The impromptu mode, as the word suggests, is what we use when we have to deliver an informal
speech without preparation For example, at a formal dinner party you may be invited to deliver a
vote of thanks. Do not panic and babble something in an unmethodical way. Instead, calmly state
your topic and then preview the points you are to make. Support your points with whatever
examples, quotes, and anecdotes you recall at that time. Then briefly summarize or restate your
points and end with a smile. Remember, it is not difficult for you to anticipate certain occasions
where you may be asked to speak a few words. Be as brief as possible during your impromptu
presentations.

Advantages

 . We sound very natural because we do not get enough time to make any elaborate
preparation.
 We get a chance to express our thoughts irrespective of what others think or say about
that particular topic.
 We are spontaneous as we say what we feel, not what we ought to say.

Disadvantages

 The presentation lacks organized development of ideas because of the shortage of time.
 There is no supplementary material (no data, no statistics, no illustrations, no figures) to
 substantiate the speech.
 Chances of rambling are very high. Various points may hang loose.
 There is frequent use of vocalized pauses.
 The presentation may turn out to be a failure if the speaker has inadequate proficiency in
the language he/she uses.

Gaining a reputation for being a good impromptu speaker can do a great deal for our career
aspirations. It has been shown that there is a positive correlation between communication
effectiveness and upward mobility.

Memorization mode

This method of presentation is very difficult for most of us. Probably only a handful of us can
actually memorize an entire speech. Usually we memorize only the main parts and are in the
habit of writing key words on cards to help us out through the actual presentation. In some cases,
if we wish to quote somebody or narrate an anecdote or a joke, it is better to memorize these for
our presentations.

This type of delivery stands somewhere between extemporaneous and manuscript presentation.
Speech is written out beforehand, then committed to memory, and finally delivered from
memory.

Advantages

 It is very easy for such speakers to maintain an eye contact with the audience throughout
the presentation.
 The speaker can easily move and make use of appropriate non-verbal communication to
add extra value to the speech.
 It is possible to finish the speech in allotted time.

Disadvantages

 Memorization requires too much of time.

 . There are chances of making it a dull and monotonous presentation because we exactly
by whatever we have memorized.
 Even our memory skills may fail us if we have not rehearsed adequately.
 No flexibility or adaptation is possible during the speech.
 The speaker gets flustered if he/she forgets a word, sentence, or a whole paragraph.

Among all the four modes of delivery, extemporaneous is the best because of its flexible nature
and its effectiveness. Hence, it is always better to use this mode to make presentations more
lively, effective, and memorable.

Public Speaking

Public speaking is the process or act of performing a speech to a live audience. public speaking
is commonly understood as formal, face-to-face speaking of a single person to a group of
listeners . Traditionally, public speaking was considered to be a part of the art of persuasion

Significance of Making Formal Speeches

The spoken words weild great power. Effective speeches can change the mood of the audience.
Antony’s speech won the Roman mob to his side and stirred the Romans to rebel against Brutus
and Cassius.

In the business world various types of formal and informal face-to-face communications takes
place when people get together. Businessmen need to make formal presentations in the form of
speeches , lectures and oral reports etc. They participate in conferences, meetings and group
discussions. The industrialists managers and executives are often required to make speeches
before a technically trained staff at some official meetings, seminars and discussions Hence, the
speaker needs considerable skill to deliver a speed effectively before a a gathering.

The most difficult kind of oral communication for most people is a formal speech. But if one
learns the techniques of delivery good speeches, one can become a good speaker and can
communicate with the audience effectively. Before we consider the pre-requisites of elocution,
let us first ponder over the qualities of a good speaker

Profile of a Good Speaker

 A good speaker refers to nine qualities:

 A good is lively, interested, enthusiastic and vital
 A good speaker is earnest
 A good speaker has a sense of responsibility to his listeners
 A good speaker has a sense of responsibility to others on the programme i.e he does not
take more time what is allotted to him
 A good speaker has a sense of responsibility to his subject. He chooses an appropriate
subject and no spread it too much.
 A good speaker has a sense of leadership, he stands up tall, he talks eye to eye like a
leader
 A good speaker keeps his head i.e. he is not cared of by his over enthusiasm.
 A good speaker tries to be balanced and normal.
 A good speaker keeps his sense of humour.