Business Communication:

Successful Oral Presentations

Susan H. Irons
Business Communication
Kenan-Flagler Business School
Your Goal
To develop strategies and skills for
delivering effective and
professional business presentations

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
For a successful presentation:
 Analyze the situation
 Organize your ideas
 Develop effective delivery techniques

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Analyze the Situation
 Speaker: What is your relationship to
your audience?

 Purpose: What is your goal? (To

inform? To persuade? To entertain?)

 Audience: Who are they? What do

they know? How will they react?

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
For a successful presentation:
 Analyze the situation
 Organize your ideas
 Develop effective delivery techniques

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Organize Your Ideas
 Opening
 Purpose
 Preview of main ideas
 Development of main points
 Review/summary
 Closing

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Organize Your Ideas: Opening
 Gain attention (unusual fact)
 Give bottom line
 Show benefit(s) to listeners
 Introduce yourself
 Show your qualifications
 Clarify topic

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Organize Your Ideas: Purpose
 Develop a purpose slide

 Explain your purpose orally

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Organize Your Ideas: Preview
 Offer a table of contents, an agenda, an
outline

 Make this preview slide your “moving

blueprint” for the presentation

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Organize Your Ideas: Main
Points
Each point needs an oral signpost

Now that I’ve discussed the salary increase, I want to

move on to health care options.

The last point I want to make involves implementing

the flex-time policy.

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Organize Your Ideas: Main
Points
Each point needs development
 Support your generalizations with
specific information

 Use logically persuasive tools to shape

opinions (such as facts, history,
analogy, appeals to needs and values)

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Organize Your Ideas:
Conclusion
Provide an oral signpost

“In conclusion . . .”
“To summarize . . .”

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Organize Your Ideas:
Conclusion
Review/summarize your main points
Then--
 Refer to opening

or
 End with actions steps

or
 Refer to audience benefits

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Organize Your Ideas

Why so much repetition?

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Organize Your Ideas
PowerPoint Presentations
 Font
 Design: 6X6 rule
 Visuals
Handouts

Remember: YOU are the presentation!

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Organize Your Ideas
 Use visuals that enhance your message

 Visuals should
 relate to your message
 help make your point
 be consistent

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Organize Your Ideas
Effective PowerPoint slides are
 simple

 uncluttered

 consistent

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Organize Your Ideas

Audiences understand your point an

average of 25% faster when
communicated via a graphic
representation than a text version.

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
For a successful presentation:
 Analyze the situation
 Organize your ideas
 Develop effective delivery techniques

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Develop Effective Delivery
Techniques
 Eye Contact
 Non-verbal communication
 Speaking voice
 Notes
 Handling questions
 Team Presentations

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Eye Contact
Effective eye communication
 5 seconds
 x and z patterns

Avoid:
Eye dart Gazing out the window
Slow blink Lighthouse scan

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Develop Effective Delivery
Techniques
 Eye Contact
 Non-verbal communication
 Speaking voice
 Notes
 Handling questions
 Team Presentations

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Non-verbal Communication:
Posture

Upper body posture

Lower body posture

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Non-verbal Communication:
Movement

Eliminate barriers

Do the 2-step

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Non-verbal Communication:
Gestures
 Use appropriate hand and arm gestures

 Be natural and open

 Avoid these pitfalls:

Figleaf Sisters of Mercy
Parade Rest Jangler

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Non-verbal Communication:
Facial Expressions

 Look pleasant

 Smile whenever appropriate

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Non-verbal Communication:
Energy
 Start strong

 Show enthusiasm

 End with high energy

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Develop Effective Delivery
Techniques
 Eye Contact
 Non-verbal communication
 Speaking voice

 Notes

 Handling questions

 Team Presentations

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Speaking Voice: Inflection
Affects Meaning

Effective communication is essential to

organizational success.

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Speaking Voice: Pace
The most effective rate of speed for a
presentation is between 175 and 190
words per minute.

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Speaking Voice: Volume and
Clarity
 Articulate well

 Don’t swallow ends of sentences

 Don’t drop voice at end of presentation

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Speaking Voice: Verbal Clutter
 Uh
 Ummmmmm
 Er
 You know
 Like
 Okay

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Develop Effective Delivery
Techniques
 Eye Contact
 Non-verbal communication

 Speaking voice
 Notes

 Handling questions

 Team Presentations

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Notes
 Format

 Appearance

Do not use the screen as your notes!

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Develop Effective Delivery
Techniques
 Eye Contact
 Non-verbal communication

 Speaking voice

 Notes
 Handling questions

 Team Presentations

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Handling questions
 Acknowledge audience members
explicitly. Why?
 Repeat the questions. Why?
 When answering, don’t look just at
questioner.
 What if you don’t know the answer?

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Develop Effective Delivery
Techniques
 Eye Contact
 Non-verbal communication

 Speaking voice

 Notes

 Handling questions
 Team Presentations

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Team Presentations
 Transitions and cues

 Handling technology

 Handling questions

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
Remember Basic Logistics!
 Check out your presentation space
 Confirm the presentation time length
 Ask about the size of your audience
 Prepare a back-up plan
 Practice!
 Arrive early

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations
For a successful presentation:
 Analyze the situation
 Organize your ideas

 Develop effective delivery techniques

Susan H. Irons Successful Oral

Presentations