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users? Internal or external? My purpose and the audience mix
determine the tone and focus of the presentation.

When I make a presentation, I use the visuals as the outline. I wiil not
use notes. I lik to select the kind of visual that not only best supports
the message but also best fits the audience and the physical location.
PowerPoint, slides, overhead transperencies, and flip charts are the
four main kinds of voisuals I use.

PowerPoint and slide presentations work well when I am selling a
product or an idea to large groups (15 people or more). In this format,
I like to use examples and graphs and tables to support my message in
a general way.

In small presentations, including one-on-ones and presentations where
the audence is part of the actual process, I like transperencies or flip
charts. They allow me to be more informal.

I get very, very nervous when I speak in public. I handle my
nervousness by just trying to look as if, instead of talking to so many
people, I am walking in and talking to a single person. I don’t like to
speak behind lecterns. Instead, I like to get out and just be open and
portray that openness:”I am here to tell you a story”.

I try very hard for people to enjoy my presentations by showing
enthusiasm on the subject and by being sincere. I try not use a hard
sell – I just try to report or to explain – and I think that comes across.
In addition, it helps that I am speaking about something that I very
strongly believe in and something that I really, really enjoy doing.

EFFECTIVE ORAL PRESENTATION SKILLS

There is a myth that great speakers are born, not made. This is based
on the misconception that somehow certain individuals have the
innate ability to stand in front of an audience with no anxiety and give
a moving, dynamic speech. The truth is, however, that great speakers

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