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Objective

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Storyline

C

Charts

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Audience
  • Rhetoric - the Art and Science of Presenting Confidently.
  • Eye Contact
  • Voice
  • Hands
  • Movement
  • Transitions
  • Rough Times

Rhetoric - the Art and Science of Presenting Confidently.

  1. Modern Meaning Rhetoric has a number of overlapping meanings: the practice of oratory; the study of the strategies of effective oratory; the use of language, written or spoken, to inform or persuade; the study of the persuasive effects of language; the study of the relation between language and knowledge; the classification and use of tropes and figures. 2001, Patricia Bizzell and Bruce Herzberg, “General Introduction.” The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to the Present. p1
  2. Ancient Meaning Plato: Socrates asks, Must not the art of rhetoric, taken as a whole, be a kind of influencing of the mind by means of words, not only in courts of law and other public gatherings, but in private places also? And must it not be the same art that is concerned with great issues and small, its right employment commanding no more respect when dealing with important matters than with unimportant? Phaedrus, 261a-261b. Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to the Present. p1
  3. Public speaking is ranked as one of the greatest fears. Delivering public presentations is just a few notches below fear of heights, bugs, snakes and needles!
  4. Much of this fear probably comes from the fear or being judged, fear of being ridiculed, fear of being criticised, fear of making mistakes, etc.
  5. When you study most famous speakers, you’d also realise that they differ in styles so there are many ways to create a memorable and lasting impression.
  6. “Find out what you are good at and where you can improve, it gives you a place to start.”

Eye Contact

  1. We all know that eye contact is important. Exercising eye contact during a presentation takes guts and conviction.
  2. A presenter needs to ensure continuous eye contact with each member of the audience.
  3. Eye contact is a humanising element in an impersonal world. We tend to be kinder to strangers who share eye contact with us.
  4. The death of any speaker is talking to the visual aid, talking to the floor, talking to the walls, talking to his/her notes (reading from the notes) and ignoring the audience.
  5. In a presentation you cannot treat the audience as a mass of faces in front of you. You should be treating them as individuals and focus on different individuals in the group.
  6. When you walk into the presentation area, look around and make eye contact with a few people before you start. You will feel better and so will the audience.
  7. Another aspect of eye contact which is often overlooked is that the you will be able to pick up on facial cues.
  8. “Eye contact will get you the attention of the person because it forces the person to look at you.”
  9. “You have to discipline yourself to look at everyone, regardless of their expressions.”

Voice

  1. Using your Voice well shows that you are Passionate. If you are not passionate about the subject then ‘Fake it till you make it’
  2. The audience will take in not only what is being said, but the way in which it is being said.
  3. Speaking clearly, choosing the correct language and jargon always helps
  4. There are a lot of things that you can change with your voice but during a presentation there is no time to think about pitch, modulation and tone. Focus on changing the volume which then causes everything else to change.
  5. For some people, changing his/her voice dramatically changes the style. For others, drastic changes to your speech pattern can produce artificial sounding personalities.
  6. Pace is another aspect of Voice. It is no easy matter to slow down when your adrenalin is pumping. For some, forcing yourself to slow down can be quite artificial. Try long pauses instead. Pauses (2 -3 seconds of silence with eye contact) can be a dramatic element to give certain parts of the presentation more emphasis
  7. Speak loudly enough for the back row to hear you without being too loud for the front row.
  8. Pronunciation, articulation, pitch, modulation and enunciation are all aspects of the presenters’ voice. However, all of these should not be forced.
  9. “There are many ways that you can use pause for great effect.”

Hands

  1. As the conductor’s gestures guide the musicians, likewise your gestures communicate your message better when you use them appropriately.
  2. It is another communication channel to deliver the message that works in tandem with your words.
  3. The gestures must be natural to you, expressive and clear. Thinking about your gestures during your presentation is usually difficult.
  4. Hands can show your Excitement and Passion. If you are not excited about your subject ‘fake moving your hands bigger…’
  5. It looks unnatural when you don’t gesture.
  6. In a presentation we might not know what to do with our hands when we are not using them. Don’t let your hands hang by your side for a long time. Instead, you should Clasp your hands in front…
    Hold notes or pointer or pen or…
    Place hands on furniture…
    Behind your back…
  7. “When you observe others, it is easy for you to pick out unnecessary gestures. Pay attention to what ‘not to do’”

Movement

  1. Movement enables the presenter to appear to be engaging the audience by going closer or coming out from behind a desk or a lectern.
  2. Some movement is inevitable, such as moving towards your computer to change a slide or point to the screen.
  3. Movement in most cases precedes or accompanies a phrase – seldom does the movement happen after stating a fact.
  4. Movement and ‘positioning’ in a presentation change the tone and mood of the presentation.
  5. Movement changes the Mood of the presentation.
  6. Avoid standing at attention. It is difficult to sustain, looks too formal, and you get tired quickly.
  7. Your feet should be approximately shoulder length apart, one leg should be inches in front of the other and your hands should be in a rest position.
  8. When moving, avoid quick and jerky movements – go for slower movements that seem to glide, so that the movement is less distracting
  9. Remember to stop moving once you get to a resting position.
  10. “Don’t sway.” & “Avoid ‘a runway model’ stance for a corporate presentation.”

Transitions

  1. Speech transitions are words and phrases that allow you to smoothly move from one point to another so that your presentation flows.
  2. This makes it easier for the audience to understand and follow your explanation.
  3. Without transitions the audience may be confused as to how one point relates to another.
  4. Transitions to help the Flow
  5. Let’s talk about ..
    I’m going to include..
    Firstly, lets look at..
    Let’s cover..
    Let’s check..
    Beginning with..
    Let’s look at..
    Initially let’s examine..
    To begin with we see..
    To start with we have..
    Going to our next point..
    Next we come to..
    Now, lets inspect..
    Continuing with the next point..
    The following important issue ..
    In answering that question, let me first..
    Subsequently..
    Looking at all the issues..
    At this point I need you to consider..
    Our final point of action..
    This scenario reminds me..
    In conclusion..
    To conclude this..
    Well, as for the last point..
    Here we have..
    We have gone through..
    … coming to ..
    … keeping in mind our point, we would like to focus on..

Rough Times

  1. From computers and projectors causing problems, to external disturbances that involve the audience, there will be plenty of problems to handle when presenting.
  2. You might make a mistake in what you say — or how you say it. You might suddenly find yourself arguing with an audience member not understanding how it happened.
  3. Most Q&A sessions is where the audience challenge your analysis. You have to navigate to the correct answers and deliver those answers with confidence.
  4. WHAT TO DO WHEN THIS HAPPENS,………,?

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