Presentation

Definition: A presentation is a form of communication in which the speaker conveys information to the audience. In an organization presentations are used in various scenarios like talking to a group, addressing a meeting, demonstrating or introducing a new product, or briefing a team. It involves presenting a particular subject or issue or new ideas/thoughts to a group of people.

It is considered as the most effective form of communication because of two main reasons:

• Use of non-verbal cues.
• Facilitates instant feedback.

In small presentations, we can make use of a blackboard, graphs, charts and slides as a visual aid. Whereas, in large presentations, we can make use of films, slides, videos, animations or modern computer graphics, as a visual aid.

Business Presentations are a tool to influence people toward an intended thought or action.

Parts of Presentation

Every Presentation has three main parts viz introduction, body and conclusion. Basically, an introduction should take around 10-15% of your presentation time. While you should allocate 75% of your time towards your body and the remaining 10% should be for the conclusion.

• Introduction: It is meant to make the listeners ready to receive the message and draw their interest. For that, the speaker can narrate some story or a humorous piece of joke, an interesting fact, a question, stating a problem, and so forth. They can also use some surprising statistics.
• Body: It is the essence of the presentation. It requires the sequencing of facts in a logical order. This is the part where the speaker explains the topic and relevant information. It has to be critically arranged, as the audience must be able to grasp what the speaker presents.
• Conclusion: It needs to be short and precise. It should sum up or outline the key points that you have presented. It could also contain what the audience should have gained out of the presentation.

Purpose of Presentation

1. To inform: Organizations can use presentations to inform the audience about new schemes, products or proposals. The aim is to inform the new entrant about the policies and procedures of the organization.
2. To persuade: Presentations are also given to persuade the audience to take the intended action.
3. To build goodwill: They can also help in building a good reputation

Factors Affecting Presentation

• Audience Analysis

  When the speaker has made some background research about the audience in a proper manner, it results in excelling in the presentation. However, when the audience analysis is poor, it will result in an ineffective presentation.

• Communication environment

  The effectiveness of the presentation is highly influenced by the communication environment. Maximum people of the audience notice the surrounding. These surroundings include the speaker, stage, background, lighting, aeration and so forth. If the arrangements are not proper then it will have an adverse impact on the presentation.

• Personal Appearance

  How the speaker is appearing to the audience has a great impact. A person who is well dressed up, wearing limited accessories and looking professional, can influence the audience by their communication easily.

• Use of Visuals

  Visuals are like the cherry on the cake. It makes the presentation more effective. If the presenters use visual aids, then it is supposed to be better prepared. Also, they appear more persuasive, credible and interesting to the audience.

• Opening and Closing Presentation

  The beginning of the presentation should be interesting enough to retain the attention of the audience. The ending of the presentation should leave a deep impact on the audience.

• Organization of Presentation

  When the facts and data are organized in a proper manner, clarity is ensured. Further, it makes the message understandable and keeps the enthusiasm of the audience intact. Also, it improves the image of the speaker.

• Language and Words

  The quality of the presentation also depends on the language and words. The speaker should speak in the language with which the audience is familiar. So, he could choose some catchy words to grab the interest of the audience.

• Voice Quality

  The presenter’s voice quality also has an influence on the audience. A strong and striking voice can easily draw the attention of the audience.

• Body Language

  The audience listens to the speaker who maintains eye contact while speaking. It shows the confidence, knowledge, friendliness and experience of the speaker.

• Answering Questions

  If the speaker is capable of handling the questions of the audience tactfully asked when the presentation ends. It helps in impressing the audience. Then, the presentation is said to be successful.

A word from Business Jargons

Presentation is a mode of conveying information to a selected group of people live. An ideal presentation is one that identifies and matches the needs, interests and understanding level of the audience. It also represents the facts, and figures in the form of tables, charts, and graphs and uses multiple colours.