¶ … Oral Skills in a Presentation

Effective oral skills assist a presentation in many ways. They allow the speaker to convey the information clearly and concisely. Oral skills reflect on the presenter's level of professionalism. They help to engage the audience and they help to highlight critical points. Here are some words of advice to help improve your oral skills for presentations.

Clarity

The purpose of a presentation is to communicate information or an idea to the audience. To help achieve this, the speaker should use straightforward diction. Words should be enunciated clearly. Sentences should be short, crisp and to the point. The speaker should never stammer or have unscheduled pauses. Most important for clarity -- never say "uh," "ah" or "um." The audience will disengage almost immediately.

Slide 3: Delivery

Effective delivery is dependent on three things. The first is volume. People need to hear you, but they do not appreciate being shouted at. Control your volume. The second is pace. If you talk too fast or too slow, listeners will lose interest. The third is emphasis. Your voice must have texture -- nobody wants to listen to a monotone drone. Key points are should be emphasized. But remember -- texture must be controlled.

Slide 4: Practice Makes Perfect

The best speeches are those that are practiced ahead of time. Practice familiarizes you with the material, so you don't need to look at your notes constantly. You should be looking at the audience instead. Practicing allows you to know the best places in the speech for emphasis and the best for pauses. Practicing in a room similar to that in which you will deliver the speech can help you calm your nerves, and can allow you to work on your eye contact and volume. If you do not practice, you have nobody to blame but yourself if your speech is poor.

Works Cited:

No author. (2009). Oral presentation. ITIP Team, University of Hong Kong. Retrieved November 4, 2009 from http://ec.hku.hk/epc/presentation/

No author. (2008). Giving an oral presentation. Univeristy of Canberra. Retrieved November 4, 2009 from http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/learning/oral