Preparing Your Presentation

In addition to researching your topic, use the following suggestions to enhance your preparation.

 

Know Your Audience

You’re giving the speech for your audience’s benefit. Know as much about your audience as possible and make everything in your presentation relevant to your listeners.

1. What are the demographics of your audience? Take note of age, gender, religion, class, ethnicity, and educational background.

2. What values, beliefs, or attitudes do you think your audience will have? Do you think they’ll agree or disagree with the points you want to make?

3. Whats an appropriate language level? Do you need to avoid certain words or phrases? Can you use topic-specific terminology?

4. What does the audience want or need? Comfort? Support? Entertainment? If you know what your listeners need, you can talk about your subject matter in a way that meets their needs.

5. Will your particular audience think that you are an authority on your subject? If not, you may have to focus more attention on your qualifications or highlight your use of authoritative sources.

6. Whats the occasion? Is it light or serious? Academic, public, or professional? What will your audience’s standards and expectations be, given the occasion? How will you meet those standards?

7. Time of day: Are you speaking before, during, or after a meal? Will the audience be tired, distracted, or hungry? This may affect how well you can motivate them to listen.

 

What Type of Presentation Will You Give?

INFORMATIVE

Used to teach or provide new information. But remember, always offer your own opinion about the information you’re presenting.

PERSUASIVE

The most difficult type of speech. Used to convince, motivate, or influence your audience to agree and/or to act.

ENTERTAINING OR EVOCATIVE

Used to grab the audience’s attention, to amuse, or to bring people together.

 

Know Your Time Limitations

Don’t run over your allotted time. Try to finish a little early if you want to leave time for questions. Plan what things you can cut if you start to run long.

 

Plan Your Setup

1. Investigate the room.

2. Plan where you will stand and where you will place visual aids.

3. Do you have the right audio/visual equipment?Does it work? Do you know whom to contact in case you have a problem with the equipment?

4. Are there enough electrical outlets?

5. Set the lights to a level of brightness at which you can see any projected visuals without having to turn the lights on or off.

6. Check the volume of your equipment and ask a friend to stand in the back of the room to check the volume of your voice.

7. Move tables and chairs to where you want your audience to sit. Don’t let them crowd you or have their backs to you.

8. Is there a podium or lectern?If yes, get rid of it. Podiums only encourage speakers to hide from their audiences. If you can’t remove the podium, plan to step to the side as you make key points.

9. Set up early. This will give you time to mingle with the audience, to relax, and to feel good about the space and about your presentation.