BSBCMM401A Make a presentation Learner Manal - · PDF file · 2012-02-07BSBCMM401A Make a Presentation ... In this topic you will prepare a presentation to a target audience

BSBCMM401A Make a Presentation

Learner Manual Source: http://sielearning.tafensw.edu.au/MBA/BSBCMM401A/12601/bsbcmm401a/index.htm

© State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Training, 2010

BSBCMM401A Make a presentation Learner Manual © State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Training, 2010

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Table of Contents BSBCMM401A – Make a presentation ................................................................................. 4 Unit Purpose ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Topic 1 – Prepare a presentation ......................................................................................... 4 Overview .................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Checklist: Can you do this? .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Case study ............................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Readings ................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Topic 1 -‐ Prepare a presentation: Readings ......................................................................... 6 What’s the difference between public speaking and a presentation? ........................................................... 6 Types of presentations ...................................................................................................................................................... 7 Presentations; who needs them? .................................................................................................................................... 7

1. Plan and document presentation approach and intended outcomes .................................................. 8 A Preliminary Planning Checklist .................................................................................................................................. 8 Checklist .................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Audience characteristics ................................................................................................................................................... 9 The Venue ............................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Establish the purpose ........................................................................................................................................................ 10 Determine the objectives ................................................................................................................................................. 11 Research the topic .............................................................................................................................................................. 11

2. Choose presentation strategies, format and delivery methods that match the characteristics of the target audience, location, resources and personnel needed .............................................................. 13 Prepare presentation notes and guides .................................................................................................................... 13 Brief notes .............................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Detailed notes ...................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Session plans ......................................................................................................................................................................... 15

3. Select presentation aids, materials and techniques that suit the format and purpose of the presentation, and will enhance audience understanding of key concepts and central ideas ........... 17 Strategies and techniques ............................................................................................................................................... 18 Presentation aids and materials .................................................................................................................................. 19

4. Brief others involved in the presentation on their roles/responsibilities within the presentation ......................................................................................................................................................................... 20 5. Select techniques to evaluate presentation effectiveness ....................................................................... 21 Interview with Sharon Rimington .............................................................................................................................. 22 Topic 1 -‐ Activities ............................................................................................................. 22

Topic 2 -‐ Deliver a presentation ......................................................................................... 26 Overview ................................................................................................................................................................................ 26 Checklist: Can you do this? ............................................................................................................................................ 26 Case study ............................................................................................................................................................................. 27 Readings ................................................................................................................................................................................. 28 Topic 2 -‐ Deliver a presentation: Readings ........................................................................ 28 Non verbal communication ........................................................................................................................................... 37 Verbal communication .................................................................................................................................................... 39 Hints for responding to questions .............................................................................................................................. 42

Show respect ......................................................................................................................................................................... 42 State when questions will be responded to ............................................................................................................... 42 How to deal with difficult questions ............................................................................................................................ 42 How to control persistent questioners ........................................................................................................................ 42


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Tips for handling questions .............................................................................................................................................. 43 Interview with Sharon Rimington .............................................................................................................................. 44 Topic 2 -‐ Activities ............................................................................................................. 44

Topic 3 -‐ Review the presentation ..................................................................................... 48 Overview ................................................................................................................................................................................ 48 Checklist: Can you do this? ............................................................................................................................................ 48 Case study ............................................................................................................................................................................. 49 Readings ................................................................................................................................................................................. 49 Topic 3 -‐ Review the presentation: Readings .................................................................... 50 SECTION 1: Content .......................................................................................................................................................... 54 SECTION 2: Materials ....................................................................................................................................................... 54 SECTION 3: Environment ............................................................................................................................................... 54 SECTION 4: Presenter ...................................................................................................................................................... 55 Interview with Sharon Rimington .............................................................................................................................. 56 Topic 3 -‐ Activities ............................................................................................................. 57

Case studies ...................................................................................................................... 61

Topic 1 -‐ Prepare a presentation: Case study ..................................................................... 62 ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd (Part 1) ....................................................................................................................................... 62

Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 62 Overview of ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd ............................................................................................................................ 62 See how it’s done ................................................................................................................................................................ 63 Topic 2 -‐ Deliver a presentation: Case study ...................................................................... 67

‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd (Part 2) ....................................................................................................................................... 67 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 67 Overview of ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd ............................................................................................................................ 67 See how it’s done ................................................................................................................................................................ 68 Topic 3 -‐ Review a presentation: Case study ...................................................................... 82

‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd (Part 3) ....................................................................................................................................... 82 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 82 Overview of ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd ............................................................................................................................ 82 See how it’s done ................................................................................................................................................................ 83 Interview with Sharon Rimington Transcripts .................................................................... 87 Topic 1 Prepare a presentation ................................................................................................................................... 88 Topic 2 Deliver a presentation ..................................................................................................................................... 89 Topic 3 Review the presentation ................................................................................................................................ 93


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BSBCMM401A – Make a presentation

Unit Purpose On completion of this unit you should be able to plan, deliver and evaluate a formal oral and written presentation appropriate to a specific audience. Specifically you will be able to: • Prepare a presentation • Deliver a presentation • Review the presentation

Topic 1 – Prepare a presentation Overview

In this topic you will prepare a presentation to a target audience. Element 1: Prepare a presentation

1.1 Plan and document presentation approach and intended outcomes 1.2 Choose presentation strategies, format and delivery methods that match the characteristics of the target audience, location, resources and personnel needed 1.3 Select presentation aids, materials and techniques that suit the format and purpose of the presentation, and will enhance audience understanding of key concepts and central ideas 1.4 Brief others involved in the presentation on their roles/responsibilities within the presentation 1.5 Select techniques to evaluate presentation effectiveness


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Checklist: Can you do this? Before you begin working on topics in this unit, fill out the checklist below and put a copy of it in your portfolio. Then when you finish working through the material in the unit, revisit this checklist and see whether you can now answer “yes” to all of the questions. Save this in your portfolio as well. If you answer “Yes” below, make sure you are able to provide evidence of this. This might come from the following:

1. You are doing this in your current workplace

2. You did this in your previous workplace

3. You learned about and then demonstrated this in a previous course (if so, write down the course name and number and where you studied)

4. You learned how to do this in self-directed study

5. Etc.

Put the number that applies above in the Evidence column below. Be prepared to provide this evidence for your teacher. If possible, put it in your portfolio.

Can you… Yes No Not sure Evidence

plan and document presentation approach and intended outcomes?

choose presentation strategies, format and delivery methods that match the characteristics of the target audience, location, resources and personnel needed?

select presentation aids, materials and techniques that suit the format and purpose of the presentation, and will enhance audience understanding of key concepts and central ideas?

brief others involved in the presentation on their roles/responsibilities within the presentation?

select techniques to evaluate presentation effectiveness?

plan and document presentation approach and intended outcomes?


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Case study The case study provides a workplace example of the situations and skills covered in this topic. Read the Review a presentation case study at the back of this manual. You might want to refer back to this as you are doing the readings and activities that follow.

Readings The following readings will help you to understand the key concepts for this topic.

Topic 1 - Prepare a presentation: Readings There is no such thing as a ‘natural born speaker’. It’s a well-‐known fact that most people get nervous at the very thought of speaking in front of an audience. Take this opportunity to ‘harness those nerves’ -‐ develop your skills, practise new techniques and grow in confidence. Learn how to present with passion and pizzazz!

Let’s start with the fundamentals...

What’s the difference between public speaking and a presentation? Generally, a public speech is a telling activity. It can be used for many purposes such as to entertain or motivate, or maybe to inform an audience. The length of a speech is usually short, for example 30 minutes (although sometimes it can seem much longer). A speech requires very little input from the audience.

A presentation tells, demonstrates and actively involves the audience. It can be used for many purposes such as promoting goods and services, motivating or training people, informing or educating an audience. The length of a presentation can be short or can be for hours. A presentation requires input from the audience.

Presenting information and public speaking are required in many situations. It may be presenting to a board of directors, giving a sales presentation, speaking to a committee, a group of peers or colleagues, to existing or prospective customers or to other people for many other reasons.


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Types of presentations There are many types of presentations but some of the most common are:

• An impromptu speech where you have little or no time to prepare and possibly no ‘props’

• A prepared speech where you have learnt your topic in a structured manner and use prompts such as cue cards or a written plan to present your material

• Manuscript speech which is written and delivered ‘word for word’. Every word that is spoken must be accurate and specific.

• A memorised speech where you have learnt your topic ‘off by heart’

• Team briefing where you bring the rest of the team up to date on important points

• Facilitating an audience where you lead a group or team of people. The facilitator takes the key role in a group so that the group accomplishes its goals and tasks

• Speaking on television or radio

Presentations; who needs them?

Any organisation, or person, that wants to make an impact on others! That means you, and the organisation in which you are involved. Effective public speaking skills are very useful, not only in employment, but also in many other areas of life. Organisations need to project a professional image to internal and external customers and other interested parties. Individuals need to project confidence when speaking to an audience.

The ‘P’ factor

Have you heard the saying ‘Location, Location, Location’? Many experts quote this as being the most important factor when buying real estate. What do you think is the most important factor of a successful presentation? ‘Preparation, Preparation, Preparation’ comes to mind. But is it enough?

Although preparation is critical to the success of a presentation, there are a number of other equally important phases involved.

Essential ingredients of an effective presentation are:

• Plan – find out basic information and research the content. Develop an action plan.

• Purpose – establish the intention of the presentation. What’s it for?

• Prepare – organise resources and helpers, and develop a plan or prompts to guide the session

• Practise – your tone of voice, body language, knowledge of content, and use of strategies

• Perform – relax and enjoy presenting; take your audience with you on this unique journey

• Perfect – use evaluation techniques to improve your next presentation.


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1. Plan and document presentation approach and intended outcomes Don’t let ‘Murphy’s Law’ ruin your presentation. Attention to detail is critical when planning and preparing a presentation.

In the planning phase, there are many things to consider such as:

• WHEN is the presentation? Is there enough time to prepare all necessary resources? Do you need other people to assist in the preparation or during the presentation? Are you free at this time to conduct the presentation – check your diary before you commit!

• WHERE is the venue? Can you get there in time and is it easy to get to? Is the venue adequate? Is the layout, lighting, power and seating appropriate and conducive to presentations?

• WHY is the presentation being held? Is the purpose clear to you and to the organiser/s? Do you have the expertise to conduct this presentation in terms of content or do you need to research the content? What are the possible consequences if your presentation is not effective? Is there a replacement presenter in case of an emergency?

• WHO is attending? What is the background of the audience? Are there any participants who have special needs such as people with disabilities, or cultural needs? Does the audience choose to be at the presentation or have they been coerced into attending? What is the existing level of knowledge of your audience in relation to the presentation content?

• HOW should the presentation be conducted? Is it to be a workshop or a lecture? Or do you need to consider other methods which are more cost or time effective. How will you use your voice and your body language to convey the real message? How can you engage your audience mood? How can you stay ‘on track’?

• WHAT resources are available? Is the equipment in working order such as microphones, overhead projectors, computers, smartscreens or whiteboards. Who will test the equipment and when? Will you need back up resources in case of unforeseen problems?

• OTHER important items to consider such as, is it your responsibility to conduct the hazard risk assessment of the venue? Are there safety issues that you will have to manage? Another point to consider perhaps, is there a dress code?

A Preliminary Planning Checklist

Design an action plan or use a simple checklist such as shown below, to help you plan for a presentation. Use this guide in the preliminary planning phase.

A more detailed session plan should be developed for the next phases ie preparing session notes.


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Checklist

You must be confident that everything will work on the day. That means you should check all details yourself, including equipment.

WHEN

WHERE

WHY

WHO

HOW

WHAT

OTHER

Audience characteristics

Finding information about the audience is a good starting point when preparing a presentation. Some things to consider are:

• age of audience members

• occupation of audience members

• their cultural and language background

• educational background or general knowledge

• gender of the audience

• language, literacy and numeracy needs

• physical ability

• previous experience with the topic

• what information are they looking for in particular?

• What could the attitude of the audience be to this topic? Is it controversial or mundane perhaps?

• How much does the audience need to know about this topic?


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• Are there particular issues you must not address?

Your aim is to capture audience interest and keep it. You can do this more effectively if you are familiar with the audiences’ needs in the first place. Will they react positively to your delivery or are there hidden agendas or sensitivities of which you should be aware?

You must be careful however, to not generalise or make assumptions about the audience.

Your preliminary analysis of the audience may influence your choice of topic, your presentation style, the purpose and other aspects of the presentation such as encouraging the audience to be actively involved.

The Venue

You should also investigate the venue and clarify the environment in which you will be presenting.

• Is the presentation indoors or outdoors?

• What is the size and shape of the venue?

• What type of seating is available and how will it be arranged?

• What types of audio-‐visual equipment and aids are available for use?

• Are there safety issues to manage?

Knowing the venue will help in your preparation. For example, if people are seated close to you, strategies that encourage audience participation may be the most appropriate. If people are seated at a distance however, you may need alternative strategies. If people are seated around tables such as at a dinner function, some audience members may be preoccupied and less attention will be focussed on you. It’s a good idea to think about seating arrangements early in the preparation phase.

Establish the purpose ‘Cheshire-‐Puss’ said Alice in Wonderland, ‘would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here’?

‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.

‘I don’t much care where…,’ said Alice.

‘Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.

‘…so long as I get somewhere,’ Alice added as an explanation.

‘Oh, you’re sure to do that,’ said the Cat, ‘if you only walk long enough’.

Don’t be like Alice in Wonderland and wander aimlessly through your presentation. You should know where you want to go before you start your journey. Ask yourself, “What do I want to achieve from this presentation? What do the participants want to achieve? What does the organiser want to achieve?”

Firstly, you need to identify a general aim. For example, is the presentation to:

Inform Motivate or inspire Educate or train


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Negotiate or debate Sell or stimulate interest Entertain Persuade or convince Compel or ‘drive’ Give a report Promote yourself

To help you to determine the purpose of the presentation, ask yourself these questions:

• What do you want your audience to do? For example, do you want them to endorse or buy a product, support a cause, accept a solution, participate in an activity or use a service?

• What do you want your audience to feel? For example, do you want to excite, motivate or inspire them, soothe, calm or reassure them or shock them into action?

• What do you want your audience to think? Do you want the audience to accept the content of your presentation or do you want to challenge them into critical thinking? Do you want passive or active engagement?

Determine the objectives

Now you need to think about objectives. Objectives are determined according to the purpose of the presentation.

A presentation can have more than one objective and each objective should contain a performance (action). Objectives should be concise.

Objectives should be:

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Relevant and

Timely

Research the topic

If you are unfamiliar with the topic or if you need to refresh your knowledge about a topic, you will need to conduct research. Some common avenues of research are listed below:

• Professional associations

• Hobby or interest organisations

• Colleagues, managers, peers and friends

• The internet (make sure the site is credible)

• Newspapers

• Journals (professional journals often contain current thinking)


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• Colleagues and managers

• Original research such as surveys, questionnaires, experiments, testing (if qualified to do so)

• Books and textbooks

Remember to note down the sources of your information, including full reference details of the information that you find. This enables you to easily cite your references in written reports or directly to interested people. One technique is to progressively write separate pieces of information on separate pieces of paper or on to cards (referenced). You then display the cards and sort into a preferred order for the presentation.

For assistance, seek the assistance of a librarian who will simplify the process of referencing.


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2. Choose presentation strategies, format and delivery methods that match the characteristics of the target audience, location, resources and personnel needed

Who would you rather be listening to?

Have you heard the old adage ‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail’?

Having established the general aim and specific objectives, it’s now time to build the presentation.

For this a written plan is essential. Plans range from simple to complex.

Prepare presentation notes and guides

You can design a written plan or you can use an existing model. The plan can be a script, cue cards, keywords, a mind map, brief notes, or perhaps a simple or complex session plan. The notes or guides or plan depends on the purpose of the presentation and its complexities.

Whatever its ‘shape’, it should provide guidance and timeframes so that you manage to cover all aspects of the presentation in the time allotted. Here are some ideas to help you get started:

• Brainstorm ideas and get them down on paper. You have much to offer; don’t ignore your creativity and your experiences. We’ve all been captivated at some time by a presentation. How did they get our interest and keep it?

• Look for interesting ‘attention grabbers’, humorous items or other appropriate attention grabber. Write them in your ‘treasure’ file.

• Select a structure that is appropriate to your purpose (eg. key words, chronological, problem solving, topical, theory/practical). But don’t try to keep a logical order just yet. Your plan is still evolving.


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• Start thinking about an introduction, body and conclusion. Each of these sections requires special attention and will be explored in detail a little later on. Once again, don’t try to keep to an order just yet. Just keep the ideas flowing at this stage.

• Think about appropriate activities, strategies, resources and timing. Write down your ideas, including some questions and possible answers about the topic.

• Remember that you may need to include courtesy (housekeeping) information such as location of amenities, emergency procedures and so on.

• Do you need to address special guests in a particular manner? Check out potential protocols to follow and who’s who?

• Jot down avenues for researching your topic more thoroughly. You don’t need to keep this in any particular order just yet, but you do need to remember where you source information. Record your sources of research in an appropriate manner as you find it. Check with an expert such as a librarian or a topic specialist, for help on researching techniques.

Cue cards

Cue cards help you to remember all the points you want to make and the order in which you want to make them. Cue cards are also useful if you need to explain technical matters or remember specific terminology or formulae.

Cue cards should be small enough to be held in the palm of your hand. In fact many people call them palm cards. Cue cards are often more suitable than pages of notes because the presenter has more eye contact with the audience when speaking.

• When you use cue cards, you glance at the points noted on the current card and then talk about them. Do not read them! You will have no problem knowing where you are up to because as soon as you have looked at one cue card you put it at the back of the pack and the next one is ready for you.

• It is important to number the cards so that if they get out of order you can easily re-‐sort them.

• Practise using cue cards – you’ll soon feel comfortable with them.

Brief notes

You can also write very brief notes – points with key words only, and any figures or quotes that you have to get exact – on paper. Keep your notes brief – key words only, so you can avoid the temptation to read from them, and also so that it is easy to see at a glance where you’re up to.

• Type notes clearly, double spaced.

• Only use the top half of the page so that you don’t have to look down too far to read them.


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Detailed notes

Notes and cue cards help you to concentrate on the task at hand, rather than worry that you will forget what you want to say.

If you need to have every word exactly right such as presenting statistics or quotations, you should use detailed notes. In this case you should also consider using overhead display such as PowerPoint or ‘flash’ presentations’.

When preparing your detailed notes you should:

• type the notes in large letters (but not all capitals as this can be very hard to read)

• use double spacing and

• type only on the top half of each sheet of paper. This will stop you from dropping your head down too far and ‘talking into your chest’.

A big problem with detailed notes is that it is too easy to simply read from them. This will ‘flatten’ your delivery and the audience will be looking at the top of your head. You should maintain eye contact when speaking to an audience. Watching someone reading from notes is usually very boring.

Session plans

A session plan will provide guidance. It can be simple or complex. The plan will provide structure for the presentation however it should enable you to be flexible as well. You do not need to stick rigidly to the plan. Rather, use it to guide you smoothly through your presentation.

An effective presentation will have an introduction, a body and a conclusion. All three phases should be linked to ensure a smooth transition from one to the other. In a nutshell, the format of a presentation involves:

‘Tell the audience what you’re going to tell them’: this is the introduction stage, then

‘Tell them’. This is the body of the presentation. And lastly

‘Tell them what you just told them’. This of course, is the conclusion.

Simple but true. Every presentation should follow a structure such as this although all will differ in delivery strategies and methods as well as complexity.

Complex presentations will have detailed introductions, well-‐structured and logical ‘chunk’s’ of information that form the body and finally a detailed conclusion that links back to the introduction and the body.

You should design your own presentation session plan. Examples of simple and complex session plans are shown for your interest.


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FEATURES OF A SIMPLE PRESENTATION PLAN WELCOME Welcome the audience Follow protocol such introducing special guests Introduce yourself and your colleagues or assistants HOUSEKEEPING Explain and complete ‘housekeeping’ duties INTRODUCTION Start with an attention grabber Use an ice-‐breaker Clearly state the purpose Set the pace BODY Organise the content in a logical sequence Arrange content into about 5 core ‘chunks’ of material

Devise key words for each ‘chunk’ Set a timeframe

Design a mini-‐speech for each key word

Outline strategies to demonstrate Outline strategies to reinforce Outline strategies to actively involve participants CONCLUSION Relate back to the purpose Refresh key points Motivate participants Thank you and Farewell

FEATURES OF A DETAILED PRESENTATION PLAN WELCOME Welcome the audience Follow protocol such as introducing special guests Introduce yourself and your colleagues or assistants HOUSEKKEEPING Explain and complete ‘housekeeping’ duties

INTRODUCTION Interest: Grab their interest/attention Need: Establish a need/desire to know more

Topic: Be clear about the topic/s

Relevant: Make it relevant

Objective: Clarify the objective/s


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BODY

• ‘Package in chunks’ • flow logically from simple to complex • encourage active participation by all • activities at regular intervals eg 20 minutes • allow for practise • encourage positive feedback • provide motivation • show timeframe • pose “thought-‐full” questions and possible solutions • appeal to the senses eg audio/visual, smell, touch, feel • assess/evaluate required outcomes • encourage confidence to transfer skills

CONCLUSION

Relate back to objectives

Involve all participants Verify participants understanding

Explain the key points

Terminate the session with a definite ending

Introduce the next session’s topic Never be rushed

Give feedback

3. Select presentation aids, materials and techniques that suit the format and purpose of the presentation, and will enhance audience understanding of key concepts and central ideas

‘I hear and I forget

I see and I remember

I do and I understand’

(Confucius 450BC)


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Have you ever wondered why people say ‘I see what you mean’, when you’ve only been talking to them!

How can you make your talk relevant and interesting to everyone? Select visual aids, anecdotes (short interesting and relevant stories), practical activities and other techniques, strategies and aids that will help you to meet audience expectations. Aim to appeal to all the senses of your audience for maximum impact. This not only adds variety to the presentation but also helps meet the preferred individual learning styles of your audience.

Strategies and techniques

When designing your presentation plan, consider which strategies will be the most appropriate to achieve the purpose of the session. Consider also, which strategies will be the most appropriate for this audience in this venue. For example:

• case studies

• demonstrations

• audience discussion

• small group and/or pair work (buzz groups)

• oral presentations

• ‘thought-‐full’ questions

• simulations

• role-‐plays and

• can you think of other strategies that might be appropriate?

To further enhance a presentation you can use techniques such as:

• use of animation in slideshows

• comparative advertising

• live action

• music

• incorporating ‘signature’ elements such as:

o slogans

o logotypes

o packaging

• sound effects

• use of a guest speaker

• use of black and white

• use of colour

• use of humour


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Presentation aids and materials

Numerous aids can be used in a presentation. Some of the more common aids include:

• computer simulations and presentations including PowerPoint slideshows and ‘flash’ shows

• diagrams, charts and posters • models • paper-‐based materials such as audience ‘handouts’, ‘butchers paper’ • video and audio recordings • whiteboard or ‘smartboards’

Visual aids are an effective way to focus audience attention on specific content and to reinforce a verbal message. Visual aids help people to understand. Visual aids stimulate interest and illustrate concepts that might otherwise be too difficult to comprehend.

Visual aids provide a ‘visual dimension’ that greatly enhances any oral presentation. They provide an opportunity for different kinds of graphical imagery such as cartoons, charts, photographs, pictures, diagrams and flow charts to enhance a presentation. Visual aids also act as a ‘prompt’ for the presenter. They keep the speaker ‘on track’ with the key points of the presentation.

Perhaps most important visual aids move the audience focus from the presenter to the information they are presenting.

The most common form of visual support material is PowerPoint slideshows that are displayed on overhead projectors, or on computer screens. Other visual aids include whiteboard, Smart Boards or ‘flipboard’ sketches, models, maps, charts, videos or DVDs.

To be effective, visual aids must be well designed and used appropriately by the presenter. Audience handouts are another popular and effective visual aid that can be of great use throughout a presentation. Handouts can be a list of main points with blank space for audience to write their own notes or a list of the main points only. Alternatively, they may be a copy of the speaker’s full notes or perhaps additional notes or readings that supplement the presentation.

It’s very important that visual aids are just that – aids to the presentation only. They should be used to support the presentation not distract the audience. The presenter should introduce visual aids at appropriate times and design the aids in the most appropriate format in order to enhance their presentation.

It is also important you don’t fall into the trap of using these aids simply to show how clever you are. This becomes very obvious and the presenter will generally lose credibility rather than gain it.

Whatever aids and material and techniques that you select – they must be prepared well in advance of the session. You should never leave the preparation of aids to the last minute as inevitably, something will go wrong. Another tip – always have a contingency plan.


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4. Brief others involved in the presentation on their roles/responsibilities within the presentation Presentations require a coordinated approach. Support staff other people may play an integral role in both preparing for and delivering a presentation.

Support personnel can help in administration matters such as coordinating the pre and post logistics of :

• confirm the location and clear directions how to get to the venue • inspect the venue for suitability or find an alternative venue if necessary • check the layout, lighting, power and seating of the venue • check that all equipment works and have a ‘backup’ plan in case the

equipment fails • undertake a safety hazard risk assessment of the venue and its content and

make arrangement to manage any identified risks • arrange refreshments • produce name tags and other resources such as handouts or pamphlets • confirm attendance with audience members before the event • sending out announcements • make arrangements to cater for audience members who have special needs • learn how to use new pieces of equipment where necessary • clarify if the organisation has policies or procedures to follow such as signing

in • clarify details of any special guests and correct protocols to follow and • take notes and following up on agreements

Support staff will often still have to confer and confirm these issues with the presenter.

Support staff may be instrumental in other areas also such as assisting in:

• researching the topic • preparing all visual aids in a timely manner • taking part in the presentation, for example, working the slideshow or other

equipment

In addition to support staff, colleagues or peers may be co-‐presenting. Effective teamwork is critical to ensure that the presentation runs according to plan and is not disjointed. Co-‐presenters must meet and agree on each aspect of the presentation.

Audience members may also play vital roles. For example, if the audience is required to participate in role plays or simulated scenarios, the presenter must brief all parties sufficiently so they can fulfil their role as required.

Effective teamwork between yourself and the other people involved in the presentation will alleviate much of the stress and anxiety that sometimes confronts a presenter.


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5. Select techniques to evaluate presentation effectiveness To become a more effective presenter, it is wise to continually assess your current skills.

There are a number of different techniques that can help you do this, for example, you can:

• Ask a colleague or a friend to rate your performance. There are many checklists that can be downloaded from the internet or found in books and which can be adapted to suit your needs.

• Ask the audience to complete a formal written evaluation at the end of a

presentation

• Discuss your performance with colleagues, supervisor or critical friends after a presentation

• Reflect on your own performance by recording your strengths, weaknesses

and how to improve for next time.

• Practice your presentation skills to an invisible or ‘test’ audience and critically evaluate what works, what doesn’t work and ways to improve for the ‘real thing’. Use a ‘self-‐assessment checklist’ to keep you focused.

• Have your actual presentation videoed and then critically review it.

• Always adopt the attitude that you want to improve

Regularly debriefing and evaluating your presentation strategies is an important factor in improving the overall presentation.

A number of evaluation worksheets are available from a range of sources including the internet or books. You can adapt templates and ideas to suit your own purposes. Toastmaster and Toastmistress associations are another avenue to pursue. These organisations offer practical and enjoyable ways to develop presentation skills. Taking a self-‐evaluative approach will give you the opportunity to enhance your professional and personal development, and you’re sure to have some unexpected fun too.

You might find it useful to keep a ‘treasure’ file of what worked well and a ‘get better soon’ file for areas in areas that you want to improve.


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Interview with Sharon Rimington Hear Sharon Rimington discuss key concepts of this topic. Refer to the Interview Transcripts at the back of this manual. If you would prefer to listen to an audio file go to: http://sielearning.tafensw.edu.au/MBA/BSBCMM401A/12601/bsbcmm401a/index.htm

Topic 1 - Activities For each of the activities below, you should file your responses and all other documents as part of your ‘Presentation’ portfolio and keep these documents to help you to continuously improve upon your skills. At the conclusion of these activities, record your reflections and file in your Presentation portfolio. Activity 1: Audience expectations 1. Is it necessary to identify audience expectations when preparing a

presentation? Why, or why not?

2. Is it important for participants to think about their level of commitment when in a presentation? Why, or why not? Provide examples in your response.

Activity 2: Types of presentation 1. Jot down the skills that you think are common to a public speech

and a presentation.

2. Think about the speeches and presentations that you have experienced as an audience member. Jot down anything unusual or interesting that you can remember. How can these experiences help you to present more effectively?

Activity 3: Strategies 1. What is the advantage of using an ‘ice-breaker’ in a presentations?

2. Describe potential disadvantages in using ice-breakers.

3. Research the internet, your local library or other creditable sources and find examples of ice breakers that you may be able to use in future presentations.


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4. What strategies can be used use to actively engage participants? For example, how can you get the audience to think, feel and do at certain times in the presentation?

5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using handouts in a presentation? In your response, you should include issues such as when to distribute, the content, the ‘readability’ and how useful they are.

Activity 4: Reflect on your current presentation skills Use the guides below to rate your current level of confidence. 4.1 How well do you listen?

Excellent Good

Poor

4.2 How well do others listen to you?

Excellent Good

Poor

4.3 How confident are you when asking and answering questions at work meetings or in a voluntary capacity such as Parents & Friends Committee?

Very condifent

Reasonably confident

Not confident at all

4.4 How would you feel about conducting a presentation which represented your workplace or other organisation in which you are involved?

Excited Just OK

Anxious

Consider other aspects of your verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Make a commitment to practise and develop your skills further in these areas. Develop an action plan to address other areas that you feel you should improve before your next presentation.


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Activity 5: Check out venues and helpers Assume you have been asked to make a presentation on a particular topic. You have also been asked to find an appropriate venue. 1. Search in your local area for a suitable venue ensuring that it will

cater for parking, comfort, equipment use, adequate seating and so on.

2. Make a list of venue requirements that will be important.

3. Make a list of ‘administrative’ jobs that will need to be done by either the presenter or an assistant.

Activity 6: Establish the purpose For each scenario in the table below, identify the purpose of the presentation (the first two are already done for you). Do you want your presentation to: • Inform • Motivate or inspire • Educate or train • Negotiate or debate • Sell or stimulate interest • Entertain • Persuade or convince • Compel or ‘drive’ • Other

Scenario General Aim

Do you want customers to buy your product?

eg sell

Do staff know about and use your support services?

eg inform

Do you want committees to agree to your project proposal?

Do you want other departments to stay within their budget?

Do you want to impress your colleagues at the Xmas party?

Do you want to improve team dynamics and output?

Do you want to involve colleagues in planning processes?

Do you want work tasks to be allocated in an equitable way?


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Activity 7: Clarify objectives Which are the action (doing) words which could be used when formulating objectives (two have been highlighted as an example). Action/doing words? State Value

Appreciate Internalise

List Draw

Write Frown

Smile Understand

Explain Graph or chart results

Feel Repair

Know

Remember to file your responses into your Presentation portfolio.


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Topic 2 - Deliver a presentation Overview

In this topic you will deliver a presentation to a target audience.

Element 2: Deliver a presentation

2.1 Explain and discuss desired outcomes of the presentation with the target audience 2.2 Use presentation aids, materials and examples to support target audience understanding of key concepts and central ideas 2.3 Monitor non-verbal and verbal communication of participants to promote attainment of presentation outcomes 2.4 Use persuasive communication techniques to secure audience interest 2.5 Provide opportunities for participants to seek clarification on central ideas and concepts, and adjust the presentation to meet participant needs and preferences 2.6 Summarise key concepts and ideas at strategic points to facilitate participant understanding

Checklist: Can you do this? Before you begin working on topics in this unit, fill out the checklist below and put a copy of it in your portfolio. Then when you finish working through the material in the unit, revisit this checklist and see whether you can now answer “yes” to all of the questions. Save this in your portfolio as well. If you answer “Yes” below, make sure you are able to provide evidence of this. This might come from the following:





5. Etc.


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Can you… Yes No Not sure

Evidence

explain and discuss desired outcomes of the presentation with the target audience?

use presentation aids, materials and examples to support target audience understanding of key concepts and central ideas?

monitor non-verbal and verbal communication of participants to promote attainment of presentation outcomes?

use persuasive communication techniques to secure audience interest?

provide opportunities for participants to seek clarification on central ideas and concepts, and adjust the presentation to meet participant needs and preferences?

summarise key concepts and ideas at strategic points to facilitate participant understanding?



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Readings

The following readings will help you to understand the key concepts for this topic.

Topic 2 - Deliver a presentation: Readings Initially, presentations can be a nerve-‐wracking experience. Some anxiety or nervousness is usual in everyone before they do a presentation. However, many people suggest that adrenalin needs to be flowing in order to give an effective presentation.

You may be aware of some physical symptoms, such as accelerated heart beat, dry mouth, shallow breathing and sweaty palms. This is very normal. Some of the following techniques will help you to control these symptoms, although not necessarily remove them altogether.

Practise To help your sub-‐conscious, conduct at least one a trial run of your presentation – preferably at the actual venue. You can check out the acoustics of the room, where you’ll stand, what you can see, and hopefully you will put ‘Murphy’s Law’ behind you, once and for all.

If you are unable to practise at the actual venue, practise at home or another venue you have access to instead, using your aids as you intend to on the day of the presentation. Check your timing, pronunciation and general phrasing.

Even though you might feel silly talking to an empty room, it’s amazing how much confidence you’ll feel on the day after having practised your presentation.

Practising out loud more than once (preferably several times) is one of the most important ingredients for success for a presentation. Even though you have researched and prepared resources, a session plan or cue cards, you still must practice.

As you practice you will ‘polish’ other aspects of your presentation such as where to stand, how to use your voice, when to pause, where to look and so on. Practising also enables you to learn your content more thoroughly.

It’s important that you practice as if it is the real event; standing, using your session plan and the visual aids. A word of warning -‐ don’t just read the presentation over and over to yourself; you need to say it out loud, placing emphasis on important words. You might like to try other ways of presenting for example, standing in a different place; pausing for emphasis at critical times in the presentation; using gestures.


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If possible, get feedback from someone. Or you could record yourself and watch your practiced performance in order to improve it before the actual presentation.

Also give serious thought to the type of questions you may be asked by the audience and prepare responses to these.

Setup the venue Go to the venue early or preferably, the day before and ensure that:

• the room is arranged appropriately • resources are ready • equipment is turned on and overhead displays are ready • administrative resources are ready such as sign on sheets, name badges and stationery • refreshments are provided • you are familiar with amenities, emergency procedures and other requirements and • organisational requirements are adhered to such as complying with safety obligations

Be aware that even if you have checked the venue and facilities the day before your presentation, if others have since used the venue things may not be as you left them. This is why arriving early at the venue on the day of the presentation is critical – you may need to do some very quick rearranging etc.

Relax Take a couple of deep breaths to calm yourself. Tighten your muscles and then relax them. You have nothing to worry about because you have prepared yourself thoroughly AND you have practised many times.

First Impressions When you first start your presentation take your time – don’t rush. Make eye contact with the audience and smile. You’re sure to find friendly faces.

Your Plan Have your plan and any resources and equipment on hand. Don’t read from your plan. Be spontaneous, only use the plan as a guide or a prompt.


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Body language Move naturally as you normally would move, and use gestures which match your words. Be aware of how people sometimes interpret body language, don’t slouch or fold your arms and don’t pace back and forth across the floor. This can distract the audience. Remember to stand clear of visual aids so that all audience members can see the displays. Remember to face your audience.

Eye contact Distribute your attention regularly around the room and make eye contact with all participants.

Your voice Speak with enthusiasm. You know a lot about this topic and you can inspire the audience. Use your voice to capture people’s attention and keep it.

• Speak clearly

• Speak at a reasonable rate

• Try not to ‘umm’ and ‘ah’ too much

• Pause at appropriate times

• Modulate volume and inflections to give emphasis to important points

• If you lose your place – don’t panic; just look at your plan to guide you.

Presenting is like a jigsaw puzzle where all the pieces fit together to make an enjoyable experience for the audience and for you, the presenter. You’ve researched your topic and your audience. You’ve prepared all visual aids and other resources.

You’ve planned your presentation session on paper and have some written notes and a plan to refer to. Your plan has a well-‐ordered structure to it: an introduction, body and conclusion. Your plan has logical sequenced ‘chunks’ of information in an easy to understand format. And your plan includes strategies to engage your audience such as ‘attention grabbers’ and challenging questions.

You look good: you’ve dressed appropriately and you’ve practised your presentation numerous times. Peers have given you very positive feedback, and that has helped you to improve your delivery strategies.

The time has now arrived for you to present to a real audience.

1. Explain and discuss desired outcomes of the presentation with the target audience The introduction is a critical element of a presentation; it’s where you lay the foundations of developing a rapport with your audience. In addition to welcoming the audience and capturing their attention, an effective introduction will clarify the purpose of the presentation and present an outline of what will


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follow. The introduction is also an appropriate time to state the specific objectives and set the pace for the presentation. The introduction acts as a ‘road map’ for the audience. In addition to stating the purpose, it enables the audience to preview the flow of material, the structure of the session and the presenter’s position. An effective introduction will instil confidence in the audience that the session will be one of structure and professionalism. Knowing your audience characteristics and expectations are vital to the success of your presentation. If the audience has different expectations than you do for this presentation, you may need to clarify the purpose. Alternatively, if it is your intention to convince or persuade the audience to your way of thinking, then you will need to use strategies throughout the presentation to achieve your desired outcomes! Depending on the purpose of the presentation, you may want to consider:

• drawing out audience reasons for being there and • their level of commitment.

In making expectations transparent early in the presentation, the presenter is establishing two things, relevance and motivation of the audience.

For example, you may ask the audience to jot down what they hope to gain from this presentation (this could be confidential or shared with the group).

What I hope to gain from this presentation

1

2 3

Next, ask the audience to think about how committed they are to achieving the desired outcomes of this presentation? For example, individuals mark the scale below indicating their level of commitment (again, this could be confidential or shared with the group).

1 2 3 4 5

(1 is the lowest end of the scale and 5 the highest)

Of course, it is not always necessary to identify and write down audience expectations. For example, some presentations progressively lead participants to self discovery that they never anticipated in the early stages of the presentation. Also, some presentations may not lend themselves to this type of strategy for example, an informal presentation to a small group of colleagues in a meeting room at your workplace. Although you must still prepare for this type of presentation, the strategies that you select may be less formal.


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‘Tell them what you’re going to tell them’. The introduction is your opportunity to give an outline of your talk and introduce a structure that the audience will be able to follow throughout the remainder of the session. It is important you invest a lot of planning to your introduction; the reality is you may win or lose your audience by the time the introduction is over.

2. Use presentation aids, materials and examples to support target audience understanding of key concepts and central ideas

Visual aids Visual aids enhance a presentation by adding interesting and informative dimensions to it. They emphasise the key points that you want to make. Use visual aids when you want to:

• focus audience attention on a particular point • reinforce your verbal material • stimulate interest • illustrate elements that are difficult to visualise and • to maintain a logical order of key points

Prepare your aids carefully. If not of a high standard they will detract from your session and distract the audience. For example, spelling errors or hard to see slideshows may cause the audience to feel frustrated.

Poor quality resources may also project a poor overall image. The audience may think that low quality resources are representative of all the other features of the presentation. Therefore, you should proofread all resources carefully. You should also prepare resources so that they do the job they’re meant to do -‐ complement your presentation and reinforce your message.

Your presentation plan, for example cue cards or brief notes, should alert you to using visual aids at the right time. Don’t overuse the aids however. You should time your use of aids so they add impact but do not distract the audience. Don’t use the aids to show off your skills. The aids are to support the presentation not compete with it!

Ensure that any equipment necessary to display visual aids and other physical resources such as models, are in working order, you have access to them and that you know how to use it.

There are many aids that can be used effectively in a presentation, some of the most common examples being:

• PowerPoint or flash slideshows • Videos and DVD/CDs • YouTube film clips • Music • Overhead projector transparencies • Computer screens


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• Handouts • Maps and charts • Whiteboards, flipcharts, Smartboards • Models or diagrams.

Overheads and PowerPoint slideshows These are probably the most commonly used visual aids used in presentations. They are easy and reliable to use. You can use a slideshow as a prompt for your talk instead of using cue cards or brief notes. The slides may contain the key points which guide your presentation.

When designing your slides you should:

• Use large font for example, size 18 to 24 point. • Keep slides simple, uncluttered and neat • Use dark colours and keep to a minimum of three different colours • Use a consistent theme on all slides • Use no more than seven to eight main points on each slide. Use only five or six words per line • If you include graphs, diagrams, pictures or tables on a slide, remember to cite your reference, that is

where you got your information from • Don’t use too many slides. Frequent changing of slides can be annoying • Make sure the audience can see the overhead screen • Allow enough time for the audience to jot down notes from the slides • Allow enough time for the audience to absorb the information on the screen in conjunction with your

verbal explanation

Copyright and sensitive material

When displaying material from the internet or other sources, you must ensure that you comply with copyright laws i.e. reference the source and in some instances gain permission to use from the author/s. You must ensure also that any material you display is not of a sensitive, discriminatory or otherwise distressing nature to audience members.

Anecdotes and other examples

An anecdote is a short story that is used to help illustrate a point. Anecdotes may establish empathy with an audience and can be sad, funny or interesting in some other way. Be selective in their use and ensure they do add to the presentation and are not being used just because you think you should have an anecdote.

Rhetorical questions

A rhetorical question is one that has an obvious answer such as “Who here would like to earn more money without having to put in any more effort?” Immediately, you will gain attention.


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Maps, charts, handouts and other material When producing visual aids, the rule is -‐ keep it simple. If you need to provide complex facts and figures to the audience, provide them in the form of a handout in an easy to read font. Allow the audience enough time to process this complex information. Alternatively, if time is an issue, ask the audience to study the handouts in their own time when the presentation ends. Instead of providing a handout, it is quite common to email a copy of electronic slideshows to the audience soon after the presentation.

Audience Handouts Handouts can take a number of different forms and be given out before a presentation, progressively during the session, or at the end. Like slides, handouts should contain accurate, neat and relevant material.

3. Monitor non-‐verbal and verbal communication of participants to promote attainment of presentation outcomes

Building a rapport with your audience is critical to the ultimate success of the presentation. Understanding their interests, needs, problems and expectations in the context of this presentation, will help you to establish a positive relationship with them.

In order to ‘connect’ with each and every member of this audience you will need to engage them using both verbal and non-‐verbal communication techniques.

Here are some points to remember to build rapport and keep the audience’s interest in attaining the intended outcomes of the presentation:

• Project your enthusiasm

• Have a lively facial expression

• Make eye contact with all your audience

• Speak with lively intonation in your voice

• Pronounce your words carefully

• Don’t speak too fast, too slowly or too softly

• Pause where appropriate

• Gesture where appropriate

• Show energy and confidence through your posture

• Be aware of the audience’s reactions to you

• Respond to the audience’s behaviour

• Make the audience feel comfortable

• Share your knowledge


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You should interact with the audience in order to be aware of how they are reacting. Are they interested, are they bored or confused? Here are some techniques to re-‐engage the audience’s interest:

• If audience members look confused, ask if anyone would like you to clarify any issues. You may need to review key points or explain a point again.

• Check that the audience understands the content by asking, for example “Does

that make sense?” or “Is that clear?”

• Be open to questions. You may choose to respond to questions • throughout the presentation or you may need to allocate a specific time to

question and answer time. (the introduction is a good time to discuss with or advise the audience when you will respond to their questions).

• Questions from the audience are a good gauge that they are engaged. It indicates

that they are listening with interest.

• If questions are difficult, you may choose to involve the audience in finding solutions or use other strategies to find solutions.

• If the audience looks bored, distracted or preoccupied, find appropriate strategies

to ‘energise’ people. Examples include: o present content in short manageable ‘chunks’ of information, for instance

every ten minutes a new ‘thread’ is introduced o have a short break o have the audience participate in a practical activity or group activity o vary your speech so that it’s not monotone o have the audience participate in a fun game (make sure it’s appropriate) o refresh key points and objectives o pose ‘though-FULL’ questions to the audience

Tips for dealing with difficult situations All presenters, even those who are very experienced, occasionally have to deal with difficult situations. It may be that some audience members are too noisy or exhibit inappropriate behaviours to the presenter or to other members of the audience.

In cases such as these, you will need to find ways to stop a negative impact being made on the audience and the presentation. Here are a few examples for you to consider:

• Say ‘thank you for those ideas’ to an incessant talker and then ask for input from other members from the audience

• If a person continues to ‘waffle’ about a point, ask them to summarise the point so that others can add their ideas

• Establish a procedure whereby equal opportunity for input is given to all members of the audience

• Conduct ‘ice-‐breaker’ activities that encourage shy people to contribute

• Direct questions to audience members that have not participated as yet


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• Establish and review any ‘ground rules’ such as respecting the rights of all individuals in the audience

In order to stay ‘connected’ with the audience you will need to be aware of their reactions throughout the presentation. Most people find it difficult to maintain concentration for an extended period of time. You need to monitor their verbal responses and non-‐verbal communication behaviour and change your tactics if necessary. This is something that most presenters develop an ability to do over time. But it often still takes a conscious self reminder to ensure this does happen with each new presentation. Being comfortable with the content and format of your presentation is generally what enables a presenter to be able to pick up on audience reaction and make any necessary changes to their presentation to keep the audience connected.

4. Use persuasive communication techniques to secure audience interest

Smile and treat your audience like friends. If you look and sound friendly and relaxed, your audience will ‘warm’ towards you.

If you are nervous, your audience will be empathetic, no doubt they know how you feel. Breathe deeply and follow your well-‐prepared plan. Generally, all public speakers are nervous before and during presentations. The skill is to control your nerves and get on with what you’ve practised and prepared for.

Effective verbal and non-‐verbal communication increases the likelihood of engaging an audience. In general:

• use ‘you’ words such as we, you and us where appropriate

• refer to matters that relate to or are relevant to this audience. This shows that you have researched your topic well and you are interested in the audience. For example, if you are talking to a group of people from a local service club and the purpose is to gain commitment for a fund raising project, you could refer to previous successful community service projects undertaken by this club. This approach demonstrates your interest and provides positive feedback.

• be natural; your hands, facial expressions and your body should match your voice and your spoken words.

• be aware of the non-‐verbal feedback generated by the audience. If you feel that you are losing their interest, move on to another point, give an illustration of the point you have just made, or invite questions or comment. Increasing audience participation is a proven way to regain audience interest.

• Confidence and energy are very appealing characteristics – especially when you are giving a presentation. Your energy suggests an enthusiasm and warmth for the subject matter and will stimulate your audience to feel enthusiastic as well.


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Non verbal communication There are many aspects of non-‐verbal communication, including body language, that help you to speak effectively to your audience. Non-‐verbal communication includes how you use your voice, gestures, facial expressions and the space around you to express yourself in the most effective manner. How might the following body language examples affect a presentation?

• Smiling

• Frowning

• Concentrating

• Raising eyebrows

• Nodding head

• Gesturing

• Standing still or pacing

Some of these may be useful to get your point across. In some cases they may be essential. Appropriate body language is not a mere add-‐on. Facial expressions and body movements provide the audience with important clues to interpret what you are saying.

Here are some tips for your gestures and body language:

Gestures • Don’t use the same gesture over and over. Some people do this without realising it

(especially when they are a bit nervous) but it can be distracting.

• Practice your gestures into your presentation. Choose specific gestures to include, such as using your fingers (held high) to number points, indicating ‘high’ and ‘low’ using your hand or arm, etc.

• Hands • Think about where you will put your hands when you aren’t using them for gesturing.

It might feel a little strange to begin with but keeping your hands loosely by your sides can look best. Held together in front gives the ‘fig leaf’ look, and clasped behind you can also be awkward.

• If you are holding notes or cue cards, this solves what to do with your hands (although it does make it hard for gesturing). Hold your notes at waist height with one hand. If you get nervous your hand may start to shake, and this movement will be exaggerated by your paper. Just rest the hand holding your notes in your other hand. It looks fine and steadies any shakes.

• Keep your hands out of your pockets. Don’t jiggle, sway or rock. Watch any other distracting movements.


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• Face • Make eye contact with your audience. This helps them to believe what you are

saying, and will give you feedback on what they are thinking. Pausing and looking around at your audience at various points in your presentation is an effective strategy to use.

• With a smaller audience, facial expressions are more important. With a large venue and a large audience, larger gestures will be necessary.

• Space • How you use space is also a part of non-‐verbal communication. Getting physically

close to your audience can make your presentation more personal, and moving around can keep their attention. However, this is not always culturally appropriate or effective – particularly with larger groups. You must always be aware of any protocols relevant to the communities you are addressing.

• A lectern can be useful but beware, it can also stifle a presentation. You may find that you lean on it too much or it may act as a barrier between you and the audience because of its formal appearance. Perhaps you could just use the lectern to position your notes so that you can glance at them occasionally or perhaps walk back to check your notes when necessary. If you decide to use the lectern, don’t hide behind it, don’t cling to it and don’t rely solely on it.

• Position your body -‐ Stand straight and comfortable and hold your head up. Don’t slouch or shuffle around the room. Don’t stand in front of visual displays. Don’t turn your back on the audience to talk to visual displays instead!

Cultural sensitivity

It is important to be aware of cultural differences associated with various non-‐verbal behaviours. For example, in some cultures it is a sign of respect not to have direct eye contact with one’s elders. In other cultures, it is just the opposite – lack of eye contact indicates lack of respect. You need to be aware of cultural sensitivities in your presentation.

The types of non-‐verbal communication you use in your presentation will depend on you, the subject matter and the audience. Your aim is to create interest in your topic but not to distract the audience.

Make sure that your voice, gestures, facial expressions and movements are appropriate to the topic and reinforce the verbal message.

Remember, it is very important to practise your presentation in front of a mirror or with peers, colleagues or friends. Identify what works well – and what doesn’t. You want to appear confident and comfortable.


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Verbal communication Your voice should be strong and clear when presenting. Speak loudly enough for everyone to hear you. The audience must find your voice comfortable to listen to or it may be distracting. Speaking too softly may give the impression that you are unsure of what you are saying, and may make it more difficult for your audience to believe you.

Key words or concepts are important. State them slowly and clearly, for all to hear.

Watch the language that you use. For example, don’t use jargon or slang terms unless you are presenting to an audience that is representative of that type of language, and it is appropriate in this instance.

Keep your language simple as much as possible. Your aim is to communicate, not to show off your vocabulary!

Professional speakers often get voice training. They do exercises to improve their speaking voice – the strength, range, articulation and tone. You should practice and get feedback on how you sound.

Voice Speed

The trick is, don’t talk too slowly otherwise audience members might lose interest, but don’t talk too quickly or they might miss key points.

Some people slow down too much when presenting thinking that the audience needs this time to understand what is being said. If someone is speaking too slowly however, we tend to let our minds wander. So don’t slow down your speech too much.

On the other hand, if you have a tendency to talk fast try not to race through your material. Nerves often will make a person speak faster than normal. Don’t worry too much – just try to speak at your normal rate, don’t rush. And remember, people generally listen and understand faster than people talk.

If you are very nervous the tendency is to rush as quickly as possible. What often then happens is that you forget to breathe. You may run several sentences or even paragraphs together in one breath, completely run out of air and then take a giant gulp of air before repeating this sequence. Keeping the speed normal helps ensure you breathe in a normal way and will make both you and your audience feel more comfortable.

Pausing

Silence draws attention.

Pause if you want to give the audience time to think about what you’re saying. Slow down or pause if you’re explaining difficult information or if you want the audience to reflect on what you’ve said.

Pauses give emphasis to important points. You can pause before a point and the audience will tune in, or after a point to give time to think about what has been said. Pauses also add interest, and as an added bonus to you, give you time to think about what you’re going to say next.


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Varied tone and speed

Vary the quality of your voice; don’t use the same volume and pitch throughout the presentation. Aim for ‘light and shade’ to keep the audience interest. Your audience will ‘switch off’ if you constantly talk loudly, or softly or in a monotone voice.

Make sure your voice is not monotonous. You can speak louder or softer for emphasis. Speak faster to show excitement or to indicate speed of events; speak slower to indicate importance, things moving slowly or to give emphasis.

Your tone of voice should match your spoken words, body language and topic. For example, if you are talking about a sad or sensitive topic, your voice won’t be ‘bubbly’ and obviously you won’t be grinning.

5. Provide opportunities for participants to seek clarification on central ideas and concepts, and adjust the presentation to meet participant needs and preferences

Questions play a major role in clarifying ideas and concepts. Questions invite audience participation and get people to think about issues from a different perspective. They enable the presenter to gain feedback from the audience and enable the audience to clarify and reinforce key points. They also help gain presenter credibility. If your presentation contains complex content such as technical information, complicated concepts or training skills, you may need to progressively check audience understanding. Effective question and answer techniques enable you to do this. Three important questioning skills for a presenter to have are:

1. asking questions effectively to an audience and 2. managing their answers appropriately and 3. responding effectively to questions posed to the presenter

Ask effective questions

There are two types of questions: open-‐ended and closed questions. Closed questions generally require a one-‐word response only such as ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and are therefore ineffective if detail is required. Closed questions often start with ‘is’ or ‘can’, ‘how many’ or ‘does’. Keep closed questions to a minimum as they don’t achieve much. Open-‐ended questions on the other hand, stimulate thinking. Open-‐ended questions are an effective way to elicit a more detailed response and greater participation. Open-‐ended questions often start with ‘what’ or ‘how’, ‘when’ or ‘why’. Try to devise “though-‐full” open-‐ended questions.


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• Phrase your questions appropriately. You should be clear and concise and focus on one issue at a time. Ask reasonable and relevant questions based on what the audience is expected to know. Don’t ask trick questions. Challenge the audience with questions that provoke thoughtful responses.

• You can direct a question to an individual or to the audience as a whole. For example, ‘Joe, what is

your experience with ...?’ if you only want Joe to respond. Alternatively, you could ask ‘What experiences have any of you ...’ and then nominate a person to answer.

Manage answers appropriately Be sure to respect people’s responses to the questions. You want to encourage continued audience participation not discourage it by embarrassing people. Acknowledge their effort positively, reinforce the relevant parts of their answer and minimise potential embarrassment for wrong or incomplete answers.

Respond to questions asked of you Answer the question succinctly yourself or re-‐direct the question to the audience if you feel that they will have the correct answer. If the question is unrelated to the presentation or you don’t know the answer, offer to get back to the person.

Some Do’s and Don’ts for Questions and Answers

DO Prepare for questions Try to anticipate the questions that you will receive, and practise answering them.

DO Repeat the question You or audience members may not have heard the initial question, so you should repeat it.

DO Clarify the question You may need to rephrase the question to ensure that you and others are clear about it

DO be aware of body language Watch the person who asks the question. Try to interpret their body language.

Be aware of your own body language too.

DO value unanticipated questions Sometimes questions raised can result in unexpected but relevant and positive outcomes

Do Maintain your composure Don’t panic if asked a question that you don’t know the answer to. You can re-‐direct the question to the audience to help find the answer or you can offer to find the answer at a later time and get back to the person

Do Involve the audience Focus on the entire audience, not just individuals. Don’t ignore the person who asks the question, but don’t ignore the rest of the audience either


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Hints for responding to questions Show respect Audiences feel that they have really participated when they get an opportunity to ask questions and to express their own points of view. As a speaker you should treat each questioner with respect. They may be asking for clarification of an issue they have not quite grasped, or they may want further information or your opinion on something relevant to the session.

State when questions will be responded to To help establish audience rapport at the start of your presentation, say how you will deal with questions – ‘I will leave time at the end of the presentation for questions’, or ‘I may invite the audience to ask questions at any time’. If a question is asked in the middle of a difficult explanation, you can say ‘Would you mind if I answered the question at a later time?’ Make a quick note to ensure that you remember to do this!

If some questions might not interest most of the audience, you could say ‘I’ll be happy to talk further about this with you after my presentation’.

How to deal with difficult questions For some speakers, answering questions can be quite intimidating. They worry that they will not know all the answers and that they may appear ignorant to the audience. Unless the question is of a very basic nature, not knowing the answer to a question should not be a problem. It is quite acceptable to offer to provide the answer later, or to ask other audience members if they can help. You may be asked a question which involves a very complex answer. In these cases, invite the questioner to talk further with you after the presentation is complete.

How to control persistent questioners Persistent questioners who want to take all the time for themselves need to be given a chance, then told that it is someone else’s turn. If they have further questions you can offer to answer them afterwards. Be aware of the audience’s reactions. Are they irritated by or interested in the questions being asked?

Don’t pre-‐empt anyone Allow time for people to ask or answer questions. Wait until the person is finished talking

Don’t ‘waffle’ on Simply answer the question. Don’t say things like “what a great question, I’m so glad you asked that” or launch into irrelevant information unrelated to the question

DO thank the questioners At the end of the question time, thank everyone for their excellent questions and input


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Keep your eye on the clock and remember that there may be another speaker after you, so be brief in your answers.

Tips for handling questions Paraphrase the question. Putting it in your own words helps you to talk about it using your language. This also ensures that you have understood the question.

Repeat the question. Repeating the question helps you to make sure you’re answering exactly what was asked and gives you time to think. It also ensures that everyone in the audience heard the question.

Answer a question with a question. Using a question as an answer can motivate the audience to think deeper and encourage further discussion.

Tell a story. Using a real story gives credibility to whatever you say and adds personal interest.

State the facts. Facts usually impress the audience – but make sure that they are facts and not just hearsay.

6. Summarise key concepts and ideas at strategic points to facilitate participant understanding The body or main part of your presentation should be logically structured, coherent and link the main points of the purpose of the session. It is the conclusion however where you will recap the main points and leave your audience with a clear summary of everything covered in the presentation.

No new material should be introduced in the conclusion. You should emphasise important aspects throughout the presentation, but you must alert the audience to the most important elements in the conclusion. What do you want them to remember? What do you want them to do? How do you want them to feel?

Your conclusion is critical to achieving the objectives set out in the beginning of this presentation.

In a persuasive presentation, the conclusion is an opportunity to drive the audience forward to your point of view. You channel them into actions that you want them to do.

People generally remember what they hear last. They will often listen more attentively when they know that a presentation is about to end. Make it obvious that this is the end. For example, you may use phrases such as:

‘OK, to recap the main points...’

‘In conclusion...’

‘It should now be clear that ...’


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Don’t ignore the power of using visual aids in the conclusion. Visual aids, when used competently, can reinforce your verbal and non-‐verbal messages. They can leave the audience with a more powerful reaction and entice further action on their part.

Some presenters don’t time the introduction and body of their presentation accurately and unfortunately leave too little time devoted to the conclusion.

Don’t let your presentation ‘fizzle out’.

It is imperative that you spend sufficient time to end the presentation professionally. You have spent a great amount of time and energy into planning, preparing, practising and presenting information. You must close well or you will devalue all the previous phases of the presentation.

Effective conclusions always return to the introduction, especially if you used an ‘attention grabber’. Return to that anecdote or startling fact.

Introductions and conclusions are like the head and tail on a body. They belong together and are connected.

Interview with Sharon Rimington

Hear Sharon Rimington discuss key concepts of this topic. Refer to the Interview Transcripts at the back of this manual. If you would prefer to listen to an audio file go to: http://sielearning.tafensw.edu.au/MBA/BSBCMM401A/12601/bsbcmm401a/index.htm

Topic 2 - Activities The activities below are an opportunity for you to watch and learn from other people and then develop your own repertoire of presentation skills. You do not need to complete all the activities below. Rather select a few that interest you and will help you improve. Be sure to make notes of the good ideas that you pick up and file these in your Presentation portfolio. Be sure to put into practice the new skills that you’ve learned in your next presentation. Now, let’s get started. The story so far ...


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You’ve planned and prepared an oral presentation for a specific purpose. In particular you have:

1. Specified the purpose of the presentation

2. Identified the audience

3. Identified the main message to be delivered

4. Conducted research relevant to the presentation purpose

5. Decided on the type of presentation to deliver such as an impromptu speech, a team briefing or a prepared speech and so on

6. Organised material into an effective and logical sequence

7. Organised your presentation format including type of introduction, how the body of material should flow and how to conclude

8. Considered which presentation strategies to use for example, technology, question and answers, handouts, role plays, case studies, hands on activities, how you will move and so on

9. Prepared a backup plan in case anything goes wrong.

Make sure you have adequately covered all the preliminary planning and preparation as noted above. You should have your session plan, cue cards or notes with you when you complete the activities below as you will need to refer to these regularly. It’s now time for you to practice, focus on specific aspects of your presentation and finally deliver your presentation to a live audience. Activity 1: Gestures 1. Look over your plan and see if you can find a few specific gestures

that you can use to help the audience understand your presentation. You may like to consider numbering points with your fingers, holding your hands apart to show contrast in size, walking to different parts of the presentation space to indicate different views.

2. Run through your presentation using many more gestures than you could possibly include. Be silly about it. Preferably try this a few times. Then do it again, just including what you are comfortable with. You will find it a lot easier to include a few sensible gestures after you have really overdone it a couple of times first.

Activity 2 : Voice techniques 1. Find some voice training activities in a library book or on the web.

You may like to try the following web sites.

http://www.speechtraining.com Follow the link to articles and audio files. Learn more about breathing techniques and other ways to ‘polish’ a presentation.


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http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/publicrelations/publicspeaking/article183472.html Follow the links to read tips about how to make your voice more powerful.

2. Search the internet for other sites which offer advice on improving the quality of your voice

3. Practise voice techniques in the privacy of your home to improve your voice.

Activity 3: When to pause 4. Review your plan and mark places where it could be appropriate to

include a pause. This could be to give emphasis to a point you have made, to allow the audience time to digest what you have presented, before you make a critical point, or to refocus the audience’s attention.

5. Now practice that part of your presentation making sure that the pauses you leave are quite long. Use the pause time to look at several points in your audience giving eye contact (or imagining it if you have no audience for your practice).

6. Observe the use of voice of a newsreader on a television news broadcast. Make a note below of their voice strength, range, articulation, tone and pace.

Activity 4: Learn from other presenters in person or on TV 1. Visit a Toastmaster or Toastmistress event and watch and learn from

people who are also very keen to improve their presentation skills.

2. Ask an expert if they will coach or mentor you or if you can watch them conduct a presentation.

3. Watch the ‘National Press Club Luncheon’ on television if possible. Speakers are generally very good at answering a range of questions. Think about how questions are answered

4. Watch an interview with a well-known interviewer on television. Make notes below about their questioning style and how the answers were given.

Activity 5: Learn from other presenters on the internet Access the following web sites to find the ‘experts’ presentation hints and tips. Write a list of at least five ideas that are appropriate for you to adapt to your presentations. Presentation magazine helper: http://www.presentationmagazine.com/presentation-secrets-842.htm This site provides a number of different articles and tips about presenting in public.


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Giving an oral presentation: http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/learning/oral This University of Canberra website provides practical guidance in preparing, organising and delivering a presentation along with tips on the use of visual aids and coping with nerves. Oral presentations: http://www.usq.edu.au/learningcentre/alsonline/assessment/oralpresentations This site is operated by the teaching and learning unit at University of Southern Queensland. It has guidelines on preparing and delivering oral presentations plus handling question time after the presentation. Speech tips: http://www.speechtips.com/how-to-write-a-speech.html This is a commercial site and has a slightly less academic tone to making an oral presentation. YouTube world champion public speakers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOSADvJnrG8&feature=related This site enables you to watch the Toastmaster International 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking. Browse around this site and learn tips from other experts. Activity 6: Deliver your presentation Now that you’ve practised and learned many lessons from the experts, it’s time for you to deliver your presentation to your audience. Good luck. But with the many hours of preparation and practise that you’ve given to developing your skills, you won’t need luck because you’re prepared and ready to go. Enjoy...


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Topic 3 - Review the presentation

Overview

In this topic you will review the presentation. Element 3: Review the presentation

3.1 Implement techniques to review the effectiveness of the presentation 3.2 Seek and discuss reactions to the presentation from participants or from key personnel involved in the presentation 3.3 Utilise feedback from the audience or from key personnel involved in the presentation to make changes to central ideas presented

Checklist: Can you do this? Before you begin working on topics in this unit, fill out the checklist below and put a copy of it in your portfolio. Then when you finish working through the material in the unit, revisit this checklist and see whether you can now answer “yes” to all of the questions. Save this in your portfolio as well.

If you answer “Yes” below, make sure you are able to provide evidence of this. This might come from the following:





10. Etc.


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Can you… Yes No Not sure

Evidence

implement techniques to review the effectiveness of the presentation?

seek and discuss reactions to the presentation from participants or from key personnel involved in the presentation?

utilise feedback from the audience or from key personnel involved in the presentation to make changes to central ideas presented?


Readings

The following readings will help you to understand the key concepts for this topic.


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Topic 3 - Review the presentation: Readings Giving an oral presentation is rather like a performance. For this reason you should evaluate your performance just like an actor would!

The way that you perform is probably the way that your audience feels too. If you look confident and positive, you will project these feelings to the audience. They in turn will feel positive towards the presentation.

But how can you evaluate your presentation to ensure improvement?

1. Implement techniques to review the effectiveness of the presentation

There are many tools to help you evaluate the effectiveness of your presentation. You can develop your own or select templates from a range of sources including the internet, colleagues, books and publications and organisational specific documents.

Evaluation techniques are also varied and may include:

• audience evaluation worksheets. These could be designed to encourage participants to ‘rate’ particular aspects of the presentation from poor to excellent.

• self-‐evaluation report or reflections. Often a presenter will write down their thoughts immediately following the session whilst their feelings are still fresh in their mind.

• self-‐assessment checklist. This may be as simple as asking yourself “Did you...” for each segment or aspect of the presentation.

• video your performance. Videoing may be initially confronting but it can be extremely beneficial as you can objectively watch your performance and the reactions of your audience. You have the benefit of ‘hindsight’ to help make the next presentation much better.

• action research. This is a type of informal, qualitative, interpretive, reflective and experimental methodology where participants collaborate in order to bring about positive change.

• critical friends, peers, colleagues or family members. Their input can be instrumental in supporting you in your endeavours and at the same time, help you to improve.

• focus group interviews. These is an unstructured group interview technique where generally 8 to 12 people are brought together, under the guidance of a trained interviewer, to focus on a specific concept, product, or subject. The group dynamics generate ideas and provide insights into audience reactions and perceptions.

• one-‐on-‐one interviews with participants and other personnel involved in the presentation. You speak with your audience members and ask for their critical but positive feedback as a means of improving the presentation for the next audience.


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A word of warning: evaluation techniques should steer clear of subjective and negative criticism of the presenter. Rather they should be designed to allow positive feedback for improvement. No-‐one wants to be judged negatively so we should always be careful in our feedback. Likewise, audience evaluation worksheets should also be designed to enable positive critical feedback not personal insults. Aligned with this is that feedback should focus on the presentation and not be an opportunity to ridicule or attack the person.

When designing or adapting evaluation ‘tools’ and techniques the following criteria should be specified:

• Is the venue appropriate • Was the purpose communicated • Was there sufficient information delivered • Did the presenter exhibit personal confidence • Did the presenter have sufficient knowledge of the topic • Was the language appropriate • Did the presenter have adequate eye contact with all the audience • Did the presenter project their voice suitably • Was timing appropriate • Was there a logical flow of points • Did the presenter establish a rapport with the audience • Were there difficult audience members and if so, were they handled appropriately • Were the audio visual technologies utilised • Was the audience engaged throughout the presentation • Was there a backup plan and was there a need to use this plan The wise presenter will evaluate using criteria such as above. A presenter should always self critique their performance in addition to any other evaluation method.

2. Seek and discuss reactions to the presentation from participants or from key personnel involved in the presentation

Feedback received from the audience following a presentation should be analysed and collated. Feedback will undoubtedly contain valuable information for you to consider before your next presentation. Here are two different scenarios to consider. The analysis of an audiences’ evaluations reveals that: 1. Questions were not handled well in a recent presentation. Respondents indicated that too

few questions were asked and when they were, they were irrelevant or ambiguous and did not add any value to the presentation content at all. In a situation such as this, it is prudent to ask an experienced presenter “How can questions help participants to clarify key concepts and central ideas?”

Questions play a major role in many presentations in particular when ‘facilitating’ groups of people. “Thought-‐ full” questions that are posed at


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the right time and in the right way will challenge the audience to think about things from a different perspective. Open-‐ended questions require more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. They stimulate thinking and will often begin with ‘what’, ‘how’, ‘when’ or ‘why’. Questions should be clear and concise. They should provoke a thoughtful response from the audience but they should also be relevant to the presentation. Questions should not be ‘tricky’ or ambiguous or too difficult for this audience. Questions can be directed to the entire audience or to specific people or they may be rhetorical. Phrasing and posing appropriate questions is a skill in itself, and should be practised. Questions provide opportunities to assess the audience level of understanding, to clarify. Consider inviting the audience to make comments rather than just saying “Any questions?” You may be pleasantly surprised by the depth of your audience’s experiences, ideas and thoughts not to mention their grasp of the meaning of the presentation!

A word of warning however; if questions are not handled well this may damage the presentation. Some members of the audience may be embarrassed or a question may lead to discussion that deviates from the purpose of the presentation. In the worst situation, questions may show the presenter to be ill informed on their presentation topic. 2. Nerves caused a presenter to ‘babble’ in a recent presentation. A respected colleague

indicated that some parts of the presentation, the introduction in particular, did not flow coherently. The presenter and colleagues recommended the following strategies to deal with anxiety to ensure that the next presentation would be smoother: • don’t be afraid to slow down and pause at various points in the presentation. • stop talking; take a moment to compose yourself, and breathe. • don’t panic, just check the cue cards or session notes to continue at the appropriate

place and • try to memorise the first few minutes of the introduction so well that you know every

word and gesture to use. This can be very empowering.


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Colleagues are a great resource when it comes to seeking professional advice. Experienced presenters in particular may provide examples of the right way and the wrong way to conduct a presentation. Listen to their stories and learn from them. You don’t necessarily have to do things their way, but their experiences and advice may be of benefit to you too one day! It’s very interesting also, to read comments from the audience members. Generally, they provide an insight and a unique perspective that is extremely useful. Their feedback may be the best that you can get. Here are the people who have just experienced your presentation and are now able to help you do better next time. They are the people who know if you’ve ‘hit the mark’ or not! It makes perfect sense then, that you take their input and use it as an opportunity for continuous improvement. The main thing this requires is that you have an attitude that you want to know what you’ve done well and where improvement is needed. Likewise don’t just take on board the positive feedback and ignore the negative.

3. Utilise feedback from the audience or from key personnel involved in the presentation to make changes to central ideas presented

In order to provide the most effective presentations, the feedback from audience members should be gathered and used as a continuous improvement strategy for future sessions. Participant evaluations vary from one organisation to another however, the one that you select should adequately ‘capture’ the main elements of a presentation. Evaluations should identify presenter obvious ‘tendencies’ and measure the effectiveness of the presentation. Two examples of presentation evaluation ‘tools’ are shown on the following pages. Example 1 encourages each participant to rate different elements of the presentation. Note that there is also an opportunity for audience members to elaborate or comment on certain aspects of the presentation. Example 2 on the other hand is an extract of a self assessment checklist. The two evaluation examples are not necessarily good or bad but they do provide ‘food for thought’. Upon analysis, tools such as these enable the presenter to identify both strong and weak parts of the presentation and enable the presenter to implement appropriate improvement strategies. The simultaneous use of both these two evaluation tools also enables the presenter to identify if how they perceive themself is different to how their audience perceive them. This is a very common perception bias issue. Some presenters will always underrate their performance whist others will always overrate it. Identifying the issues where differences of


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perception exist between the presenter and audience can provide valuable and often surprising feedback to the presenter. It is therefore recommended that a presenter use both types of evaluation tools. An issue to always keep in mind when seeking and evaluating audience feedback is that different members of the audience may have different personal experiences with presentations. Someone who has been to many presentations or who frequently makes presentations may provide different feedback to someone who has never seen a presentation or made one themself. Individuals can also vary in what appeals to them e.g. some may love lots of visual aids and others want the minimum possible amount. These factors can sometimes help explain why individual feedback may differ quite significantly for the same presentation. You will have your own preferences and style but you can try to cater to as wide a range of audience needs as possible. Remember however, you can’t be all things to all people; use relevant feedback and keep trying to do your best. Example 1: Audience Evaluation Your name (optional): Date: Presentation Title:

SECTION 1: Content 1. Explanation of aims and expected outcomes was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

2. The pace of the session was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

3. The overall duration was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

4. The sequence and flow of topics was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

5. The workplace relevance in this program was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

6. The amount of interesting information I received was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

SECTION 2: Materials 1. The visual aids were… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

2. The written material and hand-‐outs were… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

3. Preparation and organisation seemed… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

4. Practical exercises were… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

5. The resources which I can take-‐away are… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

SECTION 3: Environment 1. In general, this location was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

2. Health and safety in this location was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

3. Temperature in the program was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

4. Seating and furniture was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

5. Catering was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing


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SECTION 4: Presenter 1. The presenter’s knowledge of the subject seems… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

2. Time dedicated to my questions / problems was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

3. The way that session outcomes were explained was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

4. Responsiveness to participant needs was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

5. Delivery style of the presenter was… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

6. The presenter’s preparation / organisation seemed… Excellent Good Average Poor Disappointing

What was the most valuable part of the presentation?

What was the least valuable part of the presentation?

How could this presentation be improved?

Would you recommend this presentation to others?

Why/Why not?

Yes r No r

Thank you for your feedback

Please hand your completed form to your presenter

Example 2: A self-‐assessment checklist

YES NO

I identified the purpose of the presentation

I established and clearly communicated the objectives

I researched my audience

I brainstormed the main ideas and built my presentation around them

I warmly welcomed the audience and completed ‘housekeeping’ tasks

I had a good introduction (a preview) and a good conclusion (review)

I ‘grabbed’ the attention of the audience

My visual aids were neat, accurate, simple and had impact

I practised a few times as if I was at the venue

My notes were brief but adequate with key words

I set up the seating and venue so that it was comfortable


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I did not read from my notes, I used them to guide me

My body language was good

I maintained eye contact throughout the presentation

My voice was strong, clear and easy to hear

I had good questions prepared as well as anticipated answers

I was able to persuade my audience

I remembered to pause at times

I was able to relax but stay enthusiastic

I felt I connected to the audience

I farewelled and thanked the audience

Recommended Actions for any item with a ‘No’ response

Interview with Sharon Rimington

Hear Sharon Rimington discuss key concepts of this topic. Refer to the Interview Transcripts at the back of this manual. If you would prefer to listen to an audio file go to: http://sielearning.tafensw.edu.au/MBA/BSBCMM401A/12601/bsbcmm401a/index.htm


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Topic 3 - Activities In order to effectively review your presentation you should gain feedback from the audience AND yourself. Don’t underestimate the need for continuous improvement. Every presentation is like a performance. And like performers, presenters must take a look at themselves after every presentation. Ideally, you should evaluate yourself immediately following the presentation, whilst it is still fresh in your mind. You could use an existing checklist that enables you to assess your performance or you could write down your thoughts whilst referring to your plan. Or you could use a combination of these two evaluation methods or find others that suit your needs. You should gain audience feedback immediately following the presentation too as they will give a different perspective to your self-evaluation. Again, you could use an existing evaluation sheet or design your own. Collate and summarise audience feedback and use the results to improve. The story so far ... You’ve thoroughly planned, prepared and practised your oral presentation, and Presented information to a live audience. It’s now time to review your performance in order to further develop your presentation skills. Activity 1: Find appropriate evaluation tool/s on the internet Access the internet, Google ‘presentation evaluation methods’ or similar and follow the links to appropriate tools. Download, print and file your selections into your presentation portfolio for future use. Activity 2 : Find appropriate evaluation tool/s from books Research library books or other publications and find appropriate evaluation tools. Use the Reference list below to help you find appropriate books. Alternatively, check with your local librarian for assistance. Select a minimum of five books from the list and write an annotated bibliography for each. File your annotated bibliography into your presentation portfolio for future reference. Kroehnert, G (1992) 100 Training Games, Oldstyle Publishing Services, Australia. Kroehnert, G (1998) Basic Presentation Skills, McGraw Hill, Australia. Malouf, D (1988) How to Create and Deliver a Dynamic Presentation, Simon & Schuster, Australia Malouf, D (1995) How to be the Best Speaker in Town, Business & Professional Publishing, Australia


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Orridge, M (1996) 75 Ways to Liven up Your Training, Gower Publishing Ltd, England Scannell, E E, Newstrom J W (1983) More Games Trainers Play, McGraw Hill, USA. Scannell, E E, Newstrom J W (1980) Games Trainers Play, McGraw Hill, USA. Stuart C (1998) Be an Effective Speaker Here’s How, NTC/Comtemporary Publishing Company, Illinois. University of Technology, Sydney, Speaking in Public (Video). Activity 3: Evaluate yourself The evaluation tool that you choose should enable you to assess your preparation and performance for the following criteria: 1. Venue setup including appropriateness of the lighting, refreshments,

temperature, seating arrangements and stationery

2. Was the purpose communicated effectively

3. Was sufficient information delivered

4. Was there a logical flow of key points

5. Was the timing appropriate

6. Did you establish a rapport with the audience

7. Did the strategies enable you to continually engage the audience

8. Did you have enough knowledge on the topic

9. Quality of audio/visual aids including:

did they gain interest

support the points being made

emphasise links between key points

keep focus on topic and

assist audience memory

10. How you dealt with anxiety and nerves

11. Your verbal and non-verbal communication including:

tone and pitch of voice

pace of delivery

eye contact with all the audience

personal grooming

enthusiasm and confidence

suitable language

posture


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facial expressions

volume of speech

12. How you managed audience reactions such as:

handling difficult questions

people who were intimidating

noisy audience

people who wanted to dominate the presentation.

Activity 4: Collate and analyse audience feedback The evaluation tool that you choose should enable you to collate and summarise your performance from the audience perspective. Analyse their feedback and devise an action plan that realistically addresses key areas for improvement. Activity 5: Discuss your performance with a colleague Seek the assistance of a colleague, peer, friend or family member who you trust to give you positive feedback to your performance.


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Case studies


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Topic 1 - Prepare a presentation: Case study ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd (Part 1) Introduction Making a presentation is a critical aspect of any business practice.

Internal presentations may take many forms such as an informal talk to a small group of people, all of whom work in the same business or belong to the same organisation.

External presentations on the other hand, may require representation of the organisation to an unknown audience in an outside venue.

All presentations have common features however. To be successful, presenters must pay careful attention to:

1. Preparing information, resources, venue, audience, help and self 2. Presenting the content in an effective way and 3. Reviewing the processes to ensure continuous improvement

This case study will focus on preparing the information, resources, venue, audience, help from others, and the presenter’s skills prior to the actual presentation.

Overview of ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd In 2006 ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd became an incorporated company with Michael and Linda Ross as directors. Previously, ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd operated as a sole proprietorship since its inception in 1985. Due to an outlooking national and international focus and quality workmanship, the company has grown rapidly over the past twenty five years.

The core business of ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd is to repair vehicles using specialised processes. The main workshop is located in Sydney NSW with smaller workshops located in every other state.

The main workshop operates 24 hours a day. Chemical and industrial processes are used and shut down of equipment for maintenance is scheduled on the last weekend of every month.

Currently, the company employs over 300 employees. Due to its rapid expansion as the leading service provider in Australia and increasingly further afield, ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd has implemented a recruitment program. This program will employ thirty employ apprentices and trainees in this emerging industry across Australia.


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Scenario With the latest recruitment program almost complete, Kar Magician P/L Managing Director Michael Ross is concerned that new apprentices and trainees are unaware of inherent dangers that exist in a work environment.

In particular, Michael is concerned for the welfare of the new young workers who have little or no work experience at all. For this reason, Michael has asked the Human Resource (HR) department to conduct a series of presentations in all locations to address this need.

Shannon Wells, an administration assistant in the HR department, has offered to prepare and present this important information to the new groups of young workers.

Shannon is very keen to develop her presentation skills and knows that this will only happen if she actively seeks out opportunities to present information to others.

See how it’s done Shannon identifies that, in order to effectively prepare for a presentation, she must:

1. Plan and document the presentation approach and the intended outcomes 2. Choose presentation strategies, format and delivery methods that match the

characteristics of the target audience, location, resources and personnel needed 3. Select presentation aids, materials and techniques that suit the format and purpose of

the presentation, and will enhance audience understanding of key concepts and central ideas

4. Brief others involved in the presentation on their roles/responsibilities within the presentation and finally

5. Select techniques to evaluate presentation effectiveness in order to improve for the next time

1. Plan and document the presentation approach and the intended outcomes

Shannon identifies that the purpose of the presentation is to inform the new young workers about health and safety matters at work.

The objectives of the session are for these young workers to demonstrate how to:

• Follow safety procedures

• Report safety hazards

• Correctly wear safety gear and

• Not put other people at risk by their actions or inactions

Shannon will use brief notes as her session plan. She will include timings for key areas to ensure that all intended outcomes are achieved.


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2. Choose presentation strategies, format and delivery methods that match the characteristics of the target audience, location, resources and personnel needed

Approximately ten new employees will be in each session. Shannon decides to find out a little information about the first group of new employees so that she can tailor the presentation appropriately. She emails a brief questionnaire to each person to ascertain their needs. Some of the information that she learns is: the average age of the apprentices and trainees is 16 years old, the eldest being 21. Most have left school after completing Year 10. Only 1 new apprentice completed Year 12. Half of the new young employees have limited experience in the workplace such as school work experience programs or part-time work when they were school students. However, none have ever worked in an industrial work environment such as ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd. Shannon books the conference room for a one hour presentation for next Monday morning starting at 10.00 am for the first presentation. She arranges to have six laptops available with internet access. She also arranges an overhead projector so that she can demonstrate with visual images using a PowerPoint slideshow. Shannon personally visits the conference room and checks it out using a hazard assessment checklist for any safety issues she’ll have to manage. Shannon believes that this small group of people will benefit from a structured session but with information sequenced in small ‘chunks’. She will use activity based strategies to engage the young workers including real-life case studies, questions and answers and interactive OHS simulations on the internet. Shannon prepares samples of ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd Safe Operating Procedures and other OHS documentation to refer to throughout the presentation. She prepares worksheets for the group to work on during the presentation. And she makes sure that she has sufficient stationery for the group.


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3. Select presentation aids, materials and techniques that suit the format and purpose of the presentation, and will enhance audience understanding of key concepts and central ideas

Shannon structures her presentation notes into an introduction, a body and a conclusion. She researches and finds startling facts about OHS incidents. She decides to use these distressing facts to immediately capture the group’s attention in her introduction. Shannon wants to shock this group with the reality of young worker injuries in the workplace. Shannon searches for factual OHS information that she can use. However, she does not want to overload the workers with textual information and feels that this audience will benefit from visual aids. In her search, Shannon discovers that the WorkCover NSW site has an array of valuable and interactive resources available to the general public. She also finds a short but powerful DVD where three injured workers tell their stories. Shannon works these resources into the body of her presentation. In her conclusion, Shannon incorporates a question and answer activity and a role play to further reinforce the four objectives of the presentation. 4. Brief others involved in the presentation on their

roles/responsibilities within the presentation

In order to provide accurate information, Shannon arranges a telephone conference meeting with all supervisors of the apprentices and trainees. This meeting is necessary to ensure that their input is considered when she prepares her presentation notes. Additionally Shannon has arranged for two supervisors to be present during the last 20 minutes of the presentation. The purpose: to clarify and confirm responsibilities in each employee’s section. Shannon also requests assistance from the Information Technology section in the event of equipment failure during the session. Tim, the IT Help Desk officer arranges to be available for all proposed presentation sessions. Finally, Shannon discusses her presentation with the HR manager before she finalises all resources.


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5. Select techniques to evaluate presentation effectiveness in order to improve for the next time

After considering various evaluation tools, Shannon decides to use a brief short presentation self-‐assessment checklist that focuses on specific aspects of each presentation.

The first presentation checklist will focus on her verbal and non-‐verbal communications skills.

The second presentation checklist will focus on her preparation of visual aids and strategies she uses to engage the audience.

The last presentation checklist will focus on the structure of the session. For example, is the material sequenced in a logical manner?

Shannon also intends to ask her colleagues to provide critical feedback on their impressions of her skills.


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Topic 2 - Deliver a presentation: Case study ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd (Part 2)

Introduction Making a presentation is a critical aspect of any business practice.




4. Preparing information, resources, venue, audience, help and self 5. Presenting the content in an effective way and 6. Reviewing the processes to ensure continuous improvement

This case study will focus on presenting content in an effective way.




Currently, the company employs over 300 employees. Due to its rapid expansion as the leading service provider in Australia and increasingly further afield, ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd has implemented a recruitment program. This program will employ thirty employ apprentices and trainees in this emerging industry across Australia.


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Scenario With the latest recruitment program now complete, Kar Magician P/L Managing Director Michael Ross is concerned that new apprentices and trainees are unaware of inherent dangers that exist in a work environment.

In particular, Michael is concerned for the welfare of the new young workers who have little or no work experience at all. For this reason, Michael requested the Human Resource (HR) department to conduct a series of presentations in all locations to address this need.

Shannon Wells, an administration assistant in the HR department, actively seeks out presentation opportunities in order to develop her skills in this area. She has offered to prepare and present this important information to the new groups of young workers. Shannon was given the job.

Over the past two weeks, Shannon has thoroughly researched safety matters. She prepared a session plan, visual aids, checked the venue and equipment, collaborated with her colleagues for their input and practised her communication skills. She also identified her audience characteristics and tailored her session plan in order to engage them actively.

Today Shannon is delivering her very first oral presentation; her audience being a group of ten new apprentices and trainees. Shannon’s mantra is “this is not about me – this is about the audience.” She shifts her mindset from her needs to audience needs.

See how it’s done In order to deliver an effective presentation, Shannon will:

3. Explain and discuss desired outcomes of the presentation with the target audience 4. Use presentation aids, materials and examples to support target audience understanding

of key concepts and central ideas 5. Monitor non-‐verbal and verbal communication of participants to promote attainment of

presentation outcomes 6. Use persuasive communication techniques to secure audience interest 7. Provide opportunities for participants to seek clarification on central ideas and concepts,

and adjust the presentation to meet participant needs and preferences 8. Summarise key concepts and ideas at strategic points to facilitate participant

understanding

Shannon was confident throughout the presentation. Her body language matched her verbal communication and her voice was clear, her gestures appropriate and she made eye contact regularly with the audience.

Shannon’s confidence extended to using the laptop and overhead projector where she had internet access and a brief PowerPoint slideshow. Shannon was very keen to keep the slides to an absolute minimum as many times she has observed other presenters using too many slides with too much content in each slide. At these times, Shannon found that the slides detracted from the presentation rather than complement it. Shannon didn’t make this mistake with her presentation.


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Shannon was also very careful to not read from her notes. Although she prepared a very comprehensive speech, she’d practised the content well and only had the speech to refer to if she needed it.

All Shannon’s resources were prepared in advance, and her strategies were well practised.

Check out some of Shannon’s resources, take a look at her presentation plan and read her speech notes to gain an insight into how Shannon conducted her very first presentation.


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Shannon’s Presentation Plan

Topic Safety Awareness for young workers Date:

Objectives 1. follow safety procedures

2. report safety hazards

3. correctly wear safety gear &

4. not put others at risk

Preparation Setup wireless laptop with internet displayed on projector

Get 10 copies of Safe Working Procedures for each section

Get 10 copies of the case studies from WorkCover NSW site

Plan

Order My actions Audience actions Time

Welcome Hello, housekeeping, objectives, etc

Their commitment 5 mins

Introduction Me state startling WorkCover facts

5 mins

Body Questions

Case studies

Our Policies & Procedures

Supervisors role & help

Our commitment to you

Hunt the hazard demonstration

Answer questions

Read & discuss in pairs

Watch & comment (only if time)

Pose question to me?

5 mins

15 mins

15 mins

5 mins

Conclusion Recap objectives -‐ YouTube Watch

10 mins Review your commitment Look back & compare

Thank you and farewell


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Shannon’s verbal presentation that she practised so that she didn’t have to read it

(Welcome & Introduce myself) Good morning ladies and gentlemen, welcome to ‘Safety Matters 2U4U’ training. My name is Shannon Wells. I’m the Administration Officer in the HR section. This morning we’re going to look at young workers safety at work. We will be concentrating on:

• Firstly, following safety procedures • Secondly, reporting safety hazards • Next, correctly wearing safety gear and finally • Not putting other people at risk

This session is not about me, it’s about you and other young workers just like you. I’m not going to do too much talking you’ll be happy to hear, I’m sure. I’m going to ask you to use a few resources and find out about workers safety yourself. I’m just going to guide you through some resources, that’s all. Oh, and answer any questions that you might have to, of course.

Before we start though, there’s two things that I’d like to draw attention to,

housekeeping and your commitment. About housekeeping -‐ you’ll find the amenities to the left and in the event of an

evacuation please follow the instructions of Tom, our floor warden. And please put your phone on silent. If you have any questions, could you please jot them down and we’ll have a question and answer time towards the end of our presentation. Thanks for that.

About commitment – how committed are you to doing the right thing at work? On

a scrap of paper, I want you to write down your level of commitment to our session today. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being low and 10 being high), how committed are you to being involved in our session today? Be honest and keep this to yourself, don’t show anyone.

(Introduction to topic) Did you know, in NSW in one year: • 181 people died at work. This is like two full school buses

crashing and killing all aboard (Pause) • 58,604 were injured or made sick from work. This is more

than the crowd at the Big Day Out concert at Homebush. (Pause) This cost $2 billion in that year and

• 9,209 of these workers were under 25. (Pause)


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(Body of presentation) Question – what might happen if you don’t follow safety procedures, report

hazards, or look out for each other at work? Let ‘s look at some young people where safety procedures were either not in place

or were not followed. Case studies (resource attached) – In pairs, read the case studies and let’s discuss

what went wrong and the effects that these tragedies will have on the worker and / or their families, friends and co-‐workers.

Question – can we learn from any of these case studies? What similar hazards are

at Kar Magician’s? Let’s have a look at some of our company’s safety procedures now. (Samples for each person and discuss together). Young workers join the workforce keen and ready to please. Usually they don’t

talk about things that concern them. This makes them particularly vulnerable. According to WorkCver NSW statistics, young workers face greater risks of injury

and death than any other group of workers in NSW. Inexperience, fear of asking for help and lack of training or education means they have a disturbingly high injury rate. Over 16 young people are injured at work each day in NSW alone.

Unfortunately, young workers sometimes think that injuries and incidents are par

for the course, and that if they report a risk, hazard or injury they will lose their jobs. This should never be the case. This is definitely not the case at Kar Magician.

There are people who can help and you should never do something that you think could be dangerous or unhealthy. Your supervisor and the OHS Officer can help you to follow safety policies and procedures. You cannot be bullied into doing something or fired for not doing it. We have to look after each other at work and not cause anyone else to have an accident. In fact, all workers can be fined for putting other people's health and safety at risk.

Did you know that:“there are laws in NSW which mean that the boss must make sure that the work is done safely in a safe work environment. Unsafe workplaces are against the law

• you cannot be fired for complaining about or formally reporting a safety issue

• you should be given training in safe work procedures, the use and operation of equipment and the handling of hazardous materials


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• you will be consulted on safety issues that will have a direct impact on you, and that your comments and views on these will be greatly appreciated

• you must work in a safe way and co-‐operate with your boss and follow established health and safety rules.”

Don’t take anything for granted -‐ what at first looks harmless could turn out to be dangerous and what seems like simple fun could become life-‐threatening. A good way to find out if a situation is dangerous is to look for any potential hazards. If you find any then you should investigate them further and then try and get the hazards fixed.

Display Interactive Activity on overhead (if time permits or as an energiser if audience seems bored) – Hunt the hazards. Source: http://workcover.cadre.com.au/index_1st.html

Questions. Does anyone have any questions at the moment? Conclusion So, in conclusion, rather than me recap our main points let’s hear from a young worker who knows plenty about unsafe workplace. (Play YouTube story of Greg) Statistics show that a high proportion of workers under the age of 24 will be injured during their first year at work. Some of these injuries will result in permanent disability, ongoing pain and in extreme cases death. Don’t let this happen to you or your mate. How committed are you now (on a scale of 1 – 10)? Compare your commitment to your earlier score. Thank you for your attention today.


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WorkCover NSW Case Studies (Source: http://workcover.cadre.com.au/index_1st.html )

Cases studies downloaded from WorkCover NSW website for educational purposes only

Working with Chemicals 1. A factory hand aged 16, was overcome by fumes while working inside an empty petrol tanker at

Smithfield. He was found lying unconscious inside the tank and rushed to hospital, where he died the next day.

2. An employee in a crayfish processing factory received painful burns to her legs, abdomen, arms and face when using a metal cleaner that contained 8% hydrofluoric acid and 8% sulphuric acid. She required emergency treatment at hospital. Neither the worker nor the boss had read the label which warned of the hazard and neither knew that the cleaner contained hydrofluoric acid. No material safety data sheet was available. The employee used the cleaner undiluted and scrubbed the surfaces. When she got the acid on her skin she did not realise the importance of stopping work and taking first aid measures.

3. A hairdresser in a theatrical company was styling wigs. The hairdresser worked all day in a room approximately 30 square metres in size. Two sides of the room were set up especially to style wigs. The room did not have any natural ventilation and no artificial ventilation was provided. WorkCover monitoring showed that she was exposed to high levels of acetone which is an ingredient of the hairspray used. Acetone irritates the eyes and mucous membranes which is why the hairdresser was suffering from sore eyes and throat. WorkCover suggested that the most effective way to reduce the risk to chemical exposure was to improve the ventilation in the room or remove or dilute the acetone.

4. Formaldehyde is used in the poultry industry as a disinfectant. It is supplied in granules which are called prills. Prills are placed in the chicken's nest every two or three weeks to control bacteria on the eggs. People collecting eggs disturb the nest and this releases formaldehyde into the nest. The work is normally carried out over an eight hour period. Exposures during this work may at times exceed the permitted exposure for formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is an irritant to the eyes and respiratory tract. It is also classified as a sensitiser and probable human carcinogen. The only effective method to control formaldehyde in this case is for people to wear a respirator with a formaldehyde cartridge.


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Working with Forklifts 1. A 19-‐year-‐old Orange man was seriously injured when he was pinned under a three-‐tonne fork lift

truck. He was loading or unloading wool bales when the accident occurred. He was found face-‐down in a spread-‐eagle position with the fork lift crushing his lower back.. It took an hour-‐and-‐a-‐half for the Orange Rescue Squad using airbags, timber chocks and hydraulic equipment raise the fork lift. The former Orange High School student was conscious during the whole operation.

Orange police, ambulance, rescue squad and hopsital trauma team workers try to free the trapped man.

(Central Western Daily, 11 December 1997)

2. 'Skylarking' with a forklift after working hours proved fatal for a St Marys, Sydney, factory hand. The 21-‐year-‐old worker was riding on the raised tines of a forklift driven by a fellow worker when he slipped and fell three metres to the concrete floor. He received severe head injuries from which he later died. Investigation revealed that the workers involved had drunk alcohol before the accident.

3. A 48-‐year-‐old semi-‐trailer driver died after being struck by a pack of timber during unloading. At the time of the accident the semi-‐trailer driver was standing on the right-‐hand side of the trailer when the forklift driver, unloading the packs of timber, apparently lost control of the centre pack of timber which fell and fatally injured the semi-‐trailer driver. The factory owner was taken by WorkCover to court over this death and fined $40,000. The judge said that 'the deceased lost his life because of the failure to take simple and obvious precautions...this seem to be a case in which the defendant, in his familiarity with the work environment, failed to appreciate how serious the results of simple errors can become.'

4. A 26 year old man was killed at Baulkham Hills when the forklift he was driving overturned, inflicting fatal chest injuries.

5. A forklift driver was killed at Flemington Markets when the forklift he was reversing along the edge of a loading dock over-‐ran the edge. The forklift capsized and fell on the driver, inflicting fatal injuries to his lower body

6. A 22 year old factory worker at Camellia died after being struck by a seven metre long steel beam which fell from the tines of a forklift truck.


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Moving and Handling

1. An apprentice plant mechanic aged 20, was killed when two bags of cement powder each weighing about one tonne fell on him. The worker was trying to reach truck tyres on a wall rack in the workshop. To reach the tyres he stood on a pallet holding the cement bags. Two of the bags shifted and fell on him, killing him instantly.

Case solutions

1. The problem: Boris worked at a large supermarket in the delivery section. Boris had to bend forward and lift a garbage bin weighing up to 20kg; the garbage had to be emptied several times every hour and the bin had to be carried more than 20 metres to be empted into the bulk bin. The solution: The job could not be eliminated -‐ it had to be done, so Boris was provided with a trolley which meant that he didn't have to carry the bin and it also reduced some of the bending and lifting.

Lifting a large garbage bin has been identified as a manual handling risk.


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One way to control the risk is to use a garbage trolley.

2. The problem: Handling of tubs of fresh chicken was identified as a significant manual handling problem in the Deli section of Coles Supermarkets. In the larger stores staff would handle more than two tonnes of chickens a week. The tubs of chickens, weighing 15-‐20 kg each were delivered onto standard double-‐decker trolleys in the loading dock, wheeled to the coolroom and then manually unloaded and placed on the floor in stacks up to and above shoulder height. This involved twisting bending and reaching actions that were hazardous in combination with the weights involved. From the coolroom the tubs were manually carried or dragged to the bench where chickens were prepared for cooking. Leakage of liquid from the tubs added a slip hazard to the manual handling problem. The solution: A number of solutions were considered including small tubs or more staff but these solutions would have added to costs and not solved the leakage problem. Finally it was decided to reduce double handling by providing enough purpose-‐build trolleys. The idea was to be able to leave the tubs on the trolleys in the coolroom and only wheel them to the preparation area when required.


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Working with Electricity

1. An 18-‐year roof tiler died when some roof capping he was relocating touched overhead powerlines.

2. An electrical maintenance railway mechanic received a 240-‐volt AC electric shock at Lidcombe when his hand touched a guard's control panel which was live. The 28-‐year old mechanic was assisting with the installation of a new cable to a light on the side of a doubledecker inter-‐city electric train carriage.

3. An apprentice electrician working on a ladder in a warehouse at Lane Cove, apparently received an electrical shock and fell five metres to a concrete floor. He sustained severe head injuries and died in hospital.

4. An 18-‐year old Wollongong kitchen hand received a fatal shock when he touched a worn electric cable while cleaning behind a grill.

5. A contract electrician sustained a fatal shock while repairing an electrical control box in a factory at Wetherill Park. He was preparing the end of a live wire for reconnection to the terminal of a control button when he received the shock.

6. A licensed electrician was electrocuted while attempting to repair a faulty dishwasher at a private home. He did not switch off the electricity or unplug the machine from the power point.

7. A kitchen hand was electrocuted whilst cleaning inside a restaurant. The kitchen hand and an assistant were replacing a concrete cover over a grease trap in the floor when an extension cord, used to power a mincing machine was caught and damaged. The floor area was wet and the power supply to the mixing machine was on. While holding the cover the assistant received an electric shock. The kitchen hand than attempted to disconnect the power from the extension cord. During this process he made contact with the steel body of the mixing machine which caused currents to flow through his body. He was knocked unconscious and died six days later in hospital.


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Working with Machinery

1. A worker suffered severe injuries to his right arm when it came into contact with an unguarded moving part of a large machine in a paper mill. The worker, once caught in the machine could not stop the machine and could not attract the attention of other workers for almost 10 minutes. Once the machine was stopped it took a further two hours to get the worker free from the machine.

2. A general hand in a factory suffered crush injuries to a finger resulting in surgical amputation when his gloved hand was drawn into an unguarded nip-‐point on a metal sheet rolling machine.

3. A 19-‐year old apprentice was dragged into a drilling machine when his overalls became tangled in part of the equipment. He remained pinned by one end of the drill which impaled his upper arm. Workmates were forced to dismantle the machine for free him from the equipment. With part of the drill still speared through his arm the youth was rushed to hospital. He was released later in the day, doctors saying his was very lucky not to have pierced an artery or broken a bone.

Border Mail (Albury/Wodonga), 22 April 1998

4. A storeman/labourer suffered severe lacerations to a thumb and finger from a circular saw while trying to clean a build-‐up of sawdust from the saw cabinet into which the saw retracted after cutting. The worker had not been warned that the retracted saw blade took 75 seconds to run down to a full stop and when he placed his hand inside the cabinet to remove the sawdust he encounted the still-‐spinning blade. After this accident a time-‐delay interlock guard was fitted to the saw cabinet to prevent it being opened until the saw had stopped running.

5. An 18-‐year old shop assistant has four fingers amputated on a bread slicing machine. The worker was attempting to slice a loaf of bread which had become lopsided in the machine. The worker reached in to straighten the


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load when her hand became trapped between the loaf and the pusher bar. The machine automatically pushed the bread through and her hand was pushed into the knife blades.

Working with Noise Two panels can be fixed together

using nails -‐ noisy

or screws -‐ quiet

Steel sheet may be riveted

Very noisy

or bolted -‐ very quiet

Problem A material conveyer feeding a hopper deposits the material in the centre of the hopper and the fall height is therefore large. The hopper itself is also a very resonant structure. Solution Mount the conveyer so that the material falls on the edge of the hopper so that the free height is minimised. The enterior of the hopper can be lined with wear-‐resistant material to absorb the impact better, and the external surfaces can be mounted with damping sheets to reduce resonances even further.

Case Studies

Jim Morris, age 28, 12 years in the job

Hearing loss 40 dB at 4,000Hz (both ears)

Jim became an apprentice in a printshop when he was 16 years old. Up until two years ago there were no noise


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control measures in place. Then Jim was given hearing protectors and told to wear them, but he couldn't get used to wearing them after all those years. His audiogram only confirmed what Jim felt. Sound are muffled to him, and he must strain to hear words. Although he has learnt to lipread well he doesn't catch all people say to him. In crowded places he cannot hear speech at all. To prevent his hearing getting even worse Jim has tried to get used to wearing hearing protection.

Tony Spiros, age 36, 20 years in the job

Hearing loss 60dB at 4,000 Hz (both ears)

Tony became an apprentice in a panel shop at 16 years of age. He works on panel beating, grinding, welding, cutting and putting cars back together again. He has never worn any hearing protection.

Tony cannot distinguish separate sound. He cannot hear the TV unless it is turned up enough to drive everyone else in the room mad. He gave up listening to records 5 years ago. In the club he cannot he conversation and it really upsets him that he cannot hear clearly what his children are saying. He suffers ringing in his ears all the time.


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Topic 3 - Review a presentation: Case study ‘Kar Magician’ Pty Ltd (Part 3) Introduction Making a presentation is a critical aspect of any business practice.




7. Preparing information, resources, venue, audience, other helpers and self 8. Presenting the content in an effective way and 9. Reviewing the processes to ensure continuous improvement

This case study will focus on reviewing a presentation to improve one’s skills before the next presentation.




Currently, the company employs over 300 employees. Due to its rapid expansion as the leading service provider in Australia and increasingly further afield, ‘Kar


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Magician’ Pty Ltd recently implemented a recruitment program. This program has employed thirty apprentices and trainees in this emerging industry across Australia.

Scenario With the latest recruitment program complete, Kar Magician P/L Managing Director Michael Ross was concerned that new apprentices and trainees were unaware of inherent dangers that exist in a work environment.

In particular, Michael was concerned for the welfare of the new young workers who have little or no work experience at all. For this reason, Michael asked the Human Resource (HR) department to conduct a series of presentations in all locations to address this need.

Shannon Wells, an administration assistant in the HR department, offered to prepare and present this important information to the new groups of young workers. Shannon was very keen to develop her presentation skills and knows that this will only happen if she actively seeks out opportunities to present information to others. Shannon was given the job.

Previously, Shannon planned, prepared and practised her presentation. Today however, she has just completed her very first oral presentation to a group of ten new apprentices and trainees. It’s now time for Shannon to review her performance in order to further develop her presentation skills.

See how it’s done Following her presentation, in particular Shannon wants to:

1. Implement techniques to review the effectiveness of the presentation 2. Seek and discuss reactions to the presentation from participants or from key

personnel involved in the presentation and 9. Utilise feedback from the audience or from key personnel involved in the

presentation to make changes to central ideas presented

In order to effectively review her presentation Shannon knows that she should gain feedback from the audience and herself whilst the session is still fresh in everyone’s mind. For this reason, she assesses her performance using a form that she has developed especially for this purpose. For other perspectives, rather than ask the new young workers to evaluate the session, Shannon has asked one of the supervisors, Greg Smith to give her some feedback. How well did Shannon do in presenting for the very first time? Read Shannon’s self-‐assessment on the next page to get her perspective on her performance. Do you think Shannon has a future in presenting? Let’s see if Greg, her colleagues, thinks she has. Read the extract of their conversation directly after Shannon’s presentation.


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Evaluation Method 1: Short presentation self-‐assessment

Session Topic: Young Worker Health & Safety Briefing Date presented: 12/2/20xx

Shannon Wells Y or N If not, why not ...

Delivery Structure

Did I -‐

Have a good introduction? Y

Deliver the body well? Y

Conclude well? N I ran out of time

Achieve the intended outcomes? Y

My presentation style

Did I -‐

Have good eye contact with everyone Y

Gain audience interest throughout Y

Use good grammar – no slang Y

Have good pitch – varied, not monotone Y

Have good pace – not too fast or slow N I spoke too fast sometimes (nerves probably)

Have good timing – not too long or short N Not enough time at end

Was I -‐

Relaxed – no barriers Y But only after the initial introduction

Audible – clearly heard Y

Fluent – not stopping & starting N Lost my train of thought a couple of times

Confident with resources & strategies Y

Other 1. Give them copies of my powerpoint show

On a scale of 1 (bad) to 10 (excellent), how did I do overall? 7


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Evaluation Method 2: Colleague’s critical feedback Following is a brief extract of the conversation between Shannon and Greg immediately following the presentation. Greg and Shannon found a quiet spot to have a cup of coffee together and chat informally about Shannon’s presentation. G: Hi Shannon, well done, I really enjoyed your presentation. S: Thanks very much Greg. I thought I did reasonably well but I was a little disappointed with a couple of things. G: Like what? S: Well, I lost my place a couple of times and I felt that I umm spoke really fast in the beginning. G: I thought you were a little rushed to start with, but only for a couple of minutes at most. After that, I have to say, I really didn’t notice because I was thinking about those statistics that you told all of us. I hadn’t realised that young workers had as many injuries as that. I was blown away by those stats. I was blown away by those kids stories on YouTube too. S: Yeah, well that’s what I was trying to do. I really wanted to shock the young kids into knowing how quickly accidents can happen and how bad they can be. I thought that if I show them pictures of people just like themselves, then maybe they might realise that they’re not bullet proof too. G: You did that. I watched their faces when you crossed to YouTube with those kids telling their stories. I was horrified and I think they were too. S: Do you think my presentation will make a difference to them though Greg? I mean, do you think they’ll try harder when they’re at work? G: I’m sure they will. Obviously, we have to stay on top of it. I mean, I’m a supervisor and I’m very well aware that sometimes the workers, especially the young ones, get tired and a little careless at times. That’s why it’s good for me to be reminded of the consequences too, not just them, like you did today. S: What else do you think I could do better next time Greg? G: I thought you did a great job today. If I have to find any area for improvement then I’m thinking maybe you could’ve given more time at the end so they could ask questions in case they didn’t fully understand something. You know, sometimes people are too shy to speak up especially if they’re new or they’re young or whatever. They don’t want to look stupid in front of their friends and supervisors.


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Maybe you could leave 10 minutes at the end to speak individually to them or, can you think of any other ideas to get around this? S: Yeah, maybe I could have a small activity that draws out shy people? G: Like an ice-‐breaker. You know what? I have a book that has a few fun activities like that, I’ll dig it out for you if you like. S: Thanks Greg, that’d be great. G: OK, will do. By the way, I’ll mention to Michael Ross how good this session was. I think we should think about getting all staff to know more about the issues surrounding young people at work. Are you interested in doing more sessions?....


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Interview with Sharon Rimington Transcripts


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Topic 1 Prepare a presentation Why is it important to clarify the purpose of a presentation in the planning stage? Sharon Rimington: A critical component in planning a presentation is to clarify the purpose. It’s very important that the general aim be identified early in the planning process. Ask yourself, ‘Why am I giving this presentation? What do I want to achieve?’ The answers to these two questions will determine the style of your presentation. For example, do you want to: present facts to inform the audience about something, or are you trying to motivate and inspire them in some way? are you trying to educate or train people, or do you need to persuade or convince the audience about an idea, an opinion or recommendation or a course of action to take? are you trying to sell the audience something or to stimulate their interest? do you want to negotiate or debate an issue? or is your presentation about entertaining the audience? Once you have clearly identified your purpose, you can then start thinking about the other critical components of the presentation. These include analysing your audience, conducting research, structuring the presentation into a logical order and—of course—practicing your presentation skills before you actually give the presentation.

What role can support staff play in a presentation? Sharon Rimington: There are numerous tasks that must be done before, during and after a presentation to ensure its success. It’s often the support staff—the ‘quiet achievers’—who help the presenter with important jobs, including: checking out the venue ahead of time to make sure that it’s suitable and that it will accommodate the audience comfortably arranging refreshments arranging seating in the venue preparing visual aids checking that all equipment works and—if not—having a contingency plan in place and ‘working’ the overhead PowerPoint slideshows so


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you can concentrate on giving your presentation. Other valuable assets in a presentation are colleagues who are co-presenting or assisting in some way. For example, the presenter may assign specific roles or functions to people to lead small group discussions or participate in role plays and so on. Effective teamwork will alleviate much of the stress and anxiety that sometimes confronts those involved in conducting a presentation.

Topic 2 Deliver a presentation What strategies can you use to identify audience requirements? Sharon Rimington: In order to customise a presentation to meet audience requirements, you should consider the following factors: Why are these people here? What do they expect to get out of this presentation? Is the group you’re making the presentation to small or large, and where will they be placed in the venue? Do you already know the audience, or are they new to you? What is the knowledge level of this audience? Are they familiar with the content of the presentation, or is this relatively new knowledge for them? Are there any sensitive issues to consider such as political or cultural biases? Make sure you steer clear of these! Does this audience possess any particular characteristics such as an age group, a professional cohort, a diverse group or do they belong to a cultural or interest group? Put yourself in the audience’s shoes. Consider all of the relevant information about your audience. And think to yourself – this is not about me, this is about them. How can I best engage this audience? Knowing what your audience’s needs are will enable you to select the most appropriate techniques throughout the presentation.


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How can a visual overhead support the key concepts or central ideas of a presentation? Sharon Rimington: Visual aids complement a presentation. They also help to fill in the gaps. It’s useful to display keywords on an overhead. This is especially true if, for example, the presenter’s voice is too low or their pronunciation is difficult to understand. Likewise, if there’s difficult information to process such as numbers or statistics, these can be interpreted as graphics, displayed on an overhead or in a handout, making them easier for the audience to understand them. Here are some tips to remember when using overhead displays such as PowerPoint presentations: Keep overheads simple, clear and uncluttered. Use key words only. Do not use long sentences! Use a maximum of seven to eight main points per slide. Maintain a consistent theme throughout the slideshow. Don’t use too many colours or fonts. Use a large font size. Present numbers or statistics in graphical form where possible. If you must give your audience large quantities of statistics, provide these on a handout or via an electronic copy. Make sure the audience can see the visual images. Don’t stand in front of the display. Likewise, don’t face the display, leaving your back to the audience. Don’t read from the visual display. Use the key words to prompt your presentation. Allow the audience time to read and think about the overheads. Don’t run through the show like a runaway train. Take time to pause at appropriate points and allow the audience to jot down some notes. Visual aids are a great way to enhance a presentation. Be careful, however. If they’re not used appropriately, visual aids can damage a presentation. It’s important to give a lot of attention to planning your introduction, as the reality is that you may win or lose your audience by the time the introduction is over.

How can you monitor that participants are actively engaged in the presentation? Sharon Rimington: Many books and articles about presentations skills draw attention to the verbal and non-verbal communication skills of the presenter. Yes, these clearly are very important aspects of any presentation. Of equal importance, however, is the presenter’s ability to read the verbal and non- verbal communication of the audience.


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Be aware of how the audience is reacting to your presentation. Are they extremely quiet because they’re bored and almost asleep? Or is it that they’re deep in thought about the presentation? Is it necessary to use a strategy to energise the audience at this point or to allow time for them to process thought-provoking material? Do they look or sound confused? If yes, stop and explain key points again to clarify the content. Check to make sure that the audience understands the content that’s being presented. Where possible, give participants the time and opportunity to clarify any issues or questions they might have. Try to read the audience’s body language. Be open to their questions and listen to the real meaning of what they’re asking. Remember: this presentation is not about you. It’s about your audience. If your audience is showing signs of boredom or there is still a lot of the presentation left, you may need to do some quick thinking and edit what you present. Also, make sure that you give your audience brief breaks.

How can an effective introduction help to gain audience interest? Sharon Rimington: An effective introduction welcomes the audience and starts with an attention grabber, such as a dramatic statement or a funny story or anything else that will make the audience think. It’s very important that you capture your audience’s attention at the beginning. The introduction may include an ice breaker which helps the audience to abandon any assumptions they may have about each other. This in turn helps to create a non-threatening and supportive environment for all. The introduction should also clarify the purpose of the presentation. If there are specific objectives to cover, then these should be clearly stated early in the presentation. This is an example of ‘tell them what you’re going to tell them’. This is your opportunity to give an outline of your talk and introduce a structure that the audience will be able to follow throughout the remainder of the session. The introduction also provides an opportunity to set the pace for the remainder of the presentation. The presenter can foster an active session where participants are encouraged to contribute. Alternatively, the presenter may prefer that participants


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are in a more passive but concentrated state of mind. The nature of the presentation will determine how the presenter wants the session to proceed. It’s important to give a lot of attention to planning your introduction, as the reality is that you may win or lose your audience by the time the introduction is over.

Why is the conclusion a strategic point to help participants understand key concepts? Sharon Rimington: Unfortunately, sometimes a conclusion only summarises the key points. It’s the conclusion that often lets the presentation down by ending the presentation in an unprofessional manner. This can happen for a number of reasons such as if the presenter hasn’t allowed enough time to conclude or has gone overtime in other areas of the presentation. Sometimes the participants are looking impatient because they expect to get away on time. Sometimes the presenter might be very tired and just as keen to finish. Whatever the reason, you should make sure that you end your presentation in a professional and engaging way. The conclusion is an integral part of the presentation and should be given the same priority as the introduction and the body of the presentation. The conclusion should be planned and delivered in an appropriate timeframe. But how best to do this? Firstly, plan sufficient time to conclude. How much time is needed will depend on the nature of the presentation and—like the introduction—a conclusion can be simple or it can be complex. All conclusions, however, should relate back to the purpose which was outlined in the beginning. The conclusion should also refresh key points; involve all audience members and motivate them. The conclusion should not be rushed, and it should provide opportunities for participant feedback. It could introduce the next session’s topic, if appropriate, and it should have a definite end point. Finally, the conclusion should include a courteous farewell to the participants.


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Topic 3 Review the presentation

How can the audience, other people’s feedback and your own evaluation help you to improve your presentation skills? Sharon Rimington: You’ll never really know how effective your presentation skills are unless you make a deliberate effort to evaluate yourself. There are a number of easy-to-use tools to help you, your audience and your colleagues provide feedback about your presentation. It’s important to appreciate that no one makes a perfect first presentation, or first few presentations. The more presentations you make, the more confident and professional you’ll become. But unless you actively seek constructive feedback, you may have no idea of the areas and issues you need to work on. People respect those who ask for evaluation. Likewise, those who are poor presenters and make no effort to improve themselves lose respect and credibility – both for themselves and their organisation. Your audience and your colleagues are your greatest resource. Use their feedback to develop your skills. Seek their advice and your own thoughts about the following: Firstly - Your Technique This includes factors such as the speed and volume of your voice. How clear and articulate were you? Was your language appropriate for this audience? Was your pitch and tone of voice appropriate? Did you pause occasionally to enable your audience time to think? Did you read verbatim from your notes, or did you only use them as a guide? Secondly - The non-verbal aspects of your presentation Did your presentation come across as genuine? Was your posture appropriate? Did you have eye contact with the audience and were your gestures appropriate? Did you stand in the right position, or did you wander all around the room? How long did it take for your nerves to settle down? Thirdly - Using equipment Did you use the equipment successfully? If not, did you implement a contingency plan? Did you face your audience or face the equipment when speaking? Next - Your delivery Did you deliver the correct amount of content in the session? Was there too much,


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too little or just the right amount of material? Was the quality of the visual aids and handouts right or should they have been proofread and edited before using? Were there any spelling or other typing errors in the material? There are so many other factors to consider, such as: Housekeeping - Did you describe the location of amenities, or any paperwork that needed to be completed? Did you cover any official requirements such as evacuation procedures and introductions of special guests? Did you remember to introduce yourself? Finally, did you engage the audience in the introduction, keep their interest during the body of the session, and leave the audience satisfied at the conclusion? Remember to re-evaluate and practise your skills as often as you can. And remember the 3P’s: Preparation, Practice and Perfecting will enable you to develop high level presentation skills.

Documents

BSBCMM401A Make a presentation Learner Manal - · PDF file · 2012-02-07BSBCMM401A Make a Presentation ... In this topic you will prepare a presentation to a target audience