Writing Objectives

How to Create Presentation Objectives

Year I Semester II

24/25-June-2015

Objectives: the foundation of a great presentation

Before you begin creating slides or content, you need to

first understand your purpose for giving the presentation.

• What is it that you are trying to achieve?

• Why have you been invited to speak?

• What is your audience expecting of you?

• What (learning points)you want your audience to

take away/learn from your presentation?

Answering these questions first and foremost is crucial to

the rest of your production journey. Having a clear sense

of purpose for your presentation will give you the clarity

and focus you need to justify your creative directions.

Things to remember while writing objectives for

your presentation

Learning Objectives : Be Focused

It is essential that learning objectives be written from

the learner's perspective. Objectives should clearly

state what a participant will know or be able to do as

a result of attending an event or session, as opposed

to what the speaker will teach or share.

Be Specific The first thing you’ll need to remember is to be

specific. Your objectives have to be achievable

and quantifiable, which means no

generalisations. For example, the objective

“I want my presentation to be memorable” is

too general.

Try being more specific, for example – “I want

my audience to understand and recall the

information I deliver to them, whilst seeing

me as professional and inspirational”.

Be logical

The best way to create objective is to ask

yourself logical questions about your

presentation. The answers to these questions will

form the basis for your objectives. There is no

limit to the questions which you can ask

yourself, but a sample list might look like this: • Why am I making this presentation?

• What is it that I am trying to achieve?

• Why has my audience come here?

• What is my audience expecting of me?

• What do I want my audience to know?

• What do I want my audience to think?

• What do I want my audience to do?

Once you have your list of questions, make a list of

answers, and your objectives will follow.

For example:

• Q: Why am I making this presentation?

• A: To raise awareness of the growing problem of

childhood obesity

Objective: To have my audience gain a clear understanding

of the childhood obesity problem, and enact (endorse) my

suggested preventative measures in their own lives

(The more questions you ask yourself, the more objectives you’ll

have, and the more objectives you have, the better you’ll understand

how to make the most of the time you have with your audience)

What are your objectives in giving a presentation?

Sample: Presentation Objectives

Let's say the presentation deals with new information regarding

the proper use of hearing protection devices (HPDs.) Read over

the following six objectives. Which do you feel is the best?

• Objective 1:

"To tell the employees the new information about HPDs."

• Objective 2:

"To protect the hearing of the employees."

• Objective 3:

"To fulfill the requirements by OSHA* and the union to keep employees informed

about safety issues."

• Objective 4:

"To reduce lost time and costs associated with hearing damage."

• Objective 5:

"To reduce accidents caused by hearing damage."

• Objective 6:

"To fulfill the requirements of my job description by giving required presentations to

employees."

* Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

They are all poor/inappropriate . The purpose of

a presentation like this one should be to effect a

change in the behaviour of the audience. This

presenter seemed to use a show-and-tell

approach.

Try conceptualizing the problem so it becomes

centered around the audience member's learning.

What will they be able to do after the

presentation, as a result of it?

Now look at the following possible objectives for the same

presentation:

• "By the end of this presentation, each participant will be able

to:

1. Properly insert HPDs

2. Accurately check for proper insertion

3. Present a convincing argument to a co-worker for the

importance of using HPDs

4. Identify the decibel reduction rating for HPDs, given their

original packaging

5. Identify the maximum exposure times to noise at different

decibel levels, given a standards chart."

What was different about this last set of objectives?

They were stated in terms of a measurable

performance by the learner. Some people call these

behavioral objectives or performance objectives.

Although there are other approaches that may be

just as successful, you are advised to develop

behavioral objectives for your presentations, even

before you start putting together an outline,

graphics, or text.

Furthermore, note how specific and technical each

of these latter objectives is. They are not vague.

Example 2

The following is an illustrative set of objectives for a prevention

of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and AIDS (PMTCT)

workshop; the learning domain and subcategory are indicated

after the objective:

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

1. List and describe specific interventions to prevent HIV transmission to

infants (cognitive — knowledge).

2. Correctly identify and describe prophylactic treatment regimens in five case

studies of HIV-positive pregnant women (cognitive —application).

3. Develop a plan to integrate PMTCT into antenatal care (cognitive —

synthesis).

4. Explore and reflect on personal attitudes and values related to pregnancy in

HIV-positive women (affective — receiving, responding).

5. Demonstrate correct use of personal protective equipment (psychomotor —

guided response).