Technical writing

1. Technical writing November 16th , 2012

2. Today Giving effective business presentations.

3. Warm-up

4. Watch the following video Take notes about the presenter and the contents of the presentation.

5. Problems: • Screen • Repetitive • Poor body language • Unclear/ineffective pointing gesture • Not confident • Poor eye contact • unprofessional

6. Why are we studying presentations?! This is writing class, isn’t it? The simple fact: Almost every job requires employees to use carefully developed speaking skills. Remember how you get a job? - Interview.

7. Why are we studying presentations?! This is writing class, isn’t it? To be successful, you will need to be a speaker who is: - Confident - Well-prepared - Persuasive

8. Presentations at work You will have many chances (both formal and informal) to use your speaking skills in presentations at work. i.e., • Sales appeals to prospective customers. • Evaluations of products or policies. • Progress reports to your boss and clients. • Reports to employers about your job accomplishments. • Justifications of your position or even your department. • Appeals and/or explanations before elected officials. • Presentations at professional conferences. • Explanation of a procedures, decision, or plan. • Proposals

9. Presentations at work We will look at formal presentations.

10. Giving an effective presentation First rule to ALWAYS keep in mind: K I S S

11. Giving an effective presentation K I S S eep t imple tupid

12. Giving an effective presentation If you follow a SIMPLE, organized presentation style, you will be more successful than most presenters. - Format and organization. - Media (i.e,. PowerPoint). - Non-verbal elements. - Verbal elements.

13. Giving an effective presentation - Format The three main parts of a presentation are: - Introduction - Body - Closing/conclusion

14. Giving an effective presentation - Format Introduction • Start with a hook (grab the attention of the audience). Answer these: - Who are you? - What specific topic are you presenting on? - How is the topic relevant to the audience?

15. Giving an effective presentation - Format Introduction Start with a hook (grab the attention of the audience). • Start with a question. • Start with a quotation. • Start with a short anecdote/story. • Start with an interesting fact or statistic.

16. Giving an effective presentation - Format Introduction Start with a hook (grab the attention of the audience): • “Did you realize that every 30 minutes a foreign-owned business opens in China?” • “Abraham Lincoln once said ‘Whatever you are, be a good one.’” • “Three years ago, a regular high school student in Daegu decided to do something different and started designing a website…” • “In 2011, two million heart attack victims will live to tell about it.”

17. Giving an effective presentation - Format Introduction Give the listeners a “road map” (outline). - Steve Jobs almost always provided an road map. He “guided” the audience through his presentations.

18. Giving an effective presentation - Format Introduction My presentation today on fraud identification software will last about 20 minutes and is divided into three parts. First, I will outline briefly recent software identity protection changes. Second, I will give a detailed review of how those changes directly affect our company. Third, I will show how our company can profitably implement those changes. At the end of my presentation, please give me your questions and comments.

19. Giving an effective presentation - Format Introduction Keep it short - For a 6 – 10 min presentations: 60 seconds is enough.

20. Giving an effective presentation - Format The Body The longest (and most significant) part of a presentation. - This is where you inform and persuade the audience.

21. Giving an effective presentation - Format The Body Depending on the type of presentation, the format for the body will differ. Some things you may be doing: - Explaining a process - Describing a condition - Solving a problem - arguing a case Or all (i.e., a proposal)

22. Giving an effective presentation - Format Some general tips for the body: 1. Use “sign-posting”: Show the audience where you are going. - Enumerate points: first, second, third. • Emphasize cause-and-effect relationships: subsequently, therefore, furthermore. • Chronological sequence for narratives: before, following, next, then.

23. Giving an effective presentation - Format Some general tips for the body: 2. Comment on your material i.e., Tell the audience if something is especially significant, memorable, or relevant: “This next fact is the most important thing I’ll say today.”

24. Giving an effective presentation - Format Some general tips for the body: 3. Provide internal summaries. • Spending a few second to recap what you have just covered can help the audience follow. i.e., We have already discussed the difficulties in establishing a menu repertory, or the list of items that the food service manager wants to appear on the menu. Now we will turn to ways of determining which items should appear on a menu and why.

25. Giving an effective presentation - Format Conclusion/Closing • Should contain something memorable. • Never introduce something new. • Let the audience know the presentation is over.

26. Giving an effective presentation - Format Conclusion/Closing Should have: - A fresh (different) re-statement of your main points. - A closing comment of thanks (NOT: “Thanks for listening”) May have: - A call to action – to buy, to agree, to volunteer. - A final emphasis on a key statistic.

27. Giving an effective presentation - Format Introduction Body Conclusion/Closing

28. A Good Presentation perfect language skills does not = a good presentation. Non-verbal things play a role in making a good speech: - Appearance - Posture - Body language - Eye contact

29. A Good Speech Appearance: VS.

30. A Good Speech Appearance: A professional appearance makes you seem: - More confident. - More knowledgeable. - More reliable It also draws peoples’ attention… in a good way.

31. A Good Speech Posture: VS.

32. A Good Speech Posture: - Stand straight (but not like a robot). - It shows you are serious and confident. - Also draws peoples’ attention.

33. A Good Speech Body language:

34. A Good Speech Body language: • Use gestures naturally (like you would when talking to your friends). • Trying to “plan” or “fake” too many gestures will make you appear unnatural. • Be careful to avoid exaggerated gestures. • A good way to practice gestures is to speak in front of a mirror.

35. A Good Speech Eye contact: • Another sign of confidence. • Creates a connection to your audience (draws them to you). • Don’t forget to shift your focus through the various sections of the audience.

36. Assignment 7 Proposal. You and your partner will present your proposal from Assignment 6. Basics: - 6 – 10 minute presentation. - Use ppt. (KEEP IT SIMPLE). - Figures/Visuals will be required. Evaluation: Presentation skills and content.