Oral Presentations

     When it comes to the thought of having to give a speech this might make a person nervous. There are three main points to keep in mind to help someone overcome their fear of speeches. Firstly, one must remember that everyone gets somewhat nervous when speaking in front of large crowds. Second, being nervous is actually a good sign believe it or not. This shows that you care about your presentation and how well you do. Lastly, you don't need to succumb to your feelings of nervousness when having to give a presentation. With proper planning and organization you will gain the confidence to know you are delivering an efficient and effective speech.
      Even though the idea of having to write out your presentation may seem weird it is actually a very beneficial step towards proper structuring of your presentation. It helps to develop your ideas and structure your points to help support your overall message. Just like any written message an oral presentation consists of an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction is where you will gain the audiences attention and interest in the topic you are discussing. You will establish your credibility while preparing your audience for the main ideas which are to come. It is important to have a strong introduction to make sure your presentation starts off great and grabs the audience.
     The majority of your speech will be included in the body. When presenting your ideas it is important to make sure you keep a consistent flow and link between sentences by incorporating the use of transitional words or phrases. If your presentation involves what can be potentially confusing points it is necessary to use familiar words and easy examples to make sure the audience gets it. You should already have the audiences attention from your introduction so now it is vital for you to keep hold of it. Do not be afraid to ask for opinions or ask if anyone has questions or comments. This will help to see if your listeners are gaining a clear understanding of points you are trying to make.
     When it comes time to present your conclusion let the audience know that you will be wrapping it up. This will make the audience pay close attention for one final moment before they anxiously await to move on with their day. Your last words will be the ones that the audience will most likely remember when they leave. This is why it is important to restate the main points you spoke about through the body portion of your presentation. To end on a strong note your final words must be memorable and make a great impression on your audience. You can achieve this by planning ahead to what your closing statement will be to that when you do close your audience is sure to remember you.

LINK:
12 Tips on Oral Presentations

Visual Communication

     Although the primary focus of business professionals when it comes to communications revolves around the best way to say things many people might not realize visual communication may be just as important. When it comes to creating visuals it can sometimes help make some important concepts better understood and make things more obvious than if they were to use words alone. Sometimes it is even possible for the proper visual display to relay more information than words in a same given amount of time. You must remember that most of the time visuals are what attracts a persons attention and grabs onto it. When as much has been taking out of sentences and phrases that is when a person tends to look to the visual to gain a final better understanding of what was read.
     There are, however, some risks involved in using visuals that one must pay attention to just as there are risks for when writing text messages. One is that you must always remember that just as some words or phrases have symbolic meaning when read in different cultures, there are also colors, shapes, and other certain visual elements that can have visual symbolism that varies in different cultures. Another thing to be aware of is that when it comes to preparing visuals they must be carefully planned and created just as you would writing an ordinary message. The reason being because an awkwardly wrote sentence or typo can be overlooked by majority of people who read it but a visual that seems irrelevant or badly implemented will be way more noticeable especially if your audience seems to be having trouble in decoding a visual to what its true meaning is.

LINK
Visual Aids for a Speech or Presentation : Types of Visual Aids