Oral Presentation
A common assignment in technical writing courses is to prepare and deliver an oral presentation. One might wonder what an oral report is doing in a writing class. Employers look for coursework and experience in preparing written documents, but they also look for some experience in oral presentation as well. That's why the real name of courses like these ought to be "Introduction to Technical Communications."
The following was written for a standard face-to-face classroom setting. If one is taking the online version of technical writing, the oral reports are sent in as "scripts"; students evaluate each other's oral-report scripts by filling out an online form and sending it to the instructor.
For the oral report, imagine that one is formally handing over one's final written report to the people with whom he/she sets up the hypothetical contract or agreement. For example, imagine that one had contracted with a software company to write its user guide. Once he/she had completed it, he/she'd have a meeting with chief officers to formally deliver the guide. He/She'd spend some time orienting them to the guide, showing them how it is organized and written, and discussing some of its highlights. The goal is to get them acquainted with the guide and to prompt them for any concerns or questions.
As can be seen, one shouldn't have to do any research to prepare for this assignment--just plan the details of the talk and get at least one visual ready. If one has a topic that one prefers not to present orally to the group, discuss other possibilities with the instructor. Here are some brainstorming possibilities in case one wants to present something else:
Purpose: Another way to find a topic is to think about the purpose of the talk. Is it to instruct (for example, to explain how to run a text editing program on a computer), to persuade (to vote for or against a certain technically oriented bond issue), or simply to inform (to report on citizen participation in the new recycling program).
Informative purpose: An oral report can be primarily informative. For example, as a member of a committee involved in a project to relocate the plant, the job might be to give an oral report on the condition of the building and grounds at one of the sites proposed for purchase. Or, one might be required to go before the city council and report on the success of the new city-sponsored recycling project.
Instructional purpose: An oral report can be primarily instructional. One task might be to train new employees to use certain equipment or to perform certain routine tasks.
Persuasive purpose: An oral report can be primarily persuasive. One might want to convince members of local civic organizations to support a city-wide recycling program. One might appear before city council to persuade its members to reserve certain city-owned lands for park areas, softball and baseball parks, or community gardens.
Topics: One can start by thinking of a technical subject, for example, solar panels, microprocessors, drip irrigation, or laser surgery. For an oral report, think of a subject one is interested in talking about, but find a reason why an audience would want to hear the oral report.
Place or situation: One can find topics for oral reports or make more detailed plans for them by thinking about the place or the situation in which one's oral report might naturally be given: at a neighborhood association? at the parent teachers' association meeting? at a church meeting? at the gardening club? at a city council meeting? at a meeting of the board of directors or high-level executives of a company? Thinking about an oral report this way makes one focuses on the audience, their reasons for listening, and their interests and background.
The focus for the oral presentation is clear, understandable presentation; well-organized, well-planned, well-timed discussion. One doesn't need to be Mr. or Ms. Slick-Operator--just present the essentials of what one has to say in a calm, organized, well-planned manner.
When giving the oral presentation, all will be listening for the same things. Use the following as a requirements list, as a way of focusing the preparations:
Plan to explain to the class what the situation of the oral report is, who one is, and who they should imagine they are. Make sure that there is a clean break between this brief explanation and the beginning of the actual oral report.
Make sure the oral report lasts no longer than 7 minutes. The instructor will work out some signals to indicate when the 7-minute mark is approaching, has arrived, or has past.
Pay special attention to the introduction to the talk. Indicate the purpose of the oral report, give an overview of its contents, and find some way to interest the audience. (See the example text of an introduction to an oral report in Figure 12-2.)
Use at least one visual--preferably a transparency for the overhead projector. Flip charts and objects for display are okay. But please avoid scribbling stuff on the chalkboard or relying strictly on handouts.
Make sure one discusses key elements of the visuals. Don't just throw them up there and ignore them. Point out things about them; explain them to the audience.
Make sure that the speaking style and gestures are okay. Ensure that one is loud enough so that everybody can hear, that one doesn't speak too rapidly (nerves often cause that), and that one gestures and posture are okay. For example, don't slouch on the podium or against the wall, and avoid fidgeting with the hands. As for speaking style, consider slowing the tempo a bit--a common tendency is to get nervous and talk too fast. Also, be aware of how much to say things like "uh," "you know," and "okay."
Plan to explain any technical aspect of the topic very clearly and understandably. Don't race through complex, technical stuff--slow down and explain it carefully so that the audience understand it.
Use "verbal headings"--by now, get use to use headings in the written work. There is a corollary in oral reports. With these, one gives the audience a very clear signal one is moving from one topic or part of the talk to the next. (Examples of verbal headings are shown in Figure 12-3.)
Plan the report in advance and practice it so that it is organized. Make sure that listeners know what one is talking about and why, which part of the talk one is in, and what's coming next. Overviews and verbal headings greatly contribute to this sense of organization.
End with a real conclusion. People sometimes forget to plan how to end an oral report and end by just trailing off into a mumble. Remember that in conclusions, one can summarize (go back over high points of what had been discussed), conclude (state some logical conclusion based on what have been presented), provide some last thought (end with some final interesting point but general enough not to require elaboration), or some combination of these three. And certainly, one will want to prompt the audience for questions and concerns.
As mentioned above, be sure the oral report is carefully timed to 7 minutes. Some ideas on how to do this are presented in the next section.
Figure 12-1. Diagram of the oral presentation.
Pick the method of preparing for the talk that best suits the comfort level with public speaking and with the topic. However, do some sort of preparation or rehearsal--some people assume that they can just jump up there and ad lib for 7 minutes and be relaxed, informal. It doesn't often work that way--drawing a mental blank is the more common experience.
Here are the obvious possibilities for preparation and delivery:
Write a script, practice it, keep it around for quick-reference during the talk.
Set up an outline of the talk, practice with it, bring it for reference.
Set up cue cards, practice with them, use them during the talk.
Write a script and read from it.
Of course, the extemporaneous or impromptu methods are also out there for the brave and the adventurous. However, please bear in mind that up to 25 people will be listening to the speaker--he/she owes them a good presentation, one that is clear, understandable, well-planned, organized, and informative.
It doesn't matter which method one uses to prepare for the talk. Of course the head-down style of reading the report directly from a script has its problems. There is little or no eye contact or interaction with the audience. The delivery tends toward a dull monotone that either puts listeners off or is hard to understand.
For some reason, people tend to get nervous in this situation. Try to remember that the classmates and instructor are a very forgiving, supportive group. One doesn't have to be a slick entertainer--just be clear, organized, understandable, informative. The nerves will wear off someday, the more oral presenting one does.
Figure 12-2. Introductory remarks in an oral presentation.
When one gives an oral report, focus on common problem areas such as these:
Timing--Make sure one keeps within the 7-minute time limit. Anything under 6 minutes is also a problem. Do some rehearsal, write a script, or find some other way to get the timing just right.
Volume--Obviously, one must be sure to speak loud enough so that all of the audience can hear. One might find some way to practice speaking a little louder in the days before the oral presentation.
Pacing, speed--Sometimes, oral presentators who are a bit nervous talk too fast. All that adrenaline causes them to speed through their talk. That makes it hard for the audience to follow. In general, it helps listeners to understand better if one speaks a bit more slowly and deliberately than in normal conversation. Slow down, take it easy, be clear.
Gestures and posture--Watch out for nervous hands flying all over the place. This too can be distracting--and a bit comical. At the same time, don't turn oneself into a manikin. Plan to keep the hands clasped together or holding onto the podium and only occasionally making some gesture. As for posture, avoid slouching at the podium and leaning against the wall.
Verbal crutches--Watch out for too much "uh," "you know," "okay" and other kinds of nervous verbal habits. Instead of saying "uh" or "you know" every three seconds, just don't say anything at all. In the days before the oral presentation, practice speaking without these verbal crutches. The silence that replaces them is not a bad thing--it gives listeners time to process what one is saying.
Figure 12-3. Examples of verbal headings in an oral presentation.
Prepare at least one visual for this report. Here are some ideas for the "medium" to use for the visuals:
Transparencies for overhead projector--For most college classrooms and, in fact, business conference rooms, the overhead projector is the best way to show things to the whole group. Design the visual on a sheet of blank paper, then photocopy it, and then get a transparency of it. One may have access to equipment like this at work; most copy shops can make transparencies; and the instructor can make transparencies, given a few days lead-time.
Poster board-size charts--Another possibility is to get some poster board and draw and letter what the audience needs to see. If one has a choice, consider transparencies--it's hard to make charts look neat and professional.
Handouts--One can run off copies of what one wants the listeners to see and hand them out before or during the talk. This option is even less effective than the first two because one can't point to what one wants the listeners to see and because handouts take listeners' attention away from the speaker. Still, for certain visual needs, handouts are the only choice.
Objects--If one needs to demonstrate certain procedures, one may need to bring in actual physical objects. Rehearse what one is going to do with these objects; sometimes they can take up a lot more time than one expects.
Please avoid just scribbling the visual on the chalkboard. Whatever one can scribble on the chalkboard can be neatly prepared and made into a transparency or poster board-size chart, for example. Take some time to make the visuals look sharp and professional-use a straightedge, good dark markers, neat lettering or typing. Do the best to ensure that they are legible to the entire audience.
As for the content of the visuals consider these ideas:
Drawing or diagram of key objects--If one describes or refers to any objects during the talk, try to get visuals of them so that one can point to different components or features.
Tables, charts, graphs--If one discusses statistical data, present it in some form or table, chart, or graph. Many members of the audience may have trouble "hearing" such data as opposed to seeing it.
Outline of the talk, report, or both--If one is at a loss for visuals to use in the oral presentation, or if the presentation is complex, have an outline of it that one can show at various points during the talk.
Key terms and definitions--A good idea for visuals (especially when one can't think of any others) is to set up a two-column list of key terms one uses during the oral presentation with their definitions in the second column.
Key concepts or points--Similarly, one can list the key points and show them in visuals. (Outlines, key terms, and main points are all good, legitimate ways of incorporating visuals into oral presentations when one can't think of any others.)
During the actual oral report, make sure to discuss the visuals, refer to them, guide the listeners through the key points in the visuals. It's a big problem just to throw a visual up on the screen and never even refer to it.
Adapted from various sources - individuals and the Internet
