Presentation: Overview and Purposes

PRESENTATION SKILLS

Q.1. Define presentation and its purposes. (Long Answer Type Question)

Ans. Presentation means passing information informally or formally face to face. But nowadays digital mode is also used for giving presentations. It is one of the most powerful mediums of communication. Being a powerful medium of communication, presentation involves a pre-planned and organized structure.

 

The ability to make effective and memorable oral presentations is one of the most important qualities for a successful career. One must develop the skills of a good speaker. A good presentation can be prepared with a positive attitude, confidence, knowledge, authenticity of the topic, fluency, clarity, etc. From a presentation, we remember -

• 7% from Verbal content (written)
• 38 % from Voice inflection, modulation, articulation, etc.
• 55 % from Body language

To make an effective presentation, a presenter needs to go through all the strategies of presentation like content preparation, methods of speech delivery, kinesics, paralinguistic features of voice, proxemics, chronemics, audience analysis, audio-visual aids, etc.

Purposes of Presentation

Different organizations have different aims for presentations. Before planning a presentation; its purpose should be kept in mind because purpose determines the content, the style of the presentation, audio-visual aids, etc. There can be numberless purposes for presentation but the main purposes are:

1. To inform

One of the purposes of the presentation is to inform. Such presentations must be based on facts and figures. A professional has to deliver a number of informational oral presentations throughout his career. Examples-

• Orientation briefings to new employees
• Explaining company rules, procedures, and benefits at assemblies.
• Conducting training programs.
• Explaining the procedure of a process
• Speaking oral reports
• Demonstrating a layout
• Illustrating a topic
• Taking a lecture,
• Giving information on a project
• Making a sales presentation to customers, etc.

2. To persuade

'Persuade' means to make someone agree to the given proposal. The purpose of a presentation may be persuasion. Such presentations must have certain arguments, suggestions, conclusions, and recommendations. Some polite tactics may be used in order to persuade the audience. Examples-

• Making new customers
• Impressing clients for business proposal
• Marketing presentation for new businesses

3. To entertain

Sometimes the presentations are made for entertainment (emotional also) only. Such presentations have humor, a narration of anecdotes, short quizzes, relevant jokes, etc. to entertain the audience. Examples-

• Puppet shows
• Stand-up comedy
• Light and entertaining quizzes during an official party.
• Farewell party

Even, sometimes during a long presentation, a speaker can use such presentations to break the monotony (boredom) of the presentation. It is necessary to make the mood of the audience light, but colloquial (local/dialect) language and slang tones and words should be avoided.

4. To motivate

One of the purposes of presentation is motivation. Such presentations must have some real-life examples, success stories, insight vision, etc. Such presentations have a good place in professional life as these help people to come out of stress/tension/ unwanted consequences, etc. In such cases, the purpose of a presentation is to motivate people. Example-

•   Motivational lecture.
•  Speech from an imminent speaker.
•  Successful life stories by someone.
• Lectures for meeting the targets.

Q.2. Define presentation and its purposes. (Short Answer type Question)

Ans. Presentation means passing information informally or formally face to face. But nowadays digital mode is also used for giving presentations. It is one of the most powerful mediums of communication.

The main purposes of presentations are divided into four types-

1.      To inform
2.      To persuade
3.     To entertain
4.     To motivate