Nuances of Presentation

 Nuances of Presentation

Nuance means a very minute difference.   Nuances of speech delivery refer to the understanding of minute things that are important for impressive speech delivery. Understanding such nuances helps a presenter to give a presentation in a better way. It also refers to all the small things that should be taken care of. Before the final speech delivery on the stage, the presenter must take care of certain vital things like-

1. What is the purpose of the speech presentation?
2. What is the time duration of the speech?
3. Who is the audience?
4. What is the condition of the locale?
5. What will be the benefit to the audience?
6. How to use paralinguistic features of Voice?
7. What are the non-verbal/Physical aspects of speech delivery?
8. What is Strong content?
9. How to handle audience inquiries, etc.,

Broadly, nuances of speech delivery have the following-

1. Purpose: Know Your Purpose Clearly

The first nuance of speech delivery is understanding the purpose. First of all, the presenter should check the purpose of the presentation. The purpose behind the presentation should be clear to the speaker. The speaker must know why he wants to deliver the presentation - to instruct, inform, demonstrate, persuade, or entertain the audience? It will help the speaker to prepare an effective presentation and meet his goal.

2.               Time Duration

The next nuance is related to time duration. It is a very critical point. If a speaker knows the estimated time duration of a speech, he can adjust his presentation in that time frame. It will help him to condense or spread the content according to the duration of time. It saves the time and energy of the presenter. it also helps the presenter to impress the audience through time management.

3.               Audience Analysis: Age, gender, status, background, liking, etc.

Another crucial nuance is audience analysis. The audience always holds the receiving end. It is better to have complete knowledge of the audience. The nature of the audience has a direct impact on the strategies that are used in the presentation.

If a presenter has complete knowledge of the audience, he can write the content according to his audience. If the audience is from a rural background, he will choose simple methods and audiovisual aids to make them understand. If the audience is professionals, he will prepare different content. That is why beforehand knowledge of the audience is a foremost requirement for a presenter. One must know the following things about the audience:

• Audience’s age

• Gender

• Interest

• background

• nature

• The range (size)

Audience analysis helps the presenter in the following ways-

1. The presenter can select audiovisual aids accordingly.
2. The presenter can match the language and style.
3. The presenter can adjust the tone and pronunciation according to the audience.

4.               Locale Analysis

Locale analysis is also an important nuance for speech delivery. It is very important to understand the locale. Locale is related to the physical environment and location where a presentation would be conducted. Every location has its unique physical environment. It may help the audience to understand the message properly due to the positive features of the locale. Locale analysis includes-

• Place of presentation

• Type of speaking dais/podium

• Available public address system

• Seating arrangement,

• Room temperature, cross ventilation, lighting, etc. (physical environment)

• Available Visual aids.

All these things help the presenter to give his presentation effectively. The presenter must know what facilities are being given by the organizer at the place of the presentation.

Locale analysis helps the presenter in the following ways-

1. The presenter may select an alternative way of presentation
2. The presenter can take extra care about the presentation material.
3. The presenter can equip himself with other options.

Example-Suppose a presenter knows that there is no proper system of hanging charts on the wall. He will choose another medium to display his ideas or he will demand nail arrangement before starting the presentation.

5.     Relevance to Audience

A presenter must know what the audience will get from his presentation. Why should the audience listen to him? If the presenter knows about the benefits of the audience he can keep his presentation aligned and goal-oriented.

6. Content:

One of the very important nuances is related to the content of the presentation. Content means any text audio or video on which the presentation is based. Content is the soul of a presentation. If there is no content means there is no presentation. Content preparation is the most challenging task.

As mentioned, content is the base of any presentation hence it should be written carefully. The content must have easy diction and simple sentence structures so that the audience can easily understand the material. Content preparation takes the following steps-

1. Research
2. Collection of data
3. Rough draft
4. Organization of data
5. Revise and editing
6. Final draft

The final content should match the purpose, audience, and time duration.

7.   Speech delivery method- reading, memorization of text, extempore and impromptu.

A presenter can give his speech in any of the four methods from manuscript, memorization of text, extempore, and impromptu. A presenter must know the differences to select the suitable speech delivery method.           

8.        Paralinguistic features of voice: Articulation, modulation, pronunciation, stress, tone, style, etc.

Verbal (Language) Communication takes its real value through voice features- Pronunciation, articulation, articulation, modulation, stress, intonation, etc. A presenter must practice several times to impress the audience with his speaking style.

9. Technical part: audio-visual aids, electric, and electronic systems

Spoken words are ephemeral (short-lived) that's why audio-visual aids are added to a presentation. It is estimated that we learn 11 % through hearing, 83 % through sight and the rest through the other senses. It means visual aids can make presentations more effective. Audio-visual aids include charts, mike, pictures, projectors, modals, tables, bar graphs, pi-charts, speakers, audio clips, video clips, etc. These aids help the audience understand the speech in a better way. Using audio-visual aids breaks the monotony (boredom) in any presentation, and listeners feel stimulated and take more interest. Visual aids not only make the presentation interesting but also make it understandable. But before using aids we must remember the following points: -

1. Place audio-visual aids at the proper time in the presentation.
2. Keep the chart, picture, or map hidden until you need to refer to it.
3. Visual aids should be displayed where everyone in the audience can see them.
4. Use a pointer to explain, if necessary.
5. Emphasize significant things.
6. Do not clutter (fill) it with too much information.
7. If you write, write legibly in large letters.
8. check all the electronic gadgets and electric connections properly.

How to select suitable Audio-Visual Aids

It is very important to select the right aids for the presentation. If we select the wrong audio-visual aids, they can not be used effectively. Audio-visual aids must suit to locale, audience, and purpose of the presentation.

• It should match the purpose of the presentation.

• The presenter should have a flexible attitude towards the type of visuals.

• It should match the audience and locale.

• Before selecting any aid budget should be kept in mind.

• The time required for preparing visuals should be one of the considerations.

Some of the aids and their purposes are mentioned below-

              Purposes                                                                 Types of Aids

1. to show the detailed or exact values                 Tables 
2. to illustrate trends over time                             Line or bar chart
3. to show frequency or distribution                     Pie/ segmented bar/ area chart
4. to compare one item with another                    Bar chart
5. to compare one part with the whole                 Pie chart
6. to show correlations                                         Line or bar or scatter (dot) chart
7. to show geographic relations                           Map
8. to illustrate a process or a procedure               Flow chart or diagram

10.               Non-verbal: body language, apparel, etc

The non-verbal cues make a presentation more attractive and effective, too. In nonverbal attitude we include

• Body language-facial, expressions, gestures, postures, etc

• Nuances of Voice dynamics- pitch, volume, pronunciation, articulation, etc,

• Proximics- use of space on the stage, distance from the audience, etc.

• Chronemics- proper use of time and preparation of outline accordingly.

Without the use of proper facial expressions, eye contact, smiling faces, bright eyes, gestures, and posture, no one can attract the attention of the audience. sometimes the audience is fascinated with the dressing sense and body movements of a speaker.

11.               Handling Inquiries: doubts and objections

Inquiries, Objections, arguments, and contrary ideas are part of any presentation. Speakers should try to analyze the possible queries and try to prepare proper solutions for them. Figuring out such expected issues helps a speaker win the confidence of the audience,

12.               Context:

Context is the environment, background, or situation within which something occurs. The context enables the audience to interpret the content the way you intended so that they can fairly and easily understand the message given by the speaker. Context can also relate to morale, economy, occasion, season, special situation, etc. Keeping Context in mind, the presenter aligned himself with the topic which saved him from distracting from the main point.