Business Presentations

According to an AT&T and Stanford University study, the No. 1 predictor of success and upward mobility is how much you enjoy public speaking and how effective you are at it.  Because speaking skills are useful at every career stage, this chapter is devoted to helping students use speaking skills in making effective oral presentations. Students will learn how to present as part of a team and in front of live and virtual audiences. Students will also develop strategies for success before, during, and after presentations. They will also learn techniques for designing effective visual aids using PowerPoint, Prezi, and Slide Rocket presentation software tools.

Reassure students that they will increase their comfort level and deliver a professional performance if they focus on the following: preparation, organization, audience rapport, visual aids, and delivery. Students will also learn effective techniques for communicating as a team and addressing an intercultural audience. Furthermore, they will be introduced to strategies for improving telephone and voice mail skills. 

Answers to Critical Thinking Questions:

1. "Communicate-don't decorate." This principle is one of 20 rules that graphic designer and educator Timothy Samara discusses in his 2007 book Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual. How could you apply this principle to the design of your PowerPoint presentations?

2. How can speakers prevent multimedia presentation software from stealing their thunder?

3. Discuss effective techniques for reducing stage fright.

4. Ethical Issue:  Critics of PowerPoint claim that flashy graphics, sound effects, and animation often conceal thin content. Consider, for example, the findings regarding the space shuttle Challenger accident that killed seven astronauts. Report authors charged that NASA scientists had used PowerPoint presentations to make it look as though they had done analyses that they hadn't. Overreliance on presentations instead of analysis may have contributed to the shuttle disaster. What lessons about ethical responsibilities when using PowerPoint can be learned from this catastrophe in communication?

400 words for each question.