What Makes an EffectivePresentation?  02

5 Good communication skills

良好的交流技巧

为了实现有效的交流，演讲的内容要能利于理解，意义丰富且能满足听众兴趣。

For communication to be effective, the content needs to be clearly understood, meaningful and interesting to the audience. Effective communication in presentations needs a combination of content that fits the purpose, and good presentation and communication skills.

To achieve this, you will need to consider several questions:

为了实现这样的效果，你需要考虑一下几个问题？

•What is the purpose of the presentation and what is it that you need to communicatein the allotted time?

•What is the current knowledge level of the audience and what new knowledge or awareness do you want the audience to have gained from listening to or seeing your presentation?

•What is the most effective way to communicate this knowledge? For example, is it more useful to show pictures, use models, sound, speech or text?

There are many influences on how well we communicate and on how well we are understood by our audience. It is useful to consider these influences under three broadareas: 

1 Verbal communications.

2 Visual communications.

3 Non-verbal communications.

1 Verbal communications

We suggest five principles here:

限制行话的使用。

•Limit your use of jargon. 

Generally speaking, to be understood, the presenter needs to use vocabulary that is familiar to the audience. Too much jargon can distract the audience while they try to understand new meanings and applications.

解释新的复杂的术语

•Explain new or complex terms.

When you use familiar words and phrases the audience will understand your content much more quickly. You can also introduce new vocabulary and give brief explanations with examples, as each one is introduced. In this way, you are extending the audience’s knowledge and demonstrating your ownknowledge to the tutor. You could decide to create a Glossary that provides brief descriptions of the terms used in your presentation. Give this to the audience with other handouts that you have created.

讲话清晰

•Speak clearly.

 Speak a little slower than you do in everyday conversations with friends and colleagues. This will give the audience time to listen and understand what you are saying while getting used to your style of speech.

使用一个有趣的语调

•Use an interesting tone of voice.

 If you sound interesting you will probably make the content interesting. Showing some enthusiasm for the topic can generate interest from the audience.

完整的句子

•Finish sentences. During communication with friends and colleagues we often do not need to finish sentences because they finish them for us or can make an accurate guessat the meanings without hearing everything spelt out.

We may interrupt them or be interrupted ourselves. Generally, we get used to this style of communication and compensate for it by asking questions or for repetition of something we have not understood. In a presentation you will be expected to present the content using complete sentences.

2 Visual communications

When you think about what makes presentations effective, it will be useful to consider how you can use images to communicate more effectively. At this stage it will be useful to remember these principles:

使用图像提升理解力

•Use images to improve understanding. Sometimes, it is easier to use a picture instead of words to improve audience understanding.

使用图像节约时间

•Use images to save time.

 If there is only a short amount of time you could include images as a quick way to cover some of the content. You have probably heard of the phrase,‘a picture paints a thousand words’ and this is very relevant to a student presentation.

使用图像提高兴趣

•Use images for interest. 

Images use the visual sense where as sound and speech use the auditory sense. Providing content in a variety of formats means that the audience has to use of a range of senses. This keeps them active in the process of receiving the presentation. We all have preferences and using a variety of communication approaches ensures a wider appeal to different members of the audience.

使用图像提高效果

•Use images for impact. Images are more relevant for some topics than others buteven if only a few can be included, they can be useful to create pauses and breaks inthe delivery, generate discussion themes or make a lasting impression.

3 Non-verbal communications

Some key principles that you can use to improve your non-verbal communication during the presentation.

•Choose whether to stand or sit.

选择站立或者坐下

In some situations such as in a seminar, you may be one of a group who sit in a circle or around a table. Check with the tutor what the best approach is. In many student presentations standing will be expected. Whether you sit or stand, you should try to convey some control and authority for your performance.

•Keep still.

保持一个姿势

Having agreed on the best position, try to keep still and stay in one place rather than moving around.

•Keep your hands still.

手不要乱动

We all have a tendency to flap our hands while we speak. This is natural in most situations and while it might be used for enthusiasm, it can be a distraction during a presentation. If you do not use your hands to operate the technology or demonstrate something, hold cards or papers or clasp your hands lightly in front of you to reduce the waving around.

•Face the audience as much as possible.

尽可能面对听众

They will pick up non-verbal clues from yourfacial expression. This will also help you to‘sweep the group’by making brief eye contact with the audience.

6 Appropriate use of technologies

Here, we are interested in how using some technology improves the presentation to make it more effective. We suggest the following key principles:

技术是你的仆人而不是主人，不要让技术主宰你的演讲

1、In most situations, the technology should be‘the servant’not‘the master’. You should control it rather than letting it dominate the presentation. If it creates problems,it will distract the presenters and the audience from the content that needs to be delivered.

技术的使用为目的服务而不是为了技术而技术

2、It needs to be fit for purpose. Use it as an integral part of the presentation rather thanan add-on feature.

技术的使用应有利于听众对内容的理解

3、The technology should improve what you have to communicate so that the audience gains a better understanding of your content.

排练使用技术，确保使用娴熟。

4、Rehearse using the technology, especially if it is an essential part of demonstrating your skills in the presentation. You will need to feel confident in how you use it.

为防失败，留有备份。

5、Have a backup system in case it fails. We have seen situations where the technology failed but the presentation was still effective because the presenter had made copies of notes and screen shots that he then worked through with the audience. If you have rehearsed your presentation well, this type of experience will be less of a problem.

7 Clear supporting documentation

明确的支持文档

作为演讲的一部分，听众可能会找你要讲义。

As part of your presentation, you may have been asked to create handouts but even if handouts are not essential, the audience may find summaries, lists of key points, or aprint out of the slides useful. Good handouts can be used in the future and may give a‘feel good factor’to the presentation.

The style and level of detail given in this documentation should be relevant to the presentation situation and audience needs.

8  Suitable audience participation

适当的听众参与度

Some will beexpected to involve the audience in activities or discussion at certain times within the presentation.

Others will be more formal, having no interaction at all or requiring questions and answers only at the end of the presentation.

If you want the audience to participate during the presentation, there are several techniques you can use to encourage this. You can do this by inviting questions or directly involving chosen members of the audience with tasks, exercises and demonstrations.

If the audience is very quiet and do not immediately pose questions when you ask for any,it can be useful to prepare a few of your own questions that you use to extend the topic and perhaps stimulate further questions.

Some audience members may be more willing to answer an open or a direct question from you rather than raise their own question.