Your Presentation Style

Adjustment

The willingness to be flexible and adapt to the speaker’s points and verbal detours without judgement or jumping to conclusions

Anticipate

Regarding something as probable; to expect or predict something. Anticipating what a speaker will say before saying it can get in the way of active listening.

Attitude

A settled way of thinking or feeling about something. Keeping an open or positive attitude is more beneficial to active listening.

Authenticity

The quality of being genuine; of undisputed origin and not a copy.

Bias

The inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair.

Body Movements

The way a speaker moves his/her body as a way to communicate with the audience and/or release nervous energy.

Deaf Spots (Psychological)

Impaired ability to perceive and understand things counter to our convictions.

Dimensions of Self

The four dimensions that make up the Johari Window by Luft and Ingram.

Emotional Reaction

Arousing or being characterized by intense feeling.

Emphasis

Putting stress on certain words in your speech to make them stand out as important.

Facial Expression

When the look on a person’s face communicates their mood, feeling, or state of being, sometimes unconsciously.

Fillers

Placeholders for actual words (e.g, uh, uhm, erm, ah) that people typically use to fill space while speaking; they can become distracting to the listener.

Gesture

A movement of part of the body, especially a hand or the head, to express an idea or meaning.

Hearing

An accidental and automatic brain response to sound that requires no effort.

Internal Monologue

Self-talk that can be rational and reasonable or illogical and disorganized.

Johari Window

Ingram and Luft’s four-quadrant box of dimension of self: (1) what’s known to me and known to others, (2) what’s known to others but unknown to me, (3) what’s known to me but unknown to others, and (4) what’s unknown to me and to others.

Judging

Forming an opinion or conclusion about something.

Listening

To give one’s attention to sound.

Listening Reminder

Giving oneself a cue to remember to pay attention to the speaker, such as a note or an image.

Pitch

The quality of a sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone.

Posture

A particular position of the body.

Pronunciation

The way that you say your words, often informed by other elements such as accent (e.g., to-may-toe vs. to-mah-toe)

Rate

The vocal speed of the speaker.

Self-concept

What we perceive ourselves to be; involves aspects of image and esteem.

Self-reflection

A trait that allows you to adapt and change to the context or environment, to accept or reject messages, to examine your concept of yourself, and to improve.

Silence

The fact or state of abstaining from speech.

Values

Principles or standards of behaviour; one’s judgement of what is important in life.

Volume

Quantity or power of sound; degree of loudness.

Developing a Presentation Strategy

Asynchronous Delivery

A presentation delivery not existing or occurring at the same time; previously recorded.

Attention-Grabber

A device, such as a story or anecdote, designed to get the audience’s attention in the introduction.

AUDIENCE (tool)

A tool and acronym used to help analyze the audience as part of a pre-presentation strategy. Stands for Analysis, Understand, Demographics, Interest, Environment, Need, Context, Expectation.

Backchannels

A secondary or covert route for the passage of information, oftentimes social media tools like Twitter, for certain kinds of presentations or speeches.

Chunking

Grouping together connected items or words so that they can be stored or processed as single concepts.

FAST

An acronym and tool to assist in developing your presentation strategy. Stands for Format, Audience, Style, and Tone.

Format

Choice between presentation styles such as speech, presentation, panel, or podcast.

Podcast

A digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or portable media player, typically available as a series, new instalments of which can be received by subscribers automatically.

Rhetorical Proofs

Classical way to make a solid argument using the three proofs of ethos, pathos, and logos (credibility, passion, logic).

Style

The personality you bring to your presentation through elements such as manner of dress, level of formality, use of humour, etc.

Teleconference

A conference with participants in different locations linked by telecommunication devices.

Timing

The amount of time allotted for a speech or presentation, usually including time for questions.

Tone

The overall mood of the presentation using tools like voice, body language, and self-confidence.

Webinar

A seminar conducted over the Internet.

Presentation Aids

Colour Blindness

The inability to distinguish certain colours.

Colour Wheel

A circle with different coloured sectors used to show the relationship between colours.

Decorative Font

A font that is highly stylized, usually a serif, and sometimes difficult to read.

Demonstration

A practical exhibition and explanation of how something works or is performed.

Flip Charts

A large pad of paper bound so that each page can be turned over at the top to reveal the next, used on a stand at presentations.

Handouts

A piece of printed information provided free of charge, especially to accompany a lecture or advertise something.

Legibility

The quality of being clear enough to read.

Slide Deck

A presentation supplemented by or based on a display of projected images or photographic slides (e.g., PowerPoint).

Sound Effect

A sound other than speech or music made artificially for use in a play, film, or other broadcast production or presentation.

Tactile Aid

An aid that is of or connected with the sense of touch.

Transition (slide)

The process of changing from one slide to another (e.g., using swipe, fade, or other visual or audio effects to indicate a slide change).

Whiteboards

A wipeable board with a white surface used for teaching or presentations.

Communicating with a Live Audience

Audience Etiquette

The customary code of polite behaviour in society or among members of a particular profession or group, in this case between the audience and the speaker.

Backup Plan

A plan made incase a file or other presentation item is lost or damaged.

Composure

The state or feeling of being calm and in control of oneself.

Deep Breathing

The action of breathing deeply, especially as a method of relaxation.

Eye Contact

The state in which two people are aware of looking directly into each other’s eyes.

Glitch

A sudden, usually temporary malfunction or fault of equipment.

Lectern

A tall stand with a sloping top to hold a book or notes, from which someone, typically a preacher or lecturer, can read while standing up.

Listener’s Lean

Leaning toward the speaker as a sign of interest and attentiveness.

Microphone check

The act of testing the microphone for volume, function, position, etc.

Misinterpreting

To interpret something or someone wrongly.

Nervousness

The state of being anxious or apprehensive.

Offense

Causing someone to feel resentful, upset, or annoyed.

Paraphrasing

Express the meaning of (something written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity.

Podium

A small platform on which a person may stand to be seen by an audience.

Preparation

Something done to get ready for an event or undertaking.

Rehearsing

Mentally prepare, practise, or recite (words one intends to say) for later public performance.

Systematic Desensitization

To make less sensitive systematically by gradually increasing exposure to the thing one is afraid of, in this case public speaking.

Technical Difficulties

A difficulty arising from a method of procedure; (now also) a technological problem.

Visualization

Forming a mental image or imagining a presentation going well as a way to cope with public speaking stress.

Vocal Warm-Ups

Prepare for speaking or a performance by exercising or practising using one’s voice gently beforehand.