Oral Presentations

Overview

What you will learn:

• Why public speaking a valued skill
• How to plan, prepare and deliver an effective message to your target audience
• The qualities and attributes of an effective presentation
• Tips for delivering online, recording a presentation and delivering in a group

Introduction

Strong oral communication skills are important in many university, workplace, and everyday situations. Whether participating in online meetings or sharing ideas with others, the ability to communicate clearly and confidently is highly valued.

While presentations can feel intimidating, this is a normal experience for many people. The good news is that presentation skills can be developed through preparation and practice. This module will introduce strategies to help you plan, deliver, and reflect on effective oral presentations with greater confidence.

Why is Public Speaking a valued skill?

The ability to deliver a speech or presentation is a valuable attribute and skill, one which can influence both your personal and professional life. Presentations are required for a variety of reasons. The three, often-overlapping purposes, include:

Oral presentations are used to inform, explain, persuade, and connect with others across academic, professional, and social contexts. An effective presentation can educate, build understanding, foster collaboration, and inspire action. Verbal communication also plays an important role in recognising achievements, sharing ideas, participating in discussions, and contributing to teams and workplaces (Anderson, 2018).

Presentation literacy, or the ability to communicate ideas clearly and confidently, is recognised as an important employability skill across many roles and industries (Fulop & Stewart, 2019). Employers value people who can communicate effectively in presentations, meetings, interviews, online discussions, and collaborative environments. Although digital platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams are now common, strong verbal communication skills remain essential in both face-to-face and online settings.

Steps to delivering an effective oral presentation

It does not matter whether you are conducting an individual or a group presentation, if you are presenting in-person or online, many of the tips and approaches to a great presentation remain the same. There are four key stages as outlined below:

Step One: Plan

A great presentation starts with you having something important to talk about or share. To do this start by clearly defining your topic/concept, map out the key points, and name up why your audience should care about it like you do. To do this, consider these questions and write down your ideas:

• What is the topic of your presentation? What are you going to talk about?
• What style of presentation will you deliver? Will it be a report on something you have been working on or researching (with questions at the end) - or will it be a discussion that involves the audience throughout.
• What is the purpose of your presentation? What information and ideas do you want to share with others, and why?
• Why is it important? Why do you care about it? Why should the audience care?
• What does the audience know already on the topic?
• What do you want them to know?
• What information on your topic do you already have? And what additional information do you need?
• How much time do you have?

Once you have answered the questions above, try mind mapping your ideas identifying the key themes.

GenAI Byte

Generative AI tools can help you prepare for presentations by asking you questions about your topic, audience, and key ideas. This can help you clarify your thinking and identify gaps in your understanding.

When using GenAI, be specific in your prompt about your topic and audience to receive more useful responses. Always review and fact-check any generated information and ensure the final presentation reflects your own understanding and ideas.

Example prompts:

Ask me questions about my presentation topic on climate change so I can test my understanding before presenting.

I am presenting on workplace communication, what are some possible questions that my audience will want to know?

Ask me questions to help me identify the most important points to include in my presentation.

Step Two: Prepare

Know your Context

To best way to prepare for a presentation is to familiarise yourself with the context, or situation/occasion and the environment, that the presentation will take place in.

Whether you are presenting for an assessment task or at a business meeting, finding out the answers to some of the context questions below will help you develop a well-tailored presentation and take valuable steps towards being mentally and physically prepared:

• What is the situation or occasion for the presentation?
• Where will the presentation be held? On-site or online?
• How long have you been asked to present?
• Are there other speakers before/after you?
• Will there be equipment available such as computer, microphone, projection, presentation advancer?

While not always possible, sighting and practising in the physical venue where the presentation will be held can be helpful. Doing so can improve preparedness and reduce anxiety as some of the variables which make people nervous, such as lack of familiarity, have been removed.

Presenting online

Virtual presentations, and the haste at which it occurred, challenged many people, businesses, and educational institutions. The move to virtual presentations meant a different approach and context for both the audience and presenters.

Many of the key principles of familiarising yourself with the audience and context are the same for both on-site and online, however the critical difference is how you will engage with them in an online environment. The graphic below underscores some of the key delivery tips for virtual presentations.

• Practice as you would for on-site delivery
• Be succinct and brief, or schedule a break
• Look into camera, not at the images of people
• Use simple visual elements
• Deliver in a quiet, well-lit space
• Check technology before starting

A few tips when it comes to preparing your presentation:

1. If you are working in a group, ensure that you divide the tasks equitably. Talk about the skills of each group member and work out who can do certain parts based on their key strengths.
2. Map out some clear timelines and touchpoints for completion so you know what you need to complete and when you need to do it by.
3. Write up a presentation plan - see basic guide below.

It is recommended that you allow 10% of the presentation time for the introduction, 80% for the body, and 10% for the conclusion.

Text Alternative

Presentation Plan

Introduction (10%):

Introduce your topic and provide an outline of what you are going to do. Explain the purpose of your presentation.

Body (80%):

Cover the major points that you need to communicate and use images, graphs and tables to support what you are saying.

Conclusion (10%):

Draw the key elements of your presentation together with a summary of the key findings or most important information.

End text alternative.

Format

Once you have mapped out your presentation through planning and preparing, you then need to bring it to life. There are many different tools and techniques you can use to do this, including PowerPoint, Prezi, Powtoon, Canva, or Google Slides for example.

Supporting Material

We mentioned briefly in the first section that it pays to work out what supporting material you can use in your presentation to make it more powerful. People often use software which we noted above in 'format' but depending on what you are presenting and the style, you may want to use whiteboards as well, include a practical activity, and/or provide handouts such as tables, graphs, images or other forms of data/research.

Step Three: Practise

Once you have your presentation ready, it is critical that you practise it. By practising what you are going to say and show, you will have the opportunity to check that it flows logically and covers the key points. Consider practising in front of a friend or family member so they can give you some feedback and ask questions.

We suggest that you write a script to help you practise. Once you are familiar with it, you can then try just using prompt cards to keep you on track for the presentation. If you practise enough, you may not even need the script or prompts, which is ideal but it is up to you and how you feel.

Step Four: Present

The presentation stage is where your planning and preparation come together. Effective presentations involve more than simply reading from slides or notes; they require clear communication, audience awareness, and confident delivery. While presenting can feel challenging, practising beforehand and focusing on engaging with your audience can help you communicate your ideas more effectively.

What makes a great delivery?

• Gain the attention of your audience early with interesting information.
• Build rapport with your audience by smiling and making eye contact as you speak.
• Connect with your audience by showing them you are passionate about the topic.
• Focus on what you think your audience want to know.
• Be guided by the 10-20-30 rule: 10 slides with visuals, 20 minute timeframe and size 30 font.
• Create your presentation in a way that tells a story.
• Use your voice effectively by changing the tone and pitch as well as the speed.
• Use body language to communicate e.g., use your hands, body movements and facial expressions as you tell your story.

(Skills You Need, 2022)

For more public speaking inspiration see the Ted Talk below on ‘The 3 magical ingredients of amazing presentations’ by Phil Waknell (2020).

Transcript

*Transcript obtained from YouTube and formatted by Google Gemini

Transcriber: eric vautier

Reviewer: Hélène Vernet

Most people who come to speak at TED are here because they’ve succeeded. I’m here because I haven’t. (Laughter) For the last ten years, I’ve been helping conference speakers, business leaders, entrepreneurs to prepare and deliver powerful presentations. And in those same ten years, TED has shown that presentations can and should be both enjoyable and effective. But, ten years on, despite TED and despite my best efforts at schools, conferences, and companies, most presentations still do this to their audiences. (Laughter)

So have I failed? No! I just haven't succeeded yet. And to succeed in making all presentations resonate with their audience, I need your help. That’s why I’m here. So I’d like to share with you the three magic ingredients of powerful presentations. OK, let’s just pause there for a moment. I’ve told you what I’m going to say. The question you should be asking is: "So what? What’s in it for me? Why should I care?" And that is a really important question because the first magic ingredient is in fact the audience.

The audience is the magic ingredient in every presentation. This is not my talk, it’s yours. Every presentation should be made to measure for a specific audience in a specific context. So why should you care about the magic ingredients of great presentations? Well, it's very important, right? It’s really important to understand that we all have to listen to presentations. Wouldn’t it be great if they weren’t all so boring? But we don’t just listen to presentations, we also have to give presentations, right? How many of you ever have to give presentations?

I think if we’re honest, we all do. Sooner or later, at school or at work, and also in interviews, we all have to present, with or without slides, and it’s how well we present that will make a huge difference to how well we succeed. That’s why you should care. So that’s the first magic ingredient: the audience. Always make it special for them. The second magic ingredient is the speaker. Now, you’re probably looking at me and thinking: “Well, Phil, not very magical.” (Laughter) Thanks, by the way!

But, it’s really important that you put something of yourself in there, something only you can say. This doesn’t mean you tell them what you had for breakfast, but it does mean that if someone else could give the exact same presentation in your place, then you didn’t put anything personal into it. And that matters because when you share, we care. So show why you care, why it’s important to you. Tell us examples and stories from your experience. And that will make it more personal and more memorable.

So those are the first two magic ingredients: the audience and the speaker. I know it doesn’t sound very magical, but you’d be amazed how many presentations have neither of them. So the third magic ingredient is transformation. Now most presentations aim only to inform their audience, and it doesn’t work very well. Let me take out my magic wand because I’m going to do a disappearing trick, because like this guy, we forget most of what we hear very quickly indeed. But good presentations are not about information, they are about transformation.

They are about changing something in what your audience believes, in what they feel, in what they do. Imagine you are making a pitch for raising funds for a project or a start-up. After your pitch, the audience knows everything they need to know, but they don’t fund you. Did you succeed? No. Now imagine that after your pitch, your audience does give you the funds because they feel confident and trusting, and they believe that your project will be successful and that it is a good investment. All of that is not information, it’s transformation.

So it’s easy for me to say “Don’t inform, transform!” but how? Well, every magician needs a magic wand, and here is yours. It’s called the "Audience Transformation Roadmap." This is a really simple but amazingly powerful technique to understand what your transformational objectives are, and then to brainstorm what you can say, show and do to transform your audience. So here’s how it works. To understand how to take your audience on a transformational journey, you first need to work out where they are starting from.

So we ask ourselves four simple questions: What does my audience know before my presentation? What do they know about the subject? What do they believe? And what do they feel? Now the difference between the two is believing is something you think, and feeling is an emotion. So for example, I believe it’s time for dinner, I feel hungry. See the difference? Right. So what do they know, believe and feel, and lastly, what do they do? Now this could be nothing, maybe they do nothing relevant, or maybe they do something that you need to change.

So once you’ve worked out where they are before, you can then take them to where you want them to go afterwards. And we ask the same four questions but in the reverse order. So now we know what they do before. What do we want them to do after the presentation? What do they need to feel? What should they believe differently, to feel and do those things? And lastly, what do they need to know? And when you follow this process, you realize very quickly that the real transformations are not in what they know, it’s in what they believe and feel and do. That’s what makes the difference.

Once we’ve understood where they are and where we need to take them, then, we can fill in the Transformation Column with all of the ideas on what we can say in our presentation to make those transformations in our audience. And that gives us the content of the presentation. Clear so far? Maybe we should take an example, so let’s take one! Let’s assume that I am going to make a presentation, and I'd like to explain the three magic ingredients of a great presentation, and I’d like to make my audience want to use the Audience Transformation Roadmap.

So what does my audience know before the presentation? Well, they know that most presentations aren’t exactly successful, and they know TED is the exception that proves that rule. What do they believe? Probably like most people, they believe presentations are for sharing information. It might be wrong, but that doesn’t stop them believing it. What do they feel about presentations? Probably bored, but also resigned to a really ineffective way of presenting because that’s just what everyone does. And lastly, what do they do?

Well, when it’s their turn to present, they generally will pack things full of information, and they won’t personalize it to their audiences. So, what do I want them to do after my presentation? Well afterwards, I’m going to want them to aim to transform their audience every time they present, to change something in their audience. I’m going to need them to personalize their presentations every time. And also, I’d like them to use the Audience Transformation Roadmap because I know it will help them to succeed.

What do they need to feel to do those things? Well if they still feel bored or resigned, they’re not going to do very much. So they need to feel curious about this new technique, they need to feel motivated to try it, and optimistic that it can work for them. What do they need to believe to feel those things? They’ll need to believe that the Roadmap can actually help them to succeed in their presentations. Lastly, what do they need to know to believe, feel and do those things?

Well they’ll need to know the three magic ingredients, that’s pretty basic. They'll need to know presentations are bad at information but great at transformation. And they’ll need to know how to use the Audience Transformation Roadmap. OK, now we’ve worked out where they were and where I want to take them. What can I do now? I fill in the Transformation Column. So what can I say or show or do to make those transformations? Now usually, I’m using a flip-chart and some sticky notes here. So I’m going to use virtual sticky notes.

Let’s start at the top. We need to make sure they know the three magic ingredients, so I’m going to need to talk at some point about the audience, about the speaker, and the transformation. They need to know presentations are bad at information, so maybe I should tell them that we forget most of what we hear very quickly. And perhaps I can find a visual way to show that as well. What next? They need to know how to use the Roadmap so I’d better show it to them, and I guess I could make it even clearer by going through an example.

They need to believe that the Roadmap can help them to succeed in their presentations. So I’ll need to show how easy it is to take all of these sticky notes off of the Transformation Column and arrange them in a suitable order to create the storyline for their presentation. It really is a short-cut. OK, now I need to make them curious. Now to make them curious, I’m going to need to make them care, and to make them care, I need to show that I care.

So, I probably need to explain that most presentations really don’t succeed, and that I care about fixing that. And then to make them care, I’m going to need to find out how relevant it is to them. Perhaps I could ask them how many of them actually need to present, and of course I know the answer is pretty much everybody. I need to make them motivated and optimistic. Well I can make them optimistic by explaining how easy this is to use but also how powerful it is.

And to motivate them to try it, I’m going to need to explain that successful presentations can really make a difference to how well they succeed in life. Lastly, to make them do these things, I’ll need a call to action, which focuses on what I want them to do afterwards. So there we have it! That’s a very accelerated version of the brainstorming, but it doesn’t need to take long. What we have now is just enough relevant ideas on how we can transform our audience.

So what happens next? Well this is where I’m going to take my magic wand out again because this is where the presentation magic happens. This is where you can take all the sticky notes off of the Transformation Column, prepare a suitably magical storyline, and then arrange all of these ideas back into that storyline, and hey presto, there is my presentation! Now you might recognize this one, because this is the presentation you have been watching for the last ten minutes. And this is where we are now. Isn’t that magic?

So, now you know what happens next! Next, I need to explain how simple this can be and how powerful. And it’s so simple that it doesn’t take an expert. Thousands of people have already used this technique to prepare and deliver fantastic presentations of all kinds, from TED talks to the boardroom. But more than presentations, they’ve used it also for emails, for proposals, for preparing interviews, for preparing conferences… Basically, it works in any situation where you need to change what people believe, feel and do.

You really don’t need a magic wand. This is all the magic you need. (Applause) Thank you. Thank you. So now I need to give you a call to action, and here it is. Remember those three magic ingredients of every great presentation: the audience, the speaker, and the transformation you want to create in your audience. Try using the Audience Transformation Roadmap for your next presentation, and you’ll be amazed at how well your ideas resonate with your audience.

And lastly, please remember I need your help. I can't cure the world of bad presentations on my own. (Laughter) But together, we really can make a difference! So by all means, share this with anyone you know who needs a dose of presentation magic. It could be your colleague, your teacher, your boss, but you all know someone. And most of all, every time you get to present, focus not on informing but on transforming your audience.

That’s where the magic happens, and if you can succeed in changing what your audience believes, feels and does, there truly is no limit to what you can achieve. Thank you.

End transcript.

How to Deal with Anxiety

Mahatma Ghandi. Elon Musk. Prince Harry. Even the most charismatic and seasoned speakers experience nervousness presenting in public. Recognising that most people experience some anxiety when it comes to speaking in public, famous author Mark Twain remarked, ‘There are only two types of speakers in the world. 1. The nervous and 2. Liars.’

Pre-performance nerves are natural. However, nerves and anxiety can help us when we learn to manage them as it can increase your motivation, alertness, and energy (Vickers, 2025). This energy equates to an enthusiastic and more passionate delivery, which the audience will respond to.

To help you better manage anxiety and present calmly and confidently, consider these tips:

Text Alternative

Reframe: how you view the speaking situation: Avoid thinking of the presentation as a performance that must be perfect. Think of it as a conversation with an audience that wants you to do well.

Greet the anxiety: When you first start feeling the nerves, don’t ignore them; rather, ‘greet your anxiety’ by acknowledging it as normal and potentially helpful.

Use your body language: Maintaining a strong, confident body posture can influence your own confidence levels, as well as influence the audience’s perception of your confidence.

Be present-oriented: Focus on the moment and avoid being future-focused, or thinking about outcomes of the presentation. Find a strategy that brings you to the moment such as mindfulness, breathing and visualisation.

Practise, practise, practise: The more comfortable you are with the content and how it will be delivered, the less nervous you will be on the occasion.

End text alternative.

Recap

Effective presentations are built through planning, preparation, practise, and reflection. While presenting can feel challenging, developing strong oral communication skills can help you communicate ideas clearly, engage audiences, and build confidence across university, workplace, and everyday settings. Like any skill, presentation skills improve over time through experience and practise.

REFERENCES LIST:

Abrahams, M 2014, Think Fast. Talk Smart: Communication Techniques, YouTube video, viewed 27 June 2022, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAnw168huqA>.

Fulop, D, & Stewart, JP 2019, Mastering the art of oral presentations: winning orals, speeches, and stand-up presentations, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New Jersey.

Skills You Need, 2022, Top tips for effective presentations, viewed June 7 2022, <https://www.skillsyouneed.com/present/presentation-tips.html>

Waknell, P 2020, The 3 Magic Ingredients of Amazing Presentations, video, viewed June 10 2022, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoD8RMq2OkU>

Vickers, B. (2025). Oral presentations. Making Business Matter. https://www.makingbusinessmatter.co.uk/oral-presentations/