User:Showtime j/Presentation

Introduction
A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Presentations usually require preparation, organization, event planning, writing, use of visual aids, dealing with stress, and answering questions. “The key elements of a presentation consists of presenter, audience, message, reaction and method to deliver speech for organizational success in an effective manner.” .The term can also be used for a formal or ritualized introduction or offering, as with the presentation of a debutante. Presentations in certain formats are also known as keynote address.

Types of Presentations
There are multiple presentation types that differ based on their audience and the goal trying to be achieved. According to Swathi, author of “The Importance of Effective Presentation for Organizational Success”, the ten types of presentations are informative, persuasive, goodwill, sales, training, political, motivational, interview, entertainment, and image building presentations. Informative presentations have two categories, reporting, which updates the audience about projects, and explaining, which informs the audiences about new products. Persuasive presentations are intended to persuade or convince an audience of something and can be transactional as well as motivational. Goodwill presentations are meant to be entertaining as well as ceremonial. Sales presentations are intended to sell a product or service to the audience. Training presentations set clear learning objects and are meant to teach the audience a new skill or technique. Motivational presentations are used to inspire, motivate and incite confidence in the audience. Political presentations are often biased and used to present factual information and establish goodwill. Interview presentations are persuasive presentations that are most commonly used on television shows or radio, where the presenter is answering questions from the audience. Entertainment presentations are intended to inform and develop goodwill by using things like creativity and props to physically enhance an audience's experience. Image Building presentations are used to establish an individual or company’s identity to a particular audience.

The Structure of an Effective Presentation
The first piece of writing needs to be an outline that organizes the presentation into the following three sections:

Introduction
The introduction sets the tone for the presentation. According to Hafler in the journal "Effective Presentation: Tips for Success," "three classic strategies to catch attention of the audience are as follows: appeal to their interests, offer conceptual conflict or underscore certain contradictions in the field.” This is where the presenter introduces the topic and asserts the main argument/idea. Also describes how the presentation will be outlined/structured. It is important to remember that the key to a powerful introduction is the confidence, passion, and enthusiasm about the topic. When applying confidence, passion, and enthusiasm, this is the presenter’s ability to engage the audience while presenting a level of confidence in the presentation. If the presenter has the energy and the enthusiasm for their presentation, that same energy will transfer to the audience.

Body
The body of the presentation is where the main points are outlined and where all the information/evidence is presented. How you structure/organize this section is important because it helps the audience follow the presentation. There are various approaches to organize your main points, for example, by theme, priority, sequentially, etc.You want smooth transitions between each main point. Using stories or examples adds a connection to the presentation and the presenter, which in turn allows the audience to relate to the presenter, building rapport and credibility to the presenter’s main points. However, the story must fit in the overall context of the presentation and help illustrate the connection of the story to the presentation.

Closing/Conclusion
The conclusion ties everything together, reinforces the main points and its significance. According to Hafler, “in this section, the speaker should reiterate key points of the talk, restate answers to questions asked or propose future trends in the field. One way to ensure that your audience was fully engaged with the presentation is by questioning. Questioning is the best form of engagement between the audience and the presenter. Oftentimes, questioning is not used due to many presenters being intimidated by individuals who do not answer their questions or have difficulty coming up with questions. It is important to be clear when asking questions and acknowledge every answer from the audience. Effectiveness in presentation requires that a cogent conclusion be provided.” It also leaves the audience with something to think about and remember.

Visual Elements of an Effective Presentation
A presentation program is commonly used to generate the presentation content, some of which also allow presentations to be developed collaboratively, e.g. using the Internet by geographically disparate collaborators. Presentation viewers can be used to combine content from different sources into one presentation. Some of the popular presentation products used across the globe are offered by Apple, Google and Microsoft.

Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides are effective tools to develop slides, though Google Slides allows groups to work together using Google Drive to update each account as it is edited. Content such as text, images, links, and effects are added into each of the presentation programs to deliver useful, consolidated information to a group. Visual elements add to the effectiveness of a presentation and help emphasize the key points being made through the use of type, color, images/videos, graphs, layout, and transitions.

Typography
According to the journal, "Prepare and Deliver an Effective Presentation," effective presentations typically use serif fonts (e.g. Times New Roman, Garamond, Baskerville, etc.) for the smaller text and sans serif fonts (e.g. Helvetica, Futura, Arial, etc.) for headings and larger text. The typefaces are used along with type size to improve readability for the audience. A combination of these typefaces can also be used to create emphasis. The majority of the fonts within a presentation are kept simple to aid in readability. Font styles, like bold, italic, and underline, are used to highlight important points.

Colors
It is possible to emphasize text and still maintain its readability by using contrasting colors. For example, black words on a white background emphasize the text being displayed but still helps maintain its readability. Text that contrasts with the background of a slide also enhances visibility. Readability and visibility enhance a presentation experience, which contributes to the effectiveness of it. Certain colors are also associated with specific emotions and the proper application of these colors adds to the effectiveness of a presentation through the creation of an immersive experience for an audience.

Images/Videos
The use of proper visual aids adds to the presentation and also engages the audience by helping the audience have a better understanding of the topic. Large images relevant to the presentation attract an audience’s attention which in turn can clarify the topics within the presentation. Using pictures sparingly helps support other presentation elements (e.g. text). Short videos are used to help the presenter reinforce their message to the audience. With the additional reinforcement that images and videos offer, the effectiveness of a presentation is further maximized.

Graphs
Presentations utilize visuals like graphs, pie charts, and histograms to display data. According to Thawani, Ravishankar, and Arjun, the authors of "Prepare and Deliver an Effective Presentation," tables are used to condense large amounts of data that can be read from a distance. These tables utilize colors and font styles to highlight specific information.

Text and Layout
The journal titled "Prepare and Deliver an Effective Presentation" refers to a six-by-six rule which is used to decrease the amount of information presented on a slide. The rule consists of having a maximum of six lines of text per slide with a maximum of six words in each line. A step-by-step process is displayed in a numbered list. Numbered lists are also used when listing items that have an important order or hierarchy. If order does not matter then the list is organized using standard bullet points. The text presented in a presentation consists of short points that highlight important information. Overfilling a slide with text is a common mistake that creates information overload. Additionally, Thawani, Ravishankar, and Arjun emphasize, "Not only is a large amount of text too small to read from a distance, it is also distracting."

Transitions
The application of simple effects to a presentation (e.g. "appear," "move," "fade," and "dissolve") helps emphasize information without posing the risk of being overly distracting. These transitions also offer the idea that the presentation slides are organized and have a clear direction.