Not all graduate
work is confined to perfecting your paper in the privacy of your own work
space, quietly handing it in to your instructor who quietly returns it
to you. It's only a matter of time before you are asked to display your
ideas publicly in the form of an oral presentation. But if you plan to
continue your career in the work force, or to stay in academe, you will
quickly find that oral presentations are a fact of life. It's best to
be prepared for them.
You may be asked
to present an entire paper at some point, but more likely you'll begin
with a proposal or an abstract. First, some definitions:
proposal - suggests something you wish to do. A proposal can suggest specific solutions to a specific problem, or more generally can state a project you intend to pursue.
abstract - essentially the same as a summary. A dissertation abstract, for example, compresses the entire dissertation into around 250 words.
Whichever
of these forms the basis for your oral presentation, some basic rules apply.
And of these, the most important one is: Know, really know, what you
are talking about. The best presentation comes from a person who is
confident she or he knows the material. Nothing can substitute for this.
The second most important
rule for oral presentations is that less is more. In other words,
"the key to holding an audience, particularly one with limited time
to absorb the speaker's ideas, is to be coherent and to communicate simply;
otherwise, their minds will wander." And how do you do this? You
(1) know exactly what you want to accomplish with your talk; and (2) you
limit yourself to a few major points that can be clearly explained and
reinforced through details, examples, and, if appropriate, a variety of
media. In general, you won't have a great deal of time, so you must make
the most of what you have.
That
said, let's look at the four forms of oral presentations:
1) Memorized speech. Useful for very short introductions, but they tend to be boring and monotonous if carried on too long.
2) Reading from a written manuscript. Guarantees that you won't forgetto mention something, but also guarantees boredom. Little audience appeal.
3) Impromptu Remarks. Delivered on the spur of the moment without planned time to prepare. The lesson is, always be prepared!
4) Extemporaneous talk. This is the one we're most concerned with - a talk that has been planned and rehearsed, where the speaker follows a written topic or sentence outline when speaking.
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