PLANNING AND DELIVERING AN ORAL REPORT

PLANNING THE PRESENTATION
Effective oral presentations require extensive preparation.  In many ways, preparing an oral report is much like composing a written report.

Analyze Context
Audience
Audience analysis is an attempt to asses the psychological environment for the presentation.  In this analysis you should try to determine who will attend and their motives for attending your presentation, you can expect to give oral reports to four different types of audiences:
Clients and customers.
Colleagues in your organizations.
Fellow professionals at technical conferences.
Purpose
Consider the purpose of your presentation, just as you would in writing a report. Are you attempting to inform your audience, or to both inform and persuade them? 
Physical Environment
The physical environment also influences the outcome of your presentation. An initially receptive can become indifferent or irritable if the physical environment is unsuitable. Knowledge about the physical environment, along with an assessment of the psychological environment, can help you plan your presentation strategies.

Select Delivery Style
Impromptu delivery consists of speaking spontaneously, without previous re-hearsal, with little or no advanced preparation, and without text or notes to assist you. You will seldom use this type of delivery for the major presentation of a report. You may use it, however, for spontaneous interim progress reports on a project.
Although impromptu speeches are spontaneous, following these guides will help you make effective impromptu presentations:

• Anticipate the major topics that may be discussed at a meeting
• Avoid being surprised. Listen attentively
• Be brief

Extemporaneous delivery appears to be spontaneous but involves extensive planning, purposeful rehearsal, and the use of notes during the presentation. With the notes to aid you and the confidence gained during rehearsal, you can establish and maintain eye contact with your audience and move freely about the presentation will be accurate, complete, organized, and easy to follow. The following
suggestions will help you master extemporaneous delivery:

• Plan every aspect of your presentation, including the use of visual aids and how you will handle questions
• Write your speech, including notations for visual aids, etc.
• Rehearse the presentation until it flows smoothly without giving the impression of being memorized.
• become thoroughly familiar with the details that yo want to present
• Prepare alternative explanations

Scripted delivery involves reading a manuscript verbatim. This delivery style is appropriate when you are presenting technical or controversial information and you want to ensure that no errors are made in transmission of that information. to prepare for textual or scripted delivery, follow these guides:

• Prepare the manuscript and verify its accuracy.
• Mark the manuscript with delivery cues (arrows, bold type, underlining) to indicate variations in speed or emphasis.
• Practice reading your manuscript until you can read it fluently Avoid reading too quickly
• Concentrate on precise enunciation.  Rapid reading frequently leads to slurring  or mispronunciation of words.
• Vary your tone or pitch to appropriately emphasize the content of your report as you would in conversation.

Memorized delivery is presentation of a verbatim message learned by rote. An advantage of memorized delivery is that it allows full freedom of movement and permits you to maintain eyes contact with your audience. That delivery style can also promote the audience's in your expertise. A disadvantage, however, is that anxiety may cause you to forget or omit part of the presentation, thereby destroying the coherence of the message and possibly destroying your credibility.
Combination delivery employs a variety of delivery styles in a single presentation. You will find this style suitable for many report presentations. Your analyses of the psychological and the physical environments will also contribute to decisions about how formal or informal your presentation should be.

• In formal presentation, you delivery carefully structured, controlled message with no immediate verbal feedback from the audience.
• An informal presentation is also a carefully planned, controlled message, but audience verbal feed back is usually permitted during the presentation.

Outline Presentation
A simply yet effective outline structure for an oral report consists of four parts:

Strong Opening of the speech must reach out and grab the listeners' attention.  An effective opening draws the audience into the message by showing its relevance to them.
Meaningful Partition Statement tells the audience what the speech will cover. This statement should create a mental readiness or "set" that will help the listeners follow your presentation. A partition statement should clearly and interestingly identify the topics to be covered so that the audience will eagerly anticipate the message that unfolds.
The body of the presentation must adequately develop the points identified in the partition statement.
Transitional words or phrases help the audience understand a discussion by pointing out he direction of the presentation.  All parts of the presentation should be linked together by simple transitions that demonstrate the organizational pattern you are using.
The Conclusion should clinch the message, that is, it should be what you want the listener to leave the room with. For an informative speech, the conclusion must help the listener remember the main point of the message. For a persuasive speech, the conclusion should stimulate action based on the message. Be sure to link the conclusion to the body of the speech by a meaningful transition.


PREPARING AND USING PRESENTATION AIDS
Presentation aids are any audio or visual tools you use to supplement your spoken message

Selecting Appropriate Presentation Aids