BUSINESS PRESENTATIONS

Business Presentations



Business Presentations

Introduction

Business is about selling a topic, product or concept. The most important thing is to know the material well while making a business presentation. If an organization does not know what it is selling Business presentations are delivered face to face. People usually tend to confuse presentations with a speech or slides alone. A business presentation can be defined as the presenter delivering information with the help of visuals, usually power point presentation. Business presentations are considered to be the major source of effective communication inside and outside an organization. (Baumeister, 1982)

Delivering an impact creating business presentation is a competency that managers require to have in an organization. Often managers are not comfortable making presentations to bosses or clients as presentations, like public speaking require adequate rehearsals. A presentation is mainly about the presenter. Presentations take place in organizations all the time. Effective presentation skills are about the presenter's confidence, logical thinking, level of knowledge, ability to get ideas across to the audience and, most importantly, his ability to “connect” with the audience. They synonym for communication is, in fact, connection. This perhaps is most evident during presentations. Good business presentations should ideally follow KISS formula i.e. to keep it short and simple. Managers need to concentrate more on their delivery in terms of both verbal and non-verbal aspects. (Abelson, 1986)

Discussion

When we think of business presentations, most of us think of a linear presentation, delivered face-to-face. Some people confuse a presentation with the slides alone, or with a speech - but for most of us, a business presentation means a presenter presenting with visuals - usually PowerPoint slides.

1000s of business presentations are delivered each day. Yet, incredibly, most people using PowerPoint aren't delivering effective business presentations; many presentations each day fail to meet their objectives.

The problem is bullet points don't work. They don't engage the audience. It doesn't matter how beautiful your bullet point slides are - if the audience can just read for themselves, they won't listen to the presenter. Take away the bullet points and what's left is a speech. There have been many great speeches over the years - but for explaining complex ideas and making business messages stick - well designed visuals make all the difference. (Armado, 1995)

Presentations may be defined as a technique of formal communication that involves speaking in front of a group of people or presenting a topic in public. Whenever you are asked to appear in front of one or more persons for the purpose of explaining, educating, convincing, or otherwise conveying information to them, you have a presentation.

Preparing an oral presentation is similar to writing a formal report but, with a few differences. Oral presentations involve more interaction with the audience. These can be supported with non-verbal cues to increase meaning and enhance understanding. Oral presentations also give you an opportunity to adjust your technique, i.e. the content and delivery of the message can be modified as you go along to create better impact on the ...