Delivering
a successful presentation is not only a matter of mastering the art
of public speaking, but also knowing numerous techniques and
following various rules on how to make the content attractive to
listeners and how to present data in an understandable and
transparent way. A lot of presentations are based on data
and numbers.
Charts, graphs, figures, diagrams and tables can help the speaker
deliver an effective presentation since visual content with the
correct oral description
and
potential interpretation
helps
the audience see, understand and memorize what the presenter is
talking about. Apart from deciding on the topic and aims of the
presentation, proper organization of the speech and the right kind of
language, these are visual
aids, body
language and effective
data presentation
which draw
and keep the attention of the audience. Visuals fit perfectly for
describing trends, making comparisons and showing relationships
between two or more items.
Once
you have created a graphical data representation, it is time to know
how to describe it. There are a few crucial steps
to follow
in
order to make the description organized, logical and comprehensible
to the audience.
-
Inform
the listeners about the title and main content of the graph –
introduce the graph.
-
Depending
on the type of graphical image you have chosen, explain the titles of the axes, the heading of the table, colors where necessary, etc.
- the legend is the key element showing what each segment or element
represents.
- The organization of a graph description can have two forms:
- from the general plot to detailed pieces of information, or the other way round – give an overview and then the details.
- from details analysis to general issues - give the details and an overview.
-
Follow one of the patterns to organize your speech.
-
Analyze
not only the median, but also any extreme values – it makes the
description more interesting.
-
Close
the description with a final statement, e.g. an interpretation of the relationships, showing the correlation or making a potential forecast based on the data.
Having
decided on a suitable figure and knowing the steps used in
descriptions, next it is essential to know how to begin your
description. Below there are a few introductory
phrases
a
presenter can use to catch the audience’s attention:
- As you can see …
- I’d like to focus your attention on… key/significant areas …
- I’d like you to look at …
- If you look at …, you will see / notice …
- If you look at …, you will understand …
- It demonstrates …
- Let me illustrate this with …
- Let me show you …
- Let’s have a look at …
- Let’s turn to …
- The average … is represented by …
- The graph shows …
- To illustrate my point, let’s look at …
- What you can see is…
After
a short introduction it is important to name each section, module or element. Example phrases are provided below:
- The
(green) colour means …
- The
horizontal axis represents …
- The
shaded area describes …
- The
solid line shows …
- The
vertical axis shows …
- This
colored segment is for…
- This
curve illustrates …
All in all, the use of graphics during a presentation or public speech increases the attractiveness of the message. Visual displays are very
useful for presenting data in an understandable form for the
audience. The presenter must, however, take care to choose an
appropriate design for the graph, and then efficiently describe it,
explain its significance to the audience and interpret it.
