General Information
We should put our general ideas for the TED Talk here. We should split up the work by topic area.
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General Introduction
-Brian
Presentation: Stage Presence, Body Language, and Speaking
-Christian
What are the characteristics of a good presenter? The first key to this process is self-confidence. In order to achieve the level of confidence one must have practiced with his/her presentation several times until it becomes familiar. Having confidence in you builds comfort in any environment where the presentation is taking place. If you feel comfortable with your topic and very interested about it then you will have no problem in presenting it and sharing it with your audience. This is a challenge a presenter must face in order to successfully do his presentation.
Another major element to give a presentation is eye contact. You will not only interact with your audience verbally but also providing interaction through eye contact. However, eye contact must be equally divided between each group of people in the audience. As you interact with your audience you will provide as much eye contact necessary to keep them focus on what you are saying. Avoiding eye contact between you and the audience will cause distraction, for example, if you are looking at the ceiling or wall as you discuss your topic then that will make them wonder what you are looking at. By providing eye contact you make a comfortable environment as well as for you and your audience, now that you have their attention.
Besides having the characteristics mention previously you must also know how you will convey your topic to your audience verbally. This brings us to speaking part of your presentation. When you prepare your presentation, you might want to begin by giving an interesting and brief introduction. Introductions will be explained in details in the Content section of this project. You should also consider changing the tone of voice as you speak, that way your audience knows that the statement you are making is very important to take note. This will construct stages in your presentation through the use of different voice volumes, therefore, keeps your audience motivated and interested in your topic. This avoids your presentation from being monotonous. The major key in this speaking process is clear communication. Expressing your ideas to your audience clearly will allow your audience to follow your presentation with ease. This will also increase their attention throughout your presentation. Optional tip, some individuals also use a rich tone of voice to add suspense or effects in their words during their presentation.
In addition, as you are giving your talk you can always tell your audience a little joke relating to your topic to keep them entertained. By having your audience laugh with you will create a stronger relationship between you and your audience regarding your topic. At times you might also want to bring up questions that you would like your audience to think about to let them know that they are part of your presentation. All these aspects will help the people in the room to be deeply engage in your topic. Furthermore, the closing sentences are very important to your presentation. You must leave your audience with a broad and influential statement that will have them thinking about your subject as they leave the room. To be polite, you should thank them for listening and smile at them.
Indeed, motion also has a major effect in a presentation. This takes us to the body language section of an effective presentation. Just as you raise your voice to highlight some of the points you are trying to make you may also do hand gestures that link to the statement you are making. For example, expanding your hands will aid into saying something that you find very shocking about your talk. However, this does not mean you will constantly move your hands at a fast speed, because this will distract your audience. You can also walk slowly on stage if you feel the need of moving your body. By walking to another section of your audience and providing eye contact distributes the conversation equally among the different sections of your audience. This is just as if you were talking to two persons and in order to involve them in the same conversation you will move your head from one person to the other while providing eye contact to both individuals. If you are using any type of visualization in your presentation it is always helpful to point with your finger to guide your audience what exactly you are talking about.
Last but not least, stage presence is also an important contribution to your presentation. Before you are about to begin your talk the first thing the audience will notice is your outfit. You must properly dress for the day of your talk. Dressing business casual is adopted by many individuals in the day of their presentation. Once you find yourself in stage or in front of your audience you should not give any signs of nervousness, even if you are a little bit. Taking a deep breath before you begin speaking is very helpful to build self-confidence. You should keep your body and mind flexible for any changes that might happen during your presentation. This will create comfort with the surrounding environment.
As you can see, giving a presentation is not an easy task. It takes time and effort to do a talk. To be able to adapt to the different stages of your presentation is similar to the construction of your characteristics and qualities as a presenter.
Content
-Medwin + Liudi
Visuals/Demonstrations
A TED talk’s main component is the eloquent speech. However, what ameliorates the speech and makes it effective are visual presentations. Pictures are worth a thousand words, and when some phrases from the speaker are unclear, visuals are the only aid.
There are various instances when visuals are effective in a TED talk.
- Images are used to help visualize an object that is not readily at hand by the speaker. These are the most basic methods of visual presentations and they are simply used to help the audiences see something that is not in front of their eyes.
- The previous instance should not be the first choice. TED talks usually involve phenomena that can be explained best through visuals and a real-life demonstration or real-life representation draws the audience much closer than a mere image on the projector.
- When the speaker mentions statistics, graphic visuals are crucial in emphasizing the speaker’s point in bringing up the statistics.
- When explaining a procedure, a flowchart clearly and effectively summarizes in an easily comprehensible manner. A similarly fashioned chart is a hierarchical organizational chart and it can be easily confused with a flowchart. Hierarchical organizational chart is used for visually structuralize a hierarchy of an organization.
- There are also times when visual processes are more comprehensible than flowcharts. These are times when flowcharts will end up too wordy because the procedure is just too difficult to present it in words. If possible, the speaker should use series of images that each represents the procedure. Otherwise, a video of the procedure will prove to be most effective to the audience. However, you must note that the video shouldn’t be lengthy because it is a TED talk and not a video presentation.
- Again, a video presentation of a process should not be the first option. Showing the demonstration of the process in front of the audience and in person shows speaker's preparedness. It also shows the speaker's undaunted knowledge in the field when thes speaker is able to smoothly proceed with the demonstration. In-person demonstrations effectively replace flowcharts because it helps the audience better understand a process.
The speaker can use any types of visual presentations above but it requires the speaker's jurisdiction to decide which ones fit the topic.
Another thing to be cautious about is that TOO much visuals can obfuscate the audience. Visuals should be used sparingly and only when necessary to explaining complicated parts of the speech. TED talks are also usually grave and serious so it won’t be a bad idea to use images that pertain to the topic and lighten the crowd.