Transcription
Hi, greetings! It's me, Dr. Paul Gerhardt, and in this video, I want to talk more about giving presentations. Specifically, I want to talk about preparing and researching your speech. Any presentation that you do, you want to do a really good job on, and your reputation could really rely on how well you've researched and, of course, presented your presentation. So, hopefully, you'll find this lecture helpful to you as you develop your skill in making presentations.
So, here are some of the things that we're going to talk about. One, you have to be very clear on how you choose your topic. I want to emphasize the fact that you're going to need to state your purpose and your central ideas. So, you could talk about a general purpose, specific purpose, and central idea, and you could do any of the three of those, of course. I want to talk about what I do to gather materials. You know, and you can actually do this by scheduling time to have a conversation with someone and have an interview, or you can go to the library or use the internet. And it's really important that you use notes along the way so you gather and compile information that helps you really create a powerful presentation that people will receive to maximum benefit. And then recognize that there are all sorts of ways that you can support the ideas in your presentation, and using illustrations, analogies, comparisons, statistics, testimonies, and then restating what it is that you talked about.
So, when you're choosing a topic, make sure you're choosing a topic that's not only interesting to you but it's interesting to your audience. And so, this could be things related to what you're studying in school, personal interests, hobbies, events, current events, you know, things like that. But make sure that when you're creating your topic, that you're really putting together a list of things that can possibly contribute to helping you create a powerful and meaningful presentation. And then choose a title. Don't just say, "I'm going to talk to you about diversity." Make something interesting for your title to capture people's attention.
So, as far as the general purpose of your presentation is concerned, your presentation could be any of the following or all of the following: persuasive, informative, and entertaining. And I think all of these combined together really helps make your speech meaningful and memorable. So, people's time is very, very valuable, so I highly recommend that you do a little bit of each of these: being persuasive, informative, and entertaining at the same time, if you can. And anybody can with a little bit of practice.
So, the purpose really can be determined by being very clear of the reactions you want from your audience. Remember, Dr. Stephen Covey says, "Begin with the end in mind." If you want people to be highly engaged or entertained, build that into your presentation. Be thoughtful about who you're presenting to and figure out how you could best go about meeting that objective.
So, when you're doing an informative speech, you have to have the goals in mind. You have to be very, very clear about it. You need to make sure that you're interested in it and other people are going to be interested in your topic, and that you give enough information, although people have a broad understanding or very specific understanding of what it is that you want to talk away you talk about, so they walk away going, "Wow, I learned a lot!" Right? And how you organize that material truly is important. Same thing goes along with giving a general purpose speech. You know, you can be persuasive, where your goal is really to convince people to believe something, convince them to do something, then stimulate them to a higher level of enthusiasm and devotion. You can give an entertaining speech, and your goal may be just to help people escape from reality. So, there are a lot of different ways in doing that. But really, if your goal is to entertain, keep people's, your audience in mind, and help them really enjoy your presentation.
Have a specific purpose in your speech. You know, be able to describe what it is that you want the audience to understand, believe, feel, do. Focus on the outcome, the objective, the response. It's important to be exact for a systematic and intelligent specific purpose. You should always start with the precise statement or specific purpose, and you should use infinitive statements that are clearly defined, concrete, and limited. "Diversity, when it's managed well, can change the face of your organization." Let me tell you how leaders leverage diversity to help increase market share. Okay, so that's just an example.
So, be very clear on what your central idea is. This is the core of what it is that you're going to be talking about. If you have an informative speech, summarize what the main thoughts are. If you have a persuasive speech, state whatever the claim is, make suggestions for actions or beliefs, and help people understand what it is that they are supposed to adopt. Make sure that you are, you have a very clear thesis statement in mind, and then state that in one sentence, if possible. And by doing so, you really help organize your ideas, and it gives you an idea of how things should be arranged. So, use an outline and really make sure that you're doing a good job on researching relevant material so that you're giving very good information that people could use and benefit from. It really should be the goal of your presentation. It's the "what's in it for them" that matters most.
So, when you're gathering materials, sometimes you need to go and talk to other experts or people who have experience, whatever it is that your speech is going to be about. And their time is valuable too, so make sure that you do some preliminary research, know your facts about who you need to talk to, what kind of things that they've experienced, what kinds of things that they can talk about, so that you can really make sure that you're forming questions ahead of time. You don't want to waste anybody's time, but you have the right questions that are open-ended. And then you need to listen to what it is that they say very carefully. Listening, I have a whole 40-minute presentation on listening, right? So, listening truly is one of the most important things that we can do, and too often we don't practice doing effective listening, right, which damages relationships, as I mentioned before. So, make sure that when you're interviewing someone, you're really listening to their opinion, help them understand why their opinion is important, and help draw out as much information as you possibly can. Don't argue with whoever it is that you're interviewing with, just listen. So, observe and read and clarify. This really helps a lot to make sure that you are helping make sure that you're facilitating the conversation well, so you get the information you need for your speech.
The library, it's one of the best sources anywhere. They have computers in the library, they've, they've got the largest source of materials available, and you get online there, you talk to a librarian, and you can use their books or magazines or online resources. They've got dictionaries, their indexes, it's amazing what you could find in the library. And usually, the people who are running the library, the librarians, have graduate degrees in library science to help you benefit from what they have to offer.
When you're gathering information, of course, if you have access to the internet, and you do because you're watching this video online, there's a lot of information out there. Keep in mind that not everything you see on the internet, oh, right? So, be very, very choosy about what it is that you find on the internet. Find reliable sources. Some of the information out there really isn't very organized, and so you'll have to do some sifting through the different sources out there. Use search engines. I like to use Google, but I know there are a lot of other great search engines out there. And then you have to consider the source of each of these sources that you find on the internet. Maybe it's just a person expressing his or her opinion, and he or she has really no expertise in it. And so, I like using sources with .edu behind it because that's a good source, and sometimes .org and .gov sources are really reliable sources that you can use as you're doing your research. So, there are plenty of sources out there, but even Wikipedia, which can be edited by anybody, may be a good source to start, but probably shouldn't be your primary source because of the fact that people can edit those and put in their own ideas and insight. So, it's not necessarily the most reliable source. So, you have to really consider the fact that your source may not be as reliable as other things. And the internet really doesn't have all of the books or journals and references, not as much as your library. So, the library really is a great source for anything.
Once you know what you're going to be researching, take really good notes. Have a system for notes. You know, be able to have a system that helps you select, sort, evaluate the materials, a way to keep it organized so that you can be efficient. You only have a certain amount of time, right? So, you've got to be systematic. I like using note cards where I can write down the source that I found them, write down key quotes, things that are really interesting, you know, even short summaries, quotations. A program that I've really started to use, it's free, I buy a subscription to it because it allows me a lot of other sources to find. Evernote.com is a wonderful software program that's used online that you can help sort and file and organize and record any research that you find. So, it's evernote.com. And nope, this is not a paid commercial. I'm just telling you it's something that I use personally and I subscribe to. I find it helpful. And but I teach a lot of different classes and I blog and I do consulting work, so I really need to stay organized.
So, there are lots of forms that you can use to support whatever your presentation is about. So, I like to use illustrations or examples. Usually, in my presentations, I have a PowerPoint that I use in the backdrop. Use very specific examples that help illustrate and clarify what it is you're talking about. If you're in my class, you know that I like headings and a picture, you know, and so usually no more than six words and six lines in each bullet point, but it's even more powerful if you have a large heading and a picture so that people don't have to choose between listening to you or reading the screen. And you're built into the words you use in your presentation itself. It really is powerful when you use personal experiences or experiences from other people or even a hypothetical story, ensure that people really can relate to the materials in your speech. And you should practice your speech so that you can make sure that people get the, the content of your speech the way they need it, and that it is exciting and interesting to them. So, don't forget about the excitement and interest part when you're building your speech.
You can use analogies and comparisons, for example, "or this is like a this," and so those types of things. Yeah, for me, I have to really think about what those analogies are, but I love listening to people who are great at comparing things to other things or analogies, and that's a really great skill to have. But anybody can take time to be able to create meaningful presentations using things that people can relate to and people that know about, or you can help engage people about something that is not known using the examples of something that is known.
Statistics are another powerful way. I heard, by the way, 95% of all statistics are made up. I don't know if that's true or not, but it really helps add value when you have some substance. Using statistics, they should be meaningful to the audience, especially in persuasive speeches, and they must really help people have clear points that they consider. So, you can't make people be confused. So, sometimes you have to explain statistics when you do, when you use them. Not everybody's taking a statistics class, so help people understand what those statistics really mean or how it benefits them or how what they should be getting out of those statistics. Use stats correctly. Don't do fake news. I hate that term, but it really is important that if you want to maintain your credibility, and you should, that you need to be honest. Double-check your facts before presenting facts and be able to present them in an ethical way that helps people choose their own decisions. You know, you can give a speech that really is meaningful, and you can do it in a dramatic or a non-dramatic way, but if you're using statistics, identify what your sources are.
Testimony is another powerful thing that you can embed into a speech to help support your ideas. You know, you might use an expert or a non-expert who has said this. I like to help students know what other students have said about my classes when I take them, or my clients know what other clients have said about my training and consulting services when I work with them. And, and so I always want to make sure that I quote accurately and in context. You know, I'm my own brand manager, my reputation depends on me being honest and accurate, so that's really something that you should consider.
And then, bottom line, when you're working through your speeches, state the things that people really need to walk away with at the end of your speech and remember. Because remember, people are going to remember what people have said in the at the start, they're going to take in a little bit of the information in the middle, but just reiterate at the very end what people need to know. You know, reinforce it, help people remember things that really are important that you want them to remember. So, begin with the end in mind when you do your present, well, your speech. Say what you want to say, give the meat and potatoes of it, and then at the end of it, reiterate key points you want people to leave with. Give people something to think about, and importantly, help them think, "Wow, I learned a lot about that. I move to take action about something. That was a great speech, right?" Isn't that the end in mind that you want to have?
So, remember the cornerstones of speech preparation are: recognize what your goals and specific purpose are. Be very clear on what your central idea and major thoughts are, what you want the speech to evoke out of people. Be very clear on selecting your topic. Consider your job, expertise, hobbies, the people, your experiences, and current events. You really have to connect with your audience. And remember that the general purposes are to inform, to persuade, and to entertain, and it's great if you can do all three of those. Be very clear on the specific purpose and be able to describe it very clearly, what you want the audience to understand, believe, feel, or do. And make sure that you are very, very succinct about that. Use one complete sentence as possible for your thesis statement. And make sure that you are very clear on the different ways that you can gather materials. You can do this through interviews, conversations, using the library, and internet. There are lots of different ways to support your presentation through illustrations, analogies, or comparisons, statistics, testimonies, restating the ideas. Find different forms of support to make sure they are concrete, interesting, that they're used correctly, and combined with other types of support, and make sure you identify your resources too. And then finally, reinforce what it is that you said at the very, very end. You're essentially, you're saying the same thing, but in ways to reinforce the learning.
All right, ladies and gentlemen, I've given you a lot to understand about preparing and researching your speech. I've hope that you have found something in this presentation meaningful to you, and I value your time. Thank you so much. Have a great day, because only you get to choose how you feel about it. I'm Dr. Paul Gerhardt.