Delivering Oral Communication

CHAPTER 4
Delivering Oral Communications
AS YOU READ IN CHAPTER 2, oral communications form an essential part of
business. You will talk in innumerable formal and informal ways in business, in-‐
cluding conversations with colleagues, discussions at meetings, presentations to
clients, and statements made to the press. Since most of you have far more expe-‐
rience with informal conversations, this chapter only briefly addresses those and
focuses most fully on presentations. The discussion here is aimed at providing a
baseline foundation that you will build on in BUS 308 Advanced Business Com-‐
munication and in your other FSB and Miami courses.
Considerations for Informal Conversations

The development and maintenance of positive, productive relationships drive
business. You don’t need to be best friends with everyone with whom you work,
but you do need to be respectful and cordial and share a workplace collegiality.
Conversations you have about work and non-‐work related topics are essential to
building those relationships.
When you’re new to an organization, you will want to observe and listen closely
and aim to match your conversational style to the style of people in the organiza-‐
tion. This doesn’t mean you need to lose your own individual style, but you do
want to adjust to what is expected. For example, if it’s the norm at your company
to open meetings with a few minutes of personal catching up on family and vaca-‐
tions, then do the same. But if it’s the norm to get right down to work, then do
that instead. The important thing is to be yourself, while also being professional
and aligning with the culture of the organization for which you work.
In U.S. workplaces, U.S. employment laws govern a lot of company communica-‐
tions, including workplace conversations among colleagues. In addition, many
organizations have policy handbooks that also cover what can and cannot be
discussed and in what formats. You will want to be familiar with these policies
and practices. One of the ways new employees in particular can get themselves
into trouble is by talking about things that are inappropriate or even illegal in
the workplace. Use your common sense and avoid saying anything that can be
interpreted as, “intimidating, hostile, or offensive.”1 Knowing these laws and
regulations is also important for you in case you are ever in a situation where
someone you’re talking with seems to be crossing boundary lines, such as engag-‐
ing in harassing or discriminatory language or behavior.
Chapter 4: Delivering Oral Communications 47
Like all communicative situations, even casual conversations are rhetorical. As

you converse, you’ll want to think about the rhetorical situation and act accord-‐
ingly.
Oral Presentation Styles

In business you will often be called on to present information. You might need to
deliver an update to colleagues in a meeting. You might need to present infor-‐
mation in more high-‐stakes settings, such as a report to the executive leadership
team or a business pitch to potential investors.
Oral communication styles are divided into four general categories: memorized,
scripted, extemporaneous, and impromptu. Memorized communications are
very rare in business. They sound too forced and stiff for most rhetorical situa-‐
tions, and they do not enable fluidity and adaptability in the business decision-‐
making process. Scripted communications, where the speaker reads from a
prepared script, are used in highly formal or high-‐stakes situations. When a
company issues recalls and apologies, you will often see company representa-‐
tives reading a planned announcement. When a CEO gives an address at a share-‐
holder’s meeting, he or she often reads from a prepared manuscript. Like the U.S.
President’s State of the Union Address, such communications to shareholders
are too important to go “off script.”
Impromptu communications occur when you run into someone and strike up a
conversation. In an impromptu conversation, you had no idea you were going
to be speaking and you are, in a sense, making up the conversation as you go
along. Impromptu conversations occur every day, when you run into someone
you know in the hallways and elevators at work, on the street, or in a restaurant.
You may also be asked to give an impromptu presentation in a meeting; for ex-‐
ample, when you weren’t asked to prepare anything in advance but are suddenly
called on to share information. On the spot, you need to “rise to the occasion”
and discuss the issue at hand. While you want to be sharp and clear and smart in
these impromptu exchanges, the stakes are usually a bit lower than they are for
the most common type of business presentations, which are delivered in the ex-‐
temporaneous style.
Extemporaneous communications occur when you have planned out the ideas
and information you want to share and the arguments you want to make, but
you do not know exactly word-‐for-‐word what you will say. In this style, you have
a clear aim and focus. You’re definitely not making it up as you go, but you are
talking to your audience in a way that shows that you know your information
and material so well that you can talk about it without using a script. Sometimes
business professionals mix styles in a presentation—they present a few set talk-‐
48 Chapter 4: Delivering Oral Communications
ing points from memory and then speak extemporaneously on the rest of the in-‐
formation. In BUS 102, you will focus on developing your extemporaneous
speaking skills.
Considering the Rhetorical Situation

Chapter 6 discusses this process in more detail, but here, briefly recapped, are
some of the considerations as you prepare to present. You need to consider your
audience, purpose, and context.
• Who is your audience? What knowledge will they bring with them? What
will they need in order to understand your presentation? What’s at stake
for them in your presentation and why should they care to listen to you?
Are there secondary audiences who will see your presentation in other
formats (e.g., a video or slideshow posted online)?
• What is your purpose or purposes for communicating? What do you want
the audience to know and do after the presentation? What are the main
takeaways for your audience?
• What is your context for speaking? What are the broad factors shaping
your presentation? What are the more immediate factors? For example,
where and when will you be speaking? Are there any potential distractions
for your audience? How long will you be expected to speak?
You also need to consider what story you want to tell. What is your narrative
arc? For example, are you presenting a problem-‐solution narrative or a success
story? Does your story having an ending, or are you pointing toward where it
might end and what futures await? For example, if you’re pitching a new busi-‐
ness plan to investors, your story will be about a tremendous opportunity that
will succeed if the investors help write the company’s future.
You also need to consider your level of interaction with the audience. Will this
be a video presentation where you just present and there is no question-‐and-‐
answer (Q&A) period? Or will there be Q&A, and if so, will that Q&A occur at the
end of your presentation or will audience members expect to ask questions as
you go along? When thinking about how you will interact with the audience,
consider the questions they might have and approach all questions as a positive
opportunity to clarify and bolster your arguments. Don’t put a questioner on the
defensive. If you can’t answer a question, offer to research the issue and send an
email—and be sure to follow through.
Ultimately, the best way to prepare for an oral presentation is to know your in-‐
formation inside out so that you can talk about it and tailor your delivery in ways
that are appropriate for the audience, purpose, and context.
General Structure of Presentations

Presentations can be organized in a variety of ways, but they all, usually, have a
beginning (introduction), middle (body), and end (conclusion).
Introduction: Six Strategies

Some presentations require no introduction. If you’re at a meeting and you’re
called on to report on your team’s progress on a project, you just dive right in
and report. But many presentations, particularly presentations to clients, call for
a brief introduction to “hook” the audience. Remember, no one actually has to
listen to you when you speak, so you need to get their attention in appropriate
ways and give them a reason to listen. You also need to get to the point quickly
and clearly. Here are six strategies, with examples, for opening a presentation:
1. Refer to the subject or occasion.
With the destruction caused by the recent hurricane, we need to adjust our
sales approach.
2. Tell an anecdote or story (usually one that illustrates a problem).
Imagine for a moment you’re a parent with three kids under the age of 6, and
you’re in the grocery store after work trying to get your shopping done quickly
and efficiently. You put your 2-‐year-‐old in the seat, safety belt on, but there’s
nowhere to put the 3-‐year-‐old or 5-‐year-‐old. Shopping under these
circumstances is such a hassle that you fly through the store, just grabbing
some items and getting out of there. What you need is a way to put more
than one child safely and securely in your cart. This will make your life easier
and give you more time to browse the shelves. Our new product provides the
answer that parents have been looking for.
3. Start with a fact (often combined with asking a question).
As of June 2017, the laundry detergent Tide has over 4 million likes on Face-‐
book; the fashion company Coco Chanel has 12.4 million followers on Twitter;
and the soft drink Coca-‐Cola has 1.3 million followers on Instagram. Why are
all of these consumers liking and following brands, and what can your compa-‐
ny do to drive up its social media engagement? That’s the focus of our discus-‐
sion today.
4. Use a quotation.
When our founder, Bob Evans, created his first restaurant, he wanted to cre-‐
ate an experience where ‘Everybody is somebody at Bob Evans.’ As we design
new restaurants for the 21st century consumer, we need to keep this
essential tenet in mind.
5. Make a startling statement.

The question we have been charged to consider is how to influence and
change consumer behavior to increase our sales. But, after carefully
considering the data, we think that’s the wrong approach. Consumers don’t
need to change; we do.
6. Issue a challenge (often combined with another approach).
In the first 10 years our company has existed, we have grown by 10 percent
per year. We need to not only return to those levels of growth, but also to
exceed them if we’re going to retain market share and be around 10 years
from now.
Other strategies include making a personal reference or telling a joke, but these
approaches should be used only when you know the audience well enough to an-‐
ticipate that your personal reference or joke will succeed. Nothing is worse for a
presentation than if it seems to be all about you, the speaker, or if you tell a joke
and it falls flat or, even worse, offends your audience.
Regardless of which approach you use to open your presentation, you need to
hook your audience and bring them into the presentation. Give them a reason to
sit-‐up, take notice, and listen closely to you.
Another consideration with introductions is whether to give the audience an

overview of the topic. If your presentation is long (over 20 minutes), if it’s com-‐
plicated and covers a lot of ground, or if you’re talking to an audience that may
not be as familiar with the topic, then consider having an overview, where you
quickly say, “In this presentation we will discuss …” But use this sparingly be-‐
cause such an overview can be deadly dull for shorter business presentations,
for situations that call for more creative storytelling, and for situations where
expectations for the structure of the presentation have been communicated in
advance (such as business pitch competitions).
Body of Presentation
The body of the presentation is where you present your main points and build
your argument in more detail. What actually goes in the body of the presentation
varies, of course, depending on the content, the genre of the presentation, and
the rhetorical situation. But what remains consistent across all business presen-‐
tations and all situations is the need to present your information clearly and
compellingly in a way that’s easy for the audience to follow and understand.
In a written document you can signal the transition to a new topic or section by
putting in a heading, but in an oral presentation (with or without slides) you
need to provide oral transitions and links for the audience. You need to “sign-‐
post” where you are and where you’re going next. Some strategies for doing that
are to:
• Indicate what is coming next, with you as the speaker or with the next
speaker in a team presentation: “My colleague Jolanta will now discuss our
go-‐to-‐market plan,” or “I will discuss three reasons we should launch in
West African markets. First, …” or “To illustrate this point further, let’s
examine the demographics of three southwestern cities …”
• Refer back to a key theme or case to tie the presentation together: “If we
return to our parent trying to shop with three kids, we can see that having
multi-‐seat carts are essential” or “To achieve our goal of 10 percent
growth, we also need to consider …”
As you practice your presentation, the links and connections between sections
will become stronger and clearer. If you can’t figure out why you’re moving from
point A to point B, then consider reworking your presentation so that it will be
easier to follow, or add in more robust signposts. Signposting is particularly im-‐
portant in oral presentations because you may confuse the audience with a sud-‐
den switch in topic; once lost, they may have difficulty following the rest of your
presentation.
However, organizing information only gets you so far. If you don’t have good in-‐
formation to begin with, then no amount of organizing will save you. As you pre-‐
pare your presentation, think about the claims you want to make and be sure
you have sufficient and appropriate evidence to support your points.
Conclusion of Presentation
Conclusions to presentations do not have to be long and elaborate. But you do
need to wrap up so you don’t end abruptly and awkwardly. The conclusion
should leave your audience focused on the most important takeaway from your
presentation.
In an informal meeting presentation, you might be able to end with, “That’s the
update from our sector. Any questions?” But in more formal presentations, espe-‐
cially more extensive ones to colleagues or to clients, you will definitely not want
to end with just, “Thanks for listening. Any questions?” That’s a weak ending and,
frankly, quite boring. Instead, aim to finish strongly, for example, by circling back
to your introduction.

In these examples, the introduction strategies on pages 49-‐50 have been con-‐
verted to create possible closings:
• In conclusion, although the hurricane has brought great loss and devasta-‐
tion, there are also opportunities for us to rebuild our community so that
we can all become stronger together.
• So let’s return to our frazzled parent with three kids in the store. Except
now, instead of being frazzled and rushed, the parent is able to stroll the
aisles more slowly, picking out planned-‐for items and also noticing and se-‐
lecting new items on display. Why is this possible? Because all three kids
are strapped in and safely enjoying the ride.
• If we implement these social engagement strategies on targeted
platforms, we too will be able to drive up the number of our likes and
followers and showcase the robust, popular brand that we are.
• Our restaurants started on a small farm, and we need to keep that close
community feel. By mixing elements of our current design with strategic
21st-‐century upgrades, we can continue to attract and retain clientele and
ensure that everyone feels like someone at Bob Evans.
• By transforming from a paper-‐based to a web-‐based delivery system, we
can reach our customers where they are—online—and also reduce costs in
the process.
• The changing demographics of the United States provide us the
opportunity to change who and what we are so that we reach more
people and more diverse populations.
All of these short conclusions clearly articulate what’s needed and why. Once you
have concluded you can then turn and open up the discussion to questions (if
Q&A wasn’t woven into the presentation itself). Depending on the rhetorical sit-‐
uation, you can follow your strong closing statement by saying, “Thank you for
the opportunity to speak today and I now welcome your questions.”

Considerations for Q&A

Question and answer (Q&A) sessions are incredibly important, often making or
breaking the success of a presentation. A mistake that many novice business
professionals make is to treat Q&A as secondary to the presentation. Don’t make
this mistake.
Prepare for Q&A just as rigorously as you do the actual presentation. Consider
the potential questions audience members might have. If you’re presenting on a
team, discuss who might answer what types of questions.
Approach all questions as an opportunity to clarify and bolster your arguments.
When you answer a question, be sure to be positive and welcoming of the
question and do not go on the defensive–besides offending your questioner, it
will weaken your credibility.
If asked a question that you do not know the answer to, don’t simply say I/we
don’t know and leave it at that. It’s okay to say you don’t know, but there are a
number of strategies you might use to reply depending on your rhetorical
situation. You might say variations of the following:
• That’s an interesting point that we have not directly considered, but in a
related way we found . . .
• That’s a great question that we tried to address, but we ran into these
methodological challenges . . . [you list the challenges]
• That’s an interesting question and one we do not immediately have data
on, but we will research that and get back to you.
When answering questions, don’t go on-‐and-‐on. Be conscious of the time limit of
your presentation and recognize that the person who asked the question may
have follow-‐ups and that other members of the audience may have questions.
In relation to time, when presenting on a team, unless it’s a 1-‐person as
spokesperson situation (and those are rare in team presentations), do not have
one person on the team field all the questions. It makes the team look bad, as if
the collective knowledge and skills of everyone were not applied to the project.
Finally, remember to always use the answers to your question to further your
purpose for communicating (e.g., to make the business plan pitch, to provide the
recommendation, to assuage investors’ concerns, etc.).

Oral Presentation Delivery

This section covers the key elements of presentation delivery: voice, body, and
presentation visuals.
Vocal Delivery
How you speak affects how people perceive you and your ideas. In business, you
want to project energy, enthusiasm, and competence. You don’t need to be all
revved up and over the top in your energy like those late night commercials
(“But wait! There’s more! Call now to get two for the price of one!”). But you do
need to show that you care about what you’re talking about, that you find it in-‐
teresting and important, and that you have the interests of your audience at
heart. If your speaking doesn’t show energy and enthusiasm for your topic, then
why should your audience care? You set the tone for how people perceive what
you’re talking about.
Our voices are amazing—we have so many ways to vary how we speak and, thus,
shape how our audience hears our message. The tempo, projection, pitch, inflec-‐
tion, and articulation of your spoken words all affect what you say.
The tempo—the speed at which you speak—can affect how both you and your
message are perceived. Consider pausing after important statements to create
emphasis. Practice using silent pauses in place of vocalized fillers, such as “um”
and “uh.” That is, don’t talk for a second or two. In Western cultures, we are of-‐
ten uncomfortable with silence, rushing to fill every pause with a vocalization, so
practice silence once in a while. We all have the occasional “um” and “uh,” but
too many of these fillers can distract your audience. You also don’t want to speak
too slowly because it can sound as if you either don’t know what you’re talking
about and are struggling for words or that you’re being condescending toward
your audience.
Speaking too fast is also a problem, making it hard for the audience to under-‐
stand you and leaving them feeling overwhelmed with words and information.
One thing to remember: The more complicated the information you’re present-‐
ing or the less familiar your audience is with the information, the more slowly
you may need to speak.
Use proper projection to ensure that your voice reaches your audience. If you
speak too softly the audience will not hear you; speak too loudly and your audi-‐
ence may feel threatened—and leave with a headache. Aim for your voice to car-‐
ry with depth and resonance appropriate for the space in which you are
speaking. If you are using a microphone, project your voice as if you are talking
to someone right next to you—let the microphone do the amplifying.
The pitch of your voice can be high or low, and a shift in pitch, such as going
from low to high when asking a question, is called inflection. Make sure the in-‐
flection of your voice matches the emotion you are trying to express. A common
mistake in relation to pitch and inflection is when a speaker ends all statements
on a rising pitch so that everything sounds like a question. This type of inflection
can be misinterpreted as hesitance, which undercuts the speaker’s authority. Be
confident in your speaking and use a rising pitch only when genuinely asking a
question or expressing surprise.
You Need to Breathe

When you speak you expel air from your lungs into your larynx, where your vocal
cords vibrate to make sound. No air, no sound. It’s that simple.
Many of the problems people experience with their voice when presenting are
problems of proper airflow. Does your voice get less resonant as you reach the
end of each sentence? Do you find yourself rushing to get your words out? Does
your throat tighten up before you speak, so that your voice comes out sounding
tense and thin? Do you find yourself speaking with a flat monotone? All of these
issues can be lessened in part by ensuring that you have enough air.
When you present, especially if you’re feeling a bit nervous, you need to breathe
big, deep breaths that fill your lungs with oxygen. Techniques such as breathing
in through your nose and out through your mouth a few times before you
present can help settle your body and put you in a breathing pattern.
You also want to be sure when you present that you’re wearing clothing that lets
you breathe. If you are giving a more formal presentation in an outfit that you
don’t wear that often, be sure to practice when you are wearing it to make sure
you feel comfortable and can breathe.
Another mistake that’s common in relation to pitch and inflection is when a pre-‐
senter speaks in a monotone, which can be misinterpreted as a lack of enthusi-‐
asm and interest. For example, saying, “I’m so happy to be here today,” can be
misinterpreted as sarcastic if you sound bored instead of enthusiastic. Vary your
voice to hold audience interest, to emphasize key rhetorical moments in your
presentation, and to convey energy and enthusiasm for your topic.
Use proper articulation to ensure that your words are understood. Clearly
speak words and do not run them together. If you are speaking to an audience
whose accent may be different from your own and/or whose first language may
be different from your first language, be sure to speak a bit more slowly and to
pronounce words clearly so the audience can more easily understand you. Make
certain you know how to properly pronounce the words that you are using.
All English is Accented English

All English is English with an accent. Whether you’re from Ohio or Mississippi,
China, France, or India, you speak with an accent. If you are speaking in the
culture where your way of speaking is in the majority, you may not recognize
that you speak with an accent, but we all do.
Having an accent does not matter in today’s global business environment. What
does matter is simply to ensure that your audience can understand you no
matter what your accent is. When you speak, especially to audiences from
language backgrounds other than your own, be sure to choose the pitch,
inflection, tempo, and articulation appropriate for the rhetorical situation.
Bodily Delivery
When you present, the audience will certainly be listening to you, but they will
also be looking at you. In myriad ways our bodies send signals and messages that
others interpret, often in ways that are more implicit rather than explicit.
What can you do to ensure that your bodily delivery sends a message of compe-‐
tence, confidence, and professionalism? To begin with, pay attention to your
body and what you do with it when you’re talking to people. It’s hard to change
one’s bodily habits if you aren’t aware of them and don’t notice them.
When you present you want to avoid distracting movements—don’t wring your
hands, rock back-‐and-‐forth, tap your toes, or twist your torso (unless you’re
demonstrating something as part of the presentation). Common mistakes pre-‐
senters make are to either stand rooted in one spot or pace back and forth. Aim
to stand with a solid base—your hips under your shoulders, your feet under
your hips. From this base you can then move more easily and use the presenta-‐
tion space most effectively. Your goal is to have some movement, and to have it
be purposeful movement. For example, walk forward when emphasizing a point,
move across the room to engage all members of the audience, and turn your
body to point to the slides when appropriate. When pointing at slides, stand to
face the audience and point with the hand and arm closest to the screen so you
are not twisting across your body. Your goal is to take your audience’s attention
away from you, to the slides, and back to you.
Be sure your facial expressions match what you are saying. For example, if you
deliver a positive oral message with a scowl on your face, your audience will not
be persuaded. Also aim to have purposeful gestures, moving your hands in a

natural way. Some public speaking styles involve stylized and over-‐practiced
hand gestures. If you use these in an extemporaneous business presentation, you
can look too stiff or false. In class, you and your classmates will learn some types
of hand gestures, but the main goal is to just use your hands naturally the way
you would when speaking with friends.
You want to engage your audience through your eye contact. You may have
heard the advice to look slightly over your audience’s heads. That’s bad advice.
You end up seeming disconnected and odd. Instead, whether in a room of 4 or
400, aim to look at people, even people in the upper balconies. When you con-‐
nect with someone for a moment with direct eye contact, you pull that audience
member in and seem to be talking directly to that person. You obviously can’t
make eye contact with everyone in a large audience, but even the people you
don’t make direct contact with will notice that you are connecting with audience
members and will feel more drawn into the presentation.
You also do not want to stare fixedly at just a few people. When giving presenta-‐
tions in classes, students often stare at the instructor and no one else. In busi-‐
ness settings you see this same mistake happen when the presenter looks mostly
at the executive or other top decision-‐maker in the room. While it is important to
know who the key decision-‐makers are and where they are sitting so you can
engage them frequently, also aim to engage the whole audience so that you draw
everyone in. Make eye contact just for a moment or two and then move on.
How you dress for a presentation will depend on the rhetorical situation. In
business the two main ways to dress are business casual or business formal,
which your instructor will discuss with you in more detail. But whether you’re
presenting in blue jeans and a t-‐shirt to colleagues at a start-‐up or in a suit to ex-‐
ecutives, you will want to be sure that what you wear fits well, is comfortable,
and lets you move and breathe easily.
Notice that this section did not discuss how to hold papers, cue cards, phones, or
tablets, or the like. In most extemporaneous business presentations, you will not
and should not use any prompts to deliver your presentation. If your presenta-‐
tion involves visuals, such as slides, then the visuals that you display will serve
to prompt you. At the same time, when presenting with slides, avoid looking at
the screen too often or for too long, and never read directly from your slides. You
should know your slides well enough so that you only occasionally break eye
contact with your audience to briefly glance at the screen.

Presentation Visuals
In business, some presentations, such as a quick report in a meeting, don’t in-‐
volve visuals. But with the increased visualization of our global culture and the
increased expectations for data usage, many of the presentations you give will
need to have presentation visuals.
These visuals can take many forms, including Prezis and more traditional slide
decks created with programs such as PowerPoint, Google Slides and Canva. BUS
102 focuses on foundational slide design.
Rhetorical Purpose and Delivery Context

When creating visuals you first need to consider your rhetorical purpose and
how the visuals will be used. Will they (1) only accompany a real-‐time presenta-‐
tion, (2) be part of a real-‐time presentation and a deliverable after the presenta-‐
tion (including to people who did not attend the presentation), or (3) be strictly
a stand-‐alone deliverable?
If your slides will only be used to accompany your presentation, they are presen-‐
tation-‐only slides and can be designed with the knowledge that the people in the
room will see them only when you’re standing right there talking about them.
This approach allows you to put less information on the slides because your
spoken presentation—and the questions and answers—will be providing more
detail.
If the slides for your presentation will also be posted and shared with others
who did not attend your presentation and, thus, did not hear you speak, you
have hybrid slides, and you need to design them accordingly. Specifically, you
need them to be mostly clean and clear presentation slides, but either in notes or
on the screen you will need to provide more information to fill in for those who
did not attend your presentation.
If your slides will be distributed to people without you ever actually presenting
them, they are stand-‐alone slides. Stand-‐alone slides are actually a type of report,
and when you create them you may choose to design them with significantly
more text, either on the main screen or in the accompanying notes section.
Generally in business your slides are of the hybrid type, primarily used when
you present them but also circulated to others who cannot attend your presenta-‐
tion.
Basic Content and Design Tips

Your slides will need to be tailored to the audience, purpose, and context and fol-‐
low the 6C’s of business communication (see Chapter 2). If you are not told a
specific number of slides to use, then the number you pick depends on your rhe-‐
torical situation, the genre, and the length of the presentation you are giving. A
good general rule is to have only one main idea per slide. This will enable you to
focus your audience’s attention and ensure that you’re not talking about one top-‐
ic while another topic is displayed on the screen.
Many organizations have templates for slides that you are expected to use. If
your organization has a template, then be sure to use it. If your organization
doesn’t have a template, or if you have some flexibility in adapting the template,
be sure to use consistent branding on your slides through such elements as the
product logo or the company name and selecting colors that fit the product you
are discussing. For example, in a presentation about Coca-‐Cola it would not make
sense to use the color green because when people think of Coke they think red.
Colors also carry cultural signifiers, a point that will be explored in more depth
in BUS 308 Advanced Business Communication.
2
The designer Robin Williams has written The Non-‐Designer’s Design Book and
several other books about basic design principles, advocating that creators of
texts think about the following four principles: contrast, repetition, alignment,
and proximity (CRAP).
• Contrast refers to visual clarity of different elements in a text, such as
making sure that text can be distinguished easily from the background of
the slide. Subtle differences are lost in slide presentations, so if you want
certain elements to pop out as contrasting from each other, make sure
they do so.
• Repetition refers to visual consistency. You want to repeat the same
design elements in the same way across slides. For example, if you have
your logo in the lower right on your slides, be sure it’s in that location for
all slides. You don’t want to just drop your logo in randomly so that each
slide feels like a different design.
• Alignment refers to how items on a slide are visually arranged. If items
are part of a list, make sure they line up with each other.
• Proximity refers to how items are visually grouped in the space. If items
discuss a similar aspect of a topic, be sure they are grouped together. For
example, if you are designing a SWOT table, you want to be sure all
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are grouped
accordingly.
Keeping these basic principles in mind can be helpful as you design your slides.
You also want to consider the fonts you choose. If your organization has pre-‐
ferred typefaces, then use those. But if the organization doesn’t specify, choose
consistent typefaces that align with your rhetorical purpose. Serif typefaces,
such as Times New Roman and Georgia, have “feet” on their edges that make
them look more formal, especially on the printed page. They are more likely to
pixelate when projected (see Table 4.1). San-‐serif typefaces (sans is French for
without), such as Arial and Helvetica, have clear edges and look good when pro-‐
jected on a large screen because they do not pixelate as much.
Table 4.1: Common Serif and Sans-Serif Typefaces
Serif Typefaces Sans-‐Serif Typefaces

Cambria Calibri
Times New Roman Ariel
Georgia Helvetica
Changing typeface style and other basic principles of design can make a slide
stand out and fit its rhetorical purpose much better. Consider the first draft of
the title slide in Figure 4.1, made by a consultancy group for the management
team of a digital start-‐up company whose current workforce is comprised of
employees all under the age of 25. The company plans to expand and will need to
hire older workers. The presentation is about generational differences in the
workplace.
Figure 4.1: Sample Title Slide in More Traditional Design
The slide above uses a serif typeface and center alignment. This might work if
presenting to a more traditional company, but when presenting to younger em-‐
ployees at a digital start-‐up, this design is going to look pretty staid and boring.
Figure 4.2 shows a revision of the slide above.
Figure 4.2: Revised Title Slide with Sans-Serif Typeface

The revised slide jumps out at the viewer, appearing more modern and energetic
in its design. This is a much more appropriate design to share with a digital
start-‐up company comprised of millennials. In BUS 102, you will analyze a varie-‐
ty of presentation visuals to evaluate what works and what doesn’t in various
rhetorical situations.

When inserting images and tables and figures in your presentations, be sure that
all materials are readable. Don’t just look at them on your computer screen as
you prepare, but actually project them on a wall screen and view them from the
back of the room.
In addition, be sure to add alt text images so if your files are shared electronical-‐
ly, they will be more accessible to all, including those with visual disabilities. Alt
text is alternative text attached to images describing the images so that people
with visual impairments who use screen readers can “read” the images rather
than see them. Also be sure your file names for the inserted files are descriptive
because screen readers also read the file names of images, so you don’t want
Pic1235X47.jpg but rather something short but descriptive: customers-‐in-‐Fifth-‐
Third.jpg.
Preparing and Practicing Presentations

As you will read in Chapter 6, the process of preparing presentations calls for
analysis, planning, outlining the talking points, drafting the visuals, revising both
the visual and oral elements, and practice—lots of practice. When you present in
business, you need to know your stuff—and know it so well that you can just talk
through it. You don’t memorize your presentation, but you know the message
and main points you want to convey. As you craft in the moment the exact words
to say, they come out naturally and easily because you know your points.
Practice your presentation in the physical manner in which you’ll be delivering
it. If it’s a stand-‐up presentation, then stand up to practice it. Ideally, practice giv-‐
ing your presentation to an audience who can give you feedback. Consider using
your laptop or cell phone to video yourself practicing, so you can watch it and
refine not only what you say, but also how you deliver it. When you present with
a team (see Chapter 9), you will definitely need to practice both your individual
portion and as a whole team.
You will certainly need to plan your presentation around the technologies that
are available to you in the space where you are presenting. If possible, plan to
practice in the actual space or in one similar to it. If your presentation includes
slides, consider using a “clicker,” a slide-‐advance remote that lets you advance
the slides from anywhere in a room.
As you practice, pay particular attention to the relationship of your words to

your slides. Does what you’re saying fit with the slides you are showing? Where
should you cut or add slides? Where do you need to just say something and
where do you also need it on the slide? Revising and refining the relationship of
your visuals to your oral delivery will help with the organization and the overall
perceived quality of your presentation.
Also, have some printed handouts of your slides handy in case of some technolo-‐
gy glitch that prevents you from showing the slides. Even if the digital technolo-‐
gies break down, you will still need to be prepared to speak. A printed handout
for your audience that includes key points or visuals may also be useful to have
on hand for such emergencies.
Planning for Accessibility

It’s important to plan for accessibility. If you are presenting to an audience you
know and a member in that audience needs accommodations, prepare accord-‐
ingly and, if possible, consult ahead of time with that audience member or mem-‐
bers to learn what accommodations they need. Perhaps, for example, you need
to plan to hold a device such as a Roger Pen so an audience member with audito-‐
ry disabilities may hear you; perhaps you need to plan to not only show your
slides but provide a brief auditory description of key elements on some slides for
an audience member with visual disabilities.
If presenting to an unknown audience, do not assume that no one needs accom-‐
modations. Aim to make your presentation as accessible as possible. You always
want to speak clearly and loudly enough so all can hear, but when presenting to
an unknown audience, especially in a large venue, pay particular attention to
this. If using a microphone be sure the volume level is set appropriately.
In terms of presentation visuals, certainly having at least some print copies of

slides available will be useful to audience members who may benefit from being
able to look at your slides on paper as well as on the screen. In addition, it can be
helpful to post slides or other handouts online (password protected if you are
presenting on material that you do not have permission for or do not want to be
public) and to provide a url during the presentation that people may access on
their mobile devices. Remember, if you do choose to share your materials elec-‐
tronically, be sure they are accessible with such things as alt tags on images.
A Final Note on Timing

Tailor your presentation to the rhetorical situation, and be prepared to adapt as
needed. If you are given a specified timeframe, stick to that timeframe. You abso-‐
lutely cannot and should not go over time when presenting, especially in busi-‐
ness. It’s generally acceptable to be a little under the allotted time, but going
significantly under the timeframe may indicate that you have not gone into
enough depth on and analysis of the topic.
1 U.S. Department of Labor. (2015). What do I need to know about workplace harassment.
Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/crc/2011-‐workplace-‐

harassment.htm
2 Williams, Robin. The Non-‐Designer’s Design Book, 4th edition. Peachpit: Berkeley, CA,
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Considerations for Informal Conversations

Like all communicative situations, even casual conversations are rhetorical. As

Oral Presentation Styles

Considering the Rhetorical Situation

General Structure of Presentations

Introduction: Six Strategies

5. Make a startling statement.

Another consideration with introductions is whether to give the audience an

Considerations for Q&A

Oral Presentation Delivery

You Need to Breathe

All English is Accented English

be persuaded. Also aim to have purposeful gestures, moving your hands in a

Rhetorical Purpose and Delivery Context

Basic Content and Design Tips

Serif Typefaces Sans-­‐Serif Typefaces

Figure 4.1: Sample Title Slide in More Traditional Design

Figure 4.2: Revised Title Slide with Sans-Serif Typeface

Preparing and Practicing Presentations

As you practice, pay particular attention to the relationship of your words to

Planning for Accessibility

In terms of presentation visuals, certainly having at least some print copies of

A Final Note on Timing

Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/crc/2011-­‐workplace-­‐

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Serif Typefaces Sans-‐Serif Typefaces

Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/crc/2011-‐workplace-‐