Chapter 16

Delivering
Oral Reports
and Business
Speeches

© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner.
This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part. 16-1
 Oral Report
Any objective presentation of facts and their
interpretation using spoken words.
• It can range from brief status reports to elaborate
reports delivered to clients.
• The speaker expects to speak without interruption for a
certain amount of time.
• The audience expects useful, timely, information in an
orderly way.

© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner.
This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part. 16-2
 Difference: Oral & Written Report
If given a choice between Oral or Written consider the
following:

 Visual and Verbal Cues (Paragraphs in written reports

and voice emphasis in oral reports)
 Degree of Reader Control (Readers of the written
report and Speakers of the oral report control the pace
of communication)
 Formality (Written reports are usually more formal
than Oral reports)
© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner.
This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part. 16-3
 Planning the Oral Report
Planning is the first step in preparing oral reports
1. Determine the report objective:
• Is it to persuade/ inform/ recommend ?

2. Organize the report:

• indirect or direct order
• Consider the available time when delivering the report

3. Plan for interaction:

• You want to have some form of communication with your
audience.

© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner.
This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part. 16-4
 Preparation of the Presentation
1. Conduct research to gather information: Internet,
company files, interviews etc.
2. Organize
• Greet your audience
• If you have not been introduced, do so.
• Introduction (Human interest story, humor, quotations and
questions, startling statement )
• Body (Organize into sections and deliver, make sure the transition
from one section to another is smooth)
• Conclusion (Summary of key points, or statement of conclusion)

16-5
 Choosing the Presentation Method
1. Presenting Extemporaneously
– Is by far the most effective and popular method
– You usually rehearse, but do not memorize
– It sounds natural, yet it is the product of careful planning

2. Memorizing
– The most difficult method
– If you forget a word or two, most likely you will get confused and even
panic-stricken.
3. Reading
– Be careful while reading from a paper, without proper practice you often
miss the punctuation and deliver in a monotone.
– Unless you are in a position where your speech might be quoted it is not
recommended that you speak from a written paper.

16-6
 Preparing Yourself to Speak
1. Know your audience
2. Analyze your audience’s reaction during the presentation
3. Analyze yourself. Your audience not only listens to you but
they also see you.
4. Appealing Personal Traits
– Confidence
– Competence
– Friendliness
– Sincerity

16-7
 Preparing Yourself to Speak
5. Appropriate Appearance and Physical Actions
–The Communication Environment
–Personal Appearance (dress appropriately, try to not have
anything on that distracts)
–Posture
–Walking (don’t walk away from the microphone while
talking)
–Facial Expression (maintain considerable amount of eye
contact with your audience)
–Gestures
16-8
 Preparing Yourself to Speak
6. Voice and Speaking Style : Speakers often suffer from
– Lack of pitch variation
–Lack of Variation in Speaking Speed (simple parts fast and
hard parts slowly)
–Lack of Vocal Emphasis (some words need more
emphasis)
–Unpleasant Voice Quality

16-9
 Use Visuals
 Support your speech with visuals.
 Use them where necessary.
 Make certain everyone can see the visuals.
 Avoid blocking the views of the audience from the visuals.
 Talk to your audience, not to your visuals!!
 You can present visually
– Title slide, the name and logo of company
– Charts, tables, line art or diagrams
– Photographs
– Multimedia

16-10
 Pitfalls
 Putting too much on a slide
 Small fonts on the slide
 Using an inappropriate theme or unreadable
color combination
 Using too much animation
 Being inconsistent across slides
 Reading verbatim what is on the slide

© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner.
This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part. 16-11
 Presenting in Groups
 Plan ahead
 Plan the presentation content and also who will present which
part
 Work on the transitions
 A group presentation should feel like a coordinated effort, not
an individual delivery of speech.
 Work on how to stand, how to change microphones, how to
enter and leave the speaking area etc.
 Even if you have worked on only your part of the presentation,
have a fair idea of the rest.
 Rehearse together before the final presentation.
16-12