Addressing all the fundamentals of oral presentations is quite repetitive if you already know the fundamentals of technical writing. But despite the excessive similarities they do have some differences that should be noted. Those points will be analyzed first in similarities then in differences.
Both written communication oral communication must first identify their audience and purpose. No one wants to read what you write or listen to what you present, its your job to keep as much of their attention for as long as possible. You should tailor you presentation to your audience as you would a document, remaining as concise and accurate as possible. Remember to consider how your audience will interpreter what you say based on their position and background.
There are 2 major differences between oral and written presentations which are time and style. As Tebeaux and Dragga say in The Essentials of Technical Communication 2nd Ed. your audience can not re-hear what you say during a presentation. You must include repetition to pass along important point; This is what I am going to tell you ; Tell them ; This is what I told you. Your style is important too, when you email or print a technical document that is the end of your work, but a presentation is a dynamic conversation. Tebeaux and drag say that you should not memorize your presentation but learn it, changing your style/content on the spot if you audience in confused or uninterested. Since you cant change slides on the fly remember to keep them simple and clear. Complicated images can take too much studying and lose their effectiveness when time is so tight.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteHighlighting the fact that oral presentations cannot be reheard by the audience in the moment as a written document can is a very important point.