Summer Undergraduate Research Program - Fred Hutchinson ...

How to Deliver a Presentation with Confidence
Know the purpose of your speech.
General purposes of speeches are to: inform, persuade, recommend, request or entertain . (Pixton, D .W . &
Salom, L .G ., 2004) .
Prepare your presentation well before the day of delivery.
This will decrease your nervousness considerably . (O'Hair, D ., Rubenstein, H ., & Stewart, R ., 2006) .
However, being nervous is okay, it shows you care! If on presentation day you are still nervous, take a deep
breath, relax, and just do your best . Consider having a bottle of water on hand since you will be doing a lot
of talking .
• Adequate preparation includes: doing the necessary research to establish a well-founded knowledge
of the topic; verbally practicing the presentation in order to make changes where needed; and
ensuring the format is well-organized .
• Practice, Practice, Practice . There is a reason this word is repeated three times – there is nothing
more important than practicing the delivery of your presentation . The more prepared you are, the
better your presentation will be .
Use body language to show that you
are engaged and enthusiastic about
your presentation.
• Body language includes eye contact, facial
expressions, gestures, body posture,
and movement . Eye contact is the most
essential attribute to keep the audience
engaged . (Gareis, E ., 2006) .
• Avoid reading the content of the poster .
• Keep your hands out of your pockets and
away from lecterns and podiums .
Create drama!
• Speak with enthusiasm! The eagerness
of an enthusiastic speaker makes the
audience want to listen . (Robertson, C .H .) .
• Vary the speed and tone of your voice, which will make your presentation more dynamic and
therefore appealing .
• Insert drama with statements such as, ‘and then, something really interesting/surprising/alarming
occurred;’ ‘let me tell you what happened next;’ and ‘we were surprised to learn.)
Don’t BS “the expert.”
• If you don’t know the answer to a question from a poster session judge, investigator, etc ., respond
with an open-ended question as a way to foster constructive interaction and defuse natural
defensiveness . For example, a response such as: ‘That’s an excellent question/suggestion, etc .’
followed by a statement such as: ‘I hadn’t considered that;’ ‘What would you recommend in that
instance?’ How would you suggest resolving that situation?’ shows that you are willing to learn as
opposed to being close-minded .
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