Janis Fischer Chan - Presentation Success: How to Plan, Prepare, and Deliver Effective Presentations

Presentation Success:
How to Plan,
Prepare, and Deliver
Effective Presentations

Janis Fisher Chan
Advanced Communication Designs Inc.

1999 American Management Association. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

As one course among many in the American Management Associations curriculum, Presentation Success: How to Plan, Prepare, and Deliver Effective Presentations is designed for anyone who needs to develop effective presentation skills. This course offers an updated, step-by-step approach to planning, preparing, and delivering presentations to both large and small groups. Practical tools include a planning worksheet where youll evaluate your audience, define your objectives, choose the right format, select and organize information, and identify where and how to use presentation aids. A preparation worksheet will lead you through each step of your presentation, from preparing your opening and writing transitions to planning your questions and answers (Q&A) and troubleshooting possible problems. Youll learn strategies for effective delivery, including tips on using body language, communicating and listening successfully, and obtaining feedback. In-text exercises enable you to pull the pieces together and practice the skills you need. A comprehensive resource section and job aids for quick reference round out the course materials.

Janis Fisher Chan is co-founder of Advanced Communications Designs, Inc., a training company established in 1980 to help people communicate clearly and work together efficiently. A specialist in training program design, Ms. Chan has developed and conducted customized classroom and self-study courses in making effective presentations, professional writing skills, performance management, project management, managing teams, and other business related topics.

With her business partner, Diane Lutovich, Ms. Chan is the author of four self-study writing skills books: Professional Writing Skills, Grammar for Grown-ups, Writing Performance Documentation, and How to Write Reports and Proposals. Ms. Lutovich and Ms. Chan are also co-authors of Winning Ways, an innovative classroom program on appraising performance. Ms. Chan earned her B.A. and M.A. from San Francisco State University and has completed post-graduate work in organizational psychology. She has been delivering winning presentations for over 20 years.

The publisher wishes to thank the following people for their review of the manuscript of this course: Dennis Becker, President of The Speech Improvement Company, Inc., Brookline, Massachusetts; Terry C. Smith, an independent consultant in Arnold, Maryland; and Elayne Snyder, a consultant and founder of Elayne Snyder Speech Consultants, New York, New York.

This course consists of text material for you to read and three types of activities (the pre- and post-test, in-text exercises, and end-of-chapter review questions) for you to complete. These activities are designed to reinforce the concepts introduced in the text portion of the course and to enable you to evaluate your progress.

Both a pre-test and post-test are included in this course. Take the pre-test before you study any of the course material to determine your existing knowledge of the subject matter. Submit one of the scannable answer forms enclosed with this course for grading. On return of the graded pre-test, complete the course material. Take the post-test after you have completed all the course material. By comparing results of the pre-test and the post-test, you can measure how effective the course has been for you.

To have your pre-test and post-test graded, please mail your answer forms to:

Educational Services
American Management Association
P.O. Box 133
Florida, NY 10921

All tests are reviewed thoroughly by our instructors and will be returned to you promptly.

The most important component of this course is the text, where the concepts and methods are presented. Reading each chapter twice will increase the likelihood of your understanding the text fully.

We recommend that you work on this course in a systematic way. Reading the text and working through the exercises at a regular and steady pace will help ensure that you get the most out of this course and retain what you have learned.

In your first reading, concentrate on getting an overview of the chapter content. Read the learning objectives at the beginning of the chapter first. They will act as guidelines to the major topics of the chapter and identify the skills you should master as you study the text. As you read the chapter, pay attention to the headings and subheadings. Find the general theme of each section and see how that theme relates to others. Dont let yourself get bogged down with details during the first reading; simply concentrate on understanding and remembering the major themes.

In your second reading, look for the details that underlie the themes. Read the entire chapter carefully and methodically, underlining key points, working out the details of examples, and making marginal notes as you go. Complete the activities.

Interspersed with the text of each chapter you will find a series of activities. These can take a variety of forms, including essays, short-answer quizzes, or charts and questionnaires. Completing the activities will enable you to try out new ideas, practice and improve new skills, and test your understanding of the course content.

After reading a chapter and before going on to the next chapter, work through the Review Questions. Answering the questions and comparing your answers to those given will help you to grasp the major ideas of that chapter. If you perform these self-check exercises consistently, you will develop a framework in which to place material presented in later chapters.

The American Management Association will continue to grade examinations and tests for one year after the courses out-of-print date.

If you have questions regarding the tests, the grading, or the course itself, call Educational Services at 1-800-225-3215 or send an e-mail to ed_svc@amanet.org.

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Presentation Success: How to Plan, Prepare, and Deliver Effective Presentations

Course Code 96002

I NSTRUCTIONS : Record your answers on one of the scannable forms enclosed with this course. Please follow the directions on the form carefully . Be sure to keep a copy of the completed answer form for your records. No photocopies will be graded . When completed, mail your answer form to:

American Management Association
Educational Services
P.O. Box 133
Florida, NY 10921

Most presenters do best when they use:

(a) a word-for-word script that relieves them of the concern about what to say and how to say it.