Consider that you were given a group assignment for a project that calls for a final presentation. The voice in your head says, “Now is the busiest time in my schedule and I do not have time to fit all these people into it.” These ideas are a part of a group presentation assignment that asks: “Is there ever a non-busy time for getting a group together for a presentation?” In many avocational (outside of a specific occupation) and vocational (related to a specific occupation) presentations, the combined expertise of several people is becoming increasingly necessary.
A business team may exchange sales data, research and development teams may discuss business expansion strategies, and boards of directors may present annual reports during group presentations. Additionally, there are numerous committees in the public, private, and government sectors that take part in formal presentations at conferences and in briefings. Group presentations are frequently requested, made, and given to combine the knowledge of several people into a single presentation. As a result, choosing the most useful information for audience members has evolved into a coordination task involving multiple people. The coordination of elements like themes, compelling evidence, and various personalities and approaches within a given time frame is the responsibility of every group member. is a harmonious combination or interaction, as of functions or parts, according to the dictionary.
When giving group presentations, you are attempting to coordinate one or two outcomes: those connected to the subject matter (product outcomes) and/or those connected to group participation and skills (process outcomes). As a result, it’s crucial to carefully review and outline the group’s prescribed assignment before gathering a lot of data, spreadsheets, interview notes, and other research materials.
Enhancing the effectiveness of group interaction through assessment is crucial. It is crucial to understand whether the group is being evaluated solely on the product(s) or outcome(s) or if other group processes, such as equity of contribution, individual interaction with group members, and meeting deadlines, will also be taken into consideration. According to Kowitz and Knutson (1980), there are three criteria for evaluating groups: (1) informational, which focuses on the tasks the group has been assigned; (2) procedural, which refers to how the group coordinates its activities and communication; and (3) interpersonal, which focuses on the relationships among members as the task is being completed. Without a pre-assigned assessment rubric, groups can successfully create a group evaluation instrument by using the three dimensions.
If the product consists of both a written document and an oral presentation, the group should determine that. It’s possible that the formats for the written report and the oral presentation were assigned in advance along with the expected informational and/or persuasional content. Although the two should complement one another, each should have a distinct audience, message, and format. The group might produce a manual for evaluating products (see Table 1). Additionally, the goal of the assignment should be uniformly written down by each group member. You may believe that you can easily maintain the goal in your mind. However, the objective is for each participant to consistently see the same result in front of them. After using a variety of resources or having conversations, this will help you regain focus when doing research, writing, or thinking.
It is crucial that the group clearly document the agreed outcomes after the assignment has been coordinated in terms of the product and process objectives, type of presentation, and logistics. A result that reflects agreement with the prescribed assignment is one of the agreed-upon outcomes regarding the product (i e. “The audience will be informed or persuaded about the required assignment at the conclusion of our group presentation”) It also contains the main idea or thesis that will be proven through a, a sentence-by-sentence summary of nearly everything the speaker plans to say. The outline enables the speakers to evaluate the speech’s logic, structure, and persuasive arguments (DiSanza & Legge, 2011, p. 131).
Be very clear with your group regarding the duration and planning of your presentation. The presentation’s duration is determined by your time allotment and whether there will be a question-and-answer session. Assignment preparation may or may not have a prescribed deadline. Set a deadline as a group if the assignment lacks one. If there is a deadline, the group starts by making a schedule based on it. Make a group action timetable that specifically lists all processes, results, communication update points, and due dates.
Decide how to best leave time at the end to assemble all the parts and ensure that everything is finished as a group. If a written document is required, it should be finished beforehand rather than concurrently with the oral presentation. Recognize that not everyone follows a traditional calendar as a group. So, don’t be afraid to ask each participant to note all due dates.
The group can then strategically include meeting times, locations, and dates to the action schedule. A meeting is an organized discussion among a small group of individuals who come together to carry out a particular task (Beebe & Mottet, 2010). Meetings for group presentations don’t always involve the entire group. In order to plan work and agendas, it is helpful to have a schedule of who meets with whom and when. In addition, all meetings do not serve the same purpose. For instance, informational meetings may be called simply to provide updates to all group members; solicitation meetings may be called to request opinions or advice from group members; group-building meetings are intended to foster cohesion and unity among group members; and problem-solving meetings result in decisions or recommendations being made by the time the meeting begins.
Once the group has agreed on the assignment’s goals and deadline, it is crucial to decide in advance what kind of notes each group member will be expected to take (which may vary) and how they will exchange information. The process and the end result are more unified when a group is more systematic in these two areas. Each group member first writes down the message, specific objective, and main concepts for the group presentation. Have each group member identify the areas where background information is required and basic information gathering is necessary if these are still up in the air. Create a general note-taking format by simply specifying whether notes should be typed or written by hand and what kinds of information, particularly sources, should be included. Additionally, with the growing use of electronic databases, be very clear about when to send group members links to related articles. Being inundated with PDF files in your email inbox is not always a good thing.
The group should be certain of the precise guidelines for locating current, pertinent, and presentation-relevant sources. All of this lays the groundwork for outlining each group member’s roles in detail. All tasks should be listed, given deadlines, and assigned people. There should be a way to monitor how each task is going. The group should understand what tasks fall under the categories of individual, joint (involving more than one group member), and overall group. All group members should be encouraging and helpful throughout the entire process, but they shouldn’t offer to do other people’s work.
How to best arrange the collected content for your audience is referred to as organizing for them. Any presentation can be intimidating, but the key is to remember “your goal is to present the most valuable information possible to the members of the audience,” according to Patricia Fripp (2011), a Hall of Fame keynote speaker and executive speech coach (p. 16). There must now be coordination between what you value most and what the audience values most due to differences in perception (the way we interpret our experiences). In order to organize for your audience, not for you or the assignment, but for them, you must focus on content, structure, packaging, and the human element. Your group will be helped by a personalized organizational structure to develop pertinent messages that meet the needs and objectives of others (Keller, 1983).
The audience is interested in your knowledge, which you have developed through careful planning and research. The foundational literature and important sources that should be included in your presentation may not meet the audience members’ expectations. As a result, as a group, you must think about who will be present, their levels of expertise, and their expectations in addition to including a variety of supporting materials in your presentation. Generally, the objectives, usage, and knowledge levels should be the main considerations when organizing the content. First, usage refers to how audience members anticipate using the presentational content you provide, which will assist the group in transforming ideas into speech points that are focused on the audience. Second, knowledge level refers to the audience’s level of familiarity with the subject, which helps the team create supplementary materials for the entire audience. Third, the goals are connected to how the content meets the needs of the audience and helps the group be deliberate about assisting the audience in understanding the purpose of their involvement and receiving value for the time they committed to attend. Overall, the information is arranged so that it is clear who the decision-makers are and what details they must know, should know, and do not need to know.
The structure of a presentation, or how you arrange points, deals with professionally packaging a presentation for the audience. The organization considers a compelling beginning, logical order, pertinent key points, succinctness, and use of additional visual aids. Additionally, the linking of ideas calls for the appropriate use of technical jargon, acronyms, and conversational language for inclusion or exclusion. The focus is geared to the perception of trustworthiness. Three strategic questions to answer include:
The organization of effective group presentations centers on the audience relationship, time management, and enthusiasm. Knowing whether audience members will be required to give an internal presentation or briefing from your presentation is a crucial aspect of group presentations. As a group, determine whether you are putting together a one-time presentation, competing for a long-term relationship, maintaining a relationship to continue providing expertise, or whether the presentation is connected to internal pressures to performance appraisals. Such information will help your group create talking points that can be accurately re-presented.
You can divide the time for your presentation according to the type of presentation. The body of the speech always takes up the majority of the time. In a typical speech, there might be an introduction, a body that lasts ten minutes, and a conclusion that lasts four minutes. The remaining 12 minutes are reserved for the audience’s questions, comments, or general participation in the discussion. It’s critical to give the audience enough time to contribute to the intellectual content. Always plan group presentations so that you won’t run out of time before the audience has a chance to participate. All group presentations should have enthusiasm. Members of the group should be enthusiastic about the situation, message, and audience. The introduction, conclusion, and body of your presentations should all reflect your prepared enthusiasm. It is possible to plan to use enthusiasm consistently throughout the speech outline.
The team will have chosen the main message, thoroughly investigated the supporting evidence, drawn logical conclusions, and produced practical recommendations after completing the other levels of coordination. Therefore, the presentation itself—the tool that conveys the information and ideas to your audience—is all that stands between you and success. Here, it’s crucial to understand that if a task required both a written document and an oral presentation, make sure they work in harmony. Although you can use the written document as a reference during the oral presentation, you should plan it with the understanding that not everyone will have access to the written document. Consequently, the oral presentation might be the only information they hear. It is best to plan the presentation as if no one has the full written document because you never know who will receive it. This way, you can use it as a reference for content that needs more explanation or access to in-depth information. Nevertheless, if all attendees are given written materials, keep in mind that various decision-makers may be present. A vice president of finance, for instance, might only be interested in numbers, whereas the creative director might only be interested in your creative concepts.
The preparation for your group’s presentation primarily focuses on its capacity to create a concise plan and execute its delivery. To make sure that the group presentation is both interesting and helpful to your audience, as well as worth their time, a delivery plan should include crucial components like (1) purpose, (2) oral content, (3) dress, (4) room, (5) visuals, (6) delivery, and (7) rehearsal.
As a group, practice keeping the presentation’s goal clear for the audience. Was the general purpose—to inform or persuade—achieved? should be at the forefront of each group member’s mind. The purpose should never become hidden during the presentation. It’s critical that each group member understand the goal in order to maintain the proper level of delivery. Even with excellent content, it is possible to overlook the presentation’s main objective. Consider the scenario where your group was asked to give a presentation on Facebook and its potential applications in the financial sector. You could take an informative or persuasive approach. However, if the intended audience—banking professionals—attends a presentation where the content is focused on Facebook rather than on how it is used in the financial sector, the goal will not have been accomplished.
You can determine whether the presentation’s goal is clearly aimed at the main audience using the delivery plan. Additionally, the group can control when and how clearly they are articulating the presentation’s explicit purpose. A clear preview, audience members’ awareness of the decisions at stake, and audience members’ desire to learn crucial information first all support the intended purpose.
Reading and writing have accounted for the majority of the group’s interaction with the material so far. It’s time to speak with the chosen content to make sure it was created for this audience, organized properly, and clearly stated. The delivery plan is an opportunity to assess language, idioms, and countermeasures. Make sure the content is appropriate for the task at hand and that the main point is clear so that the audience will retain it.
Important components of the delivery plan include internal summaries, transitions, and group member introductions. There won’t be an automatic introduction of the group members and the subject matter. It is crucial to practice it in order to decide whether introductions belong at the start of the presentation, whether names need to be highlighted by wearing name tags, or whether names are better used as part of transitional content. In some speaking situations, using a name only may not be effective. As a result, the group must decide what else should be included in a proper group member introduction beyond the member’s name. Additionally, maintain consistency by deciding whether everyone should use their full name or just their first name, whether they need to know your positions and backgrounds, and whether you can just state everything in writing, like on a team resume. If the audience does not believe you, the content of your speech is useless.
As in all presentations, being conscious of your appearance is crucial to enhancing the information in your speech. Don’t be afraid to discuss and put into practice appropriate attire with your group. It is important to look like a group. Really think about deciding on how formal or casual the dress code is when defining a group’s speaking uniform.
What kinds of things can be distracting? The most frequent are colors, busy patterns, and large or clinking jewelry. As a group, the overarching question you want to be able to answer is: Did our dress provide an accurate first impression without distracting from the content. Decide together what style of attire best enhances your group’s credibility. It is crucial to consider cultural, professional, and regional norms. In addition, it is important to think about branding choices. Often groups want to brand themselves for the audience. It is not necessary to mimic your audience. For instance, a sales pitch to the members of the cranberry association might persuade a group to wear red. In other words, don’t let the speaking event brand you. The cranberry association may not be the only sale your group needs to make, so you will have to consider: Will each sales presentation audience determine the color we accent in dress? Simply know what is considered professional for this presentation. Do not take away from the content you spent a lot of time creating for this audience.
Practicing your delivery in the room where you will deliver your speech is not always possible. But it’s crucial that you actively prepare your delivery for the space by simulating the speaking environment. Asking the presentation planner a series of questions will help you plan if prior access to the room is not possible. The size of the room, the presence of a projector, the location of the projector within the room, the presence of a platform and/or a stationary lectern, the presence of a sound system and the number of microphones, the location of the group’s seating prior to introduction, whether the presentation will be recorded, the availability of the room prior to the presentation, the number of seats, and the seating arrangement should all be determined so the group can prepare for the zone of comfort.
Both technological and non-technological visual aids (such as handouts, posters, charts, etc.) ) and presentation technology. Visuals should be consistent with the presentation of the group rather than appearing to have been created by several different people. All visuals should blend smoothly into the speech. All group members should be aware of the visuals or documents that were requested in advance (so that you do not disregard them during rehearsal). Often, it is preferable to merely project or display visuals. Other times, it might be necessary to put together a presentation packet with all the necessary visuals for the audience. According to Bohn and Jabusch (1982), there are several scientifically supported reasons why visual aids improve presentations, including (a) improved understanding, which makes it easier for audience members to understand what they hear and see; (b) improved memory, which acts as a visual cue; (c) improved organization, which visually displays your organizational strategy; (d) improved attention, which captures and maintains audience interest; and (e) improved sequencing, which illustrates rather than simply describes.
In group presentations, all four delivery styles—memorized, impromptu, manuscript, and extemporaneous—are beneficial. However, the most common mode of delivery is extemporaneous. Earlier in the chapter, developing a script was discussed. Planning delivery includes the process of turning the script into a condensed version of the preparation outline (DiSanza & Legge, 2011). The ultimate objective is to determine how the audience can feel confident that the presentation will remain cohesive and not just be made up of individual parts. The delivery plan may include vocal cues and gesture instructions. The group should also decide how speaker notes will be used since the delivery outline is not intended to be read from. Each group member should receive the delivery outline so they are all familiar with the entire presentation. Setting up backup plans for the presenter who gets stuck in morning traffic or the expert who had a flight delay is crucial if someone is unable to make the presentation on the scheduled day.
The most important thing is for everyone in the group to keep their delivery style conversational. Effective delivery techniques, such as appropriate gestures, movement, and posture, appropriate facial expressions, including eye contact, and appropriate vocal delivery, including articulation, dialect, pitch, pronunciation, rate, and volume, may be used to best achieve this. Group members should evaluate each other on audibility and fluency.
Rehearsals are for the final polishing of your presentations. It is time to finalize the logistics of how many members of the group will present, where they will stand, and the best ways to transition between each speaker. Through rehearsals, the group members should become more at ease with one another. Finding content gaps and receiving feedback on the content (oral and visual), style, and delivery are important aspects of polishing. Refine speaker notes and practice the time limit during the rehearsals. Depending on your group and the amount of preparation time provided, the number of scheduled rehearsals may vary. The group’s most crucial task is to modify their rehearsal schedule in light of an honest assessment of the speaking abilities represented in the group.
The only aspect of a group presentation that you might not be able to practice is responding to queries and objections raised by actual audience members. However, you can prepare a straightforward strategy for responding by anticipating the kinds of questions that will be asked, repeating the question, identifying who from the group will respond, and providing a succinct response. Follow-up inquiries, hypothetical inquiries centered on various scenarios, action-oriented inquiries asking what you’d do in certain situations, and information-seeking inquiries are four of the most popular types of questions. Consider at least three questions you would like to respond to, plan your response, and then practice it during the rehearsal(s).
All of the rules you follow when giving an individual presentation, along with additional methods for cooperating with others productively, form the basis of a group presentation. Group presentations primarily entail group communication, planning, organization, and delivery. Effective groups communicate about interaction roles, decision-making, and conflict resolution. By customizing communication for this speaking group, the group can reflect on group dynamics and create an environment that is committed to working together.
This information is taken from Jennifer F.’s introduction, “Preparing All Parts of the Assignment,” and “Delivering Your Presentation as One.” Wood, Ph. D. , in Chapter 18 Group Presentations. from the Public Speaking Project. This content is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License.
Delivering a Successful Team Presentation
Benefits of presenting to a group
The following are some advantages of giving a presentation to a group:
Informing stakeholders
One of the main advantages of presenting in front of a group is that you can spread the word to numerous relevant stakeholders, such as team members, investors, or managers. You can inform many people at once as opposed to delivering information to each group separately. This can help you save time and resources so you can devote more time to finishing important tasks or projects. For instance, you can quickly summarize your findings with a company-wide presentation rather than sharing project data with specific departments.
Engage audiences
In comparison to other forms of communication like emails or reports, presentations can be more engaging for audiences. Presentations can incorporate both auditory and visual components, so you can convey information in a variety of creative ways. During the presentation, you can also develop and distribute materials or activities that will help audiences become more engaged and understand your point. Learning effective group presentation techniques can increase the likelihood that audience members will comprehend and remember your ideas.
Enjoy collaboration
Giving a presentation in front of a group has another advantage in that it can encourage teamwork within the business. Many professionals can reflect and provide their own distinctive perspectives when you bring them together and present information or ideas. You can set aside a portion of your presentation for audience questions or concerns to foster cooperation. This collaboration can help clarify concepts and make a presentation more interesting. For instance, if you’re considering starting a new project, you can hear the opinions of experts with various backgrounds and skill sets to ascertain whether the project can be successful.
Master your topic
You can learn more about the subject you’re presenting by giving a presentation to a group. To ensure the accuracy of your information, you may complete a great deal of research and preparation, which could result in you learning a lot about the subject. You may frequently gather more data for the presentation than you actually need. This is due to the fact that being more prepared than necessary can be beneficial.
For instance, if you’re presenting on research you conducted, you might base your presentation on the opinions of numerous other researchers. Even if you don’t include the findings from other research projects in your presentation, they can help you build a stronger knowledge base and get ready to fully engage audiences. After your presentation, this in-depth knowledge can assist with other presentations or future projects.
Showcase your knowledge
Giving a presentation on a subject you are very knowledgeable about can show many managers and colleagues that you are knowledgeable and competent in that area. You can use a presentation to show that you can communicate clearly and stay composed under pressure in addition to presenting a lot of compelling information. This can strengthen your credentials and show that you are qualified for higher-level positions or opportunities within the organization.
How to improve group presentations
The following 10 steps will help you create and deliver captivating group presentations:
1. Know your audience
If you customize group presentations for the specific audience that is listening, they will be more effective. For instance, if you are presenting a highly technical concept to people who lack specialized knowledge, you might want to speak about the topic more generally. This can both increase audience interest in your topic and make it easier for you to communicate information that they can understand.
You can set a goal for yourself to gain as much knowledge about the audience as you can before presenting in order to improve your presentations. The way your topic is related to by listeners can vary depending on their age, level of experience, or field. After gathering information, you can design the presentation with this audience in mind. You can choose the format and content of your presentation by first determining who your audience is.
2. Work on grabbing the audiences attention from the beginning
Occasionally, it can be difficult to capture the audience’s interest and keep it throughout the presentation. Because of this, learning how to capture an audience’s attention right away can help you develop presentations that are very effective. You can practice attention-grabbing techniques as you develop your abilities, such as starting with anecdotes, using captivating images and graphics, or soliciting audience participation. As you gain confidence in this ability, you can choose attention-grabbing techniques that suit each particular presentation and audience.
3. Focus on transitions
You can enhance the finer details that have an overall impact while working to improve the presentation’s content. By ensuring that the entire presentation is compelling and original, elements like transitions can help you elevate a presentation. You can plan strategies to keep your presentation moving and avoid any awkward pauses if you want to keep your audience’s attention.
Transitions are how you move from one thing to another. Planning for transitions along with the rest of your presentation can help you avoid awkward situations. You can signal the conclusion of each point by posing questions, or you can use a visual transition between the slides in your visual component. By consistently using these transitions, you can give the presentation a sense of cohesion and command the presentation’s timing.
4. Consider your movement
Your movement is another seemingly unimportant but crucial presentation element you can pay attention to. As your presentation abilities advance, planning movements that amplify the information without diverting viewers can produce a more compelling, emotive presentation. The way you move and when you move can often catch the attention of viewers. This can affect the way they take in information. For instance, if you’re making a particularly crucial point, using hand gestures to support it can help your audience concentrate on and remember that subject.
5. Try visual aids
Additionally, you can enhance your group presentations by producing captivating visual materials to go along with your spoken presentation. Slideshow presentations, posters, spreadsheets, images, and graphics are a few examples of visual aids. You can either hand out visual aids to audiences or use a projector to display a visual element at the front of a presentation room.
Think about how a visual element might support the information you’re presenting and improve the presentation. To illustrate, if you are discussing sales data, you might consider showing the audience a graph of previous sales figures. By doing so, your message will be more understandable and interesting to listeners.
6. Add pauses
Additionally, you can improve your presentation by preparing for effective pauses. By giving the audience a moment to pause and consider the other information they’ve heard, taking a brief break from the information can help you hold their attention. You can schedule lengthy breaks, like group breaks, or even add brief breaks in between informational segments.
A simple symbol reminding you to take a breath can be added to your presentation notes as a way to mark these deliberate pauses. Especially if you intended to convey a lot of information, you might become distracted by the material and start to rush through. You can keep your presentation pace steady and comfortable by preparing for a break.
7. Pay attention
The capacity to pay attention to your audience and other presenters and then modify the presentation in light of what you learn can help you become a better presenter. You can make any necessary adjustments or changes while presenting if you are aware of how an audience responds to your presentation. For instance, if you had intended to speak on a subject for several minutes but noticed that the audience was not as interested, you might want to omit that portion and replace it with another interactive activity.
If you’re giving a presentation with other people, you can also listen to understand how everything fits together and figure out what elements you can add or remove to improve the overall effect. You can get ideas for your section from other presenters as well. For instance, if a different presenter uses an engaging group activity, you might think about adapting it and using it for your own learning.
8. Create effective conclusions
Effective conclusions, like strong introductions, can improve your presentation and help control the audience’s experience. You can leave an impression on your audience and help them remember your presentation favorably by concluding strongly. It can also clear up any misunderstandings by indicating when the presentation is about to end. Practice your conclusion strategies by posing more questions, summarizing what you’ve said, or presenting practical applications or potential areas for further research on your subject.
9. Practice
Practice your group presentations as much as you can before giving them is a simple and efficient way to improve them. This can help you assess whether each component of the presentation functions properly and can also increase your comfort level with the subject. This can help you give enjoyable presentations. Your abilities may improve or advance as you practice, which could result in future presentations of higher quality.
10. Manage nerves
By controlling your nerves and preventing them from affecting your performance, you can also improve your presentations. There are some techniques that may help you concentrate on your content rather than the anxiety of performing, even though giving a presentation to a large audience can be nerve-wracking. By practicing in advance, you can reduce your anxiety and increase your comfort level. Additional techniques, such as deep breathing or picturing your success, can help you reduce stress and give the best presentation possible.
FAQ
How do you present a group member?
- Presentation moderator. …
- Understanding the audience. …
- The presentation’s purpose. …
- Divide the presentation. …
- Share responsibility. …
- Build the presentation together. …
- Use stories to engage the audience. …
- Know what each speaker will say.
What do you say in a group presentation?
Good morning/afternoon everyone and welcome to my presentation. First of all, I want to thank everyone for coming today. Let me first briefly describe my own background. As seen on the screen, today’s subject is
What do you say at the beginning of a group presentation?
Good morning everyone and welcome to my presentation. First of all, I want to thank everyone for coming today. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It’s an honor to be able to speak to such an esteemed group of people.
