Analyzing the Situation and Setting

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Chapter 4

• Analyzing the Situation and Setting

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• In early stages of planning
• Analyze the situation
• Analyze the setting

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• Considering the setting
• Questions to consider
• 1. What is the nature of the occasion?
• Why has the audience assembled?
• Might influence your choice of a purpose and
  topic
• Should try to choose a topic that is suitable for
  the occasion
• Will also help you realize
• What tone is appropriate for your presentation
• Whether the presentation should be lighthearted
  and humorous or serious.
• Telling a joke might not be appropriate for a
  business presentation.

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• 2. What is the talk expected to be about?
• What is the main purpose?
• Teacher or supervisor might tell you purpose and
  assign topic or a range of topics
• May have to choose of topic and purpose on your
  own
• Should still take into account the expectations
  of the audience (discussed in the previous
  chapter), organizers, etc.

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• 3. What type of presentation are you expected to
  give, that is, will it be formal or informal,
  technical or popular, general or detailed?

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• 4. How long will you have to talk?
• Can be more detailed and explore topic in more
  depth with more time
• If time is limited, have to stick to your key
  points
• Does that include time for questions, or will
  there be an additional question time?
• Is the amount of time you have fixed, or might it
  be changed at the last minute?
• If speaking as one of several speakers or agenda
  items, speaking time may be reduced if one of the
  other speakers or agenda items takes more time
  than expected
• If presentation is late in the meeting, members
  might be tired and not in the mood to listen to a
  long speech
• Good idea to think in advance about how you might
  cut your presentation, if necessary

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• Considering the Setting
• Questions to ask yourself about the setting
• 1. What will the room you are speaking in be
  like?
• Will it be a large auditorium with rows of seats,
  or a small room with chairs around a table?
• Will help you plan the style of the presentation
  and make other decisions about doing the
  presentation
• In a large room, need to use large gestures
  small gestures invisible in back
• In small room, large gestures overdone
• Need to keep size of room in mind and adjust size
  of gestures

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• Size of the room you have will also affect your
  visuals, including objects you show the audience
• Difficult to use objects in your presentation if
  you are speaking before an audience in a large
  room -- only people in the front will be able to
  see them
• In small room, might be more effective to use
  objects, if possible, rather than pictures
  projected on a screen

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• Should also consider what to do if you have large
  room and small audience
• Can reduce the effectiveness of your presentation
  few people spread throughout a large room
• Should ask members of the audience to move down
  to the front
• Might stand close to them rather than behind a
  podium using a microphone

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• 2. How can you best use the space that you will
  have?
• Where should you stand?
• Where will your visuals be?
• If the chairs are moveable, how would they be
  best arranged?

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• If you are going to be speaking informally to a
  small group, would it be better to have the
  audience seated in a circle?
• Would emphasize the informality and make it easy
  for you to interact with the audience, and, if
  you wish, for the audience members to interact
  with each other.
• Should check such things as whether the room can
  be darkened if you need to show slides.

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• Will you be speaking from a raised platform?
• For best rapport with audience it is best to be
  on same level as audience, although may not be
  feasible in a large room
• If room is small enough, may prefer to avoid
  using the raised platform and speak to audience
  standing at their level
• Will need to make sure equipment can be moved
  around to allow you to do this.

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• 3. Can you inspect the room before your
  presentation?
• If so, should make sure that equipment you need
  will be there

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• Conclusion
• Knowing the setting or situation can be as
  important to doing an effective presentation as
  knowing the audience.