Understand the kind of oral presentation you have been asked to give.
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The list that follows identifies the four basic types of oral presentations:
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Impromptu presentation. An impromptu oral presentation is given without preparation. In a history class, for example, your instructor may call on you to explain briefly a concept you are studying, such as “manifest destiny.” As best you can, you would recall what you have read and summarize the information. Although impromptu presentations are given without preparation, they do require knowledge of the subject matter.
Extemporaneous presentation. In an extemporaneous presentation, you prepare beforehand and speak from notes or an outline. For example, in a management class, you might prepare a report on a business that you recently visited. In most academic and business situations, extemporaneous talks are preferred because they are informal yet well organized. Extemporaneous presentation often includes outlining your major points using presentation software, such as PowerPoint.
Scripted presentation. Reading from a script is one way to ensure that you say exactly what you want to say—and that you take no more than the time you have been allotted. Because you read to your audience, a scripted presentation can be stiff and boring unless it is carefully planned and rehearsed. Scripted presentations also need to be written so that the audience can easily follow the presentation by just hearing it. Sentences should be kept short, with explicit transition words and phrases. You will also need to provide more transitions and cues than in documents that are read (see Use Cues to Orient Listeners, below). A simple guideline to remember is that if your writing is difficult for you to read aloud, it will be difficult to listen to as well.
Memorized presentation. This type of oral presentation is written and committed to memory beforehand. For instance, at a sales meeting, you might evaluate a new product in relation to its competition. However, most people prefer scripted talks because of the difficulty of memorizing a lengthy oral presentation.