COMMUNICATION AND PRESENTATION SKILLS

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COMMUNICATION:
Exchange of information between people through a particular language, speech,
words, sounds, signs and behavior is called communication.
There are two types of communications.
1. Electronic Communication:
This process of sending/sharing information to a person or to a group of people by
the means of internet, modern technology and modern software applications is called
electronic communication. For example, social media, radio, televisions, mobile
phones, laptops etc.
2. Verbal Communication/Human communication:
The act or process of using words, sounds, signs or behaviors to exchange
information or to express particular ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc. to another person
and a group of people is called verbal/human communication.
These two types of communications/informations are further divided into two
types.
1. Formal Communication:
Formal communication is defined as an official communication in which the
communication is conducted through formal channels. The information is authentic,
is in written manner and is aimed to fulfill particular organizational objectives (such
as educational institutions, offices, hospitals, courts etc.).
This particular type of information is conveyed in the form of emails, formal written
letters and applications.

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2. Informal Communication:
Informal communication is defined as communication that moves spontaneously
between two people or two groups of people without any formal restrictions. Its
example includes informal tasks or chit chats between two friends or family
members or a group of friends or group of family members.
PURPOSE OF COMMUNICATION:
The purposes of the communication can be summed up into the following:
1. Flow of Information:
Information travels through person to person and particular organization to
organization through the mean of communication (formal and informal
communication). At organizational levels the relevant authorities must be kept
informed about the organizational objectives and other developments taking place
in a particular organization. For this purpose, formal communication is conducted
through the means of emails, formal written letters, applications and reports. At
personal level in order to maintain good relations, informal communications are
conducted between two persons or between two groups of people in the form of
informal talks and discussions.
2. Assurance of the credibility of a professional culture:
In order to assure the fluency of the functions of a particular organization or a
government of a country, a fluency of communication holds the maximum
importance. It is through communication (formal and informal communication) that
the efforts of the professional staff (working in an organization or for the government
of any country) can be coordinated for the accomplishment of the organizational and
governmental goals. The coordination of the professional staff and their professional
duties can be only attained through effective communication.
3. Development of good professional relations:
In order to maintain healthy professional relations, the element of effective
communication holds the maximum importance. It is through communication that
professional staffs exchange their ideas, perceptions, professional issues and
progresses. An effective communication helps them to understand the professional
challenges of each other better. The workers of an organization realize the
professional difficulties faced by their colleagues at the workplace. This leads to the
promotion of good professional as well as human relations in an organization.

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4. Effective Leadership:
Leader is one who has an ability to take charge, direct, encourage and govern his/her
subordinates and nation. He/she has an attitude to stimulate his/her nation. He/she
could be a prime minister of any nation or an executive working in an organization.
Such people have cluster of leadership qualities, but are not able to lead if they are
not good communicators. Therefore, effective and accurate communication acts as
an important factor to grow as efficient and successful leaders or managers.
Communication enables them to share which ideology they have and what they
expect from their team. Therefore, it is effective communication, which makes
leaders to lead successfully. To achieve professional and governmental success
managers and leaders must be effective and convincing communicators. It is
important that managers and leaders as well as their teams must learn how to
communicate perfectly as this will not only help their teams to complete their
projects successfully, but also enable organizations and particular countries to
achieve success and growth.
5. Developing Good Human Relations:
Good communication is an important part of all relationships and is an essential part
of a healthy family and friendship. All relationships have ups and downs, but a
healthy communication style can make it easier to deal with conflicts and build a
stronger and healthier bond between family members and friends. In human
relationships, communication allows a person to explain to someone else what they
are experiencing and what their needs are. The act of communicating not only helps
to meet a person’s need, but it also helps people to be connected in their relationships
with their family members and friends.
CONNECTION BETWEEN COMMUNICATION AND PRESENTATION:
A presentation is a form of oral communication in which a person shares factual
information with an audience.
 A part from various types of formal communications, presentation is a
form of verbal/oral communication that includes a great contribution of
body language, knowledge of the presenter regarding the topic that
he/she is presenting, positive behavior and voice.
All the above mentioned presentation techniques help the presenter to deliver the
message better and helps the audience to understand the message better.

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STEPS TO BE TAKEN TO DELIVER AN EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION:
Analyze the Audience
Audience analysis involves identifying the audience and adapting a speech to their
interests, level of understanding and beliefs. Taking an audience-centered approach
is important because a speaker’s effectiveness will be improved if the presentation
is audience centered and is delivered in a formal and audience friendly manner.
Being able to understand the audiences’ attitudes about a topic will help you connect
with them. Imagine you are trying to convince people at a town hall to build a new
college. You will be inclined to spend the majority of the speech in giving reasons
why and how a college would benefit the town and its people who you are delivering
a presentation or speech to. If you find that the major worry was how much this
would cost students, you can talk more about maximum funding available to the
students. Positive attitude and persuasive power of the presenter/speaker are the key
factors that can lead to better presentations and better audience response.
Knowledge of the topic
For an effective presentation, it is important that a presenter should have a thorough
understanding, knowledge and mastery of his/her topic of presentation. Content is
central to any presentation. The content of the presentation should be accurate,
factual and well-organized.
On the other hand, a presenter needs to find out how much his/her audience already
knows about any topic as the knowledge of an audience can vary widely. Two ways
to achieve this goal could be:
 Find out who else is speaking/presenting at the event and the topics they are
presenting?
 What type of people are they in front of whom the presenter is presenting?
Are they teachers, students, common people, professionals from different
fields i.e. doctors, engineers, artists etc.
Never overestimate the audience’s knowledge of a topic. If you start speaking about
complex areas regarding the topic that the presenter is presenting and the listeners
are not even familiar with the basics of it, they will quickly lose interest and find
something to distract themselves with.
On the other hand, drastically underestimating the audience’s knowledge may
result in a speech that sounds disdainful. Examples of condescending behavior

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include acting as if you know everything and are not open to new ideas and are not
being open to feedback.
Demographics
The demographic factors which should be respected and served positively by a
presenter of an audience include:
 Age
 Gender
 Religion
 Ethnic background
 Class
 Job or Career
 Education
Audience size
Your speech will change depending on the size of the audience. In general, the larger
the audience the more formal the presentation should be. Using everyday language
when speaking to a group of 5 people is often appropriate.
However, you will need a well throughout structure and presenting techniques when
talking to 500 people. Large audiences often require that you use a microphone and
speak from an elevated platform.
Attitude towards topic
A presenter should tailor his/her speech/presentation according to the beliefs and
experiences of the audience/listeners. Being able to understand the audiences’
attitudes about a topic will help you connect with them.
Using demographic factors to guide speech-making does not mean changing the goal
of the speech for every different audience; rather, consider what pieces of
information will be most important for members of different demographic groups.
Preparation of the answers of the possible questions
It is also important to prepare answers to possible questions that a presenter may be
asked about the particular presentation by the audience.
(The End)