June 28, 2018 - Gini Beqiri When delivering presentations it's important for your words and ideas to flow so your audience can understand how everything links together and why it's all relevant. Show
This can be done using speech transitions because these act as signposts to the audience - signalling the relationship between points and ideas. This article explores how to use speech transitions in presentations. What are speech transitions?Speech transitions are words and phrases that allow you to smoothly move from one point to another so that your speech flows and your presentation is unified. This makes it easier for the audience to understand your argument and without transitions the audience may be confused as to how one point relates to another and they may think you're randomly jumping between points. Types of transitionsTransitions can be one word, a phrase or a full sentence - there are many different types, here are a few: IntroductionIntroduce your topic:
Presentation outlineInform the audience of the structure of your presentation:
Move from the introduction to the first pointSignify to the audience that you will now begin discussing the first main point:
Professional Development CoursesFast-track your career with award-winning courses and realistic practice. Explore Courses Shift between similar pointsMove from one point to a similar one:
Shift between disagreeing pointsYou may have to introduce conflicting ideas - bridging words and phrases are especially good for this:
Transition to a significant issue
Referring to previous pointsYou may have to refer to something that you've already spoken about because, for example, there may have been a break or a fire alarm etc:
This can be also be useful to introduce a new point because adults learn better when new information builds on previously learned information. Introducing an aside noteYou may want to introduce a digression:
Physical movementYou can move your body and your standing location when you transition to another point. The audience find it easier to follow your presentation and movement will increase their interest. A common technique for incorporating movement into your presentation is to:
Emphasising importanceYou need to ensure that the audience get the message by informing them why something is important:
Internal summariesInternal summarising consists of summarising before moving on to the next point. You must inform the audience:
Cause and effectYou will have to transition to show relationships between factors:
Elaboration
Point-by-point or steps of a process
Introduce an example
Transition to a demonstration
Introducing a quotation
Transition to another speakerIn a group presentation you must transition to other speakers:
From these examples, you can see how the different sections of the presentations link which makes it easier for the audience to follow and remain engaged. AnecdotesYou can tell personal stories or share the experiences of others to introduce a point. Anecdotes are especially valuable for your introduction and between different sections of the presentation because they engage the audience. Ensure that you plan the stories thoroughly beforehand and that they are not too long. Professional Development CoursesFast-track your career with award-winning courses and realistic practice. Explore Courses Using questionsYou can transition through your speech by asking questions and these questions also have the benefit of engaging your audience more. There are three different types of questions:
Direct questions require an answer: "What is the capital of Italy?" These are mentally stimulating for the audience. Rhetorical questions do not require answers, they are often used to emphasises an idea or point: "Is the Pope catholic? Loaded questions contain an unjustified assumption made to prompt the audience into providing a particular answer which you can then correct to support your point: You may ask "Why does your wonderful company have such a low incidence of mental health problems?". The audience will generally answer that they're happy. After receiving the answers you could then say "Actually it's because people are still unwilling and too embarrassed to seek help for mental health issues at work etc." Transition to a visual aidIf you are going to introduce a visual aid you must prepare the audience with what they're going to see, for example, you might be leading into a diagram that supports your statement. Also, before you show the visual aid, explain why you're going to show it, for example, "This graph is a significant piece of evidence supporting X". When the graphic is on display get the audience to focus on it:
Explain what the visual is showing:
Using a visual aid to transitionVisual aids can also be used as transitions and they have the benefit of being stimulating and breaking-up vocal transitions. You might have a slide with just a picture on it to signify to the audience that you're moving on to a new point - ensure that this image is relevant to the point. Many speakers like to use cartoons for this purpose but ensure its suitable for your audience. ConclusionAlways summarise your key points first in the conclusion:
And then conclude:If you have a shorter speech you may choose to end your presentation with one statement:
However, using statements such as "To conclude" may cause the audience to stop listening. It's better to say:
Call to actionRequesting the audience to do something at the end of the presentation:
Common mistakesWhen transitions are used poorly you can annoy and confuse the audience. Avoid:
Speech transitions are useful for unifying and connecting your presentation. The audience are more likely to remain engaged since they'll be able to follow your points. But remember that it's important to practice your transitions beforehand and not just the content of your arguments because you risk looking unprofessional and confusing the audience if the presentation does not flow smoothly. What are the three types of transitions in speech?Types of Speech Transitions. Transition between Similar Ideas or Points. ... . Transition between Contrasting Ideas or Points. ... . Transition to elaborate upon an idea. ... . Transition to Numbered Ideas or Points (or Process Steps) ... . Transition to show Cause-Effect Relationship. ... . Transition to a Supporting Example.. What type of transition should you use between main points?Transitions between Main Points. Which part of the speech will have the main points of your speech?The body of a speech includes the introduction, main points, and the conclusion. T or F. "Signposts" wrap up the speech with the speaker reviewing the main points, restating the thesis and providing closure.
How do you transition to the main point?Use these transitions to indicate summaries: “To summarize…” “So far, the big idea is…” “What this all means is…” “To put it simply…” “To quickly restate it…” “The main point is…” These summarize entire speeches. It's always a good idea to remind your audience what they just learned.
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