Definition of Presentation Characteristics of Presentation

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a. Definition of Presentation

The writer will present some definitions of presentation. According to Mackey 1965: 228, presentation is communicating something to somebody. It means that presentation is a means of communication to convey a message from one person to another. Cassie and Constantine 1977:121 state that presentation is speaking in public 1977: 121. There are two elements in a presentation, they are the presenter and the audience. A presenter is someone who is responsible for presenting something to the audience. The presenter is also responsible for making the audience understand what he or she is presenting. In a presentation the situation is presenter – dominated. Petrequin, 1968: 15. Cassie and Constantine add that giving a lecture is included into a type of oral presentation. Related with Cassie and Constantine’s statement, Burden and Byrd 1999: 91 state that a lecture is an instructional strategy – a method for delivering instruction that is intended to help students to achieve a learning objective 1999: 85 – in which the teacher gives an oral presentation of facts and principles, with the students frequently being responsible for note-taking. In a lecture, the classroom activity is teacher-directed and the teacher presents the material to the students. It is not always the teacher who can explain the topic. The teacher may ask the students to explain the topic. When the students replace the teacher’s role in explaining the topic, it can be defined as student’s presentation technique. In this study, the student’s presentation is conducted in groups. It can be defined as group presentation technique. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 11 In the following discussion, the writer will present the elements of presentation and some characteristics of presentation.

b. Characteristics of Presentation

A presentation must have two elements, they are the presenter and the audience. There are some criteria of a presenter in a presentation. According to Petrequin 1968: 21, the presenter must be prepared to show as well as talk to gain students’ attention. It means that the presenter must have enough and good preparation for the topic to be presented. The presenter must also be able to direct audience’ attention to what he or she presents. The presenter is responsible for making the audience understand what he or she is presenting. The job of the speaker is to perform the task with clarity and efficiency so that the listeners benefit from the experience Petrequin, 1968: 17. Thus, the presenter must be clear in presenting the topic. Unclear explanation in a presentation may lead the audience to have wrong understanding of the topic. A presenter can be called as the speaker of a presentation. Hasling 1988: 13 states that a speaker must use sufficient volume of voice so that the audience is able to hear the speaker’s voice. Hasling adds that the speaker should have a positive attitude toward the subject matter and toward the audience. What is meant by positive attitude is that a speaker has to respect the audience and presents the subject matter clearly and enthusiastic. It is important for a speaker to develop and maintain a positive attitude toward what the speaker is doing in order to have a good feeling before, during, and after the presentation. Besides PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 12 the voice and the attitude, a presenter should also be confident in front of the audience. In a student’s presentation technique, the audiences are the students who are not presenting the subject matter. Petrequin 1968: 15 states that the students’ the audiences role is watching, hearing, and noting what happens during the presentation. The audiences may also give response to the subject matter which is being presented. The response may be in forms of questions or suggestion, or critiques. Rosenshine 1987, cited by Burden and Byrd 1999: 88 writes five suggestions of how to present an effective presentation. 1 Organize the material First is to organize the material. It means that the material which is going to be presented should be well-organized. A well – organized material will help the presenter master what he or she is presenting. The presenter may brainstorm his or her idea so that the material can be explained in detail. The presenter may start the topic with general idea down to the specific idea, so that the audience can follow the flow of the material which is being presented. 2 State the lesson goal Second is to state the lesson goal. In student’s presentation technique, the presenter should state first the goal of his or her presentation. By stating the goal of his or her presentation, the presenter will help the audience to have clear idea of what is expected by the presenter toward the audiences. 13 3 Provide step-by step presentation Third is to provide step-by-step presentation. The presenter should begin the presentation with an opening or introduction, content, and closing or summary of what has been presented. In the introduction part, the presenter usually does the opening by greeting and mentioning the topic of the subject matter. After introducing the topic, the presenter starts to elaborate the topic. The presenter usually closes the presentation by summarizing what has been presented. 4 Focus on one thought at a time Fourth is to focus on one thought at a time. It means that the presenter should focus on the point which is being presented. The presenter may also check the audience understanding before continuing to the next point. 5 Model behaviors by going through the directions Fifth is to model behaviors by going through the directions. The presenter is the focus of the audience’s attention. Thus, a presenter must show proper behavior. Rosenshine and Stevens 1986, cited by Burden and Byrd 1999: 92 add that teaching behaviors clarity, enthusiasm, smooth transition are important for a presentation. In student’s presentation technique, the presenter should show the teaching behavior that can motivate the audience to learn the material. According to Cassie and Constantine 1977: 121, there are four parts of a good presentation; they are preparation, beginning, body, and peroration. 1 Preparation First part of the presentation is the preparation. In preparing a presentation, the students who will present the material have to make a detail 14 planning of the presentation. There are two steps in preparation part. The first step is to collect as complete as possible all the material needed. Complete material is important because the presenter will have enough preparation for answering audience’s questions. The second step is to expand ideas by determining the aim of the presentation. Presentation may be aimed for informing, persuading, or entertaining. 2 Beginning Second part of a presentation is the beginning. As stated by Cassie and Constantine 1977: 123 that the most important part of a presentation is the beginning. The beginning of a presentation will determine the next step of the presentation. In the beginning of the presentation, the presenter should grasp the audience’s attention on what the presenter will present. Cassie and Constantine add that the beginning of a presentation may be in forms of a question or a statement which relates to the audience or to the main topic of the subject matter. 3 The body Third part of a presentation is the body. The body must contain the arguments and main ideas. As a presenter, heshe must be able to develop the main idea and have enough and accurate arguments to be presented. The presenter must master the content of the subject matter he she is presenting. The body of a presentation may consist of some sections. The presenter must give clear cut at the end of every section. The presenter should notice when heshe has already come to the end of every section and give summary of it Cassie and Constantine, 1977: 125. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 15 4 Peroration The fourth part of a presentation is the peroration. Peroration means the conclusion of a speech, summing up the points, and enforcing the arguments Cassie and Constantine, 1977:125. In the peroration part, the presenter should present the conclusion of the subject matter which has been presented. The conclusion must be clear and show the cumulative meaning so that the audience will leave the room without confusion or still have a big question mark of what has been concluded by the presenter. Based on the characteristics of a good presentation from some experts presented above, it can be concluded that a good presentation should provide presenter, audience, organization of the material, statement of the lesson goal, step-by step presentation, focus on one thought at a time, and model behaviors by going through the directions. Furthermore, a good presentation should consist of preparation, beginning, the body, and peroration. In order to support this study, the writer will present the theory of perception since one of this research aims is to dig out the students’ perception on students’ presentation technique.

2. Perception