Page 305 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

Professional appearance is important.

Professional dress suggests to the audience one’s status as a speaker by providing a sense of confidence.
Ironically, this means selecting appropriate clothing that does not attract attention and that the audience will
not remember! A well-tailored business suit for men paired with a neutral color shirt (off-white or light colors
for camera work) and a tie that complements in a similar color tone are good choices. Women can choose
skirt or pant suits and neutral or pastel business tops. If you are speaking from a raised stage, consider the view
“upwards” from the audience viewpoint. Comfortable, polished shoes are important with stable heels to
prevent loss of balance with movement. Bright colors, large patterns, unusual designs, casual styles, light-
reflecting or noisy jewelry, and dangling earrings all may distract from the speaker’s message by drawing too
much of the audience’s focus away from the oral message.13,15–18

CASE ANALYSIS 7

What should Joan wear to this presentation?

Evaluation Methods

Effective speakers use feedback from every presentation they give to fine-tune their skills. Standard program
evaluations often rate the speaker on the planned learning objectives. More in-depth program evaluations may
add information on effectiveness and presentation traits. Ask the program planner to provide a copy of the
audience evaluation of the presentation. Obtain an audiotape or videotape. Some speakers tape their
presentations or ask a trusted audience member to do so on their behalf.7

CASE ANALYSIS 8

What method(s) could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the presentation?

Adaptations

Although workshops and media interviews rely on many of the general presentation guidelines that are

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