No matter what kind of presentation you’re giving you can incorporate interesting or relevant research, facts, statistics, or quotes into it. This kind of information can add interest, shock your audience with a fact they weren’t aware of, or provide back-up or evidence of the point you’re making. The important thing is to know when to use this kind of information in the speech, where to put it in the presentation, and how to go about finding it.
So when is it appropriate to use this kind of information in a presentation? It can really be a great addition to any kind of presentation, whether your presentation is persuasive, informative, or instructional. If your presentation is very personal, be very careful what kind of information you include. Otherwise, it’s up to you.
Next, you’ll need to think about the best place in the presentation to place the information. Most of the time it will fall into place logically. For example, if you’re giving a presentation on effective techniques for marketing smart phones, the latest statistics on smart phone sales, what brands are leaders in the market, and similar information will naturally be part of the presentation. At other times, you’ll have to think about when to introduce it, depending on the information and the effect you want it to have. One example of this is if you were giving a presentation on how many second marriages end in divorce. If the statistics are dramatic and startling, it would be a good idea to start the speech with this information to capture your listeners’ attention right from the beginning.
You would conduct the same kind of research to find the data for your speech as you would to find information for a research paper. Great sources of information include government Web sites, university Web sites, industry association Web sites, and googlescholar.com. Just make sure to properly cite the sources of all information you use.
Don’t forget that an appropriate quotation can also add meaning or insight to a presentation. There are several Web sites that contain quotes you can use in presentations and you can find them by using “quotes for speeches” as your search key words. Again, you need to cite the source of the quote that you use. Using information, data, and quotes in a speech give it added depth.