Oral reports range from brief answers to questions at meetings to hour-long speeches to large audiences.

Follow these guidelines:

• Speak in a normal voice. Help yourself speak normally by not memorizing—practice enough so you can speak from notes. Present a visual aid and then explain it to the audience.
• Arrange your speech top-down. Use topic sentences to begin sections so that you are constantly telling the audience where they are in the sequence.
• Make visual aids large enough to see and focus each one on just one point.
• Practice with any technology (laptops, computer slide presentations) before you give the speech.
• Be presentable. You should dress appropriately. If you don't know what a professional should wear in this situation, ask someone who does. Avoid irritating mannerisms (smacking lips, shaking keys in pockets, saying "um" repeatedly).