This document provides information about different presentation styles based on a BEST Presentation Style assessment. It describes 4 main styles: Bold, Expressive, Sympathetic, and Technical. It explains how to interpret scores on the assessment and identifies strengths and areas for development for each style. It also offers tips for adapting each style to an online public speaking course, such as practicing vocal variations, carefully reviewing audience analysis surveys, and soliciting feedback on speech recordings. Sample speakers and videos are provided for each style as examples.

1. Presentation Styles
Based upon My BEST Presentation
Style by James Brewer

2. Identifying Your Presentation Style
(s)
Technical
Sympathetic Expressive
Bold

3. Interpreting Your BEST Scores
 If you have a score of 15 or more in any one of
the presentation styles, your behaviors are most
dominated by that type.
 Most people have a mix of personality types and
therefore will have traits from more than one
presentation style. If you do not have a score of
15 or more in any of the presentation styles, you
probably will have traits from more than one style.
In this case review the presentation styles for
which you have the highest scores making a note
of those characteristics that you think most
accurately describes your behavior.

4. Interpreting Your BEST Scores
 As you review the strengths and vulnerable areas for
each presentation style you may find that some of the
vulnerable areas that are listed for one style may be
canceled out by the characteristics of another style.
For example if your two highest scores indicate that
you share characteristics from the bold style and the
expressive style, you may not demonstrate a blunt
delivery style, but a more softer enthusiastic style of
delivery.
 If you have more than more than one presentation
style, it is important that you review the styles
carefully and make a decision about the strengths and
vulnerable characteristics that are accurate for you. If
you are honest this assessment can still provide
valuable information for your development as an
ethical public speaker.

5. Interpreting Your BEST Scores
 Finally, in interpreting your scores to receive
information that will help you to develop in this
online public speaking class, you must also take
into consideration research that says that
personality/presentation styles may change under
stress. If you did not have a score of 15 or more
in one of the presentation styles you may not
have a dominant style. You must also consider
the possibility that under stress you may resort
more to one of your presentation styles and
another presentation style when you are more
relaxed.

6. Interpreting Your BEST Scores
 No style is better than another style. Each style
has strengths and vulnerable areas. Some styles
are more effective in some settings, but if you
learn to be flexible you can adapt your style to be
successful in other settings. If you have a desire
to develop your skills you can. It only requires
time and effort.
 This tool helps you to take the first step in
becoming self-aware so that you may begin the
journey and get the most out of this course.

7. My BEST Presentation Style
Bold Presenter

8. The Bold Presentation Style
Strengths Vulnerable Spots
Employs a dynamic  Tells Exciting Stories
style of delivery  Comes across as
 Provides Practical insensitive
Information  Reflects inadequate
 Tells Exciting Stories preparation and
rehearsal

9. To develop ethical public speaking
skills:
 Remember the speech is not about you. It is
about your audience.
 Always analyze your audience.
 Use the results of your audience analysis to make
your speech significant and relevant for your
audience.
 Soften your use of language and vocal quality to
connect with your audience.
 Use a less daring delivery style to avoid
intimidating your audience.
 Since you like to get to the point, you tend to
have clear main points but sufficient supporting

10. Adjusting to an online environment:
 Since adapting to an audience in real time is a
vulnerable spot for you, it might be very easy for you
to disregard your audience entirely in an online
environment.
 Spend time designing your audience analysis surveys
to uncover valuable information to help you design
speeches that are significant and relevant for your
audience.
 Use the online environment to help you improve your
ability to demonstrate sensitivity for your audience by
reviewing your recorded video before you upload the
final presentation.
 Solicit a trusted friend to review your speech video to
provide feedback on whether your speech appears
too blunt and straightforward. Based upon the

11. My BEST Presentation Style
Expressive Presenter

12. The Expressive Presentation Style
Strengths Vulnerable Spots
 “Good talker”  Tends to talk “off the
 Good with people cuff”
 Enthusiastic delivery  Wastes time talking
 “Paints word  Overly Optimistic
pictures” that clearly  Overuses emotional
illustrate points appeals
 Likes speaking  Lacks practical and
factual information

13. To develop ethical public speaking
skills:
 Use your research skills to locate valid and
reliable factual support for your presentation.
 Present and allow equal time to all sides of an
issue even when it conflicts with your personal
viewpoints.
 Adjust your enthusiastic delivery style to support
the verbal message of the presentation and to be
compatible with audience expectations. Appear
too enthusiastic may cause the audience to
distrust you.
 Remember to respect your audience by
respecting the time range for your presentation.
Practice to stay within the time range.

14. Adjusting to an online environment:
 Since you are generally great at reading the emotional
response of your audience in real time you will need to
adapt your style to an online audience using this
classroom format.
 Use the online communication tools frequently to get to
know your audience.
 Design audience analysis surveys and carefully analyze
the results so that you become comfortable uploading
presentations for your online audience.
 Try the technique of visualizing your audience to help you
“feel “their presence.
 Since you have a natural tendency to speak until your
voice is tired, not respecting time restraints; practice and
make sure that your speech fits within the time range. If so,
you should have no problem uploading video to the
technology used to support this online class. If not, the

15. My BEST Presentation Style
Sympathetic Presenter

16. The Sympathetic Presentation Style
Strengths Vulnerable Spots
 Trustworthy  Low key delivery style
 Good Listener  Resists giving
presentations

17. To develop ethical public speaking
skills:
 Develop confidence by managing your public
speaking anxiety by (1) practicing so that you can
project confidence and have your nonverbal
physical behavior support your verbal content;
and (2) by making sure that you obtain sufficient
information about the guidelines for your
presentation to avoid surprises and/or sudden
changes.
 Develop your nonverbal vocal qualities by using
vocal variations to demonstrate dynamism and
enthusiasm.

18. Adjusting to an online environment:
 You are naturally a good listener but you must
practice listening to your online audience by actively
engaging in the weekly discussion posts.
 Carefully review results of audience analysis surveys.
 Confirm guidelines for the presentation with your
professor to increase your level of confidence.
 Make sure you know how to use technology to record
and upload your presentation video to avoid causing
additional anxiety.
 Solicit a trusted friend to review your speech video to
provide feedback on whether you vary your vocal
inflections so that you sound lively and enthusiastic.
Based upon the feedback you receive consider
rerecording.

19. My BEST Presentation Style
Technical Presenter

20. The Technical Presentation Style
Strengths Vulnerable Spots
 Logical /Systematic  Overly concerned with
 Accurate details
 May lecture and
 Precise/factual
sound boring
 Plans and
rehearses
 Professional
appearance

21. To develop ethical public speaking
skills:
 Use more human examples to relate your topic
to audience. Your speeches focus on logical
appeals. Incorporate some emotional appeals.
 Develop the human side of your speech by
designing and reviewing audience analysis
surveys to be able to make your topic relevant
and significant for your audience.
 Use audience analysis surveys to help you
distinguish between the facts that are relevant for
the audience and the ones that are not.
 Solicit a trusted friend to review your speech
video to provide feedback on whether your
speech sounds monotonous and lacks pitch
variation. If so, consider rerecording.

22. Adjusting to an online environment:
 Even in real time you have difficulty realizing that
the speech is for the audience and not that the
audience is just a receptacle to absorb the facts.
Try visualizing real people in your audience rather
than robots.
 Remind yourself that people are in your audience
by listening to the weekly discussion posts.
 Carefully review results of audience analysis
surveys.
 When recording your speech use more direct eye
contact by looking into the camera since you
have a tendency to want to read your notes to
avoid forgetting your facts. Remember you may
use only one side of one note card not larger than

23. Sympathetic Presentation
Style
Speaker that exemplifies this
style: Mr. Rodgers
Link to sample video

24. Expressive Presentation Style
Speaker that exemplifies this
style: Actress Julia Roberts
Link to sample video

25. Bold Presentation Style
Speaker that exemplifies this
style: Nancy Pelosi
Link to video speech

26. Technical Presentation Style
Speaker that exemplifies this
style: 1992 Presidential
Candidate Ross Perot
Link to sample video