BS13310 Research and Communication Skills Dr. Mike Winson Presentation skills

Presenting information Essay Lab report Web page (2 nd year) Abstract Poster (or projected PowerPoint poster) Spoken presentation Group presentation PowerPoint presentation

Spoken presentations PowerPoint presentation BS13310 research and communication skills assignment Semester 2 (10% of module) Information retrieval and dissemination techniques Similar approach to essay Group peer assessment

Key areas Preparation The presentation Delivery Visual aids

Preparation Know your subject! Identify objective of talk and audience 1 clear “message” Main points relating to the message Write out talk but do not “script” it. Cue cards? PRACTISE

The presentation Introduce yourself and the talk What you will talk about -intro The subject –main body What you have spoken about – conclusion KEEP TO TIME Approx 1 minute per slide 5 minute talk = 5 slides +title and acknowledgement slide.

Presenting material - appearance Be professional and look the part Arrive early Smile! Be enthusiastic Good posture Don’t chew gum Remove your hat

Presenting material - spoken Speak clearly - avoid monotone and Vicky Pollard style language Look up and face the audience Don’t rush Effective pauses Avoid blocking or talking to screen

Posture & Gesticulation Stand upright Use ‘body language’ Use hands (but not too much!) Reduce annoying habits Don’t fidget Look interested

Presenting material - slides Keep it simple Summarize information (graphs / tables) Slides –less is better Use relevant headings Use standard slide design (why?) Be consistent Use appear / greying out for lists

Avoid too much information It is very tempting to put all the information you would like to convey to the audience onto a single slide, especially if time is limited. Unfortunately you then just read from the slides rather than talking around the points you have presented on the slide. Summarise what you wish to say into a couple of words or very short sentence. Summarise Use VISUAL CUES

Visual cues

Visual information

When presenting material Introductory slide Name, subject, module etc Set out your aims for the talk Assume the audience knows nothing Be organised & prepared Don’t apologise !

Presenting material Avoid irrelevant subject material Restrict animation Colours Simple backgrounds Don’t go over time Poor choice of colour combinations

Slides Edit slides Consistency of font, slide layout etc. Spelling!

‘Take home message’ Summarise key points Acknowledgements if applicable Say ‘Thank you for listening’ Stay at the front Chairperson will ask for questions

Dealing with questions Attempt to answer Don’t know the answer? Expand your answer (not just ‘Yes/No’) Can enter dialogue with questioner eg ‘Good point’ Do not argue –save it for later! Consider using a handout sheet Discuss future possibilities

Annoying things that are difficult to control Reliability of computer equipment The web Latecomers Absentees Audience noise Audience asleep Mobile phones, iPods Computer Messaging etc etc

Continual improvement Reducing ‘errs and erms’ Avoiding difficult words Not getting ahead of the slides Not relying on slides Not losing the plot!

Practice makes perfect Take every opportunity to present Extra information in: ‘Giving a spoken presentation’ Chapter 15 (p87) Reed et al Practical Skills…

Remaining lectures Careers Very important –even at this stage Register will be taken