Making Presentations 1

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” R.W. Emerson 2

Outline 1 structure of a presentation 2 manner of presenting 3 using the visual aids 4 language we use 5 tips for making presentation 6 typical mistakes 3

Introduction Welcoming Introducing the subject Explaining the structure of your presentation 4

Introducing the topic I’m going to tell you about/to give you a talk on … This morning, I’d like to outline the … In today’s lecture I’ll focus on … 5

Giving a plan of your talk I’ve divided my presentation into three parts. Firstly, I’ll give you the background/definition to … Secondly, I’ll discuss the … Finally, I’ll talk you through the … or My talk is in three parts. I’ll start with the background to …, move on to … and finish with the... or My presentation will be given in four parts. The first part deals with... The second part relates to... The third part concerns... And the last part discusses…. 6

Inviting Queries If there’s anything you’re not clear about, go ahead and ask any questions you want. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to interrupt me. I would be glad to answer your questions after the talk. 7

Arresting your audience’s attention telling a personal story, offering an amazing fact, using a quotation, asking a question or stating a problem 8

Opening Phrases To begin with, I would like to talk about a principle of... I think it would be best to start out by looking at some pictures/facts/figures... The first thing I would like to talk about is the definition of the terms which I’ll use in my presentation. 9

Shifting to the next point Well, let's move on to the next point. We will now come to the second issue. Turning to the next question, I'll talk about... Now let’s turn our attention to the third topic. Now, let's move away from the first part and switch over to the next part of my presentation. 10

Shifting to the next point Next, I would like to turn to a more difficult problem. The next point I'd like to talk about is … That brings me to my second point. Well, I've told you about... Now we'll move on to... That's all I have to say about... Let me turn now to... We've looked at... Let's look now at... So much for... I'd like now to discuss... 11

Signaling conclusion In conclusion,... Right, let's sum up, shall we? I'd like now to recap... Let's summarize briefly what we've looked at... Finally, let me remind you of some of the issues we've covered... If I can just sum up the main points... 12

Conclusion Briefly summarise your main points Answer questions Thank the audience for listening Wind up 13

Conclusion The end should be on a strong or postive note. Try something along these lines: Hang-gliding is brilliant, so try it – you’ll believe a man can fly! The danger is increasing – if we don’t all act soon it could be too late! 14

Speaking manner speak twice as loud and half the speed of the normal conversation, vary your tone throughout the talk, flow your eye contact across the audience, use specific language rather than slang and general terms 15

Body language and posture good posture (we have more power and energy when we stand erect), effective body language supports the message, positive facial expression can build a connection with your audience. Eye contact is the crucial element in this process. 16

General recommendations 17

Visual aids Ensure that the slides look good (a consistent format, typeface and readable colours plus a chronological number given to each slide). The first slide should announce the title of your presentation, your name and position. You should try to make the title catchy, so that you immediately have the interest of your audience. 18

Visual aids The second slide should seize the attention of your audience. It could be the central proposition of your presentation or a conventional wisdom that you wish to challenge or a relevant or witty quote from a leader in your field. 19

Visual aids The third slide should set out the structure of your presentation (three issues on average). Each theme should be the subject of a small number of slides (again three is a good number). Each slide should have a clear heading. 20

Visual aids Each bullet point should consist of an intelligible phrase. Make appropriate use of pictures. The last slide should set out all appropriate contact details. (The students can use the title slide to remind the topic and personal details to the audience) 21

Final recommendations Use humour/anecdotes/funny pictures to bring the statistics, facts, and figures that you need to deliver to drive them home. 22

Final recommendations Going From Good to Great The next time you deliver a presentation, ask a trusted colleague in the audience to give you feedback afterward. If the feedback shows that you need help, hire a private presentation skills coach because you need these skills for your successful career. 23

Referring to a slide On this slide, you can see … This slide demonstrates … This table on the slide presents … The diagram on this slide depicts … The figure is taken from …, by Dr Brown The diagram is after that of Prof. Black with some modification 24

Typical mistakes According to the English language tradition you first give your Christian name, then your family name. Don’t put the text of your report on the slide. You can only place the bullet notes. When listing things use verbs or gerunds (not nouns). Don’t forget to numerate slides, it will be easier to refer to them later during the discussion. 25

Thank you for attention! 26

PS For those curious I would recommend to learn about the girl effect in presentation. It is easy to track it down in the Internet. You will be rewarded for your efforts! 27