Presentation Skills: The Do’s & Don’ts

Overview Purpose (Why we give presentations) Structure (How we give presentations) Preparation (What do we need to do before a presentation)

Let’s start with the purpose … The objective of the presentation is to transmit information and opinions to an audience in your own words, within a limited amount of time.

Tell the audience what Say it Tell the audience what you are going to say you said There are different ways of delivering a presentation, but the most effective and easiest to do well follows this simple rule: In order to follow this rule, there are certain structures that are commonly used when giving presentations.

Structure of a presentation ACADEMIC SKILL TIP: USEFUL LANGUAGE FOR PRESENTATIONS 1. Introducing e.g. Good morning, I’d like to welcome you all here today. 2. Statement of intent e.g. The purpose of this talk is to update you on … 3. Sequencing e.g. We can break this area down into the following fields: Summarising e.g. To sum up… 5.a)Inviting others to contribute e.g. So that explains our main point. Does anyone have any comments or questions? 5.b)Responding to feedback e.g. That’s a (very) good question. Let me answer that like this …

Preparation needed Define presentation task What is the purpose of the presentation? What is the purpose of the presentation? Who is the audience? Who is the audience? How long will the presentation be? How long will the presentation be? What aids are available? What aids are available? How long have you got to prepare? How long have you got to prepare? What will your topic be? What will your topic be?

Preparation needed Generate ideas What is interesting about this topic? What is interesting about this topic? What would the audience like to know? What would the audience like to know? What research has been done about this topic? What research has been done about this topic? What are the main stream and alternative views of this topic? What are the main stream and alternative views of this topic? Where do you stand on this topic and how will you support it? Where do you stand on this topic and how will you support it? What is controversial about it? What is controversial about it? What is surprising to you about the topic? What is surprising to you about the topic?

Preparation needed Collect information What important gaps are there in your knowledge? What important gaps are there in your knowledge? Where does your argument seem weakest? Where does your argument seem weakest? What important information do you need to develop your ideas? What important information do you need to develop your ideas? What could be the most valuable source of information and ideas on the topic? What could be the most valuable source of information and ideas on the topic?

Preparation needed Draft outline How many major points can the audience take in the time limit? How many major points can the audience take in the time limit? What are the most important points you need to get across? What are the most important points you need to get across? What is the best order for them? What is the best order for them? What would be an effective opening? What would be an effective opening? How will you conclude? How will you conclude? Is the overall structure clear and logical? Is the overall structure clear and logical? Hint: use cue cards to prepare your notes

Preparation needed Rehearse and evaluate Did you manage to complete the presentation in time? Did you manage to complete the presentation in time? Did you hold the audience’s interest? Did you hold the audience’s interest? Was the audience able to follow the presentation? Was the audience able to follow the presentation? If asked questions, could you answer them? If asked questions, could you answer them?

What to do now... The Do’s… Define your task Generate ideas Do research Make a draft of presentation Practise The Don’ts… Write a script for presentation Memorise Rely too much on your notes Panic Success !