Preparing better presentations Adapted from: Sinfield, S & Burns, T Essential Study Skills: the complete guide to Sage, London 2003

Why do we set presentations? An active learning process As you plan, prepare, practice and perform and later reflect, you are really getting to grips with learning the material As you think about how to communicate a topic effectively to an audience, you are synthesizing & using information You are becoming familiar with the academic practices of your subject

It is an opportunity! It’s a different form of assessment And a job skill – often a presentation is part of the interview process It enhances your self esteem

Success in presentations The 4 “P”s Plan Prepare Practice Present P P P P

Plan Your time limit, your topic, your audience Then: Active & interactive reading to gather information Remember the value of Audio-Visual Aids Review your notes Plan the body of your presentation Convince yourself – if you don’t believe it, why should your audience?

Prepare As a group identify what you want to present and decide on the order Prepare a script – but destroy this later – if you read from it will sound boring and dull! Prepare a set of prompts such as: Cue cards A key word pattern note Key word list of points

Practice 1. Refine and polish 2. Review, revise, edit 3. Make sure any gaps are filled, boring bits tidied up overlong sentences shortened 4. Practice in front of a critical friend who will tell you what is working and what in unclear Learn The Presentation!

And finally – Present! Before – work on being positive Get to the room in good time Organise the seating – do you want the audience in rows, a semi- circle? Take care with both verbal and non-verbal signals/mannerisms Check the equipment is working – and have some back up material in case there is a problem

Questions and answers Ask the audience whether they have any questions If you do not understand the question ask for it to be rephrased If you do not know the answer concede this Keep answers brief

And then – reflect and learn It is useful to learn how to evaluate your presentation Write down what went well And what didn’t go well And ideas from other presentations you saw that might work for you next time……………..

Useful information sources Mintel reports market research reportshttp://reports.mintel.com Keynote sector reports Useful statistics Electronic journals library-services Emerald is a good source of information Athens authentication required – library helpdesk