MBA International Business Induction How to make an effective presentation Roger Bull Tutor in International Human Resource Management

Today We’ll be looking at how to make an effective presentation. This involves: Planning the presentation Creating the presentation Delivering the presentation 2

Let’s watch a short presentation Identify what you think: works well in the presentation could be improved

Planning a presentation As part of an assessment, are you clear about: What’s being asked for? The assessment criteria?

Planning a presentation Some simple questions: What’s the topic? What’s the purpose of the presentation? Who will you be presenting to? Who will present – individual or group? How long will the presentation last? Where will the presentation be made? How will questions be managed(during the presentation or at the end)?

Creating a presentation Some simple questions: What’s the content? How should it be structured? What audio-visual aids will be used?

Let’s create a PowerPoint presentation

Steps involved Topic and aims Audience and length Slide design and layout Font, font size and colour ClipArt and graphics Animations and slide transitions Importing material from other sources Including notes with the slides?

Topic and aims Topic: What is the topic of the presentation? Are you clear about this? Aims: To inform? To make the audience think about the topic? To persuade? To sell an idea? To set out a business case requiring a decision? Or some combination of these.

Audience and length What’s the audience’s existing knowledge about the topic? Is the language appropriate? Will pictures, tables or graphs help the audience? ‘Rule of thumb’ - 2 minutes per slide How much content can you cover in the available time? Have a ‘practice run’ to time your presentation

Creating a PowerPoint presentation Some simple questions: What slide design will you use? What basic slide layout will you use? What font, font size and colour will you use? Will you use graphics or ClipArt? How will you transition between slides? What animations will you use? Will you import material to your slides from other presentations or other sources? Will you include notes with the slides?

Slide design Standard Microsoft designs – background patterns and colours

Slide layout How information is grouped and displayed

Font, size & colour Needs to be easy to read: This is Segoe UI This is Arial This is Bella Donna This is carbon block This is Neuropol This is too large This is too small This looks just right

Font, size & colour Needs to be easy to read: This is Segoe UI This is Arial This is Bella Donna This is carbon block This is Neuropol This is too large This is too small This looks just right

ClipArt Microsoft’s own gallery of images Use to liven up a presentation Some ClipArt is animated

Graphics

Animations Introduce different parts of a single slide at different times - build up the overall picture Illustrate a complex issue without swamping your audience with everything at once Different types of animation One type of animation or different animations on the same slide Provide variety and movement Can be very distracting

Transitions Moving from one slide to the next Transitions include cutting, fading, wiping and others. Different transitions can add variety But can be distracting and irritating Try out before use

Importing material You can: construct your slide presentation from scratch import slides from another presentation import text and graphics from other sources

Adding notes to slides Notes: can be added to slides are not visible on the screen during the presentation can be printed off with the relevant slide as a handout act as an aid memoire as you make your presentation

Summary Some simple guidelines: Keep it simple – not too much information on one slide Use bullets to summarise what you’ll talk about Make sure the text can be read easily – check font, size and colour Make sure the background doesn’t make it difficult to pick out the important information Don’t overpower your audience with too many slides: remember the ‘rule of thumb’ – 2 minutes per slide

Delivering a PowerPoint presentation

What to consider Preparation Technology and room layout Presenter’s / presenters’ appearance Presenter’s / presenters’ behaviour Presentation flow – – Starting – Moving through the presentation – Ending Practice, practice, practice

Preparation Be sure: You know the content You know how much time you have Everyone knows his/her role and where to come in

Technology & room layout Be sure: The technology works – computer – projector – microphone – remote control You know how to use it Audience can see the screen Audience can hear the presenter(s)

Appearance & behaviour Be sure: You dress appropriately You look tidy You appear confident You make eye contact with all the audience You vary the tone of your voice You don’t rely too much on notes When presenting in a group, don’t loaf about when not presenting

Presentation flow Be sure: You know exactly how you want to start You get off to a confident start You move from one part of the presentation to another smoothly All the presenters know when to come on and go off You have a strong conclusion to the presentation – don’t just let it fade out Be prepared to answer questions on all aspects of the presentation

Practice, practice, practice………. Before ‘going live’ with your presentation: Practice making it as many times as possible Ask colleagues to sit in and provide feedback – what was good, what could be improved? Ask a colleague to video your presentation (most mobile phones can now do this), and play it back to yourselves Reflect on the presentation yourself – what went well, what didn’t go so well and could be improved?

Summary guidelines Make sure the laptop and projector work Make sure everyone in the room has an uninterrupted view of the screen and can hear you Don’t stand in front of the screen Face the audience, not the screen Try not to rely too much on notes – rehearse beforehand Ensure smooth transition between presenters Decide who will transition the slides

After the presentation

Afterwards Phew! Thank goodness that’s over Now learn from the experience - ask yourself (yourselves) and people who saw your presentation: – What went well? – What didn’t go se well? – What can I (we) do to improve future presentations? OK, now you can relax and celebrate!

Useful resources Documents: Videos: