Focusing for the Oral Presentation Gilberto Berríos Departamento de Idiomas Universidad Simón Bolívar April 27, 2004

Many Questions to Answer

Purposes F To introduce focusing as the first step of the oral presentation process F To show how answering certain questions will help you to achieve focus

Agenda F What is focus? F How is focus achieved?

Humans are bad estimators Procrastination People Preparation time Topic difficulty Our personal abilities Presentation time We tend to misjudge

Procrastinating F Procrastinating = putting off preparation for unjustified reasons F Procrastinating  underpreparedness  more anxious delivery  more fear of questions

Stop Procrastinating F One solution to procrastination is to start preparing as soon as possible. F The first thing to do is to give the presentation some focus.

What is focus? F “A point to which something converges or from which something diverges” F “A point in an optical system to which rays converge or from which they appear to diverge”

What is focus? Convergence: a center of interest

Focusing: Minor Questions F When—Day and time F How Long—Presentation plus Q&A F Where—Venue and type of room F What equipment—And access to it Don’t worry!

Focusing: Minor Questions F Answers to minor questions can be found relatively easily F Get straightforward answers from: –your boss –event organizers –administrators –colleagues

Focusing: Major Questions What Why Who How What for

Focusing: Major Questions Topic Motivation Audience Strategy Purpose

Focusing: What The Topic —What you will talk about F Familiar to you –If not, do some research and study F Partly unfamiliar to your audience –So they will be neither bored nor lost F Relevant to both

Focusing: Who The Audience —Who you will talk to F Who are they? F What do they do? F How many are coming? F What is their motivation? F How familiar is the topic to them? F …

Focusing: Why The Motivation —What moves you to talk F Motive(s) for giving the presentation F Must be clear to you F May be same as purpose, but not necessarily

Focusing: What for The Purpose —What you plan to achieve F Expresses your goal F Announces goal with a verb: “I’m here today to…” F Must be clear to you F Can be explicit or implicit, depending on strategy

Focusing: How The Strategy —How you will get organized F Strategy = Structure F Structure = Outline Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxx xxxx Xxxxx Xxx xxx Xxxxx

STAMP: Major questions F Topic F Audience F Motivation F Purpose F Strategy F Topic F Audience F Motivation F Purpose

Remember F First, get straightforward answers to minor focus questions F Then, use the acronym STAMP to gradually answer the major focus questions

Thank you