1. Presenting to an Academic Audience
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2. In surveys of what people fear most and causes stress, public speaking is mentioned more often than anything else (it’s up there with poisonous snakes, sharks, divorce or death).
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3. However,
the individual strategies and skills involved in presenting in public require no special talent, just careful planning and practise, which will abate fear.

4. Know your purpose
Educate (will the other students have prepared about your topic as much as you?)
Persuade?
Convince?
Challenge people’s thinking?

5. You can tame the presentation process by breaking it into three areas:
WHO (engagement with the audience)
WHAT (content, structure and organisation)
HOW (visuals, fonts, and presentation performance)

6. WHO? Communicating with any audience
Engage your audience
With Enthusiasm
And Energy

7. WHAT? Structure your presentation so it is easy for the audience to follow
The introduction introduces yourself, the topic, and captures the audience’s attention
How can you do this?
In your thoughts and tone, answer the question,
SO WHAT?
What is important about your topic?
What is the relevance of it?

8. WHAT? Structure your presentation so it is easy for the audience to follow
The body develops the theme and provides supporting evidence
Organise these main points of evidence into clear sections
Give or demonstrate examples
Refer to your introductory main topic throughout to remind your audience of the purpose

9. WHAT? Structure your presentation so it is easy for the audience to follow
The conclusion reinforces the main points and contains no new evidence.
Again, reinforce the importance and relevance of your presentation topic
Don’t forget the transition signals to alert your audience that you are coming to the end
To sum up…
As I come to the conclusion…

10. Know your content Be very well prepared
When using power point, just use slides as a prompt – don’t read every word. Images are usually more powerful
Don’t read your presentation – speak to your audience. You will know more than you think!
Have main headings on a sheet of paper. Use the headings as prompts
Use visual aids – this takes the pressure off you.

11. concise and consistent Don’t write down every word
Visuals
Make visuals BIG, clear,
concise and consistent
Don’t write down every word
Don’t clutter your slide – separate information over as many slides as you can
Reference your images as well as citations
Include a reference list slide at the end if you have used references
Image Source: Mathematical Chemistry

12. HOW? Sound and animations
If they are useful, use them
If they are not, then don’t
know your audience
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13. Use transition markers
HOW? SIGNPOSTING
Use transition markers
‘…that covers the key aspects of the theory. Now let’s look at how the theory may be applied and how it operated in practice….’
verbal signals such as
“There are 3 methods I will explore and explain today”
“At the end of my presentation, there will be time for questions and comments”.
“I’ll now give you an example of each”
“Before I end this presentation, I would like to emphasise…”

14. Be EXCITED about your presentation Be INTERESTED in your presentation
HOW? ON THE DAY!
Be EXCITED about your presentation
Be INTERESTED in your presentation
Be PRESENT!

15. Moving on… THE DREADED QUESTION TIME
Know that there is interest in your presentation when ??? are posed
Strategies for handling ‘tricky’ questions
Firstly, assess whether the question is relevant – if it isn’t, politely explain that this aspect was not part of your topic
‘Play tennis’ – hit the ball back to the audience
“That’s interesting. Do you have any thoughts on that? Does anyone else in the group have an opinion/idea/answer to this?
“That’s interesting. I’ll look into that and anyone who’s interested to know more about it”.
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16. Assessment Evaluation Criteria
Study marking guide thoroughly at start of preparing
Use it as a guide to prepare
Use it as an indicator of where to allocate most emphasis and time
Use it to cross check whether you have left anything out.

17. Does not meet expectations
Meets expectations
Exceeds expectations
Mark
Introduction of topic
Topic introduced.
Topic introduced clearly, and purpose of talk was made clear.
Topic introduced clearly and in an interesting way. Purpose of talk was made clear. Outline of points was given. /5
Development of topic
Some understanding of topic shown. Some links and connections made between ideas. Points are usually developed with minimum detail. Information is usually relevant.
Good understanding of topic shown. Links and connections between ideas made clear. Information was relevant and expressed in own words. Points were developed with sufficient and appropriate details.
A very good understanding of the topic shown. Links and connections between ideas made clear. Information was relevant and well expressed in own words. Points were well-organised and developed with sufficient and appropriate details.
/20
Technical accuracy
There were some inconsistencies within the information presented and no explanation was provided.
Method, assumptions and analysis were consistent with no apparent anomalies.
Method, assumptions and analysis were consistent. Limitations were recognised.
/15
Voice: clarity, pace, fluency Pronunciation
Presenter occasionally spoke clearly and at a good pace.
Pronunciation occasionally correct, but often hesitant and inaccurate.
Presenter usually spoke clearly to ensure audience comprehension. Delivery was usually fluent.
Pronunciation and intonation is usually correct.
Presenter spoke clearly and at a good pace to ensure audience comprehension. Delivery was fluent and expressive.
Pronunciation and intonation is correct and confident.
/10
Visual aids
Slides were unclear and/or wordy.
Clear, concise and effective.
Clear, concise and effective. Good use of diagrams or other visuals.
Conclusion of topic
An attempt was made to conclude the presentation.
The presentation was summed up clearly.
The presentation was summed up clearly and effectively, with key points emphasised.
Answering questions
Not all questions could be answered. Questions answered with difficulty, and little knowledge of the topic was demonstrated.
Most questions answered. Answers showed good knowledge and understanding of the topic. Language was mainly correct.
Questions answered with little difficulty. Very good knowledge of the topic was demonstrated. Language was correct and fluent.
Timing
Too short or Stopped by Chair
On time (+/- 1min)
Total
/100

18. Why is presenting SO STRESSFUL?
All Performance is Stressful!
It’s NORMAL to feel anxious.
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19. But there’s good news about STRESS
There’s a healthy stress! It’s called EUSTRESS
It’s the sensation that athletes experience before the big race and musicians experience before the big performance.
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20. Immediately before the Performance
Do some physical exercise
Yawn, stretch, roll your head and shoulders, massage your earlobes!
Meditate, breathe
Exercise your vocal chords, sing!
Visualise yourself giving a brilliant presentation.
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21. During the Performance – body language
Claim your space – you are entitled to speak
Establish eye contact with sympathetic or interested members of the audience
Use relaxed ‘open’ gestures to connect with your audience
Smile (this not only encourages reciprocal smiles from your audience, but also reduces facial tension).

22. During the Performance
Remember that your audience does not want you to fail
Audiences are tolerant of ‘glitches’ in your presentation
If you make a mistake, apologise, forget it, and move on.

23. After the Performance
Even though you may feel relieved that it’s over, it is very important to exercise Reflective Practice!
Write your own constructive criticism of the ‘Before’ and ‘During’ of your Presentation.
What would you do similarly and what would you do differently the following time?
Use your self reflection to highlight the successes of your presentation.

24. In a nutshell – Before, During & After
Find out about your audience, their interests, their level of knowledge, their needs
Know and believe in your topic
Rehearse, if possible in the venue where you’ll be presenting
Build in a time cushion
Check out equipment.

25. Conclusion – Time Factor and Reflection
Factor in the time allowance during your initial planning
Never go over the time allowance – (unless it’s your PhD examiners and they are so interested they are asking a lot of questions!)
It is easier to slow down delivery than to speed it up
Consider what would you do similarly and what would you do differently the following time?
Use your self reflection to highlight the successes of your presentation.
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26. Resources for Presentations
For more ideas on giving an oral presentation
Learn online University of Canberra
Oral Presentation Rubric
Learning Lab RMIT
PechaKucha 20x20

27. Any questions?
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