1. How to present your ideas effectively
Presentation Skills
How to present your ideas effectively
This session provides some basic pointers that will help you to identify a suitable topic and question for your EP.
Even if you already have a topic in mind, the session will offer you tools to use to refine and focus your theme and the questions you ask – it may also lead you to develop ideas you hadn’t considered yet.
It’s crucial to put some time and energy into this choice in order that you can make the most of project, and hopefully avoid regretting your choice when it’s too late and you’re most of the way through.
You may need to revisit some of the activities after the session, or take more time away to reflect or discuss your ideas with friends or teachers – so don’t feel that you need to have reached any final decisions over the next 40 or so minutes

2. Presentation Skills
This presentation aims to develop your presentations skills.
The tasks you will complete as part of the workshop will
help you to develop in the following areas.
Presentation delivery
Communication with an audience
Presentation planning
Sharing of ideas/ opinions
Personal confidence !

3. Why give a talk? Most effective way of getting your point across
Valuable transferable skill that a future employer will greatly value
Often part of an interview process
Builds confidence
Being able to give a good and clear presentation to a public audience is a skill that you and your future employer will value greatly in a wide range of situations. Presentation skills, alongside writing and research skills, teamwork, and time management, are key transferable skills, which will have relevance to your future career in whatever field that may be. Prospective employers expect reference to these key skills in references, and short presentations are increasingly used as part of an interview process.
So, when you are asked to give a talk, think about how to develop the skills involved in doing this – not just about the topic you will be talking about.
To give a talk, you research a lot and you have to know your work inside out so this process makes you more confident in the subject you are going to talk about. Not only is standing up in front of the audience is scary and personal, but it can be difficult. The only way to get less scared is to do it.

4. Opening Thoughts What are your worries around giving presentations?
What do you enjoy about giving presentations?
How do you feel about giving a talk? Do you think it will be scary or do you think it will be fun. So to reflect on it lets do some exercise.
Activity 1 (5-10 mins)
A) In pairs, chat to your partner about an example of a really inspiring or effective talk you can remember watching or attending.
There must have been a teacher that you really liked for his/her teaching style OR a speech from a public figure that you enjoyed or a lecture/talk that you attended and you felt the speaker was extraordinary OR may be heard a recording of a sand up comedian. Thinking about what it has been like for you to be in the audience for a talk should help you consider what works well and not so well.
List some characteristics of the most interesting or inspirational talks that you remember:
B) People have different strengths when it comes to writing and speaking. For instance you are naturally witty. And you love to face audience and are glad to prepare a talk because you find that you are much better at explaining things aloud than you are at writing them down. OR You may be very happy just getting on with written assignments, so identifying your strengths and weaknesses early on will help to work on your weaknesses and improve on it.
What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses if you have to deliver a talk?

5. Preparation Good preparation = good presenting
It is very important to be prepared before a presentation!
It is crucial that you know what you are going to talk about and that you have prepared yourself in advance. This goes without saying – but so long as you are prepared you can be confident that you know what you are doing and you will feel more relaxed about giving the presentation.

6. Preparation What do you think you need to consider/
think about before giving a presentation?
- Audience
- Content
- Technique
Up to slide mins,
Who are your audience?
What will your presentation be about?
Content – What is the presentation about? How are you going to introduce the topic? What are you going to say about it? Technique – How will you deliver your presentation?

7. Audience Who is your audience?
What age are they? What values do they have?
Do they have any prior knowledge of the subject?
How will they respond to your presentation?
What is your goal in relation to this audience?
To be perceived by the audience as credible and qualified to speak about your subject
(Potential Exercise – time dependent)
Open Question (Think-Share): Who is your audience?
Failing to consider your audience may lead to them feeling:
Alienated – if you offend their values
Insulted – if you don’t pitch the presentation at the right level for their prior experience and knowledge
Confused – if you assume they have knowledge that they actually don’t
Bored – if you don’t relate the topic to their interests
Patronised – if you use an inappropriate style
Question: What questions should you ask yourself about your audience?
e.g. who will attend? By choice or compulsory? Pro, neutral or anti? Level of understanding? Expectations? Understand discipline jargon?

8. Content What is the presentation about?
How are you going to introduce the topic?
What are you going to say about it?
Are you going to discuss your thoughts and opinions on the topic? How will you support the points you make?
What information will you include and what information will you choose not to include? (This is of course affected by how much time you have).
When you’re looking at what to put into your presentation, always keep in mind the audience and the main objective and the time allocation.
It is very important to explain things clearly, back up points you make with evidence/ support your arguments. Only include necessary information/ try not to veer of the point. Maintain focus on topic and what you have planned to say.

9. Activity
Lets do a small exercise to explore how you might adapt your presentation to ensure its suitable for your audience.
Activity 2 (10mins)
You will be given information on photosynthesis or water cycle.
Your teacher will split you into groups, each group will prepare for one of the following audiences:
A) students from your year studying a range of subjects
B) students all in Year 8
C) family members of yourself and your peers (for instance other members of your EP group)
Prepare a short verbal explanation about water cycle OR photosynthesis in about 100 words if your audience is: your peers, secondly students in Y8 and thirdly family members.

10. Remember
Don’t try to do too much
Cover only what you’ve been asked

11. Using PowerPoint
Powerpoint can be a useful tool for delivering presentations, BUT don’t get carried away!
Make sure your slides are clear and not too text-heavy
Only include relevant information
Use at least 14 point font otherwise not everyone will be able to read it.

12. Using Powerpoint for presentations
Make it consistent – use the same fonts throughout
Don’t read the words as they are on the slides, your audience can probably read.
Avoid using tacky animations and colours/fonts that make it hard to read.

13. Tell them, tell them, tell them…
Structure
Beginning
Tell them what you’re going to tell them…
Introductions, main points, set the scene
Middle (main part)
Tell them what you told them you’d tell them…
Main points and supporting evidence, recap, make it flow
End
…tell them what you told them!
Restate main points, tell them how they’ve benefited, questions
It is important to have structure to the presentation and to stay focused on the main objective.
Introduce yourself, the topic and what your presentation will include
Then do exactly as you have said you will do and talk about the topic, make your points, explain and support what you say.
At the end, sum up by reinstating the main points you have made and what the audience should have learned.

14. Refine and prepare Decide the main headings for the talk
Choose subheadings
Decide the number of slides
Write brief notes onto prompt cards

15. Visual Aids Handouts Quiz sheets or audience polls
Flipchart paper/white board
Power point slides and projector
Present prototype or object of interest
Pictures/movies/posters
Audio music, radio clips or your own recording
you may decide to distribute handouts. If you decide on one keep it short and use bullets points.
a few questions to facilitate audience participation to reinforce key points may be a good warm up or conclusion activity.
Flip chart paper/white or black board
Power point slides and projector
Present prototype or object of interest
Pictures/movies/posters
You may use audio music or radio clips or your own recording
Power point sides are one of the most commonly used, popular and most effective visual aid used these days. So we will deal with this in a bit detail and talk about some do’s and don’ts.

16. Technique Body Language What do you think you need to consider in
relation to body language when giving
presentation?

17. Body Language Posture Closed or Open Personal space Attitude
Eye contact
Audience awareness
Upright posture
Don’t look defensive – relax! Eg don’t cross your arms!
Allow enough space between you and the audience
Have a friendly/ approachable attitude
Try and maintain eye contact with different audience members when you are talking – don’t look over people's heads or at your feet!
Be aware of your audience – are they becoming distracted – do they look happy? Do they look confused. You may want to stop and check that everyone is clear on the point you are making or if anyone has any questions?

18. Voice and Delivery Control – practise Keep audience interested Voice
Don’t read from a script
Project your voice
Use pauses and silences
Speak slowly and clearly –practise speaking slowly and clearly!
You will stay in control of the material if you know it! Practise it a number of times before the event. Make sure it is practised out loud, don’t rehearse in your head – WHY?
- often it will not be a clear understanding of time taken
- only verbally can you find out what phrases work and what will become tongue-twisters!

19. Only answer the question Politely check the answer was ok
Handling Questions
Share the question
Think about the answer
Only answer the question
Politely check the answer was ok
Not everyone will have heard especially if they’re thinking about questions that they want to ask
Think on your feet but remember to try and think through the answer before you give it, you doln’t want to start waffling ……..
Don’t get sidetracked or go into huge amounts of detail. The question that you’re answering might only be interesting to a small number of people or even just to the person who asked it. You don’t want everyone else to get bored and you don’t to run over time.
Make sure that the person asking is happy with the way you’ve answered. They might want to ask a follow-up question or need further clarification. If necessary offer to discuss it with them further after the session has finished.
!!When presenting/ fielding questions - don’t be afraid to say that you don’t know the answer! You won’t know that answer to everything, and it is important to be honest, and not make anything up! It’s always fine to tell someone you’ll get back to them with the answer.

20. Activity How prepared are you (use the downloadable activity)
Activity 3 (10-20mins)
This can be used as an extension / homework exercise.
Handout Activity 3 worksheets
Take some time out now to prepare for your presentation breaking it down in the ways we have discussed during the workshop.