“Making
Presentation”
Start preparing early; don't wait until
the last few days to prepare
prepare it early, let it rest a little bit
and come back to it
practice your entire presentation-including
your slides
if you can practice it before a group of
colleagues or friends
Think about Your
Audience:
who are they and why are they here;
what are their interests;
what do they know; what do they want to know;
what is a worthwhile investment in their time
Be
clear about your purpose:
are you informing
or persuading;
tell them what you are going to do, tell
them, tell them what you told them;
what do you want the audience to know, feel,
or believe afterwards
Use an Effective
Introduction:
orient the audience; explain why it is
important; set the tone,
establish a relationship between the speaker
and the audience; establish credibility;
avoid weak introductions such as apologies,
jokes, rhetorical questions
Organize your
presentation clearly and simply:
·
Prioritize
topics and allocate time accordingly
·
stick
to only 3-5 main points;
·
have
a well thought pattern (examples are problem/solution, chronological,
cause and effect, topical); use transitions to move smoothly from one point to
the next
Use supporting
materials to flesh out main points
Use examples, statistics, expert opinions,
anecdotes
Compose for the
Ear, not for the Eye:
use simple words, simple sentences, markers,
repetition, images, personal language ("You" and "I")
Create an Effective
Conclusion:
summarize, set final image, provide closure;
don't trail off, don't use trite phrases
don't just present data or summarized results
and leave the audience to draw its own conclusions
you have had much more time to work with your
information than your audience; share your insight and understanding and tell
them what you've concluded from your work
Sound spontaneous,
conversational, enthusiastic-
use key phrases in your notes so you don't
have to read, use the overhead instead of notes;
vary volume, don't be afraid of silence,
don't use fillers like "um"...
Practice, Practice, Practice
Use Body Language
Effectively:
relaxed
gestures, eye contact; don't play with a pen or pointer,
don't
block visual aids
Use Visual Aids to
Enhance the Message:
you will probably need to use overhead
transparencies in your presentation but to be effective, they must be designed
and used properly
use visuals to reinforce and clarify, not
overwhelm;
keep visual aids uncluttered; use titles to
guide the audience
if you use tapes or disks, make sure the
equipment is compatible
Analyze the
Environment:
check out size of room, placement of chairs,
time of day, temperature, distractions
check out AV equipment ahead of time; have a
spare bulb
2) Useful language
for making a presentation
1.MAKING
A START -
Introducing yourself and your talk
Greeting, name, position:
-
Good morning. My name’s (…). I’m ( the manager … ).
-
Ladies and gentlemen. It’s an honour to have the opportunity to address
such
a distinguished audience.
-
Good morning. Let me start by saying just a few words about my
background.
I started out in ...
-
Welcome to (…). I knew I’ve met some of you, but just for the benefit of
those I haven’t, my name’s (…).
Title / subject
- I’d
like to talk (to you) today about …
- I’m
going to present the recent … ( explain
our position on …)
brief you on …; (inform you about / describe… )
focus presentation
topic paper (academic) ; speech (usually to public audience)
Purpose / Objective
- We
are here today to decide … ( agree
…; learn about …)
- The
purpose of this talk is to update you on … ( put you in the picture
about …; give you the background to …)
-
This talk is designed to act as a springboard for discussion.
Start the ball rolling.
Length
- I
shall only take (…)
minutes of your time.
- I
plan to brief. -
This should be only last (…) minutes.
Outline / Main parts
-
I’ve divided my presentation/talk into four parts/sections. They are (…).
- The
subject can be looked at under the following headings: (…).
- We
can break this area down into the following fields:
Firstly / first of all …
Secondly / then / next …
Thirdly / and then we come to …
Finally / lastly / last of all ...
Questions
- I’d
be glad to answer any questions at the end of my talk.
- If
you have any questions, please feel free to interrupt.
-
Please interrupt me if there’s something which needs clarifying.
Otherwise, there’ll be time for discussion at
the end.
Reference to the audience
- I
can see many of you are …;
- I
know you’ve all travelled a long way.
- You
all look as though you’ve heard this before.
- As
I’m sure you know … ; -
You may remember …
- We
have all experienced … - As I’m sure we’d all agree …
2.
LINKING THE PARTS
– Linking ideas
Sequencing / Ordering
-
Firstly … secondly … thirdly
… ;
-
Then … next … finally
/ lastly …
-
Let’s start with …; -
So that covers .... -
Let’s move/go on to … ;
- Now
we come to … ; - That brings
us to … - Let’s leave that (there)… ;
- That
covers … - Let’s get back to …; … and turn to …
Giving reasons / causes: Therefore
/ so; as a result; that’s why ;
Contrasting: But; however;
Comparing: similarly; in the same way;
Contrasting: in fact; actually;
Summarizing: to sum up; in brief / in short;
Concluding: in conclusion; to conclude;
Highlighting: in particular; especially;
Digressing: By the way ; in passing;
Giving examples: For example / for instance; such as;
4.VISUAL
AIDS * (No 6)
1.
Use Key Phrases About Your Topic
2.
Slide Layout is Important
3.
Limit Punctuation and Avoid All Capital Letters
4.
Avoid Fancy Fonts
5.
Use Contrasting Colors For Text and Background
6.
Use Slide Design Templates Effectively
7.
Limit the Number Of Slides
8.
Use Photos, Charts and Graphs
9.
Avoid Excessive Use of Slide Transitions and Animations
10.
Make Sure Your Presentation Can Run On Any Computer
5.
BODY LANGUAGE –
Emphasizing and minimizing
Emphasizing - Strong adverbs intensify
adjectives.
-Total
adverbs: absolutely (fantastic); completely (awful); entirely (depressing);
-
Very strong adverbs: extremely (good); very (bad);
-
Moderate adverbs: fairly (safe); reasonable
(expensive); quite (cheap);
Minimizing / Modifying
- It
seems; appear(s); just;
a bit;
-
Perhaps; might; tend to;
- To some
extend;
6.
FINISHING OFF - Endings
Signalling the end
-
That brings me to the end of my presentation.
-
That completes my presentation. - Before
I stop / finish, let me just say …
-
That covers all I wanted to say today.
Summarizing
- Let
me just run over the key points again.
-
I’ll briefly summarize the main issues. -
To sum up … - Briefly …
Concluding
- As
you can see, there are some very good
reasons … - In conclusion …
- I’d
like to leave you with the following thought / idea.
Recommending
- So,
I would suggest that we … -
I’d like to propose … (more formal).
- In
my opinion, the only way forward is …
Closing
-
Thanks. - Thank you for your attention.
-
Thank you for listening. - I hope you will have gained an insight into
…
Inviting questions
- I’d
be glad to try and answer any questions.
- So,
let’s throw it open to questions. -
Any questions?
7.
QUESTION TIME –
Asking and answering questions.
Welcoming a question
- Go
ahead / Please do / Certainly.
-
That’s a good question. -
That’s interesting.
Clarifying a question
- If
I understand you correctly, you are saying / asking …
- I
didn’t quite catch that. -
Could you go over that again?
- I’m
not sure what you’re getting at.
Avoiding giving an answer / or taking time to think before
answering
-
Perhaps we could deal with that later.
- Can
we talk about that on another occasion?
- I’m
afraid that’s not my field. -
I don’t have the figures with me.
- I’m
sure Mr. (…) could answer that question.
-
That’s interesting, but I’d prefer not to answer that today.
Checking the questioner is satisfied
-
Does that answer your question? - Is
that clear? - May we go on?
