Scribd
Upload
242 views23 pages

Presentation Skills

This document provides guidance on presentation skills, covering topics such as preparation, media choices, delivery, and handling questions. Preparation involves structuring the presentation clearly, checking the audience background, and rehearsing timings. When choosing media, considerations include simplicity, control, and readability of slides. Effective delivery involves engaging the audience, pacing oneself, and responding to signals. For questions, the advice is to understand, clarify, provide a response while avoiding closing off discussion.

Uploaded by

api-27133856
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPS or read online on Scribd
242 views23 pages

Presentation Skills

This document provides guidance on presentation skills, covering topics such as preparation, media choices, delivery, and handling questions. Preparation involves structuring the presentation clearly, checking the audience background, and rehearsing timings. When choosing media, considerations include simplicity, control, and readability of slides. Effective delivery involves engaging the audience, pacing oneself, and responding to signals. For questions, the advice is to understand, clarify, provide a response while avoiding closing off discussion.

Uploaded by

api-27133856
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPS or read online on Scribd

Lecture 2:

Presentation skills

2.1 Preparation

2.2 Media choices

2.3 Delivery

2.4 Questions
1
Timetable
Week Date Topic Who and
Where
1 7 Oct 3-4pm Introduction All in 1L61
2 10 Oct 3-4pm Library skills (Sally Smith, Group 1 in Lib103
library)
3 17 Oct 3-4pm Library skills (Sally Smith, Group 2
library) in Lib103
4 28 Oct 2-3pm Presentation skills All in 1L61
3-4pm Student presentations
5 4 Nov 2-3pm Writing skills All in 1L61
3-4pm Student presentations

2
Preparation

3
Structure is all!
A clear, understandable structure to your talk
helps the audience to follow it:
• Hypothesis (introduction)
• Design of test (method)
• Results of test
• Conclusions

4
Check out your audience
• How many?
• Background?
• What do they know?
• What don’t they know?
• Aim at the student, not the expert!

5
Length of your talk
• Too much material – commonest error
• Rule of thumb: 2-3 minutes per slide
• One main point per slide
• Time is subjective! Speaker time, audience
time.
• Rehearse timings

6
Scripting your talk
• Don’t read a script
• Prepare one to rehearse timings (not more
than 100 words per minute)
• Use summary notes – cards?
• Visual aids are prompts but don’t design
them as such

7
Media

8
Choice of media
• Just talk! Audience just sleeps.
• OHP slides – quick, simple, low tech
• 35mm slides – elaborate preparation, loss of
control
• Powerpoint – compelling tramlines
• Whiteboard - complex argument
• Flipchart – interactive
9
Too much on one slide

10
Avoid tabulated data

11
Appropriate graphics settings

12
Ghastly colours & too much detail

13
Lazy and
illegible

14
Delivery

15
Before the talk
• If possible, have a rehearsal in the
lecture room
• Before session, make sure you are
familiar with equipment
• Practise where to stand, practise
use of pointer
16
Timing
• Before talk – make sure you can
see a clock or bring your watch
• Pace yourself
• Don’t let persistent questioner take
control

17
Being heard – engage audience

• Face audience, not screen!


• Head up, shoulders back
• Breathe from diaphram
• Address yourself to back row
• Use your hands
18
Respond to audience
• Keep eye contact (roving!)
• Watch the body language (boredom,
incomprehension, inappropriate
amusement)
• Respond to signals from the audience

19
Nerves
• It is natural to be a bit nervous
• Use that to help you
• Ensure you are physically comfortable
• Glass of water
• Most people are on your side!
• Relax tension with a joke or comment.
20
Questions

? 21
Handling questions
• Make sure you understand – repeat it
• Clarify question: “Do you mean…..
” (thinking time)
• Say something (positive)
• Try to avoid closing things off: “I haven’t
looked at that, but we did find that…..”

22
Questions as feedback
• Questions mean that dialogue has begun
• Learn from questions – even the ill
conceived ones tell you something
• Say something
• Keep discussion going – avoid the closed
ended answer
• Leave time for questions
23

You might also like