Presentation Skills

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Presentation Skills

• Wendy Lawrenson
• Student Learning Service
• October 2007

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Why Give Presentations?

• To communicate ideas and information
• To stimulate discussion
• Develop a skill
• Assessment

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What Makes a Good Presentation?

• Simplicity
• A clear structure
• Confidence
• Audibility
• Appropriate use of visual aids
• Good pace/time-keeping
• Eye contact with audience
• Enthusiasm about the subject
• Preparation

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How Do You Prepare a Presentation?

• Know your audience
• Know your material
• Decide what you want to say
• Select appropriate images / graphics / diagrams
  to illustrate the point(s)
• Structure your talk
• Rehearse!

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Simplicity

• You cant put in everything you know
• And your audience cant take in everything
• You must
• identify the main points
• Present the best supporting material
• Otherwise you will not stay within the time
  allowed

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A Clear Structure

• Introduction
• Main body
• Conclusion
• Headings

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How to Rehearse?

• Have a good opening and closing
• Time yourself
• Edit
• Speak slowly
• What can be left out if over run?
• Practice in front of a friend/mirror!
• Help pick up on bad habits
• Record yourself speaking

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• Dont read from a script- use notes
• PowerPoint slides are not a script!
• Know the power of the pause
• Be familiar with the technology! (including
  chalk)

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Voice checklist
Projection Modulation Pace Enunciation Breathing

• Is my voice
• Loud, perhaps too loud?
• Soft, perhaps too soft?
• Monotonous?
• Do I speak too slowly/too fast?
• Do I speak clearly or mutter?
• Will my accent cause my audience difficulty?
• Do I run out of breath?

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Confidence

• Know your material
• Assume the audience is friendly
• Stand up straight
• Be yourself
• Smile
• Relax
• Use hands with control!

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Stressed?????!!!!!! - Tips on staying calm

• Assume your audience is friendly/one person
• Focus on communicating
• Breathing exercise
• Breath into belly in for two/pause for two/ out
  for four gently!
• Take some exercise earlier in the day
• Shaky hands clench fists and relax hold table
• Preparation is key know your material!

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Giving the Presentation Useful Tips

• Wait until everyone is seated and ready
• Take a deep breath
• Start and end positively no apologies or
  excuses!
• Take your time speak clearly audibly

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• Speak to your audience dont bury yourself in
  notes
• Pause between points
• Keep an eye on the time

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Taking Questions

• Questions are a good thing!
• Be sure you understand the question
• Ask for clarification if not sure
• The question you dont know the answer to
• Think on your feet
• Dont pretend you know the answer
• Engage
• Answer as briefly as possible

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And finally..

• End on a positive note
• Thank your audience for listening

Some material adapted from Stella Cottrell, The
Study Skills Handbook, (Palgrave Study Guides,
2003) Sherron Bienvenue, The Presentation Skills
Workshop, (New York AMACOM, 2000) Joan van Emden
and Lucinda Becker, Presentation Skills for
Students, (Palgrave Study Guides, 2004)
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Using PowerPoint in Presentations
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• PowerPoint can

• Provide a visual aid
• Be entertaining
• Show data, diagrams, charts etc
• Provide clarity

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PowerPoint cannot

• Replace what YOU say

So use it

• When appropriate for the subject, material and
  context
• When it will add to the presentation

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General Rules Content

• Use short bullet points, maximum 6 words (if
  possible!)
• Maximum 6 bullets per page, split into 2 slides
  if more
• Avoid too much text do not write down everything
  you are going to say it is a waste of time and
  your audience will spend their time reading it
  not listening to you and get bored and will fall
  asleep!!
• Keep to key words, use graphs, diagrams, charts,
  pictures and photos

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General Rules - Be Consistent

• Layout
• Format
• font
• Objects

• animations
• transitions
• Keep similar items e.g. logos in the same place

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Slides (Font size 44)

• Should be clear and easy to read (Font size 32)
• By all of the audience including those with
  visual impairment (Trebuchet 24)
• Good contrast between text and background
• Choose a suitable font
• Arial, Comic Sans, Tahoma, Trebuchet, Verdana
  (20)
• Times New Roman (20)
• Font size (Comic Sans 28)
• Auto Layouts and Design Templates can be useful
  (Verdana 24)

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Heading (Bold, Arial 44)

• Sub heading (Comic Sans 32)
• Tahoma 28
• Verdana 24
• Times Roman 20
• Bullets

shapes
Action buttons
arrows
Autoshapes
callouts
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General Rules Keep it Simple

• Dont let clip art, backgrounds, sounds,
  animations etc. interfere with what YOU have to
  say
• Use them sparsely, wisely and consistently

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Images

• Are good when necessary
• But can detract from you when not appropriate

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Images

• Keep text separate from picture/image
• Contrasting background and text

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Sound

• Can be useful

• But not on every word, bullet point or page
• Use very sparingly for impact

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Graphs

• Put information next to image
• E.g. in box
• Make it easy to read

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General Rules Test!

• In the room you are giving the presentation (if
  possible)
• Cheque fore speeling nd grammer
• Time

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Disaster Ahead!!

• Preparation, preparation, preparation!!!
• Check equipment at location
• Save presentation in a form that works
• Have a back up
• Print slides to paper for your handouts
• Pre-run at location

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Further Information

• For more information try DIT fact sheets
• Quick Guide To Using PowerPoint XP FS PC04XP
• http//www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/docu/facts/pc/fspc04xp.
  pdf
• Advanced Guide To Using PowerPoint XP FS PC09XP
• http//www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/docu/facts/pc/fspc09xp.
  pdf
• Using PowerPoint In Presentations - FS PC05
• http//www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/docu/facts/pc/fspc05.pd
  f
• The Unpresentable Presentation
• www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/training/practicefiles

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Acknowledgements

• Phillip McConville and Pauline Fraser TaD Team,
  DIT
• Dr Neil Hamilton, MediCAL Unit