1 presentation skills 2.1 preparation 2.2 media choices 2.3 delivery 2.4 questions
TRANSCRIPT
1
Presentation skills
2.1 Preparation
2.2 Media choices
2.3 Delivery
2.4 Questions
2
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, library)
Group 1 in Lib103
3 17 Oct 3-4pm Library skills (Sally Smith, library)
Group 2
in Lib103
4 28 Oct 2-3pm
3-4pmPresentation skills
Student presentations
All in 1L61
5 4 Nov 2-3pm
3-4pmWriting skills
Student presentations
All in 1L61
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Preparation
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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
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Check out your audience
• How many?
• Background?
• What do they know?
• What don’t they know?
• Aim at the student, not the expert!
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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
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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
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Media
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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
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Too much on one slide
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Avoid tabulated data
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Poincare Section
U
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
B
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
Poincare Section
U
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
B
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
Appropriate graphics settings
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Ghastly colours & too much detail
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Lazy and illegible
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Delivery
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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
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Timing
• Before talk – make sure you can see a clock or bring your watch
• Pace yourself
• Don’t let persistent questioner take control
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Being heard – engage audience
• Face audience, not screen!• Head up, shoulders back• Breathe from diaphram• Address yourself to back row• Use your hands
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Respond to audience• Keep eye contact (roving!)
• Watch the body language (boredom, incomprehension, inappropriate amusement)
• Respond to signals from the audience
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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.
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Questions
?
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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…..”
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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