Presentation Skills

Orna Farrellorna.farrell@dbs.ie

Discussion questions

What makes a great presentation? Who do you think is a great speaker?What makes them great? How do you feel about public speaking?   

 

 Topics

• Remember the audience • What make an effective presentation?• Nerves • Verbal & Non- Verbal communication • Notes • Using Powerpoint • Effective slides•  10 steps for preparing your presentation

Remember the audience

• "The most important aspect of making a presentation is to consider the needs of the audience. If you simply read or repeat information ‘off by heart’ your presentation will probably sound very flat and dull to the audience. There is also a greater risk that you will lose your place in your talk." (Cottrell, 2009)

• Engage your audience: talk to them not at them• Audiences want variety• Audiences get bored• Audience like images: the slides are for them

 

What makes an effective presentation?• Careful planning & preparation•  clear structure• Good time management• Relevant & interesting content • Good communication skills• Appropriate use of slide/supporting

documentation•  Suitable audience participation

Careful planning & preparation

• This involves researching & choosing relevant content

• Preparing slides•  Allocating tasks if group work• Planning slide handovers• Preparing an introduction & conclusion• Reharsing the presentation: Speak aloud & use the

actual room for the presentation• Think about where you will stand, especially if its a

group

Time Management

• Time your presentation• Allow for a few minutes extra• Better to be too short than too long• If in a group: give each member a similar time period

to speak, over running will make you unpopular

Content

•  Make sure your content is relevant & interesting• Use examples, definitions, theories, case studies,

quotes and personal examples to make the presentation interesting

• Images: photos, graphs, charts, maps are all effective means of communication

Structure 1

• A clear structure is very important•  Introduction: introduce yourself & your group.

Outline the main parts of the presentation. Say how long it will take and when you will have questions

 • Have an introduction: Hello my name is Orna Farrell

and Im  going to talk to you about......... Firstly I will discuss..........then ................... and lastly................................. The presentation will take 10 minutes and I will take questions at the end 

Struture 2

• Conclusion• Thank the audience for their attention• Invite questions• Stay standing and wait for the

questions....dont run off

Verbal Communication

• limit your use of jargon• Explain new or complex terms• Speak slowly & clearly• Vary your tone & pitch•  Breath•  Finish sentences•  Stand straight, it improves your voice projection • Use pauses •  Record yourself

Non-verbal communication

There are basically three elements in any face-to-face communication:• words• tone of voice and• body language.

These three elements account differently for the meaning of the message: - Words account for 7%- Tone of voice accounts for 38% - Body language accounts for 55% of the message

Non-Verbal Communication

• Choose where you will stand

•  Keep your hands still• Face the audience,

dont put your back to the audience

• Eye contact- lighthouse• Don't read from the

screen• Dont hide behind the

computer

 

Notes

• It is a good idea to use notes during your presentation

• Don't have the whole presentation written out....you will just read

• Have keywords & bullet points on cards or print out your slides and use them as notes

• Don't have loads of pages to russle through and get lost

• Learn your presentation, the notes are only back up

Using powerpoint

• Common mistakes:• Over reliance on the powerpoint• Information overload•  Getting too technical & wasting time• Thinking in bullet point • Too many fonts and styles• Boring slides• Only talking about whats on the slide

How to make good PowerPoint slides

Do• Use bullet points & short

phrases• Use a consistent slide

background• Use pictures, graphs and

short clips• Use big font• Proof read your slides for

spelling and grammar

Don’t• Use long pieces of text• Flashy graphics &

animation• Use many different slide

designs, fonts• Many different colour

fonts

Background – Bad

• Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from

• Always be consistent with the background that you use

Background - Good

• Use backgrounds such as this one that are attractive but simple

• Use backgrounds which are light

• Use the same background consistently throughout your presentation

Colour - Bad

• Using a font colour that does not contrast with the background colour is hard to read

• Using colour for decoration is distracting and annoying.

• Using a different colour for each point is unnecessary– Using a different colour for secondary points is also

unnecessary

• Trying to be creative can also be bad

Colour - Good

• Use a colour of font that contrasts sharply with the background– Ex: blue font on white background

• Use colour to reinforce the logic of your structure– Ex: light blue title and dark blue text

• Use colour to emphasize a point

– But only use this occasionally

Slide layout - Bad

• This page contains too many words for a presentation slide. It is not written in point form, making it difficult both for your audience to read and for you to present each point. Although there are exactly the same number of points on this slide as the previous slide, it looks much more complicated. In short, your audience will spend too much time trying to read this paragraph instead of listening to you.

10 steps for preparing your presentation

1.read the assignment specification2.Create a task list3.Create a time chart4.Review your existing knowledge of the topic5.Research & read on the topic6. Decide on the content7. Find examples8. Decide who is your audience9.Make slides10.Rehearse presentation

Conclusion

• Preparation is the key to a good presentation

• Face the audience

• Speak slowly & clearly

• Humour

• If something goes wrong move on!

Further reading

Chivers, B et al.(2007) A student's guide to presentations. London: Sage.

Van Emden, J. et al (2004) Presentation skills for students. London: Palgrave Macmillan. http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/studyskills/personal/presentation.asp#Remember

Killer presentations:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whTwjG4ZIJg