Business Presentation Skills

2002, Edinburgh University

Presented by Brian Hood

Representing

Aims of the training

Build on existing experience of presenting

Introduce key concepts of presenting

Build confidence

Training content

Advantages of presenting Six steps to presenting effectively Common failings of presenters WIIFM factor Structuring the presentation Five key techniques & first few minutes Visual aids Presentations: Putting it all into practice!

Advantages of presenting

Address the multiple senses Increase your credibility Effective use of time High profile Persuasive

Six steps of presenting effectively

Decide what your purpose is Think about the audience Gather data Apply suitable structure How open? How close?

Common failings of presenters

Not bold enough Rejecting the audience Showing nerves Poor use of visual aids Speaking for too long Poor preparation Being clever!

The WIIFM Factor

Structuring the presentation

1. Tell them what you are going to tell them

2. Tell them

3. Tell them what you just told them

Five key techniques

The interesting fact The challenging rhetorical

question The relevant quotation The shared history The personal story / your

expert opinion!

First few minutes

Be aware of:

Negative body language The unfunny joke The overbearing expert!

Handling questions...

Know your audience as best you can Recoginse influential/expert members of your audience at the

outset Paraphrase back to ensure understanding Answer honestly, get back later if necessary Respond in a focused way Check you have answered the query

Visual aids

Information taken in through the senses:

Sight71%

Hearing20%

Touch3%

Taste3%

Smell3%

Visual aids

Make use of facilities at hand i.e. PowerPoint Don’t over use the technology Make your slides clear and not too detailed Utilise other visual aids such as flipcharts, whiteboards etc

Conclusion

Refining your ability to present will become increasingly important every

day of your working life and is an assessable part of your project.

Summary

Advantages of presenting Six steps to presenting effectively Common failings of presenters WIIFM factor Structuring the presentation Five key techniques & first few minutes Visual aids

Presentations: Putting it all into practice!

Split into 3 groups Choose a topic you all agree on i.e. the collapse of the

SPL, The benefits of studying CS at Edinburgh University Take ½ hour to prepare a short 5 minute presentation

using acetates Identify 1 person to present your topic We will then have the three presentations followed by

feedback from the group and myself Remember: this is a no risk environment and is aimed to

give you some practice with the key techniques