Download - Presentation skills
1 - 2 minutes per slide
Generic 15 min Conference Presentation
Title Slide (1) Title, author, affiliation,
acknowledgements
Rationale (1-2) Why this is interesting
Methods (1-2) What you did
Results (2-4) What did you find and what does it mean
Summary (1) One thing you want them to remember
Preparation - Outline
Basic structure of a talk:
1. Introduction
2. Main part (body)
3. Conclusion
4. Question & Answer session
Plan your presentation carefully
Introduction
•Purpose of the introduction is “to tell the audience what you are going to tell them”.•Remember that there is no second chance for a first bad impression. If you start off badly you will spoil everything.•During the introduction you need to achieve the following aims:
Gain Attention
attract Interest
create Desire
stimulate Action
Getting started - greeting the audience
• Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.• Welcome to my presentation.• It’s very nice to see you all here today.• Can we get started?• Let me say just a few words about my background...
What you need to do first is to greet your audience. Here are some useful phrases:
Then you proceed to the introduction to your topic
Making an effective opening
• Give them a problem to think about (Suppose you... Why is it that...)• Give them some amazing facts.(Did you know that ...)• Give them a story or a personal anecdote (stories always atract attention) • Use a citation (if you want to start on a more philosophical note)• Make a funny remark (but be careful with humour, not all jokes work well)• Record a music piece perhaps (if appropriate for the topic)
Possible Introduction Scheme:
1. start with welcoming courtesies/introduce yourself
2. state the purpose of your talk, using one of the techniques
3. give a route map (tell them how long will your presentation take)
4. give the rules (do you allow to be interrupted or should your audience keep questions until the end)
Some useful phrases
• What I want to do this morning is to …..• My talk will take about 30 minutes.• During my presentation, I’m going to be
focusing on four main areas. • I’ll be giving out copies of my
transparencies at the end.• If you have any questions, or comments
you’d like to make, please don’t hesitate to stop me.
Apply the KISS principle: Keep it Short and
Simple.
Use active verbs instead of passive verbs.
For example,
Toyota sold two million cars last year.
Two million cars were sold by Toyota last year.
Language matters: Spoken vs. Written Style
Chemistry
Chemistry is an area of study which touches human life at innumerable points. It is the science which forms a bridge between physics and biology as well as between earth sciences and life and medical sciences. It is therefore a central science which holds the key to an appreciation and understanding of life cycles on the one hand through to man-made processes on the other.
Adapting the language
Can be spoken as…
Chemistry is a science which touches our lives at many points. It forms a bridge between physics and biology, earth sciences and medical sciences. We can say that with chemistry we can better understand life cycles on the one hand, and man-made processes on the other.
Singposting is the halmark of the language
of presentations.
The more you use the signposting
phrases, the lighter and easier the
language becomes.
Singposting phrases will help you lead
your audience; they will know where you
are going.
Signposting
"I'll start by describing the current position in Europe.
Then I'll move on to some of the achievements we've made in Asia.
After that I'll consider the opportunities we see for further expansion in Africa.
Lastly, I'll quickly recap before concluding with some recommendations."
Good afternoon everybody. I’d like to thank you all for
coming here today and listen to me. I hope by the end of the day you will leave with a knowledge of what equipment can do for you and how the government can benefit by using it.
If you would like to take notes, please do so. However, all of you will be given a handout at the end of my presentation.
Use singposting in your presentations
I am going to talk today about a new product, a breath
control measurement instrument ALCOTEST. The first such product was introduced to the market 40 years ago and has been used all over the world.
The new range of products I’m going to familiarize you with are the Alcotest 7110 MK III and Alcotest 7410. Now,the main purpose of the talk, of my talk, is to outline the major benefits of using these models.
Contd…
Contd…
Before doing so, I would like you to look at some general technical features which I hope you will find encouraging. Then I’ll move on to the benefits for the users.
Let’s look at some figures. I’ll put them on the screen now. As you can see the Alcotest comes as a portable instrument, integrated in a metal case, including heatable sampling hose, a 40-digit alphanumerical display, integrated printer, mains connection and 12 V battery.
Ending your talk
Don’t just end up abruptly without giving a conclusion.The purpose of the conclusion is to “tell the people what you have told them”.
Follow this scheme:• summarise facts• give recommendations• give proposals
Thank the audience
Invite questions
Ending your talk : useful phrases
Wrapping up• This brings me to the end of my presentation.• Let me just run over the key points again…• To sum up briefly…• To conclude …• As we’ve seen…• So, my recommendation is ….• I would welcome any suggestions.
Thanking the audience & Inviting questions
•Thank you for your attention and if you have any questions I’ll be pleased
to answer them.• I’ll be happy to answer any questions.• Are there any questions you’d like to ask?
Consider this in preparing your presentation:
• Simplify the text.
• Focus your material. You can’t say everything.
• Use transitions (signsposting) to move smoothly.
• Use examples, anecdotes, statistics to support your message.
• Use a lot of visuals to reinforce the message.
• Consider timing.
• Apply the KISS principle.
• Practise alone and with the whole group.
Conclusion
Body language
Act confident, feel confidentLarge personal space
Eye contact with audience
Open body language
Standing upright with shoulders back
Use your hands for emphasis but avoid ‘flapping’
Do...
Illustrate your key messages, eg. a startling statistic or image
a quotation from someone famous that applies to your message
Use personal stories and easy examples to help illustrate your points
Involve your audience – interaction
Ask questions to involve, establish rapport and support your arguments
Practice, Practice, Practice
Don’ts – a recap
Just read your slides
Script everything
Put too much information on a slide
Go overboard with fancy effects, they distract from you and your key messages
Coping with nerves
Controlling your environment and handling pressure Practice using any equipment Plan B if technology fails you – eg. PPT formats Recognising adrenalin gives you an edge Pace yourself – most people speak too fast if nervous The more you practice and run through it, the more natural it
becomes Use crib cards with brief notes if you need to remember lots of
information Practice under pressure Deep breathing
Warm up!
Deep breathing exercises- in for a count of 5, out for a count of 5. In for 6, out for 6, and so on, up to 10.
Hum! This loosens the vocal chords and warms them up
Do some tongue twisters. Really try to articulate the words. Get faster and faster!
Yawn.
Tongue Twisters!
Unique New York
She sells sea shells by the sea shore. The shells that she sells are sea shells I’m sure
Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry
Peter Piper picked a peck of picked peppers
Rubber buggy baby bumpers
When you plan your presentation you need to answer the
following questions:1. Who is my audience (how much do they know about my
topic?)2. How am I going to organise my topic? (it needs to tell a
story)3. How long should my presentation be? (you will have
time limits and you need to say everything within that limit)
4. What visual support shall I use? (PowerPoint, transparencies, models, objects...?)
Plan
Create interest
“We need to open gaps before we close them. Our tendency is to tell people the facts. First, though, they must realize that they need these facts.”
Dan & Chip Heath, Make it Stick
PowerPoint tips
Look at the audience, not the slides
Don’t overcrowd
Pay attention to colour and layout
Print out slides
Test beforehand
Flipcharts and Whiteboards
Good Points
Low-tech
Easy to add to
More contact with audience
More interactive
Bad Points
Can only use once
Can’t add graphics
Can be hard to read
Hard to see
Flipcharts and Whiteboard Tips
Don’t hide!
Draw lines if needed
Pay attention to colour
Call ahead to check on facilities
Stick to a few key points
The evils of Powerpoint are familiar to everyone, they include:
Too much text
Too small to read and is really only serving as a crutch for the presenter
Clip Art and Slide templates that have been seen a million times
Spinning, wooshing, dazzlings animations
Part of the problem with having so much text onscreen is that it puts of people. If the idea of your presentation is to read from the slides then we are you there? Besides people can read quicker than you can talk so they’ll have finished reading your slide and be waiting for the next one, or even worse working on a masterpiece doodle.
Your presentation, Powerpoint or otherwise, should be a
supporting aid – you want main the focus on you, not your presentation. Ideally, you should be able to deliver an equally interesting presentation should the projector/computer/room/audience break.
Avoid too many bullets as well – it makes the information dull for the audience.
Contd…
“should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points.”
Guy Kawaski
10/ 20/ 30 rule
PowerPoint Critique
Critique slides you have been given:
What works?
What does not work?
How would you improve?
Fitness Slow to develop
Quick to disappear
The more you practice:
better you feel
more you want to do
It’s not about you
Focus on your goal
what you are going to say
Audience
Make them comfortable
Interesting
Be over-prepared
Rehearse and practice
Know your subject
Use relaxation techniques
Be positive +++
Avoid stressors
Becoming Confident
Dealing with Questions
TRACT technique
1. Thank the questioner
2. Repeat the question
3. Answer the question
4. Check with the questioner if they are satisfied
5. Thank them again
Dealing with Questions
Questions show people are listening!
Allow time to deal with them
Decide when to answer them
Try and anticipate
Don’t be afraid to stop and think
What if I don’t know the answer?
Open it to the floor
Take details and answer later
Repeat the question back if you don’t understand it
Practice
Person A speak for 30 seconds about your
work.
Person B listen. At the end ask a question.
Person A use TRACT to respond.
Just a Minute
Speak about subject for 1 minute
Lose 1 point for each ‘umm’ or ‘ahh’
Pauses and repetition allowed
Giving Criticism
Step 1: Listen to Criticism
Step 2: Decide on Truth
Step 3: Respond Assertively
Passive Response
Directly Aggressive Response
Indirectly Aggressive Response
Key tips for slides
Font
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
The quick brown fox jumps over the
lazy dog
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Try to use “Sans Serif” fonts.
Try to avoid “Serif” fonts. These take longer to read. “Serif” fonts have a
typeface with a small stroke at end of the letters
Key tips for slides
To Bold or not to Bold
You can chose to use Bold letters to highlight words
If you want to typeset in Bold then keep in mind the Font and Font Size
This does not look that good
This looks okay
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Key tips for slides
CAPITAL ERROR
AVOID WRITING WHOLE SENTENCES IN CAPITALS. IT IS LESS READABLE AND MORE AGGRESSIVE
This is already much more readable
Use capitals for acronyms IMHO
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Key tips for slides
Font Size
Make sure it is readable to your entire audience 18 point
20 point
24 point
28 point
32 point
36 point
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Key tips for slides
There should be contrast in written text against the background
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This is OK This is OK
This is not OK This is not OK
Key tips for slides
Give space in your slides.
If you use any logos and picture ensure that they have a good resolution
For smaller audiences it might be a good idea to give handouts to make the talk more personal
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The speaker was nervous The speaker was disorganised The speaker never looked at me The speaker had bad accent The speaker did not sound enthusiastic The speaker was monotonous The visuals were bad His/her clothing The speaker was speaking too softly The speech was confused; I didn’t know what He/she was trying to tell me
This is what irritates people during presentations
Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening.”
-Dorothy Sarnoff
“The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives.”
-Lily Walters
Quotes to remember…