Making Successful Presentations

Nae-Dong Yang

FE2010S

Making Presentations

1. Preparing the presentation2. Useful phrases for making presentations3. Beginning4. Language5. Using visuals6. Tips for Making Effective PowerPoint

Presentations7. Body language8. Voice and pronunciation9. The ending

Preparing the Presentation

Why– The general purpose

• to inform • to persuade

– The specific purpose• The result you want to achieve• State it in one sentence--clearly and concisely

Preparing the Presentation

What : Good organization– Helps you remember– Helps them remember– Helps them understand– Helps you keep to the point– Helps you reduce your nervousness

The Beginning

Say hello Say who you are Give purpose and main points Give schedule Handout? Questions?

The Middle

Have 3 or 4 main points– They will not remember more than 4 points!

Take 80% + of the time Have signposts and summaries

The Ending

Summarize main points Relate conclusion to them Don’t present new ideas Be interesting Be brief

Rehearsal

Rehearsal is the most important part of preparing

Run through your presentation at least twice

Check timing

The Beginning

Capture interest

Relate subject to the audience

Be brief

Useful Phrases — Beginning

Saying hello– Good morning, ladies and gentlemen– Good afternoon, everyone.– Right, …

Expressing purpose– My purpose/objective/aim today is …– What I want to do this morning is …– I’m here today to …

Useful Phrases — Beginning 2

Signposting– This talk is divided into four main parts: first,

…etc.– Let me begin with/To start with/Firstly, I’d

like to look at …– Then/Secondly, I’ll be talking* about …– Thirdly, …– My fourth point will be about …– Finally, I’ll be looking at …

* These are examples of the future continuous.

Useful Phrases — Beginning 3

Schedule– My presentation/talk/lecture will take/last

about 20 minutes.– We’ll be having a coffee break at about …– We’ll be stopping for lunch at …

Useful Phrases — Beginning 4 Inviting questions

– If anyone has any questions, please feel free to interrupt at any time.

– If you have any questions, please stop me at any time, and I will be happy to answer them.

– Please stop me at any time if you have any questions.

Discouraging questions– At the end of my talk, there will be a question and

answer session. I would appreciate it if you could keep your questions until then.

– I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have at the end of my presentation.

Language

“the person who uses a lot of big words is not trying to inform you; he’s trying to

impress you.” O. Miller

Language — the Don’ts

Avoid jargon Avoid complex phrases Avoid being too formal Avoid long sentences

Language — the Dos

Use everyday language Use concrete words Use rhetorical questions Use dramatic structures

So what can we do?

Signposting

Signpost Summarize Use check-up

questions

Useful Phrases — Language

Moving on– Let’s now move on to/turn to …– I now want to go on to …– This leads/brings me to …– I’d like to move on to/turn to …– So far we have looked at … . Now I’d like to

…

Useful Phrases — Language 2 Asking check-up questions

– Are you with me so far?– Is everyone with me?– Is that clear to everyone?– Before I go on, are there any questions

about …? Using rhetorical questions

– What should we do ? (pause)– How much would it cost? (pause)

Useful Phrases — Language 3

Dramatic structures– We have a revolutionary product.

What we have is a revolutionary product. Giving examples

– Let me give you an example.– Such as …– For instance …

Useful Phrases — Language 4

Summarizing– What I’m trying to say is …– Let me just try and sum that up before we move on

to … Making Comparisons

– It’s like …– Its’ as if …

Painting word pictures– Imagine …– Suppose …

Visual Aids and Body Language

Flip Chart & Whiteboard

Big & boldbold Use drawings Use colors Face audience, talk,

write, talk Flip over/wipe off

when finished

Using PowerPoint

Show one point at a time Use a pointer on the slide Switch it off so they focus on you

Making PowerPoint

Max. 8 lines Use keywords Use pictures Use colors

KISSKeep It Simple, Stupid

Slide Structure – 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.

Fonts – Bad If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written

CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ

Don’t use a complicated font

Colour - Bad Using a font colour that does not contrast

with the background colour is hard to read Using colour for decoration is distracting a

nd annoying. Using a different colour for each point is u

nnecessary– Using a different colour for secondary points i

s also unnecessary Trying to be creative can also be bad

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Claude Shannon

The Father of Modern Information Theory

Published a”A Mathematical Theory of Communication” in 1948: Before Shannon, it was commonly believed that the only way of achieving arbitrarily small probability of error in a communication channel was to reduce the transmission rate to zero. All this changed in 1948 with the publication of A Mathematical Theory of Communication, where Shannon characterized a channel by a single parameter; the channel capacity, and showed that it was possible to transmit information at any rate below capacity with an arbitrarily small probability of error. His method of proof was to show the existence of a single good code by averaging over all possible codes. His paper established fundamental limits on the efficiency of communication over noisy channels, and presented the challenge of finding families of codes that achieve capacity. The method of random coding does not produce an explicit example of a good code, and in fact it has taken fifty years for coding theorists to discover codes that come close to these fundamental limits on telephone line channels.

Created the idea that all information could be represented using 1s and 0s. Called these fundamental units BITS.

Created the concept data transmission in BITS per second.

Won a Nobel prize for his master’s thesis in 1936, titled, “A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits”, it provided mathematical techniques for building a network of switches and relays to realize a specific logical function, such as a combination lock.

Created the idea that all information could be represented using 1s and 0s. Called these fundamental units BITS.

勿頂天立地

Claude Shannon

The Father of Modern Information Theory

1948 Published ”A Mathematical Theory of Communication”

Created the idea that all information could be represented using 1s and 0s. Called these fundamental units BITS.

Won a Nobel prize for his master’s thesis in 1936, titled, “A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits

Graphs - Bad

January February March AprilBlue Balls 20.4 27.4 90 20.4Red Balls 30.6 38.6 34.6 31.6

Parents Underestimate Their Influence

Teens: Who Most Influences Your Decisions About Sex?

Parents: Who Most Influences Teens’ Decisions About Sex?

45%

31%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

With One Voice 2003: Parents Underestimate Their Influence

Parents Friends

32%

48%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Parents Teens’ Friends

Useful Phrases — Presenting Visuals

I’d like you to look at this …

Let me show you … As you can see … Let’s have a look at … Let’s look at … If you look at the screen,

you’ll see …

This table/diagram/Chart/slide shows …

On the right/left you can see …

More dramatic Have a look at … Look at … I’ll let you read this one.

(pause)

Tips for Making Effective PowerPoint Presentations

1. Be consistent – font, colors, & background

2. Limit the number of words on each screen  – Use key phrases – include only essential information

3. Limit punctuation & avoid putting words in all capital letters

4. Use contrasting colors for text and background. 

– Dark text on a light background is best. 

Tips for Making Effective PowerPoint Presentations 2

5.  Avoid the use of flashy transitions– text fly-ins 

6.  Avoid overuse special effects– animation & sounds

7.  Use good quality images– reinforce & complement your message

8.  Have content appear on the screen – in a consistent, simple manner– from the top or left is best

9.  Limit the number of slides. – one slide per minute

Tips for Making Effective PowerPoint Presentations 3

10.  Learn to navigate your presentation in a non-linear fashion.

11.   Know how to and practice moving – forward & backward within your presentation

12.  Make sure your slides on the screen are readable– from the back row seats

13.   Have a Plan B – in the event of technical difficulties

14.   Practice with someone & ask for feedback – about colors, content, effects or graphics

Tips for Making Effective PowerPoint Presentations 4

15.  Do not read from your slides – The content of your slides is for the audience, not

for the presenter. 16.  Do not speak to your slides17.  Do not apologize for anything in your presentation 

– If you believe something will be hard to read or understand, don't use it

18.  When possible, run your presentation from the hard disk rather than a floppy disk 

Important Elements

Content

Tone of voice

Body language

7%

38%

55%

“To sway (move) an audience, you must watch them as you speak.” C. Kent Wright

Body Language—the Dos

Move hands & arms Move around the room Move towards audience Move your eyes around the audience Moving is normal

Body Language –the Don’ts

Don’t point at anyone Don’t rock backwards and

forwards Don’t stand rooted to the

spot Don’t leave your hands by

your sides Don’t avoid eye contact

Voice & Pronunciation

Project your voice– Aim for the back

Emphasize importance– Say some words louder– Repeat important words

Making it Interesting

Go faster to excite Go slower to show importance Pause often & look around audience Give emphasis with voice & body

The Ending

Finish on time Cut out, but not

summing up or conclusion

Ending

Sum up Conclude Handouts? Any questions? Close

Useful Phrases —Ending

Making a Recommendation– So, what I would suggest is that we …– So, I would recommend that the …

Handouts– I’ll be distributing the handouts in a few

moments.– The handouts are over by the door.– Copies of my slides are on the table by the

door.

Useful Phrases — Ending 2

Questions – If you have any questions or comments, I’ll be

happy to answer them.– If there are any questions, I’ll do my best to answer

them.– Are there any more questions?– I’ll be happy to answer any questions, but I’d like to

hold the last few minutes for a summary.– If anyone has any questions or comments to start us

off …

Useful Phrases—Ending 3

Closing – Thank you for your attention/time.– Thank you for listening.– Thank you very much.– Thank you.

Making it Interesting

A visual A quotation A story/anecdote A question A call for action

Good Luck to Your Presentation

Body language is importantTalk to your audience, don’t read itKISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid.End on timePractice makes Perfect!

Any Questions?

References

Professional Presentations, 1998. Cambridge University Press

謝寶煖 , 2006. 簡報輕鬆做 .