Planning and giving a presentation

Planning and

Giving a

Presentation © 2010 Learning Development

August 7, 2014

LD Giving a Presentation | www.newcastle.edu.au

2

What do you

really

want to know

about giving

presentation?

August 7, 2014


3 Most common attitude

A presentation is “something to get through”

without making a fool of myself in front of

peers and academic staff.

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4 Be confident in purpose

• To inform or report

• To create a learning experience

• To facilitate dialogue

• To share your interest/enthusiasm

• …?

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5 Be confident of your audience

• Like-minded peers

• Interested tutor/lecturer

• They want to know how your ideas fit with theirs

• …?

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6 What makes a good presentation?

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7 Connect

• Connect with the audience

– Eye contact

– Smile

– Speak clearly

• Be enthusiastic

– Convey your own interest

– Dress the part

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8 Communicate

• Verbal

– Practise pronunciation and grammar

– Change volume and pace

• Non-Verbal Signals

– body language

– gestures

August 7, 2014

LD Planning a Presentation | www.newcastle.edu.au

9 Basic structure

(e.g. 20 min presentation)

• Introduction (1-2 mins)

• Body or discussion:

– 3-5 sections (3-5 mins each)

• Conclusion (1-2 mins)

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10 The Introduction

• Greet the audience

• Gain their attention

– how?

• Tell them what to expect

– topic, purpose, outline

• ‘Housekeeping’

Quote, anecdote,

rhetorical question

Personal story

Audience participation

exercise

Show-of-hands

question

handouts, questions,

announcements etc.

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11 The Introduction: tell them what to expect

• Topic:

– We are discussing the marketing plan of Company X…

• Purpose:

– We’ll be analysing the current marketing strategy in order to

make recommendations for future action

• Outline:

– We’ll do this through a situational analysis and a SWOT

analysis. We will then outline objectives, alternative

strategies, and, finally, present an action plan

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12 Body of the Presentation

• 3-5 Sections

– Select key themes/points

– Include details to illustrate these

– Decide what can be omitted

– Don’t have too many visuals

• Signpost!!

• introduce & conclude

each section

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13 The Body (cont’d): Signposting

• Introduce:

– Firstly, I’d like to analyse the internal factors for company X…

• Conclude:

– It is apparent, therefore, that while the company’s capabilities vary, the company’s market position is strong …

• Introduce next section:

– Now, I’ll briefly outline 8 external situational factors for the company…

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14 The Conclusion

• Summarise

– As we’ve seen, then, Company X has held a strong market position. However, further analysis showed…

• Concluding statement/recommendations

– We therefore suggested new strategic objectives resulting in 5 specific actions:

• A – B – C – D – E

• Final comment

– These new objectives should result in substantial growth for the next 5 year period.

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15 The Conclusion (cont’d)

• Distribute documents

– I have copies of the presentation if you wish to

read it.

• Closing formalities

– Thank you…

– If you have any questions…

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16

Tip: how to reduce it all to PowerPoint

• The key:

- have well developed notes to work from

• Highlight main points only

– no time for lots of detail!

• Work out ways to synthesise some points into one point

• Work out how to incorporate a lot of information into a DIAGRAM

• Some slides may take 30 secs, others may take 3 mins

• Have written notes on the ‘script’ for each slide

– You can refer to them as you speak

– …but you won’t use them anyway (and no-one will notice!)

– …so use them in question/discussion time

• Practice in front of discerning friends

– they’ll tell you when they’re bored

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17 Thinking about your presentation task…

• Outline a plan of 3-5 sections for your material

• What are the most relevant points for each section?

• How will you introduce it?

– Purpose

– Outline

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18 Preparing visuals

• key points or words

• explain a diagram

• draw attention to important points of visual

• uncluttered, correct & legible

• support, not substitute

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19 Predictable Questions

– Could you repeat the point about…?

– I’m not sure what you meant when…

– Can you elaborate on…?

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20 Unpredictable questions

– Isn’t it also the case that…?

– I don’t agree with your point about X. Don’t

you think…?

– Given that you have argued Y, what is your

response to Z?

August 7, 2014


21 …so what do you say to them?

• Praise your critic:

– That’s a good question.

• Restate the question/comment:

– The question I’ve been asked is…

• Show understanding, then restate position:

– I can see why you would think that. However, it is

still true that…

August 7, 2014


22 …what do you say? (cont’d)

• Offer a reaction, rather than an answer:

– Your question is beyond the scope of my research. However, my initial response would be…

• Defer discussion:

– It’s a complex point – we don’t have time to discuss it fully now, but I’ll be happy to talk to you after…

• Refer back to the group/class:

– That’s an interesting observation. What do other people think?

More info:

LD Blackboard site

>Resources

> How to give great presentations

Education

Planning and giving a presentation