Preparing for Presentations

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Preparing for Presentations

Do your research the following

Do sufficient background reading to ensure that you are fully familiar with the topic being covered and sufficient to enable you to field questions from the audience, if required

Take notes as you go to be used later to construct your presentation notes

As well, collect items of interest such as interesting facts, anecdotes, cartoons, up-to-date statistics that might prove useful in supporting your presentation

Prepare your presentation notes- Presentation notes are different to the written paper that often accompanies an oral presentation. While the latter might be in the form of a full essay or academic paper, your presentation notes should take the form of a list of main points, possibly with some expanded text, to which you will add dialogue during the course of the presentation. (NB. It is possible to prepare a full text that can be read as a speech, but this tends to be lifeless and boring for the audience and it is recommended that this approach be avoided.) Remember that a full written paper typically includes more detail than can be covered in a talk. It is necessary in your oral presentation to limit yourself to discussing a few main points only and not attempt to cover all of the detail that would be possible in a written paper.

The aim of an oral presentation is to use written notes and other prompts as a basis for delivering an interesting and lively presentation. The aim is neither to read directly from a written paper nor to deliver a speech which has been rote learned – both of which tend to produce a talk that is boring and lifeless.

Structure your presentation – As with an essay, a good talk will have an introduction, a body and a conclusion.

Introduction:  This is a critical element as it forms the basis for you developing a rapport with the audience, and it enables you to provide the audience with a ‘road map’ to assist them to follow your discussion as it progresses.

Body or Discussion: This is the section in which your arguments are presented and developed. It is critical for the talk to be presented in such a way that the audience can follow it and keep up with it. The presentation should flow smoothly from one point to the next with the linkages between different points clearly indicated in order to tell a coherent story. Consider the use of ‘signpost’ words (eg Firstly, As well as, Next, In contrast, However, Finally, etc.) to assist your listeners. This section makes up the bulk of the presentation – as a general rule, the Body should make up 80-90 per cent of the presentation time.

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