Study Support Session

Oral Presentations

Identifying the Purpose

  What are you hoping to achieve: to inform, train, persuade or demonstrate?

Are you looking for feedback from the audience?

This helps you to decide   What to include and what to omit What approaches and structures are appropriate

Considering your Audience

    Who are they? (assessors? peers?) And how many?

What will they get out of listening to your presentation? What do they already know about the subject?

What will interest them?

Selecting the Content

   Generate lots of ideas by ‘brainstorming’ Decide on which ideas to include Avoid spending so much time doing the research that you have insufficient time to turn it into an interesting presentation.

Organising the Structure -1

   • •   Start by providing an overview (of content and order of presentation) Make regular use of sign-posting In group presentations: summarise your part and then introduce the next speaker and their topic and Perhaps refer back to what another has said Beware of Powerpoint! Plan your pres. Before designing your slides Use a opening attention-grabber (eg a pertinent quote, shocking statistic etc – or a question)

Organising the Structure -2

     In your conclusion, tell ‘em what you’ve told ‘em (ie summarise your main points) Tell them the benefits of your conclusions, proposal or solution Ask for questions (but have back-up info available to counter hostile questions) In a group pres. decide who answers which qu.

Use a closing attention-grabber (eg a pertinent quote, shocking statistic etc – or perhaps a question)

Designing your Visual Aids

     Images and diagrams can help your audience to understand what you are saying Display them for long enough, and explain them where necessary Make sure they support what you are saying, and do not distract from your speech Use large print (correctly spelled) Not too much text on the page

Using your Visual Aids

      Don’t obscure the audience’s view Avoid reading from the data projection screen (eye contact & voice projection) Don’t read screen contents wd for wd Use index cards to make brief notes (esp of dates / names / stats) Interact with the aids by pointing etc, to help the audience focus on what is said When is the best time to issue handouts?

If you need to use a Script

A good script has:  Short sentences   Plenty of examples Lots of repetition  Clear linking statements (eg ‘Next’, ‘Another is’) If your presentation is based on an essay or report, you must rewrite it as a script.

Rehearsing your Presentation -1

Rehearsal is essential t o assess :    your time-keeping, that the visual aids work, your voice projection,     pace of speech, logical order of content, ‘speakability’ of the script body language

Rehearsing your Presentation -2

     Reduce your script to notes on cards Rehearse in the venue if poss (or at least visit it and check out the av equipment) Time your presentation Ask friends to watch & provide feedback Ensure that all the equipment you need is available

Delivering your Presentation

• •  • • •  • • •  • Voice Volume (get a friend to sit at the back & signal) Pace (avoid gabbling) Tone (Talk – Don’t read !) Interacting with the audience Ask a question at the start, and ask for a show of hands, perhaps Ask questions & then proceed to answer them Use of appropriate humour Body Language Eye contact Gestures Posture / stance