Effective Presentations: from Planning To Applause

Effective Presentations: from Planning To Applause Sarah Liggett & Rebecca Burdette LSU Communication across the Curriculum

PDSI Workshop • Today: focus on prospectus • Planning • Drafting • Guidelines for presenting • Thursday: preparation • Practice sessions with feedback Monday: presentation of prospectus

Planning

Role, co-authored? • Relationship to audience • Knowledge of Subject Communicator (s) Genre, Organization, Style, Format, “Correctness” Text Subject & Purpose Audience • Roles • Knowledge • Attitudes, values, feelings • Needs • Familiar material or need for research • Inform, persuade, express entertain Contexts for Communications: Disciplinary, Social, Political, Economic, Academic , Situational (deadlines, technologies, collaborations) Rhetorical Triangle

Prospectus, Proposal • Role: Researcher • Audience: Mentor, Peers • Purpose: Persuasive • Subject: Context-based, grounded in discipline • Text: Proposal, standard edited English, visuals • Constraints: Practice Thurs.; Present Mon.; 5 minutes

Parts of a Prospectus • Name(s) • Title • Context, background, rationale • Problem, purpose, task, significance • Research question • Methods or activities • Timeline, capabilities • Qualifications of researcher or research team

Drafting

Presenting

Delivering Oral Presentations

Turning Writing into Speaking • Audience’s needs • Pace • Clarity: previews, transitions, reviews • Natural language; discipline-specific language • Venue • Layout, lighting, sound • Resources • Expectations • Content • Time

Presentation Aids • Guide the audience • Serve as speaker prompts • Highlight important points • Illustrate and clarify concepts

Types of Visual Aids • Objects, models • Drawings, maps, diagrams, renderings • Photos • Visualizations • Charts, graphs • Videos, audio recordings

Presentation Media Options • PowerPoint • standard • easy-to-use • wide applications • Prezi • innovative • zoom technology • requires planning • Poster • common in STEM • no last-minute edits • venue-specific (Prezi poster) • no need for day-of AV equipment • Aids-only • Video, audio recording • Visualization • Object, model

Effective PowerPoint Design

Preparing for your Presentation • Relax • Eat carefully • Drink room-temperature water • Practice, practice, practice! • Time requirements • Multimedia failures • Distractions

Make it or Break it Delivery Delivery… • does not make up for content, but can take away from it. • supersedes visuals. • defines who you are as a communicator. • is what people remember most.

Make it or Break it Delivery • Confidence • Speak Conversationally • clarity, inflection, tone, pacing, volume • Vary eye contact • Be aware of your gestures, posture & expressions

Make it or Break it Delivery • Breathe! • Get comfortable with silent pauses • Move with your text/punctuation • End with pause, thanks & open for questions

Engaging Your Audience • Rhetorical question “Have you ever thought about…” • Audience polling “When looking at this picture, how many of you…” • Be wary of jargon & acronyms • Starting Q&A “One thing someone asked me earlier was…”

Resources • Workshop Resources: www.lsupdsi.pbwiki.com • Public Speaking Resources: http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek4/speech.htm • CxC Staff & Studio • Kevin, 151 Coates Hall, kdibene@lsu.edu • Kim, 210 Coates Hall, kbourq3@lsu.edu

Effective Presentations: from Planning To Applause