Effective Presentations

Effective Presentations Christine Bauer-Ramazani, with contributions from Colin Pillay

Anxiety Reduction Visualize Delivery Know Subject Respect Preparation Practice Presentation Relax Mind Respect Audience

The setting Be familiar with Room, equipment, back-up resources Do a trial run. The audience Who? What do they know? What do they want to know? Delivery – Key Considerations

The speaker Credible Well-prepared Calm, confident Good posture Humorous The message Content: background, findings, supporting evidence & examples; appropriate subject terminology and concepts Organization: description, cause-effect, chronological, argument, problem-solution Structure: introduction, body, conclusion Delivery—Key Considerations

Structure of Presentation Introduction Introduce yourself Establish credibility State purpose + outline presentation content Conclusion Keep it positive Summarize main ideas Body Identify main points Give supporting details Keep clear focus

VISUALS • Slide show • Graphics (clip art, topic-related pictures) • Exhibits (graphs, charts, diagrams, calculations) • Handouts • Back-up copy!

Purpose of Visuals Illustrate key points Reinforce verbal message Stimulate audience interest Focus audience attention

Cover page: title, date, name(s) Bullets (keywords and phrases); no long sentences Simple and clear Easy to read--appropriate font size Contrasting colors Spell-check every slide! Check visibility. Introduce each slide topic with a complete sentence. Speak to the audience, not the visual. Stop talking when making adjustments to equipment. Change visual when finished with topic. Decide how to advance slides. Make a transitionto the next topic and speaker. Visuals – Guideliness

Nonverbal & Verbal Communication Body Language Voice Posture Eye contact Facial expression Hand gestures Appropriate dress Volume Inflection Articulation Rate

Do’s Face the audience. Look at each person in the audience. Glance at notes occasionally. Smile! Get someone else to click the mouse. Practice in the same room you will be presenting. Don’ts Do not hold on to anything! Do not read from your notes or the screen! Do not put hands in pockets! Do not keep looking at the screen! Do not look at the professor only! Nonverbal Communication

Verbal Communication Don’ts Don’t race through your speech! Don’t mumble! Don’t use slang. Don’t use verbal fillers(“like”, “uh”, “and”) • Do’s • Speak loudly and clearly; enunciate. • Speak slowly but with confidence. • Emphasize important points • Slow down! • Speak louder!

Conclusion • Summarize main points (or findings). • Emphasize a specific point.

Question & Answer Guidelines • Encourage audience to ask questions. • Make eye contact with the speaker. • Listen carefully. • Answer a specific question. • Be honest. • Avoid interrupting.

Before the presentation … PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!

Effective Presentations