Making Effective Presentations

1. Making Effective Presentations Andrew Aken Based upon “Preparing Effective Oral Presentations” by Jeff Radel

2. Purpose • This presentation is designed to give the student a framework for developing their own presentations. • The ability to create effective presentations has applicability in a variety of situations: • Presenting information in your classes • Coordinating group discussion • Meetings • Business proposals Prepared by: Andrew Aken

3. Presentation design process • The process of making a presentation can be broken down into several steps • Planning • Preparation • Outlining • Important Elements • Practice • Day of the Presentation • The moment of truth • Handling questions Prepared by: Andrew Aken

4. Initial Planning • Before you begin preparing the presentation, you'll need to determine: • The type of talk you will be expected to give • The composition of the audience • The time allotted for the talk • Expectations for information content Prepared by: Andrew Aken

5. Preparation • Once you have a general idea of what you want to say, you'll have to decide how to say it • Start preparing far in advance by thinking through what needs to be said • Collect material which may relate to the topic from unusual sources • Write a clear statement of the problem and its importance • Identify the issues you plan to address Prepared by: Andrew Aken

6. Outlining • Start with an introduction to the topic • Summarize your conclusions early in the presentation • Break the topic into 2-4 primary points • Break the primary points into 2-6 supporting facts, propositions, etc. • Restate your conclusion incorporating the primary points you’ve presented Prepared by: Andrew Aken

7. Important Elements • Keeping these elements in mind as you prepare will result in a more streamlined and effective end product • Rate • Opening • Transitions • Conclusion • Length Prepared by: Andrew Aken

8. Practice • Practice is the single most important factor contributing to a good presentation. • A poorly presented talk reflects upon both you and your attitude towards the material and audience • Run through the entire presentation • Seek some outside feedback to make sure you are on the right track Prepared by: Andrew Aken

9. Day of the Presentation • Some things can be done at the last minute which will help ensure a successful presentation • Run through the presentation 1 more time • Take a tour of the room looking for problems • Make sure the equipment works • Know how the equipment works • Bring an additional copy of the electronic files Prepared by: Andrew Aken

10. The Moment of Truth • Take several deep breaths (quietly) • Visualize your opening statement • State your objectives • Use a natural, moderate rate of speech • Avoid habitual behaviors (pacing, twirling) • Be enthusiastic, but not overly exuberant • Don’t run over your time limit, ever Prepared by: Andrew Aken

11. Handling Questions • The question period often is the part of the talk which influences the audience the most • Always repeat each question • Reflect on the question • Wait for the questioner to finish asking the question before you begin your answer • Avoid prolonged discussions with one person • If you can't answer a question, just say so. Don't apologize. Prepared by: Andrew Aken

12. Do’s and Don’ts with presentations • Do: • Express the point of the presentation at the beginning and at the end • Acknowledge other members and contributors at the beginning • Check spelingand goodly grammarization • Dress appropriately for the presentation you are giving • Enjoy yourself Prepared by: Andrew Aken

13. Do’s and Don’ts with presentations • Don’t • Express every word that you are going to say in the slides. This makes for very uninteresting presentations and difficulty in following along with what you are saying. If you are just reading word-for-word what is on the computer screen, the audience will just focus on the screen and not on the presenter. If you have a large amount of text that’s important to the presentation, make it available on a handout you give out after your presentation so the audience doesn’t have to remember every detail and can have the information to take back with them. Prepared by: Andrew Aken

14. Do’s and Don’ts with presentations • Don’t • Use flashy graphics or sounds that just distract from the presentation Prepared by: Andrew Aken

15. Do’s and Don’ts with presentations • Don’t • Use distracting animations or backgrounds which make the text hard to read or which distract from your main points • Make sure that there is enough contrast in color between the foreground and the background to be able to read your text Prepared by: Andrew Aken

16. Conclusion • You should now possess a framework for developing your own presentations. • With practice, you will have the ability to create effective presentations in a variety of situations. Prepared by: Andrew Aken

17. Questions? CS 533