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Academic Presentation Skills
16 November 2011
Sources: Comfort, Jeremy. 1997. Effective Presentations. Oxford University Press, Sweeney, Simon. 1997. English Business Communication. Cambridge University Press and http://www.iasted.org/conferences/formatting/Presentations-Tips.ppt [accessed 13.10.2008]. Decker Communications http://decker.com/
Contents Before the presentation The structure
Introduction Main body Conclusion
Bad manners Slides – some tips
Outlines Slide Structure Fonts Color Background Graphs Spelling and Grammar Conclusions Questions
In conclusion
Before the presentation
Audience What are their expectations What do they know knowledge of your field How many to expect to be present Questions and discussion
Clear objective Your knowledge of the field Presentation technique What to include Length and depth Number of key ideas
Before the presentation 2
Structure Sequence (introduction, main body, conclusion) Repetition, summarizing
Delivery Style (formal / informal; enthusiasm / confidence) Voice (variety, speed, pauses, emphasis) Body language (eye contact, gesture/ movement,
posture) Language: simple and clear, sentence length,
structure signals
Before the presentation 3
Visual aids Type / design / clarity; Relevance to the topic Check spelling Simple and clear
Practice Time yourself Use a tape recorder Script or notes? Check equipment beforehand (if possible)
The structure: introduction 1
Introduction
Have a strong introduction to your presentation
Give your audience a reason for listening
Do not start with crucial information your listeners might not be ”tuned in” yet
The structure: introduction 2
Points in your introduction:
A greeting
Your name and position
The title of your presentation / your objective (make sure your title is informative)
The purpose of your presentation
The main parts or points to be covered
The structure: main body
Main body of the presentation Organize your main points in a logical order; the
way you do it can differ Choose 2-4 main points, which you can divide into
smaller sections of information Link your ideas by using linking words and
phrases
The structure: conclusion
Summarize your key points
Conclude your presentation with a dramatic statement or a recommendation, do not just trail off
Distribute support information if needed
Invite and anticipate questions; be ready to answer them
Thank the audience
Bad manners
If your presentation lacks structure, you haven’t practiced and show poor slides, the audience won’t understand you and will become impatient with you
Do not read directly from your papers or your slides
Do not turn your back to the audience
Slides – some tips
Outlines Slide Structure Fonts Color Background Visuals Spelling and Grammar Conclusions Questions
Outline
Make your 1st or 2nd slide an outline of your presentation Example: previous slide
Follow the order of your outline for the rest of the presentation
Only place main points on the outline slide Example: Use the titles of each slide as main points
Slide structure - good
Use 1-2 slides per minute of your presentation
Write in point form, not complete sentences
Include 4-5 points per slide
Avoid wordiness: use key words and phrases only
Slide structure - bad
This page contains too many words for a presentation slide. It is not written in point form, making it difficult both for your audience to read and for you to present each point. Although there are exactly the same number of points on this slide as the previous slide, it looks much more complicated. In short, your audience will spend too much time trying to read this paragraph instead of listening to you.
Slide structure - good
Show one point at a time: Will help audience concentrate on what you are saying Will prevent audience from reading ahead Will help you keep your presentation focused
Slide structure - bad
Do not use distracting animation
Do not go overboard with the animation
Be consistent with the animation that you use
Fonts – good
Use at least an 18-point font Use different size fonts for main points and secondary
points this font is 24-point, the main point font is 28-point,
and the title font is 42-point Use a standard font like Times New Roman, Tahoma or
Arial
Fonts – bad
If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written
CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ
Don’t use a complicated font
Color - good
Use a colour of font that contrasts sharply with the background Ex: blue font on white background
Use colour to reinforce the logic of your structure Ex: light blue title and dark blue text
Use colour to emphasize a point But only use this occasionally
Color – bad
Using a font colour that does not contrast with the background colour is hard to read
Using colour for decoration is distracting and annoying.
Using a different colour for each point is unnecessary Using a different colour for secondary points is also
unnecessary
Trying to be creative can also be bad
Background - good
Use backgrounds that are attractive but simple
Use backgrounds which are light
Use the same background consistently throughout your presentation
Background – bad
Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from
Always be consistent with the background that you use
Graphs – good
Use graphs rather than just charts and words Data in graphs is easier to comprehend and retain
than raw data
Trends are easier to visualize in graph form
Always title your graphs
Graphs - bad
20.4
27.4
90
20.4
30.6
38.6
34.631.6
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
January February March April
Blue Balls
Red Balls
Graphs – bad
Minor gridlines are unnecessary
Font is too small
Colours are illogical
Title is missing
Shading is distracting
Spelling and grammar
Proof your slides for: speling mistakes the use of of repeated words grammatical errors you might have make
Have someone else check your presentation, if you cannot see your own mistakes!
Therefore……
There are some important conclusions that we can take in from this information:
Use visuals (pictures, graphs, tables, props) whenever you can
In a speech you are only using 38% of the communication medium
Ditch the bullet points
Conclusion
Use an effective and strong closing Your audience is likely to remember your last words
Use a conclusion slide to: Summarize the main points of your presentation Suggest future avenues of research
Questions ??
End your presentation with a simple question slide to:
Provide a visual aid during question period Avoid ending a presentation abruptly