Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Presentation Skills
FIRST STEPS
IT’S ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO START BY ANALYSING YOUR TASK, AS YOU WOULD DO
FOR ANY OTHER ASSESSMENT.
- Analyze the task and think about what you need to say (the content) and who
you will say it to (the audience).
- Brainstorm your content, write down everything that comes into your head
about the topic. Remember, there’s no right or wrong in brainstorming, so write
down everything you can think of.
- Now you have a basis from which to write an outline and organize your
presentation. If you need to do any research or find out more information about
the topic of your presentation, now is the time to do it.
WHAT IS A PRESENTATION?
A presentation is a form of predominantly formal and one-way communication
aimed at giving information to one or more people in ways that enable them to act.
FEATURES OF A PRESENTATION
With respect to ‘content’ were identifying a key concept of presentation (43%) and
relevance (43%). Best features in evaluations of ‘slides’ were clarity (50%), graphics
(27.3%) and readability of the text and font size (23%). Finally, best features in
‘presentation style’ were clarity (59%), pace (52%), voice (48%), engaging with the
audience (43%), addressing questions (34%) and eye contact (28%).
The seven features of effective presentations together from the word SUCCEED.
The letters stand for:
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using a presentation?
C – Commanding: i.e., will your delivery be commanding and
authoritative?
E – Entertaining: i.e., will your presentation entertain?
E – Enthusiastic: i.e., can you convey enthusiasm with your ideas?
D – Daring: i.e., is the presentation exciting and lively?
If you are considered to use a visual aid for your presentation as PowerPoint software,
then you must have a plan to design the slides of your presentation according to the
subject you are supposed to present in front of your audience in a logical sequence. For
Example, if you have a research, or you are supposed to give a lecture, the following
table will guide you to achieve the best sequence of your subject.
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C- Presentation Softwares
There are a lot of programs and apps available to help you design visuals to accompany
your talk. Here are just a few:
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Prezi
- emaze
- Projeqt
- Haiku Deck
- PowToon
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headlines, 18-28 for text, 12-14 for references) - look at your presentation from
2 meters away to estimate that it’s big enough.
- ALL CAPITAL LETTERS ARE DIFFICULT TO READ – Upper and Lower case
letters are easier.
- Serif fonts are difficult to read on screen – ex: Times new roman font ( Z )
- Sanserif fonts are clearer – ex: Calibri font ( Z )
- Italics are difficult to be read on screen.
- Bold Fonts are preferable.
- Underlines may signify hyperlinks.
- Avoid Clutters, stick three to five points per slide at most, use numbers, bullets,
or even colors to make these points as a list with specific sequence.
- Use color combinations that work when projected (light on dark vs dark on
light).
- Beware of backgrounds – not too fussy.
- Beware of animations – distracting.
- Beware of sound effects – distracting.
- Art works can be distracting.
- A range of design options are available.
- Can be hands-free if you use a wireless presenter or presentation remote (you
can also get an app for your phone that can do this).
- There are a couple of different versions around so make sure your version is
compatible with the computer you will use to display your presentation.
- It’s easy to get caught up in using animations, transitions, and fancy backgrounds
so remember to keep it simple.
- Requires you to stay near the computer to click to the next slide unless you have
a hands-free device.
- Somewhat limited when compared to specialist presentation software such as
Prezi.
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HOW TO PRESENT?
- Introducing yourself
By give personal information, audience can identify the speaker and establish your
authority.
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce myself. Good morning everyone, I'd like to
start by introducing myself. My name is...I am a student at the ………….I am a doctoral candidate, I
am a PhD scholar of …I am …. from …
But sometimes, especially when invited to speak, the host introduces the guest
speaker, gives the same information and then gives the floor to him/her.
If you want to set any limits on the scope of your talk, it may be very useful to eliminate
certain areas before you start so as to avoid confusion. It is also very useful and polite to
give the audience some idea of how long you will speak so as to maintain their attention
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better.
I will not speak about...I have limited my speech to…My talk will last about 15 minutes.
You may ask a question or somehow try to determine the attitude and knowledge of the
audience. You will then have to modify the contents, as you never know exactly what to
expect.
Have you ever heard of...? You may already know…I feel sure that some of you…Every day you
encounter...
Get the audience's attention by saying:
Have you ever heard of/seen …? You've probably seen countless times...You may have wondered...
I'd ask you to save your questions for the end. There will be plenty of time at the end of my speech
for a discussion. You may interrupt me at any moment to ask questions or make comments. Please
stop me if you don't understand anything I say but could you keep any specific questions until
after I've finished.
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The audiences usually remember the first and last parts of a presentation. Try to keep
the audience's attention throughout the rest of the speech.
-Signaling where you are
Sometimes it is necessary to guide the audience by using expressions to tell him/her
where you are going. This is very like verbal punctuation. Indicate when you have
finished one point and then go on to the next one. It is redundant in text but very useful
in oral presentations. Experienced presenters will also clearly pause; change their
stance and the pitch of their voice as they move from one part of a presentation to
another.
- Listing information
Vary your language whenever possible and avoid reading directly. Listing your
information is very important.
There are three things we have to consider: one, two, and three /A, B, C. Now let us look at the …
aspect/part which is...First of all…In the
first place…
- Linking ideas, sections and making transitions
Indicate the end of one section and the beginning of the next.
That's all I would like to say about... and now let us turn to ....Now that we've seen... let us turn to…
- Outlining
To show you are familiar with the different ways of dealing with a topic or situation, you
can outline them.
There seem to be two possible ways of dealing with this... first/first of all …We've looked at this
from the point of view of the/eye of … but what about if we were to...A number of options present
themselves at this point....
- Comparing and contrasting
You may compare the strengths and weaknesses of what you are dealing with in your
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presentation.
What exactly are the …? On the plus side we can add...This is not the only weakness of the plan...We
cannot ignore the problems that such an
action would create...We do not need to concern ourselves with…Of lesser interest are…
To rephrase:
Let me rephrase that, In other words , Another way of saying the same thing is , That is to say, i.e.
To summarize:
To summarize, To sum up, Let me summarize by saying ,So that concludes my overview, In
conclusion , Briefly said , In short, What I've tried to show in this part...To recap what we've seen
so far...
To emphasize:
What is very significant is...What is important to remember...I'd like to emphasize the fact
that...I’d like to stress the importance of...to highlight... to underline...What I tried to bring
out...What we need to focus on...
To refer to what you have already said:
As I have already said earlier...As we saw in part ...To repeat what I've said already…
To refer to what you will say:
We will see this a little later on. This will be the subject of part …We will go into more detail on that
later. For now, suffice to say...
To quote:
I quote the words of ...In the words of…According to...Here I'd like to quote…As Mr. … says in his
book...
To refer to common knowledge:
As you all may well know...It is generally accepted that...As you are probably aware (of)...
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Think of your presentation as you explaining something to a friend: would you use
lengthy,
Subject-specific words, or would you choose more simple words that you know your
friend
can understand? Your audience is your friend, and your aim is to help them
understand.
Furthermore, instead of reading out your full speech you should try to condense the
main points into note cards that you use to prompt your memory. That way, your
speech will seem spontaneous and interesting. If you spend the presentation with your
eyes on your notes, your audience won’t be able to hear you properly or see your face,
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Your presentation starts from the moment you walk in the room, not from the moment
you open your mouth.
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there’s nothing to worry about. When your audience sees you smile, they feel like you’re
happy to be there and they relax too.
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Don’t forget to pronounce sounds clearly so that your audience can understand you, as
well as practice pronouncing unfamiliar words.
J- Attention spans
Research indicates that most people’s attention spans start to decline about 17 minutes
of non-stop listening. Research also shows that attention is higher at the start and end
of a talk than in the middle. This means that you should time your presentation to last
no more than about 20 minutes. If your subject requires you to speak longer, think of
using suitable breaks, intervals or a change of pace and style.
C- Stay positive
Don’t give in to negative self-talk. Instead of telling yourself, ‘I’m so nervous about
this speech,’ reframe your thoughts in positive language. Tell yourself instead: ‘This
speech is a big challenge for me, but I’m ready.’ Visualize yourself giving the speech
and getting the result you want (thunderous applause, a good grade, or even just the
relief that it’s over).
D- Strike a (power) pose
If you can, find time before the speech to practice a high-power pose. Two minutes in
a power pose can make you less stressed and more confident for the task ahead.
E- Just before you start
Just before you speak, take a deep breath and smile. If you’re still feeling anxious,
channel that nervous energy into enthusiasm instead. If you’re excited, your
audience will be too!
F- It’s OK to pause
During your speech, use pauses effectively. Don’t be afraid to stop speaking at the
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end of a sentence to take a breath, smile at the audience, or sip some water. There’s
nothing wrong with a moment of silence.
G- Fake it until you make it
And last but not least, fake it until you make it! Put on your costume, act confident,
and tell yourself that you’re not nervous. No one will know the difference.
5- REHEARSALS
The secret for a successful presentation is Rehearsals..
First of all, write out exactly what you are going to say and learn it..
Through your trial of rehearsals, try to :
- Use short sentences
- Use short words
- Use the active tense
- Use lively language
- Be Precise
- Project your voice
Through your trial of rehearsals, try NOT to :
- Use long complicated sentences
- Use long abstract words
- Use passive tense
- Use clichés
- “hum and haw”
- Be mono-tonal
General Tips for Rehearsals
- It is generally unacceptable to read a talk, don’t read every word on the slide.
- Use the slides as an aid. Use Key-words to remember the talk.
- Practice in front of a mirror, make an audio or a videotape
- Give the talk formally to a friend(s).
- Time yourself and get it right.
- Accept criticism and be prepared to change
- Try at least once to give the talk in a room similar to the one you will be using
for the presentation.
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References :
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