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 - good

Graphs – bad

January February March AprilBlue Balls 20.4 27.4 90 20.4Red Balls 30.6 38.6 34.6 31.6

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!

How we take information

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

Achieving your objectives

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

In conclusion

Prepare yourself well (both your oral part and your visuals)

Practice out loud that is the only way to check how long your presentation will last (trust me)

If you experience stage fright relax, breathe deep and remember that you are not alone!