1. HOW TO GIVE
AN EFFECTIVE
PRESENTATION

2. A BRIEF OUTLINE *What is a presentation?
*The objectives of presentations
*Three important factors to be considered
when preparing a presentation:
a) The Audience
b) The Presentation Plan
c) The Delivery

3. A BRIEF OUTLINE 6 steps to follow when preparing a presentation
The importance of using note cards and visual aids in a presentation
3 key factors in the successful delivery of a presentation:
a) Timing b) Attention Span
c) *Personal Approach
*Body language: Posture, gestures, facial expresions, voice,
eye contact
*Attitude: Empathy, interaction with the audience, use of humor

4. PRESENTATION
At university, assignments often take the form of presentations.
Most students feel nervous at the idea of speaking to an audience.
With some theoretical knowledge as well as a little training and practice, it is possible to gain and improve the skills for giving effective presentations.

5. Presentation
“The process of presenting the content of a topic to an audience.”
Unlike everyday conversation, presentations have a clear purpose and a logical structure. Language is more formal and the delivery style is more dramatic.
Hence, presentations require careful planning and good preparation.

6. We give presentations for various purposes:
To persuade
To train
To inform
To entertain people
We must shape the content and structure of our presentation according to the goal we want to achieve

7. When preparing a presentation you need to think about three crucial elements:
The Audience
The Presentation Plan
The Delivery

8. The Audience
Before you start to prepare your presentation, you must think about your audience and their needs.
The more you know about your audience and what they expect from your presentation, the better you can prepare.

9. When you are thinking about your audience, ask yourself....
Who exactly will you be speaking to?
How many people will be there?
What do they already know about the subject?
Why are they there?
What do they need to know?
What are their needs and expectations?

10. The Audience
Age: Prepare your presentation considering the age level of the audience.
Younger audiences require more visual stimuli while older audiences may have difficulty hearing voices or seeing small images.
The presentation will be a failure if the audience doesn’t understand it.
Therefore, you should try to make your message “clear” and “easy to understand.”

11. The Presentation Plan
Plan your presentation carefully. It is very risky to give a presentation without careful planning.
A well-prepared presentation will make you feel more confident and help you overcome your nervousness.

12. 6 Steps to go through when preparing a presentation:
Understanding the aim
Deciding on a topic
Gathering information
Formulating a structure
Rehearsing (practising)
Delivery (giving the presentation)

13. STEP 1: Understanding the aim
What is your presentation about?
First, think about the general purpose of your presentation:
Are you going to explain your views on a controversial topic?
Are you going to tell the audience about the results of a research or survey? or
Are you going to inform the audience about or an innovation or a new product ?

14. STEP 2: Deciding on a topic and narrowing it down
Choose a subject that is in agreement with the aim of the presentation.
After deciding on the topic, you must next narrow it down to a size appropriate for the time available, the situation, the type of audience, and so on.

15. Content
The content is the information you want to give in your presentation. Before you can decide on how much information you should give, you must think over the subject of your presentation thoroughly.
When you decide on the content, ask yourself these questions:
How much time do I have to give this presentation?
What key information do I need to cover?
What does the audience need to know?

16. Importance of avoiding too much detail
A verbal presentation should aim at conveying a certain message to an audience, but at the same time it must emphasize only the most important points.
Going into too much detail in a presentation will lead to a loss of focus.

17. Step 3: Gathering Information
Collect relevant material for your presentation. Use various sources of information including books and published papers, newspaper articles, statistical data, and information from the Internet.
If background information on your topic is required, dictionaries and encyclopedias should be used.

18. Step 4: Formulating a Structure
Once you have
*understood the aim of the presentation
*decided on the topic
*and finished collecting information,
you can start formulating a structure (making an outline)
Your presentation should have a coherent, clear structure.
The organization of a typical presentation is as follows: Introduction + Body + Conclusion

19. Step 5: Rehearsal (Practice)
“Practice does make perfect!”
Practice out loud and say it differently each time. Do rehearsals to achieve spontaneous performance.
You should do the first rehearsals by yourself, and later perform in front of your friends or family.

20. Step 6: Delivery (Your actual performance in the presentation)
How you say something is as important as what you say.
A well-prepared and well-organized presentation can prove ineffective because of poor performance.
4 crucial points you should pay attention to in the delivery:
*an effective performance in introduction, body
and conclusion parts
*your relationship with the audience
*use of visual aids and note cards
*effective use of body language

21. Introduction
In the Introduction, you focus on issues such as why you have chosen this particular topic or why that topic is so important.
Introduction also prepares listeners for the body by providing background information such as an explanation for your research methods.

22. The following techniques may help to make the introduction more impressive and dynamic:
Introduce yourself
Explain why you are there and what you hope to achieve (state your purpose)
Build a good relationship with the audience
Reach out to your audience by asking questions
Arouse interest by quoting effective words or facts

23. Body
You should use the body of the presentation to develop your argument and explain key information.
You must explain your points clearly one at a time so that your audience can follow what you are saying.
Remember to keep your points simple and short.

24. Conclusion
You should summarize what you said in the body by repeating the most important points.
Make sure that the audience will remember your message. A weak close can kill a presentation. It is important to create a lasting impression in your conclusion.
Leave some time for discussion, questions and answers at the end of the presentation.
Tip: Don’t forget to thank your audience for attending and listening.

25. Visual Aids It is important to use visual aids because they can
help the audience focus on what you are saying
make the presentation more interesting
help to explain the points you make more clearly
provide variety
keep the speaker on the track

26. Use of Note Cards
You may use notes with headings and key points to be covered.
You may also want to write down key sentences. Notes can be written on paper or cards.
You must avoid shifting your attention from the audience for too long.

27. Effective Use of Notes
If you are not an experienced speaker, it is not a good idea to speak without notes because you will soon lose your track.
You should avoid reading a prepared text aloud or memorizing your speech as this will be rather boring.
While speaking, you should refer to your notes briefly and take your eyes off your notes.

28. 3 key factors in the successful delivery of a presentation:
a) Timing b) Attention Span
c) *Personal Approach
*Body language: Posture, gestures, facial expresions, voice, eye contact &
*Attitude: Empathy, interaction with the audience, use of humor

29. Timing
Do your best to start and end your presentation at the pre-scheduled time
If you end your speech early, no one complains, but ending late is the result of poor planning
If you expect audience involvement, devote per cent of the time to audience participation

30. Attention Span
The level of audience’s attention during a presentation varies considerably
The attention is high at the beginning, but tends to fall after the first 10 minutes
So, it would be a good idea to emphasize or repeat the key points at certain intervals
A remark like “Let me summarize what I just said.....” will boost the level of attention

31. BODY LANGUAGE Did you know? The tone of your voice and
your body language
can account for 65 % of the message you give in the presentation

32. Body Language: POSTURE
Stand up straight
Don’t lean against any objects
Don’t stand in the way of the visual aid

33. Body Language: GESTURES
Avoid repetitive hand gestures or manners
Use gestures to highlight the main points
Don’t stand fixed to the same spot
Move around as you are giving the presentation
Don’t play with objects while you are speaking

34. Body Language: FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
Effective speakers use facial expressions to help reinforce their messages
A smiling face gives the audience reassurance
Be natural and relaxed
Don’t look confused, bored or scared

35. Body Language: VOICE Speak slowly so that everyone can follow
Speak loudly so that everone can hear
Speak articulately (clearly) so that everyone can understand
Change the volume of your voice when emphasizing important information
Avoid speaking with a monontonous tone

36. Body Language: EYE CONTACT
Look at the eyes of the listeners as often as possible
Eye contact is an effective way to build a good relationship with the audience
Eye contact encourages the involvement of participants in what is being presented
Through eye contact a presenter gives the audience the message that he/she values them
The smaller the size of the audience, the greater the need for eye contact

37. ATTITUDE Take a positive attitude toward your audience
Be enthusiastic about the subject you are presenting
Be confident and professional
Try to stay calm

38. HUMOR
Include stories, anecdotes and jokes to reinforce the key points in your presentation
The use of humor helps arouse the audience’s attention and interest
Make sure that the stories and jokes you tell the listeners are relevant to the topic under discussion and will not offend anybody in the audience
If it is not your natural talent, don’t force yourself into making humorous remarks

39. CONCLUSION
There is no reason to feel nervous when giving a presentation as long as you have a clear idea about the basic principles and techniques of giving a presentation.
Through careful planning and preparation, it is possible to achieve a high level of performance.