Presentations: How to get from terrified to confident! Careers & Employability Service 1

2 Think of your own experience…… The best…… and The worst……

3 Structure of today’s session The 3 Ps –Preparation & Planning –Practice Plus a D thrown in! –Delivery

When might you be asked for a presentation? Interview and/or Assessment centre: –Preparation time can vary MMU Professional Passport Work presentation Viva (academic presentation) Course presentation

5 The 3 ‘Ps’ Preparation & Planning Practice 90 seconds on what makes a great speech90 seconds on what makes a great speech

6 Preparation & Planning Audience Time Length Subject PowerPoint Delivery

7 Preparation & Planning - Audience Who is the audience? What are their expectations? Never underestimate the audience’s intelligence Involve the audience – ask questions of them

8 Preparation & Planning - Time Time determines length 5 minutes = 4 slides max Do not go over your time allocation

9 Preparation - Subject Research your subject as thoroughly as possible Don’t overload with information Don’t bluff Don’t sit on the fence Try and anticipate likely questions

10 Preparation & Planning – PowerPoint 1.Prepare your ideas on paper first 2.Font size & consistency 3.Include visuals and/or sound 4.Neat & accurate 5.Good idea to number your slides 6.Take a hard copy of your presentation in case of computer failure 7.Handouts?

11 Preparation & Planning - slides You should really only ever use 25 to 35 words on a slide as this is the amount of text the audience needs and although having a page full of interesting text might make you feel a lot better as it shows just how much you know about the subject and so it indicates just how clever you really are, its actually what you say which is important and the slides are just to reference the points for you to hang your script on… and if you have read this far why are you not listening to me?????!!!

12 Preparation Plan the structure of your talk: A strong beginning A solid & interesting middle A clear conclusion

13 Beginning Title – make it catchy If appropriate – event, date, your name and position Catch the attention - relevant anecdote, question, current news story or contradictory statement? KEEP IT SHORT AND SNAPPY

14 The middle bit Outline your key themes/argument Focus on getting 2/3 main points across Be logical & accurate – no typos! Be creative – think interest and variety

15 Be creative You could use quotes: "Tell'em what you're gonna tell'em, tell'em, tell'em what you told'em.”

16 Confidence Values & Beliefs ArticulationSmart good IT, keep to time Building rapport Presentation topic Body Language You could use diagrams, charts and graphs

17 Be creative You could use video or sound clips: Ewan McGregor on public speaking

18 Be creative –You could also use images, music, props, case histories –Above all use narrative - p eople respond to stories so paint a picture in their mind

19 Wrapping up Briefly summarise key points - tell them what you have just told them Ask if anyone has questions Important to have a clear ending SAY ‘and now to conclude’ DO NOT SAY ‘and that’s it’ and then shuffle off!

20 Exercise: On-the-spot Presentation You are in a group interview with several others Each person has to introduce themselves in no more than a minute What are you going to say?

21 More presentation examples 10 min presentation: two topics to choose from: "Why would you be a good choice for our grad scheme?" and "Describe an interesting hobby/pastime". An hour to prepare for it and after the presentation there were questions and an interview (Cable and Wireless) Had to prepare a 15 minute presentation in advance on "How to create business value through IT" (AXA) 20 minutes to prepare a 5 minute presentation on a group project you have worked on at some point, preferably where you had a choice of topic. (ATOS Origin)

22 The 3 Ps Preparation & planning Practice

23 Practise by yourself In front of mirror/on video Time yourself Practise as many times as possible - to gain confidence - to get used to the sound of your own voice Check audio visuals

24 Practise with an audience Ask for feedback Q. Were you talking too fast or too slowly? Q. Were your visual aids clear? Q. Did you move logically from one point to another? Q. Were you interesting or boring? Take criticism well and make changes

25 Nerves Script first few sentences Check any words you are unsure of and memorise Breathe deeply

26 Delivery technique As always – first impressions count Don’t start with an apology Never embarrass your audience! Avoid jargon & colloquialisms Humour – be careful!

27 Having presence Voice Body language - smile - make eye contact - mannerisms Space Rapport

What is wrong with this delivery? How many mistakes can you spot?How many mistakes can you spot? 28

29 Resources

30 Your 4 points to remember! Prepare Plan Practise Deliver