Presentations ©The Learning Quality Support Unit, 2013

Contents Types of presentations Techniques – Planning – Structure Creating effective PowerPoint presentations Delivery

Types of presentations Oral Posters Clinical Group

Planning Purpose/objective Audience Facilities

Structure Introduce Main body – Follow order from introduction Conclude Questions?

Slide style One slide per point Do not use full sentences Use bullet points (4-5) Logical flow Avoid animations

If you do not use bullet points to highlight key points and just fill your slides with unnecessary padding, it will be very difficult for your audience to read what you have put or for them to work out the point you are actually trying to make. They may also spend so much time trying to read what you have put that they do not listen to what you are saying and will not be looking at you. You might think that this is a good thing! However, if you are being marked on your presentations skills –presenting your work in this way will have a negative impact on your grade!

Fonts Size (28 point+) – Use secondary bullets for additional points (24 point +) – If it’s too small your audience will not be able to see the information Style – Use Arial or Comic Sans – DO NOT USE CAPITALS – Complicated fonts are difficult to read

Colours Contrast the background (as in this example) Occasional use of different colours – avoid using different colours for secondary points – if you do use a different colour make sure that your audience will be able to see the words Use a light background

Background Simplicity Clarity Consistency

Data presentation Figure 2: LQSU questionnaire respondents per year of study and gender for Figure 1

Spelling and Grammar Proof your slides for: – speling misteaks – the use of of repeated words – grammatical errors you might have make If English is not your first language, have someone check your presentation! (adapted from International Association of Science and Technology for Development (IASTED) (n.d.)

Delivery Impress your audience Use aide memoires Engage your audience Use appropriate speeds and pitch/tone Stand to the side of the presentation Practice group presentations for flow and timings

References International Association of Science and Technology for Development (IASTED) (n.d.). Making PowerPoint Slides, Avoiding the Pitfalls of Bad Slides. Retrieved from ng/presentations-tips.ppt ng/presentations-tips.ppt