Talk by Helen Bowan and Hazel Jones on Presentation Skills!

(19/01/09) We had a talk by Helen and the Hazel on Presentation Skills in preperation for a 5 minute presentation of our work that will take place within a group of about 6-8 next week. I found these talks very interesting and particularly helpful and the presentation doesn't seem as daunting anymore!!

We learnt the three stages of a presentation and how to go about preparing for each of these, the include the following:

1. Before
2. During
3. After

We also learnt why we do presentations:

To:

• Recieve feedback/opinions from tutors and students.
• Commicate.
• Revise-see areas of development.
• Be objective!
• See clarity.
• Introduce your work to others.
• Review of work to self.
• Increase your confidence.
• Be able to share.
• Develop your vocabulary about your work (focus on your use of language-no rambling!)
• Do a pratice run-develop skills for the future-this presentation is within a risk free environment in the future you may have to do one in order to get a job!

What to do before the presentation (what the group I was in came up with):

1. Prepare:collect all work in one place, makesure that you have enough work to talk about.
2. Organise:Order of presentation, order of speech.
3. Pratice: Vocabulary-use of words, speed of delivery, projection of voice, timing.

What Helen told us:

1. Focus: Choose a selection/variation of work you want to talk about, identify your objectivity.
2. Plan: Structured plan of work-so you know that you are including everything that you need to-makesure everything is relevant)-Introduction, middle and conclusion, choose images that you are going to tak about and what you are going to say about them.
3. Word length: 5 mins-500 word-need to makesure that there is also time to show the work that you have included in your plan.
4. Record: write down what you are going to say-speak out loud-record yourself.
5. Run through: time your presentation as you pratice it out loud or to someone.
6. Predict questions: what people might ask about your work etc-will be helpful for the tutorial that we will be having the week after-state ideas as to what you may do next on project!
7. Visual Aids: How I am going to show my work:show the actual thing/photographs/scans/powerpoint.

What to do during the presentation (What the group I was in came up with):

1. Remember the run through.
2. Be enthusiastic.
3. Timing-slow down speech.
4. Order.
5. Check people can hear-tone/volume.
6. Check facial expressions that people are listening/aren't bored!
7. Confidence-posture.
8. Eye contact-interaction.
9. Try to keep to the pint-no waffling!
10. Key words/vocabulary:e.g-inspire, however.
11. Stay calm!
12. Remember breathing-help the projection of your voice!

What Helen told us that we hadn't already come up with:

1. Show: physical example of work if you can, so that others can hold them see what they are really like-rather than just having photographs which don't justify what it really is!
2. Use cue cards that you have previously created: rather than reading from a sheet that contains the paragraphs that you have written-the cue cards will help you remeber certain points of your speech so that it flows more naturally!
3. Take water in with you: this is also an excuse to giev you a minute to think about what you are going to say next.
4. Get a friend to make notes: during the presentation about the things that are good/bad and how others are responding to your presenation-your friend may pick up on things that you didn't notice!

What to do after the presentation (What the group that I was in came up with):

1. Note how it went and felt.
2. Reflect/evaluate on the experience!
3. Note any feedback.
4. Concentrate on our breathing!

What Helen told us:

1. Think about what you may ask/ speak about during your tutorial next week based on this presentation.
2. Relax/take a break!
3. Be respectful: thankyou for listening!

When others do their presentation think of the following:

• Be considerate: towards others-behave how you would want people to behave during your presentation!
• Be enthusiastic: about others work-take an interest in their work-ask questions!

Key points and re-cap!! points to remember that Hazel talked about!

• Don't panic!
• Prepare!
• Don't cry or collapse!
• Organise work-so in the order that you will talk about them in!
• Think of what are the key points of the presentation!
• Include visual aids!
• Think before hand of what equipment you will need during the presentation, e.g: OHP, video player, computer-Mac on the table, own laptop?
• Due to timing, if you are talking about a video clip-you may have to show you group before hand otherwise it is likely that your presentation will run over 5 mins.
• Pratice timing-read aloud.
• Write down what you are going to say but don't read off the sheet-CUE CARDS-minimal text-number them in order!
• Be supportive of others while they do their presentation.
• Makesure that you are on time to do your presentation other wise you will feel flustered and won't give a good impression!
• Talk clearly.
• Create your own style of presenting!