Structure of the presentation.

A well organized presentation with a clear structure is easier for the audience to follow. It is therefore more effective. You should organize the points you wish to make in a logical order. Most presentations consist of three parts, followed by questions: The beginning is ideal for an attention grabber or for an ice breaker. The end is great to wrap things up or to end with a grand finale.

 

Beginning	Short introduction	welcome your audience introduce your subject explain the structure of your presentation explain rules for questions
Middle	Body of the presentation	present the subject itself
End	Short conclusion	summarise your presentation thank your audience invite questions
Questions and Answers

Rehearsal

"If you fail to prepare, you are prepared to fail". Plan to rehearse your presentation out loud at least 4 times, and if you can get word perfect so much the better.

Rehearse against the clock. If you have to give a presentation in a short period of time then try to practice your presentation against the clock. This is particularly true when your time is limited by, say 10-15 minutes. You can add in parts from the script or take them out to fit the time.

In the actual presentation you could take in a clock or take off your wrist watch and put it on the podium. This way you can see how the timings can develop.

Rehearsal is a vital part of preparation. This will have the following benefits:

· you will become more familiar with what you want to say;

· you will identify weaknesses in your presentation;

· you will be able to practise difficult pronunciations;

· you will be able to check the time that your presentation takes and make any necessary modifications.

So prepare, prepare, prepare! Prepare everything: words, visual aids, timing, and equipment. Rehearse your presentation several times and time it.

· Is it the right length?

· Are you completely familiar with all your illustrations?

· Are they in the right order?

· Do you know who the audience is?

· How will you answer difficult questions?

· Do you know the room?

· Are you confident about the equipment?

When you have answered all these questions, you will be a confident, enthusiastic presenter ready to communicate the subject of your presentation to an eager audience.

At the end of the booklet you may find relevant Useful Vocabulary, which provides some phrases and hints and could make your preparation a bit easier.

Preparation Practice

Exercise 1. Complete the suggested questions, trying to formulate major aspects before starting preparation for a talk.

Planning

· Purpose –why and what?

· Audience –who and how many?

· Premises –do/does and is/are

Who __________________________________________?

What _________________________________________?

Why __________________________________________?

Where ________________________________________?

When _________________________________________?

How __________________________________________?

 

Exercise 2. Restore the original order of instructions on how to prepare for a successful presentation.

How to Prepare for a Presentation

The best way to perform a presentation well is to be prepared. Standing in front of a group reading from note cards and stumbling over your thoughts is not very convincing. With a little practice you can look like a pro by speaking clearly and in an organized fashion. Follow these steps to learn how.

Instructions

__ __ _ 1 _ __ __ __ __ __ __

Be sure you know how to pronounce all the words correctly. Check with the dictionary if necessary. Create an outline that includes an introduction, an overview of the main argument or purpose, the evidence used to support that argument, any critiques of the work and the conclusion. Select the material you will use. Research your topic of discussion and determine the purpose of your talk. Talk through your presentation many times before presenting. Open your slides and actually click through them speaking your part out loud. Know your audience and what it knows. Prepare your handouts, if necessary. Make sure that your talk fits in within the time limit of your presentation. Create an outline (a plan) of what ideas you wish to cover.

Exercise 3. Checklist for Planning a Presentation. Arrange the following statements depending on whether they are advisable or not.

Do’s

Don’ts

 

1. Understand the interest level of the audience;

2. Use jargon even if the audience doesn’t understand it;

3. Use simple language;

4. Make the presentation focused, easy to understand;

5. Prepare a logic tree;

6. Skip any point of your presentation if you feel like;

7. Be rigid in following a sequence according to your plan;

8. Use any available sources for in-depth analysis;

9. Be prepared for any kind of question from audience;

10. Prepare cue cards;

11. Ignore the audience during your talk, it’s their problem if they do not follow you;

12. Insert abbreviations, such as AC, MBT, QA, etc., whenever possible to make your talk more short-spoken;

13. Understand the audience question clearly;

14. Provide handouts for additional information.

 

Exercise 4. Fill in the gaps with the words in the correct form or choose the right word from those suggested.

When you ________ (to make) a presentation, the first stage is to plan it. You _________ (needn’t/should) start by __________ (to think) about your audience –who they are, what they ______ (to know) about the subject and what they expect from you. Will they be interested, enthusiastic, cooperative or perhaps critical? _____you_________ (to present) to the group from your own culture or to people of different cultures? All these factors ________ (to influence) the way you approach the presentation. If possible, try to visit the room where you__________ (to give) the talk. Check the equipment and make sure your voice _________ (to carry) to the back of the room if you don’t use a microphone. Look at the seating arrangements and make sure they are what you want.

You’re now ready to prepare what you _________ (to say). Stage one is the opening. A good opening is essential as you will be nervous and you _________ (needn’t/need to) grab the attention of the audience. You start by __________ (to introduce) yourself and then you use a technique to get the audience’s interest. We call this the ‘hook’ which focuses the audience’s attention on what you’re saying. You __________ (must/can) do this in various ways. You ________ (must/can): ask a question; use a famous quotation; use a striking visual image; appeal directly to the audience’s interests or needs. Once you have the audience’s attention, you _________ (needn’t/should) tell them the structure of your presentation. You give them a map of the talk, with signposts along the route, so they know what you _______ (to cover) in your talk.

Exercise 5. The chart below provides some ideas on what is understood by a good delivery. Read the items and give your considerations. Explain your point.

A good presenter…	1 OK	2 useful	3 v. useful	4 vital!!!
does not speak too quickly
is enthusiastic
looks at the audience/makes eye contact
is confident
is not monotone
explains the purpose of the talk
knows their subject
explains with interesting examples
reviews what they’ve covered at the end of the session

 

Home assignment

Think of a topic on which you would like to give a presentation. Do not forget that the topic should be interesting for you and your audience. Make your preparation according to the theoretical guide. Make a plan for your talk and collect the material you may use.

 

Delivery

Introduction

The introduction phase sets the tone and expectations of a meeting or presentation. Although very often the presenter will typically introduce themselves to the audience, on other occasions a colleague or chairperson may introduce the speaker.

A complete introduction for a presentation includes the following parts:

· greeting;

· your name and position;

· title and subject of your talk;

· presentation objective;

· main parts of your talk;

· mention of the visual aids that you will use;

· time you will take;

· when you would like to answer questions;

· and a link to the first section of your presentation.

At the end of the booklet you may find relevant Useful Vocabulary.

Introduction Practice

Exercise 1. Match these less formal phrases with the more formal phrases in the table:

What I want to do today is…                       It’s good to see you all here.

OK, shall we get started?                            In my talk I’ll tell you about...

Today I’m going to talk about…                 As you know, I’m…

Hi, everyone.

More formal	Less formal
1. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
2. It’s a pleasure to welcome you today.
3. I suggest that we begin now.
4. Let me just start by introducing myself. My name is…
5. Today I would like to…
6. In my presentation I would like to report on…
7. The topic of today’s presentation is…

Exercise 2. Replace the words in bold with the words from the box:

after that * begin * I’m * realize * responsible for * sections * turn

1. I’ll start off by showing you…

2. I’ve divided my presentation into three parts.

3. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Gordon Smith.

4. Then I’ll move on to the problems…

5. Professor Brown is in charge of our new Plasma Laboratory.

6. I ’m aware that you’re all busy preparing for the seminar…

Exercise 3. Match a sentence or phrase on the left with one from the right:

1. Please help yourselves 2. If we're all here, 3. I'd like to start by 4. I'd like to welcome Professor Smith. 5. After that I'd like to 6. Today, I'd like to talk about 7. If you have any questions,

a. describe the new project. b. Thank you. It's good to be here. c. to the handouts. d. let's make a start. e. please feel free to ask me. f. outlining the plan for the day. g. the success we've had with our research.

 

Exercise 4. Fill in the gaps in the sentences below with a preposition.

on       from    by    as     at      on         by

example: Thank you for coming.

a) There are copies...........the table.

b) I'd like to start...........outlining the process.

c) It's good to have Professor Jackson here...........Stanford University.

d) We can discuss any questions...........the end of the seminar.

e) I want to focus...........the latest aircraft design.

f)...........the end of this session, you'll be able to teach your staff how to use this programme.

g) I'm talking to you today...........the designer of this new robotic system.

 

Exercise 5. Complete the sentences with the correct word:

example: It's good to meet.. you.            have / take / meet

a) Did everyone.................... a handout?      give / get / go

b) Don't....................about taking notes.       worry / remember / think

c) Please....................yourselves.                 meet/ have/ help

d) Please feel....................to stop me.           expensive / free / open

e) I'd like to....................the previous survey.   let / happen / describe

f) I want to....................on the results first.  look / worry / focus

 

Exercise 6. Discuss these points in minigroups and present your ideas to the class:

 

1. The first few minutes of a presentation are the most important.

2. Words like we, us and our make the audience more interested in the subject of your presentation.

3. Formal and informal ways of greeting the audience. Why is it important to find the proper words?

4. What makes a successful speaker?

5. How to get the audience’s attention? Is it a good idea to make jokes or ask the audience rhetorical questions during your talk?

6. Do ‘presentation tricks’ help reveal the subject of your talk?

7.  Is there a special dress code for a presenter?

8. How to deal with nervousness?

 

Exercise 7. Read the introductions and say what is wrong with them:

 

1. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemens.

2. Hello, guys. Let me introduce myself. I am here in my function as the Head of the R&D (Research and Development Department). My name is Professor Brown. I should say it is a great honour to speak in front of such a distinguished audience.

3. Good morning, colleagues. I’m Doctor Smith from the University of Chicago. What I’d like to present to you today is the topic which engages me greatly. I don’t think many of you know much about it.

4. Come on, guys! Shall we get started? As you probably know I’m the new manager. You know I’m very busy. So let’s get started right now in order not to waste my time.

5. Wow! How many of you have come! It’s so unexpected. I’m afraid I didn’t realize that you would be interested in such a dull (let me be sincere with you) topic.

 

Home assignment

Create the opening part of your presentation in PowerPoint. Begin with a title page as the first slide. This should include the full title of the paper and your name. Please do not forget, that in English your last (family) name goes after your first (given name), i.e., Oleg Popov, and not otherwise. The next slide will be the plan of your talk. Besides, think of what you will say in the introduction.

Main Body

What information should you give in your talk? All the information should support the goal of your presentation. In most cases you will have to limit the content, as time is usually precious!

How much information should you give? Enough to clearly develop your ideas. Do not forget to illustrate through examples.

Here are a few possibilities for organizing your ideas: logical; chronological order; from general to specific; from known to unknown; from accepted to controversial; cause/effect; problem/solution. Whichever strategy you choose, the headings should all follow the same grammatical form. For example:

 

Foundations of aerodynamics

· Chord, camber and angle-of-attack;

· forces on the glinder in flight;

· Lift and drag.

All the above phrases have the same grammatical pattern

And not

Superconductivity

· Magnetic field is rather harmful; (a whole sentence)

· Expensive systems; (noun+attribute)

· Difficult to make wires. (contracted sentence)

 

Just as when you are driving along a road that you don't know very well, you depend on signs to guide you, you need to guide the audience by using expressions to tell them where you are going. For example, first announce what you are going to say (give an example, reformulate etc.) and then say what you want to say. This is akin to verbal punctuation. Indicate when you have finished one point and then go on to the next one. It is redundant in text but very useful in oral presentations. Experienced presenters will also clearly pause, change their pose and the pitch of their voice as they move from one part of a presentation to another.

At the end of the booklet you may find relevant Useful Vocabulary.

Main Body Practice

Exercise 1. Imagine that you are to give a presentation. Do the quiz about body language and discuss your answers with a partner. More than one answer is possible.