HOW TO GIVE SUCCESSFUL PRESENTATIONS Unit 5 Skills

HOW TO GIVE SUCCESSFUL PRESENTATIONS Unit 5 - Skills

What is a presentation? - a presentation is a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team - IMPORTANT: to be effective you must consider - step-by-step preparation and the method and means of presenting the information - a presentation requires you to get a message across to the listeners - making a presentation is a way of communicating your thoughts and ideas to an audience

The key elements of a presentaiton • Context • Presenter • Audience • Message • Reaction • Method • Impediments

Preparing a presentation • the single most important factor of making a succesful presentaiton • the objective → WHY? • the subject • the audience • the place • time of day • length of talk

Organising the presentation material • whether formal or informal → a clear, well-structured delivery • brainstorm / write down all the points • 3 T rule • visual aids / illustrations • presentation software (e. g. Power. Point…)

Writing your presentation • magic number 3 • What? → the key message • Why? • How? • review and edit your first draft → friendly presentation language • doublecheck spelling mistakes • take a break

Presentation method • depends on the event, occasion and its formality • very formal – informal – very informal • audience interaction and participation

Managing your presentation notes • full text notes • notes on cue cards • keywords on cue cards • mindmaps

Visual aids • only if they are necessary to maintain interest and assist comprehension in your presentation • do not use visual aids just to demonstrate your technological competence Types: Whiteboards and interactive whiteboards Flip charts Over-head projectors Slides Video Presentation software Handouts

Presenting data – you are telling your audience a story A picture is worth a thousand words

Managing a presentation event • final preparation • arrive on time • check: room, eating, supply and location of electric sockets and light switches • equipment and visual aids and the microphone (if one is being used) • set up any visuals before you begin your presentation • quickly review your notes and calm your nerves – if possible • confidence: be well prepared and well rehearsed • manage your voice and language (volume, clarity, variety) • positioning and body language

Sarnoff Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening. Dorothy Sarnoff

Signpost Language

Starting & introducing yourself • Good morning/afternoon/night and welcome to [name of company/presentation/place]… • My name is [name] and I am from [company], where I’m responsible for. . • I’m [name]. I’m a [job position] at [company]. • Let me introduce myself; I’m [name] and I work at [company], where I work in [name of the department].

Presenting the topic • The topic of my presentation today is … • What I’m going to talk about today is … • Today I’m going to discuss… • Today, I’ll be talking about/discussing [topic] • I’m here to illustrate how… • What I’m going to be talking about today is… • In today’s presentation, I’d like to talk to you about/show you/demonstrate… • The purpose of today’s presentation is…

Outlining the content of the presentation • In today’s presentation I’m going to cover [three] points: • Firstly, I’ll be looking at… • Secondly, we’ll consider… • Then, I’ll explain how… • And finally, I’ll demonstrate how. .

Introducing the first point • So let’s start, shall we? • To begin with, … • To start with, … • First of all, I’ll … • Let’s start by [+ verb in -ing form] … •

Explaining graphs, images or data • This graph/image/video/data demonstrates… • I’d like to illustrate this by showing you… • Let’s have a look at this… • Here we can see… • Here are some facts and figures…

Concluding a point • So, that concludes [name of section]… • That’s everything for [name of section]… • We’ve now covered [name of section]… • I think that just about covers [name of section]…

Moving on to the next point • Now, let’s move on to… • Now that we’ve discussed [previous point], I’d like to move on to/talk about… • Next… • Let’s look at… • I’d like now to discuss…

Concluding and summarising the presentation • To conclude, … • In conclusion, … • Well, that brings us to the end of the final section. Now, I’d like to summarise by… • That concludes my presentation. Now, if I can just summarise the main points… • I think we’ve just about seen everything now. Let’s take a look back at what we’ve seen…

Inviting questions • We’ve got a few minutes for questions. • Does anyone have any questions? • If anyone has any questions, I’d be happy to answer them. • Are there any questions?

Thanking your audience and hosts • I’d like to say thank you to everyone who has come today. • I’d also like to thank [host] for letting us be here today. • I hope that the presentation has been interesting/informative, thank you for coming. • Finally, I’d like to finish by thanking you all for coming… • Thank you for your attention/time. • I hope to see you all soon.

Useful websites: • BUSINESS ENGLISH SAMPLE PRESENTATION WITH PHRASES • WEBSITE BY CARL KWAN • HOW TO GIVE A GREAT PRESENTATION • STEVE JOBS PRESENTAION SKILLS