# Welcome to SMIRK Unit
9 - Presentations

- Getting started
- Gathering, selecting and structuring
  material
- Sections of your presentation
- Managing your props
- Managing nerves
- Your audience and time
- Your voice and your body
- After the presentation
- Back to main index

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SMIRK - Presentations by Imperial College, Loughborough University, University of Worcester and EBE Learning Development Centre modified by Marion Kelt GCU is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

# Getting started

Most of us have to make a presentation at some point in our lives. These pages will help you to deliver one with confidence. You will learn what should be considered before, during and after a talk. Remember that the success of a good presentation lies in the preparation. Before you start anything, take the time to consider:

- What is the purpose of the presentation?
  - to inform, to persuade, to educate, to entertain?
  - is it a lecture, a debate, or a speech?
  - is it formal or informal?
- The audience:
  - who are they?
  - how many?
  - what do they already know?
  - are they receptive or interested?
  - are you going to challenge them?
  - what do you want them to learn or know?
- The environment - what is the size and layout of the room, and what facilities will be available (data projector, smartboard)?
- What could be a problem for you?
  - not getting your points over?
  - feeling exposed?
- How can this happen?

- stage fright - perfectly normal but can affect your ability to communicate.
- reading word-for-word and making little eye contact with audience.
- being too relaxed - you may seem bored and, if so, the audience will switch off.
- not knowing the material - try to know more (or appear to know more) than your audience.

- How to avoid it? Prepare, prepare, prepare

Top tip - Don't forget that everyone in your class feels the same as you do.

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SMIRK - Presentations by Imperial College, Loughborough University, University of Worcester and EBE Learning Development Centre modified by Marion Kelt GCU is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

# Gathering, selecting and
structuring material

Gathering…
There are many sources of information available. Make sure you assess the authority (who wrote it?), currency (how up-to-date is it?) and accuracy of a source before you rely on it to support a point in your presentation.

Selecting…
Often when you are asked to give a talk you will need to distil a large amount of information into a short time. Be ruthless. Too much information can confuse an audience.

- What is centrally relevant?
- What can be left out?
- What is supporting information?
- Will handouts help?
- Skip (or reduce) the maths.

Structuring…
A clear structure to your presentation will not only provide with you a clear path to follow, but also help your audience.

- What are your main points?
- In what order do they need to be discussed?
- What secondary information should come under each of your headings?

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SMIRK - Presentations by Imperial College, Loughborough University, University of Worcester and EBE Learning Development Centre modified by Marion Kelt GCU is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

# Sections of your
presentation

Either side of your main argument, remember to write:

An introduction. This should:

- welcome your audience
- introduce yourself (and colleagues if it's a group presentation).
- start with an outline of your presentation - explain the aims and objectives and the order in which you will present key ideas. This will lay a map down in the minds of the audience.
- speak to your intended audience at their level. Avoid jargon and material you know will be obvious or trivial to them.

#### A conclusion:

- plan a summary… ‘I have discussed the following... in conclusion...', This is where you can leave a good impression, and perhaps introduce a final point or question to linger in the minds of your audience.
- summarise key points you want your audience to remember.
- invite questions. Remember that "I'm sorry, I don't know" is a perfectly acceptable answer.

Group presentations

- Plan together.
- All team members must contribute.
- Agree responsibilities and deadlines.
- Rehearse.
- First person should briefly introduce each member and their subject.
- Look interested when a group member is speaking.
- Practise the change-over.
- Help one another out

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SMIRK - Presentations by Imperial College, Loughborough University, University of Worcester and EBE Learning Development Centre modified by Marion Kelt GCU is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

# Managing your props

Notes
You'll need to think about how you are going to deliver your presentation. Some people memorise the whole talk, others read from notes. A middle ground is probably the best way. Familiarise yourself with your material to the point that you will only need headings to guide you. This saves you from forgetting what you memorised, or losing your place long notes. You can use cards or notes to prompt yourself but write in big letters and leave lots of space between points. Write at the bottom of card or note 'Turn to new slide'.

Visual aids
These are helpful both to you as the speaker, and to your audience. They can help illustrate your points and avert the audience's gaze which helps if you're nervous. They also help to retain the audience's interest, giving them another way to understand your points. No matter the form of visual aid, ensure they are visible and legible, here are some hints:

- present only a small amount of information on the slides. Each slide should have a title.
- do not read word-for-word or you might as well as give a handout.
- use short bulleted lists, charts, graphs, tables to break up the talk but make sure they are labelled
- use large type, and a sans serif font like Arial, Helvetica or Verdana. Anything smaller than about 23 point may be hard to see in a large room - 12 point would be impossible. Lower case IS BETTER THAN ALL CAPITALS
- remember to remove them when you've finished with them to avoid distraction.

Handouts
Providing handouts is another good way of reinforcing your message and providing supplementary material that there may not be time to present.

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SMIRK - Presentations by Imperial College, Loughborough University, University of Worcester and EBE Learning Development Centre modified by Marion Kelt GCU is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

# Managing nerves

Nervousness is probably the biggest problem that most inexperienced speakers face. Actually, it's good to feel a bit nervous, as this provides the adrenalin rush we need to give a good performance. However, excessive nerves can have the opposite effect and no-one enjoys the physical or emotional symptoms of fear. So how can nerves be managed?

- Practice, practice, practice. Rehearse in front of the mirror, or with friends. Feeling prepared goes a long way to calming your nerves.
- Name your fears. Write down exactly what it is you're afraid of, then you can devise strategies to cope.
- What is the worst that can happen? Even if the talk fails miserably, you will not die. Thinking of the worst case scenario often puts things back in perspective.
- Relaxation techniques. Regular deep breathing gives your body the oxygen it needs to burn off excess adrenalin, thus calming you down. A walk should have the same effect.

"If you are over-nervous, it does not mean you cannot be a successful speaker, it merely means you have more work to do." Turk, Christopher. (1985) Effective Speaking: communicating in speech. London : Spon. p.112

Activity: Think of some ways that you could lessen your fears about making presentations. What techniques could you use to help yourself relax more? Make a note of them.

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SMIRK - Presentations by Imperial College, Loughborough University, University of Worcester and EBE Learning Development Centre modified by Marion Kelt GCU is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

# Your audience and time

When the day finally arrives and your turn has come, don't be in a rush to start and get it over and done with. Take your time to set out your stall. Ensure your notes are in order, your visual aids in place and that the environment is as you want it. This will give you confidence during the presentation. Give some thought to:

- your audience
- the time
- your voice
- your body

Your audience
Remember that the audience are a group of real people who are on your side (not the enemy). They have a genuine interest in what you have to say. This goes a long way to helping you communicate with them effectively. It also helps calm nerves.

“If I were asked which was the main advice I would give a novice speaker, I would choose these three:
- Trust and like the audience, do not fear and confront them;
- Look at them;
- Smile.
The second and third of these are, of course, the ways in which the first is expressed.”

The time
It is important that you keep to time - especially in an academic setting where marks may be deducted if you talk for longer than allocated. Before you start, make a note of your "stop time", keep an eye on the clock and if you run out of time, stop. Audiences welcome talks that finish on time – or a bit before. Remember - when rehearsing you tend to talk faster.

###### Reference: Turk, Christopher. (1985) Effective Speaking: communicating in speech. London : Spon. p.39

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SMIRK - Presentations by Imperial College, Loughborough University, University of Worcester and EBE Learning Development Centre modified by Marion Kelt GCU is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

# Your voice and your
body

Your voice
Research shows that the words we use count for only 7% of the message we communicate. The remaining 93% comes from the tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures and so on. When thinking about our voices we need to ensure they are:

- Audible - some rooms have better acoustics than others, but nerves can cause our volume to decrease. Keep your head up and speak slowly and clearly, aiming at the person at the back of the room.
- Interesting - concentration spans are short so retain interest by varying the tone of your voice. Asking a question naturally causes this to happen.
- Appropriately paced - research has shown that we don't speak more quickly during presentations, but the number of natural pauses in our speech decreases. It may feel artificial, but insert enough pauses in your talk to allow the audience to take in all the information. One trick is to add a couple of extra seconds of silence as you change slides.

Your body
Non-verbal communication speaks as much as our words and voices. When speaking remember:

- Eye contact - keep in contact with your audience, look at them and try to make eye contact. If the group is spread out make sure you look around the room to involve them all. If you are too nervous to make eye contact, try focusing on people's foreheads – this gives the impression you're making eye contact!
- Don't fidget - it is hard to listen to the content of a talk if the speaker is pacing up and down or fiddling with their glasses.
- Dress professionally - wear something which is smart, but does not distract from the content of what you are saying.

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SMIRK - Presentations by Imperial College, Loughborough University, University of Worcester and EBE Learning Development Centre modified by Marion Kelt GCU is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

# After the presentation

After your presentation
Once the talk is over, the audience may still have some questions. When handling questions remember to:

- Appear interested. Give your questioner your full attention and put them at ease if they appear nervous.
- Summarise the question. Rephrasing the question not only gives you time to think, and confirms with the questioner that you have understood, but also ensures that the rest of the audience have heard it.
- Answer the question asked. The temptation, if you don't know the answer, is to talk about something else. Try and stick to the topic and if you don't know, offer to take their details and find out for them.
- Don't talk too long. The time for questions is always limited and there may be other questioners waiting for their turn. Try and keep your answers brief and to the point.

#### Ask yourself:

- did I prepare?
- was the content relevant?
- did I use the time well?
- did I explain clearly?
- was the language appropriate?
- did my non-verbal communication help or hinder?
- how effective were my visual aids?
- was the discussion time useful?
- did the presentation achieve its aims and objectives?

Good luck!

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SMIRK - Presentations by Imperial College, Loughborough University, University of Worcester and EBE Learning Development Centre modified by Marion Kelt GCU is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License