Presentation

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 389.

Unit 6 Goal-setting

The key is preparation. So the first step is to find out who you are going to be presenting to. Now you need to do this on two levels. Firstly, how much does the audience know about the subject? Are they experts or do they know very little? Secondly, are you presenting to a group from the same or from different countries? And adjust your language so that everybody can understand.

If possible, visit the room where you'll be giving the presentation beforehand and organize it precisely to your own requirements. Check you are familiar with the equipment, re-arrange the seating, and try to make yourself feel comfortable and relaxed in it.

So once you know who you are presenting to and where, you're ready to start preparing what exactly you are going to say. OK?

Stage one – is the opening – that all-important first few moments that can make or break the presentation. Then stage two, a brief introduction about the subject of your talk. Then three, the main body of the presentation. And four, the conclusion, which should include a summary of your talk and your final opinion or recommendations. Finally, the question and answer session.

Now the most important stage is the opening minute or so and I'd suggest that people memorize it exactly as if they were actors. Write down the opening with all the pauses and the stress clearly marked, and then record it, listen to it, and practice it again and again. This is so important because if it's properly done, you not only get the audience's attention immediately, but you feel confident during what can be the most frightening part of the presentation. After that, you can start using your notes.

So the first step is to write those notes. Write the whole presentation out just like an essay. Then select the key points. But read the full version over and over again until it's imprinted on your mind. The next step is to buy some small white postcards and write no more than one or two of the key points or key phrases onto each one.

Now visual aids, like overhead transparencies, are very important of course. But most people put far too much information on them. Don't – because it's difficult to read and it bores the audience. Limit yourself to a maximum of five points on each. Remember to turn off the projector when you are not actually using it. And don't talk to the machine, or the transparency, which again, lots of people do. Face the audience at all times.

Finally, remember that it's not just what you say. How you say it is just as important. Quite unlike meetings and negotiations, a good presentation is very much a performance.