Presentation Skills

Throughout college and working life there will be times when you may be asked to give a presentation. This might be as part of an assessment for your course, part of an interview or be something you will be asked to prepare as part of your job.
When planning your presentation first consider the following:

• Who are the audience?
• What information do you need to get across?
• How much time have you got?
• If for an assessment or interview what are the criteria you need to demonstrate?

Using the answers to the questions above you can begin to plan your presentation.

• Structuring your presentation
  The basic structure of your presentation will be:Introduction
  Welcome the audience, introduce yourself and your presentation saying what it is about

   

  Main points
  Have a logical structure. Introduce each point clearly. Use evidence where possible to back up your point. Summarise each point before moving on to the next.

  Conclusion
  Summarise your main points. Invite questions. Thank the audience for listening.

• Rehearsing your presentation
  It is really important that you rehearse your presentation before hand as planning, writing and reading it will be different to actually speaking it out aloud and delivering it. Consider the following points when rehearsing your presentation:- Stand confident with positive body language
  – Speak clearly
  – Know the subject confidently
  – Use visual aids
  – Time yourself so you keep within the time limit (if given)
  – Rehearse it properly – actually rehearse delivering the presentation aloud
  – Ask a friend to film you giving the presentation and watch it back to consider improvements
  – Seek feedback from friends and make changes before you give the presentation for real

   

  The Group Study Room in the library is a great space to rehearse your presentations. You can book this room by asking at the Library reception desk.

• Using Powerpoint
  PowerPoint can be a really useful tool to use as a visual aid to your presentations. Think carefully about how you can use it and considering the following:- Have a clear simple design layout that is consistent throughout your presentation
  – Use a readable font size of at least 24 point
  – Use a small amount of text – don’t overload your slides with lots of words. It should not include everything you are going to say
  – Visual images communicate more effectively than just words. Think about images you could use to help demonstrate the points your making
  – Avoid using lots of animation, slide transitions and effects

   

Contact Anysia for more information.