ORAL PRESENTATIONS:

Students are often asked to present their work.  This has several uses such as:

• Helping to stimulate ideas and discussion.
• It helps to practice the skills of public speaking.
• You may get your point across better by speaking it than by writing it.

They are, no doubt, quite a daunting experience, but the stress can be eased by a few simple ideas and preparation. Look at the list below, are there any ideas you can learn from?

• Make a few specific points.  Don't try to cover everything you know. And only cover as much as the time allows. – Divide your material into 'essential' and 'extra' if there is time. Remember to speak more slowly than you do normally.
  
  
• Emphasise your point with examples.
  
  
• Structure the talk so that it makes sense. – You might try listing a few headings as you prepare your presentation.
  
  
• Know and rehearse your material and the order in which you present it.
  
  
• Time yourself and practice the talk several times in front of a mirror or a friend, and on the day use a watch (or clock) to time yourself.
  
  
• Introduce your talk by outlining what you are going to say, and at the end of the presentation repeat and summarise the main points again.
  
  
• Allow a little time for audience questions.
  
  
• If you find you keep losing your place in your lecture notes try the 'postcard' technique. – Break the presentation into sections; give each section a heading; write the heading and a few simple prompting words on each card; number the cards in the order you want to present the points.
  
  
• Try to relax before the event; this includes arriving in good time, ideally before the audience, and wait until they are settled and quiet before you begin.
  
  
• Make a real effort to speak loudly and very, very slowly. You may think it is too slow, but believe me, it isn't!
  
  
• Make eye contact with at least one person and don't read from your script. Try to keep your script to a few keywords, and then a simple glance now and again is all that you will need. – Use the Postcard technique note above if this helps.
  
  
• Pause and take a few slow and deep breaths before you begin and take a deep breath between each point.  It might be a good idea to pause briefly at the end of each 'postcard' or at the end of each overhead/projected slide. – The audience needs time to absorb the point you made; it looks more professional; and it will help you relax.
  
  
• Don't make your overhead or computer slides too complex. They should be clear and simple with a few bullet points rather than lots of text. – Use a large font size, then you will not be tempted to put too much onto a slide.
  
  
• Don't stand in front of the screen, nor keep turning around to see what’s on the screen – keep a copy of your slides in front of you.
  
  
• Don't reveal your overheads/projector slides too early. – The audience will start to read them rather than paying attention to you.  If you need to cover material between slides, then cover the projector with a piece of paper (don't keep turning it on and off), or insert some blank (black) slides.
  
  
• Try not to just repeat what is on the slide – add 'value' to the slide by adding some extra detail – but not too complicated.
  
  
• Don't forget that you know more about your own presentation than any one else.  So don't apologise for things that go wrong or that you forget.  How will the audience know?  Being confident and acting as though your talk is good is 50% of the secret in giving a good presentation.
  
  
• When answering questions at the end, repeat the question before you start to answer.  This ensures that everyone has heard the question and it gives you time to think.
  
  
• If you do not know the answer to a question be honest and admit it, but try asking the audience if they have anything to contribute in answer to the question.