Giving an Oral

Presentation

Higher Education Language & Presentation Support

Location: CB01.03.08

Telephone: 9514 9733

Email: helps@uts.edu.au

Website: ssu.uts.edu.au/helps

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UTS:HELPS

Christine Vella

Why?

Is standing in front of a group of people and delivering a presentation one of your biggest challenges at university?

Share your concerns with your group members.

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Think!

• In your groups of 4 discuss the qualities of a good presentation and a bad presentation. In other words, what makes a presentation ‘good’ or ‘bad’? Make 2 lists.

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Warmer

In groups of 3 or 4 prepare & deliver a one minute presentation. You should:

• introduce yourself

• say where you are from

• inform your group what you are studying including how far into your course you are

• one thing you like & one thing you dislike about studying at university

• one more interesting thing about yourself

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What is an academic

presentation?

• Delivering a seminar presentation involves presenting a structured talk on a given topic, employing appropriate academic conventions and leading an inclusive group discussion with your peers. The presentation should be based on academic research and supported by relevant visual aids.

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What questions should guide you?

• What do you want your listeners to do or think? (Are you trying to inform/ convince/ guide/ entertain them?)

• What is the main point of the presentation? (Can you put it into one sentence?)

• What are the main ideas/ concepts/ theories / arguments/ information that supports this main idea?

• What is the most logical order to present these in?

• What language is appropriate? Oral delivery requires less formal delivery than written presentations, so avoid overly-formalised language.

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Stages

• What are the stages of an academic presentation?

• Introduction

• Body

• Conclusion

• Discussion

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Introductions

• The introduction

• The function of the introduction is to:

• attract and focus the attention of the audience

• assist in developing rapport with the audience

• outline the presentation and orientate the audience to its main ideas.

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Introductions

What is the structure of an introduction?

• an attention grabber

• a brief orientation to topic

• a clear statement of purpose

• a brief outline of the main ideas to be presented.

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Introduction

• Capture your listeners’ attention: Begin with a question, a funny story, a startling comment, or anything that will make them think.

• A brief orientation to the topic of your presentation, including context, i.e. background and definitions.

• The purpose of your presentation. What are you trying to achieve? What do you want the audience to know at the end of your presentation? ‘I’m going to talk about...’ ‘This morning I want to explain…’

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Stages of an introduction

• Present an outline of your talk; for example: ‘I will concentrate on the following points: First of all…Then… This will lead to… And finally…

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Attention grabbers

• What are some techniques that could be employed in the introduction of a presentation to help engage the audience and grab their attention?

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• A surprising statement – this could be fact (e.g. statistics) or opinion, a reality or a projection.

• Hypothetical illustration – either a projection into the future or a view of how the past might have been.

• Question or series of questions – usually these are rhetorical questions which aim to stimulate thinking rather than to give an answer.

• Reference to some current event – this can be effective as it can help to make the presentation relevant to the audience.

• Quotation – if a quotation is used it is important to explain who you are quoting (reference to source).

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An Example

• We know more about the surface of the moon than we do about our own ocean floor!”

• Which techniques from the list are being employed?

• What is the likely topic of this presentation

• What is your reaction to this statement? Why do you think this might be an effective way of leading into a presentation on the topic of the earth’s marine ecosystem?

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Now you try.

• I will give each person in the group a different topic.

• You have three minutes to prepare.

• Plan an introduction no longer than one minute in length.

• Include the four components.

• Stand & deliver

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The body

The body

• The body of the presentation serves an important role.; it is used to convey and develop the main points outlined in the introduction.

• These points should be expanded upon and supported with:

• reasons and explanations

• details and examples

• evidence and data.

• This is very similar to the body paragraphs in an academic piece of writing.

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Structure

• Take A MESYL approach to the body of the presentation. • Break into main ideas. For each idea…

• Make the point

• Explain the point (elaborate, reasons and explanations)

• Support the point (references, citations, evidence

and data, details and examples)

• Your voice (critical reflection)

• Link it back to your thesis or purpose statement

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Have a go…

• Plan & develop one main idea for a presentation

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Conclusions

The Conclusion

• It is important not to let the talk just “fizzle” out. Make it obvious that you have reached the end of the presentation. Use language such as:

• ‘To sum up...’ ‘So, in conclusion...’

• Restatement of thesis, purpose statement

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Conclusions

• It is also very important to leave your audience with a clear summary of everything you have covered.

• Summarise the main points again, using phrases like: ‘OK, to recap the main points

• Then a ‘future statement’

• Then announce it is the end of the presentation

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After presenting

• Be open to questions.

• If you can't answer a question, turn the question back out to the audience and let someone else answer it! Questions are good. They show that the audience is listening with interest. They should not be regarded as an attack on you, but as a collaborative search for deeper understanding.

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After presenting

• Be ready to get the discussion going after your presentation. Just in case nobody has anything to say, have some thought-provoking focus questions or points for discussion ready to ask the group.

• Think about how you may respond to feedback.

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Planning: Ask yourself…

Who are your audience?

• Who are they?

• What do they know about the subject? What terminology would they know? their level of knowledge (assume less than yours)

• What do they want or need to know? What is their motivation for listening to you?

• What aspects of your subject would they be interested in?

• How to gain their attention and interest?

• How much information can they absorb? If they are new to the topic, their level of absorption may be lower than for an expert audience.

• How are you going to involve them in your presentation?

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Plan

• Start by preparing an outline

• In general, follow the 4 part structure:

• Introduction - tell them what you're going to tell them.

• Body - tell them!

• Conclusion - tell them what you have told them!

• Discussion – questions from both you & the audience.

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Brainstorm and Organise

• Write a rough outline.

• Research your topic. Don’t get carried away—remember you have a limited time for your presentation.

• Organise your material and write a draft—think about the length of time you have to talk.

• Summarise your draft into points to write on your visuals.

• Which audio/visual aids will enhance your presentation: PowerPoint? Prezi? Which are you most confident with?

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Visual Aids

PowerPoint

• You can use PowerPoint or Prezi software to produce very professional visuals. Remember that PowerPoint may look great, but if the technology goes wrong you may be very embarrassed. It's a good idea to print out a handout, or have some overheads as a backup just in case.

• Do not over-use visuals (a trap when using PowerPoint). The visuals are not the presentation, their purpose is simply to summarise prompt.

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AV Example 1

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AV Example 2 UTS:HELPS 29

AV Example 3 UTS:HELPS 30

AV Example 4 UTS:HELPS 31

Attractive

Informative

Convenient

How?

• Dot or bullet points

• Verb or noun phrases

• 26 - 30 point font size

• 4-5 points each slide

• Clear, simple diagrams and pictures

• Don’t read from the slides

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Preparation

• Practise your presentation aloud (it will not help if you just say it in your head).

• Practice giving your presentation in front of a mirror or friends – better yet, record/video yourself on your iPad or iPhone!

• Whenever possible, check the facilities of the room where you are going to deliver your talk.

• Where is the plug for the computer? Is there a whiteboard? Is the software you are using compatible with that of the venue? Familiarise yourself with the equipment you will use.

• Time your presentation using the equipment (it may take longer than just reading aloud).

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Nervousness

• The first few times you make a presentation, you will be nervous. That's quite a good thing—a bit of adrenalin often helps you to perform well.

• Be organised. If you are well organised, your task will be easier. If your notes are out of order or disorganised, you may get flustered.

• Smile! Your audience will react warmly to you if you smile and at least look relaxed.

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Nervousness

• Performance—you have to be like an actor. You should look like you are enjoying yourself and feeling confident

• Breathe deeply. It will calm you down and help to control the slight shaking that you might get in your hands and your voice.

• Slow down and make use of pauses: force yourself to stop at the end of a sentence, take a breath, and think before you continue.

• Be well-prepared. Practice giving your talk (you can ask one of the HELPS Advisors to listen to your presentation)

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Presenting

Emphasise the key points—and make sure people realise which are the key points. Repeat them using different phrasing. Make it absolutely clear when you move to another point.

For example: ‘The next point is that ...’ ‘OK, now I am going to talk about ...’ ‘Right. Now I'd like to explain ... ’ ‘Of course, we must not forget that ...’ ‘However, it's important to realise that...’

Use clear examples to illustrate your points. Do not try to include too much content in for the time allowed.

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Presenting – Body Language

• Practise maintaining eye-contact with a group of people. Try to make eye contact evenly around the room. If eye contact is too hard, focus on a point just above people’s heads.

• Be visible (don't hide behind the lectern)

• Stand upright and balanced

• Stand straight and comfortably. Do not slouch or shuffle about.

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Presenting – Body

Language

• Hold your head up. Look around and make eye-contact with people in the audience. Do not just address the lecturer! Do not stare at a point on the carpet or the wall. If you don't include the audience, they won't listen to you.

• Move freely

• Don't rock, pace, fold arms

• Avoid unintentional distractors such as playing with a pen, jingling coins, or nervous gestures.

• Try not to turn your back on the audience!

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References

Canberra University

<http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/learning/oral>

Edith Cowan University

<http://intranet.ecu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/20623/presentation.pdf>

Monash University

<http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/quickrefs/11-oral-presentations.xml>

University of Tasmania

<http://www.learningsupport.utas.edu.au/Resources/oral_presentations.htm>

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