Introduction to presentation skills


 1. Read the following pieces of advice and choose three of them that you find good and you did not
apply them in your presentations in the past. Be prepared to share your ideas later in class.




How to become a good presenter

Powel, M.: Presenting in English, Thomson, Heinle, 2002, pp7,8



 1. LEAVE NOTHING TO CHANCE

Prepare well and check everything before you are due to speak – room, seating, equipment.
 2. KNOW EXACTLY HOW TO START

Plan the first minute to the last detail. Try to memorize the opening words.
 3. GET STRAIGHT TO THE POINT

Don’t waste time on long boring introductions.
 4. TALK TO YOUR AUDIENCE

Presentation can be similar to conversation – refer back to your audience, ask them questions,
respond to their reactions.
 5. KNOW WHAT WORKS

Certain things are always popular: personal experiences, dramatic comparisons, amazing facts,…
 6. BE CONCISE

Keep your sentences short and simple. Use pauses to punctuate your speech.
 7. SPEAK NATURALLY

Don’t be afraid to hesitate. A certain amount of hesitation is quite natural.
 8. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Speak for your audience, not yourself. Show how much common ground you share with them. Address
their goals, their needs, their concerns.
 9. TREAT YOUR AUDIENCE AS EQUALS

Do not look down (or up) to your audience. Treat them as equals, no matter who they are.
10. BE YOURSELF

As far as possible, speak to five hundred people in much the same way you would speak to five.
11. LET YOUR VISUALS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

Don’t put boring tables of figures or long lines of text on your slides. When showing the visual,
give people time to take it in, then make brief comments only.
12. DEVELOP YOUR OWN STYLE

Be comfortable with your own abilities. Don’t do anything that feels unnatural for you, just
because it works for someone else.
13. ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE

The secret of being an excellent speaker is to enjoy the experience of speaking.
14. WELCOME QUESTIONS FROM YOUR AUDIENCE

Treat questions as an opportunity to get your message across better.
15. FINISH STRONGLY

Look at the audience and deliver your final words slowly and clearly. Pause, smile, say Thank you.

2. Answer these questions which will help to assess your skills. (You will not have to tell the
class later if you don’t want to). This is a reflection for you.

·        Think about your strong and your weak points as a speaker: (H.Němcová, English for
Biologists)

                              strong points                                           weak points


         I am able to    ...........................           I am not able to
...........................


                             ...........................
...........................


                             ...........................
...........................


                             ...........................
...........................






 ‘Before / After’ Questionnaire



When you make a presentation:

·        Do you:

·        read your presentation

·        use notes

·        improvise (i.e. talk without preparation)?

·        Do you:

·        keep eye contact with one person in the audience

·        look at all the people in the audience

·        look at the floor?

·        Do you:

·        smile from time to time

·        tell an amusing story

·        remain serious?

·        Do you feel:

·        relaxed

·        nervous

·        terrified?

·        Do you:

·        walk up and down a lot

·        move your arms a lot

·        move very little?

·        Do you use visual aids:

·        sometimes

·        all the time

·        never

·        Do you usually:

·        finish your presentation early

·        finish on time

·        overrun your time?

·        Are you a speaker who:

·        talks quickly and quietly

·        talks with ease (i.e. in a relaxed way)?

·        Do you practise your presentation:

·        at every possible moment – in the bath/on the bus etc...

·        a few times

·        once

·         Do you:

·        enjoy giving presentations

·        not mind giving presentations

·        hate giving presentations?





3. Go through the videos http://www.medianet-ny.com/clips.htm

to get some inspiration concerning body language