PRESENTATION RULES 2 STRUCTURE: What to think about before structuring your presentation: * Differences between written documents and spoken presentation written documents are convincing by giving detailed evidence presentations are convincing by delivery (verbal and nonverbal) * Presentations should state the main message early and then present evidence to support it Instead of describing everything that was done, select what information will be included The Body 1. To make the structure of the body, use the tree (or hierarchy) idea rather than a chain 2. Identify two, three (or max five) statements that support your main message – these are main points 3. Next, identify two to five statements to support each main point – these are subpoints 4. Organize the main points and subpoints into a logical sequence 5. Use transitions between points and between subpoints (i.e. linking and signalling words), this way you reveal the structure to listeners Example of transitions One point is wrapped up, next point is announced by creating a need for it: „So, this is the microstructure we observe consistently in the absence of annealing. But how does it change if we anneal the sample at 450°C for an hour or more? That’s my next point. Here is …“ The Closing Close your presentation in three steps: a review, a conclusion, a close. 1. Review / summary: review the main points of the body to help the audience to remember them and to prepare the audience for your conclusion. 2. Conclusion: develop your main message more fully (restate it in more detail and complement it with any interpretations of your findings). 3. Close: close the presentation by indicating to your audience that these are your last words. (What works well is to make the link back to your attention getter). REVEAL THE STRUCTURE to the audience: with a preview (in the opening), transitions (throughout the presentation), and a review (in the closing) SIGNALLING PHRASES 1. Match the headings and the groups of phrases. 1) Giving examples 2) Going to more detail 3) Showing a route, explaining that something will come later 4) Sequencing, enumerating 5) Reaching the end of a point 6) Summarizing 7) Starting a new point 8) Moving from the opening to the body A. E. Let me start by … For example… I‘ll start by… A good example of this is…. First of all, I‘ll... To illustrate this point … Starting with… I‘d like to begin with B. F. Right, I‘ve told you about… I‘ll deal with this later, if I may, but for now We‘ve looked at … I‘ll come back to this question later in my talk That‘s all I have to say about… I won‘t comment on this now… So much for…. We‘ll be examining this question in more detail later on. C. G. Let me turn now to… Let‘s recap, shall we ? Let‘s move onto… I‘d like to sum up now… Turning to… Let me summarise briefly what I‘ve said. I‘d like now to… Let me remind you, finally, of some of the Let‘s look now at… points I‘ve made. If I can just sum up the main points… D. H. Where does that take us ? Firstly… secondly…..thirdly…lastly Let‘s look at this in more detail. First… Translated into real terms… after that…finally What does that mean for us ? To start with… later…. to finish up 2. This is a written record of a presentation to visitors of Museum of Nature. Complete it with appropriate signalling phrases. Then listen and compare. Well, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Let me introduce myself. My name’s Colin Robertson. I’m a science consultant and I take care of the chemistry section at the Museum of Nature in London. The topic of my talk today is photosynthesis. I’ve divided my presentation into three parts. _____________, I’ll define the term, ____________I’ll mention the equation for photosynthesis _____________ we’ll look in more detail at two stages of photosynthesis – the light reaction and the dark reaction. I’d be glad to answer any questions at the end of my talk. ______________________________ Photosynthesis is a process by which chlorophyll-containing organisms, green plants - algae, and some bacteria - capture energy in the form of light and convert it to chemical energy. ___________________________________________________ the equation for photosynthesis. A quite generalized, unbalanced chemical equation is light energy CO2 + H2A → (CH2) + H2O ______________________________________ The formula H2A represents a compound that can be oxidized, that is, from which electrons can be removed. CO2 is carbon dioxide, and CH2 is a generalization for the hydrocarbon fragments incorporated by the growing organism. In the majority of photosynthetic organisms H2A is water, in some photosynthetic bacteria, however, H2A is hydrogen sulphide (H2S). ____________________________________. I’ll come back to it later. _________________________________________ Photosynthesis consists of two stages: a series of light-dependent reactions and a series of temperature-dependent reactions. The first step in the light reaction is the absorption of light by pigments of which chlorophyll is the most important. It captures light energy in the violet and red portions of the spectrum and transforms it into chemical energy stored in the ATP and NADPH2. ______________________ ___________________________________ In the dark reaction the energy stored in the ATP and NADPH2 is used to reduce carbon dioxide to organic carbon to provide the basis for glucose. This is accomplished through a series of reactions known as the Calvin cycle. The complete, balanced equation for photosynthesis in which water serves as the electron donor is 6 CO2 + 12 H2O → C6H12O6 + 6 O2 + 6 H2O Well, ________________________________________ . Let me summarize briefly what I’ve said. Closing – task: Follow this closing and identify all the parts. A. Transition from the body B. Review/Conclusion (concludes each point, implicitly recapping it) C. Close (encourages feedback from the audience) So that brings me to the conclusions. We have found a novel syndrome and we have been able to identify the genes causing this. And since SLC3A1 causes isolated cystinuria type 1, we can conclude that PREPL is responsible for the hypotonia and the growth retardation. We also have shown that PREPL is an active serine hydrolase, but unfortunately we have not been able to find the physiological substrate of REPL and hence we are not yet able at this stage to go back to the patient and try and explain why they have this syndrome as we observe it. And with that I am afraid I have to leave you with more questions than answers, but if you have any of the answers that I’ve been asking, please let me know. Sources: http://www.nature.com/scitable/ebooks/english-communication-for-scientists-14053993/114017685#heade rAndCitation handout by A.Rozkošná, English for Chemists, MU, 2012 10 Presentation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Listening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgLNCn9gY54 To design your presentation, write down your ideas for each component below. Attention getter A way to lead the audience to the need efficiently Need A difference between actual and desired situations Task What I decided/was asked to do to address the need Main message The one sentence I want my audience to remember Preview/Outline Point 1 transition Point 2 transition . . . A map of the body (ideally three points, max. five) 1 2 3 4 5 Review/Summary A recap of the body, leading into the conclusion Conclusion What the above means to the audience in the end Close A way to end the presentation clearly and elegantly Homework Signalling / signposting A. Choose one of the signalling expressions from the box for the following situations: to move on to go back to summarize to expand on to recap to digress to conclude to elaborate on to turn to When you want to make your next point To………….. When you want to change direction To………….. -//- refer to an earlier point To………….. -//- repeat the main points To………….. -//- give a wider perspective To………….. -//- do a deeper analysis To………….. -//- give the basics To………….. -//- depart from your plan To………….. -//- finish your talk To………….. B. Complete the following signpost phrases. Example Moving on / question / side effects… Moving on to the question of side effects… 1. I’d like / recap / the main points. 2. Let’s go back / question / clinical research methods. 3. Let’s digress / a moment / consider / alternatives. 4. Let’s turn now / out targets / the next five years. 5. To go back / the main reason / our collaboration / the Germans, 6. I’d like / expand / that / little, before we move on. 7. Let’s go back / a moment / what we were discussing earlier. 8. To elaborate / that / little / those / are not familiar / the method, 9. I’d like / conclude / repeating what I said / the beginning / this presentation. Note The simplest way to signpost the end of one stage of your presentation and the beginning of the next is to say: OK. So,… source: Powel, M.: Presenting in English, Thomson, Heinle, 2002