Giving Effective Class Presentations
Giving a class presentation may
make you feel quite anxious. However, with preparation, you can deliver an
organized and polished presentation. Giving an effective class presentation
involves working through four stages:
Preparing
the content
An excellent presentation starts with excellent content. For
your presentation to be a success, identify why you are speaking about your
topic and to whom you are delivering the message. Gather support for your
topic, organize your points and write a draft of the presentation. Plan how you
will present, prepare speaking notes and create audiovisual aids.
Analyze the assignment
First,
examine the assignment your instructor has assigned. The following questions
may help you get started.
•
What are possible presentation
topics?
•
Do you provide information about a
particular topic or try to persuade people to do something?
• Does your instructor want you to
do research to back up your points or can you rely on your own experience?
•
Are you required to work
independently or in a group?
•
Are you expected to have audience
participation?
•
What types of visual aids are you
required to use?
•
When is the presentation
scheduled?
•
How long do you have to present?
•
Do you have to hand in a paper on
the topic you present?
If
you are not sure about the requirements, ask you instructor.
Analyze the audience
In addition, analyze your
audience. You are giving a class presentation, so your classmates and
instructor are present. Think about who they are.
• How interested might they be in
the topic and how could you pique their interest and make the information
relevant to them?
•
What do they know or not know
about the topic you will present?
•
What questions might they ask that
you might need to address in the presentation?
Gather support for the topic
Your instructor may require that
you research your topic in order to support the points in your presentation. If
so, find articles, books or web sites related to your topic. Check out the MRC
library's web page. If you are unfamiliar with research, ask a librarian for
help. If you are required to provide a list of sources, make sure you record
the bibliographic information. Once you have gathered sources, read through
them and take notes or mark important information.
Create an outline and write a
draft
It is important for your
presentation to be well organized. Jot down your ideas and organize them into
an outline. Then, write a draft of your presentation. Writing a draft helps you
clarify your thoughts on the topic, become familiar with the topic and decide
on appropriate transitions between points. You can use this draft to help you
write a formal report if you are required to submit one. When you write the
draft, pay particular attention to the introduction. In the introduction you
gain the audience’s interest, state the purpose of the presentation, and an
agenda or outline of your major points. In the body of your draft, make sure
you use clear transitions that will indicate to your audience you are moving
from one point to another. Include in the draft a conclusion or summary.
Devise a presentation plan
Once you are clear on what you want to say in your presentation,
you can plan how you will present. A presentation plan helps you organize your
time, know when to incorporate activities for the audience to do, and decide on
the types of audiovisual aids to use. Look at the example of a presentation
plan in Appendix A at the end of this document. Note that each section of the presentation
has an estimate of the amount of time it will take to complete, a note of the
type of audiovisual aid you will use, and what type of activity you will do, if
applicable.
Prepare speaking notes
If you know your material well, you might use the presentation
plan to prompt you for what you want to say during the presentation. You might,
though, feel more comfortable using speaking notes to jog your memory. Speaking
notes summarize points in your draft and are more detailed than the presentation
plan. In the presentation, you glance at the notes and then elaborate on the
points from memory. Your audience will find it easier to pay attention to you
if you talk to them rather than if you read to them from a draft of your
presentation.
Create or gather
audiovisual aids
Ideally, you will use at least one
type audiovisual aid in your presentation. You may want to display books,
posters and brochures that provide more detailed information about your topic.
You might show a video or slide show. You may provide a handout or create
overheads the audience will use to follow along as you present. Ideally, you
should have alternative audiovisual aids as a backup should equipment failure
occur. For example, suppose you intend on using a LCD projector and laptop for
a PowerPoint presentation. As a plan B, have overheads or handouts available as
an alternative to the more sophisticated technology. Use words on overheads or
PowerPoint slides sparingly; follow the 7 X 7 rule: no more than seven words
per line and seven lines per overhead. The audience can then quickly take in
the information when you introduce the overhead and then focus their attention
on what you say rather than on reading fine print on the screen.
Practicing
the presentation
Gather your presentation plan,
speaking notes, equipment and audiovisual aids and practice the presentation in
a setting similar to where you will present. You might find it helpful to get
feedback from someone you trust. If you would like feedback from a Learning
Specialist, book an appointment. As a presenter, you should be well organized,
have clear speech, use appropriate non-verbal behavior and use audiovisual aids
appropriately. When practicing, use the presentation evaluation checklist in
Appendix B at the end of this document as a guide.
Organization
When you start your presentation,
aim to get the audience’s interest at the beginning by possibly citing
startling statistics, using a brief story, or suggesting to the audience how
the topic is relevant or useful to them. In the introduction, you also need to
establish your credibility and should introduce yourself. State the purpose of
your presentation and provide an outline the audience can follow. Consider
putting the outline on an overhead, flipchart paper or chalkboard.
In the body of your presentation,
make it clear to the audience when you are moving from one point the next. You
can emphasize a transition by pausing briefly before starting on a new point,
pointing to the next item on the outline on the board or flipchart, and use
transition words like "Next, I want to talk about…", "The second
point I want to make is…", and "Now that I have finished talking
about causes, I will move on to…".
At the end of the presentation,
summarize and conclude your main points. Check that you have completed the
presentation in the required time. If not, you need to go back to your
presentation plan and make modifications. If you have time remaining, decide on
which points you could expand on or what activities you can include. Conversely,
you may have to reduce or eliminate points of less importance.
Speech and voice
When practicing, you also need to check your speech and voice.
Have someone sit at the back of the room and check whether you speak loudly
enough or you pronounce your words correctly. When speaking, vary the rate of
your speech depending on your purpose. For example, speak slowly when
introducing a main point. Pause briefly between points or for emphasis and
avoid filler words like "umm" or "ahh". Also, sound enthusiastic
and excited about the topic.
Appropriate nonverbal behavior
helps to maintain your audience’s interest. Try to have good posture and
natural facial expressions. Face the audience and have eye contact. Move your
hands and move around the room.
Audiovisual aids
Before you start your practice
presentation, become familiar with the equipment you plan on using. This will
reduce your anxiety and make your presentation more professional. When you use
an audiovisual aid such as a video, introduce it and explain why you are using
it. If you use handouts with detailed information, summarize rather than read
from them and give the audience an opportunity to skim the handout before you
start to talk.
Making
final preparations
You have prepared the content
thoroughly and practice your presentation. Before the presentation, you need to
organize your materials, deal with anxiety, check the equipment, and dress
appropriately.
Organize your materials
The day before the presentation, gather together all the
materials you will need for the presentation. If you are working in a group,
consider having one person take responsibility for ensuring all the necessary
material is placed in a box and brought to the room you will present in. Your
group might brainstorm a checklist for that person to use.
Check equipment
When you practiced the
presentation, you should have become familiar with any equipment you will use
during the presentation. Arrive early for your presentation and ensure the
equipment is working properly.
Dress appropriately
Consider your audience and purpose
when planning what to wear to the presentation. For example, if your audience
is a group of business students, consider wearing clothing appropriate for a
business setting.
Deal with anxiety
Anxiety is a natural reaction to
public speaking. A moderate level of anxiety is actually beneficial in that it
motivates you to work hard and try your best. Remind yourself that you are
thoroughly prepared and giving a presentation is good experience you can apply
in the work place. Use relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing or
meditation, to keep you calm. If you feel you anxiety level is extreme,
consider talking with a counsellor about anxiety management techniques.
Delivering
the presentation
The moment has finally come to
deliver the presentation. Remember, you have analyzed your audience, gathered
support for your topic, and planned how you will present. You have practiced
your presentation several times and taken care of the last minute details. You
will probably find that once you start delivering the presentation you will be
calm and probably enjoy the experience. After you present, think about what you
did well and what you could have done differently. Think of the experience as
an opportunity to learn new skills or improve an existing skill set.
Example Presentation Plan
1. Introduce myself and the purpose
of the presentation. Provide outline of the presentation (OVERHEAD 1) (5 min)
2. Break audience into groups. Ask
them to think of a recent experience working in groups/teams: What made the
group/team effective? Ineffective? Have groups list responses on flipchart
paper or on the board and report their discussion to main group (15 min)
3.
Discuss the four stages of group
development (OVERHEAD 2) (5 min)
4.
Introduce strategies for the first
meeting (OVERHEAD 3) (10 min)
5.
Show sample Action Plan (OVERHEAD
4) (15 min)
6.
Discuss strategies for subsequent
meetings (OVERHEAD 5) (5 min)
7.
Describe problem-solving process
(OVERHEAD 6) (5 min)
8. Break audience into groups and
apply the problem-solving process; use the example of "the free
rider" (15 min)
9.
Summarize and conclude (5 min)
Appendix B
Presentation Evaluation Sheet
Rate the presenter on the following skills using a scale of 1 to
3, where 1 is needs improvement, 2 is satisfactory, and 3 is well done
Organization
____ gains the audience’s interest at the beginning
____ states the purpose of the presentation
____ provides an outline of major points
____ uses transitions to move from one point to another
____ has a conclusion or summary
____ completes the presentation in the time limit
Speech and
voice
____ speaks loudly enough
____ varies the rate of speech depending on purpose
____ pauses briefly between points or for emphasis
____
avoids fillers like "umm" or "ahh"
____
pronounces words correctly
____
varies pitch and volume
____
sounds enthusiastic
Nonverbal behavior
____
has good posture
____
makes eye contact with the audience
____
moves hands
____
moves around the room
____
has natural facial expressions
____
faces the audience
Audiovisual aids
____
uses the equipment effectively
____
introduces and explains the audiovisuals
____
summarizes rather than read from the audiovisuals
____
uses words sparingly on overheads
____
allows the audience to read the audiovisuals
