Presentation skills

Presented by,

Dr. Vimali. M,

Doctor of Pharmacy(Post Baccalaureate)

1 - 2 minutes per slide

Generic 15 min Conference Presentation

Title Slide (1) Title, author, affiliation,

acknowledgements

Rationale (1-2) Why this is interesting

Methods (1-2) What you did

Results (2-4) What did you find and what does it mean

Summary (1) One thing you want them to remember

Preparation - Outline

Basic structure of a talk:

1. Introduction

2. Main part (body)

3. Conclusion

4. Question & Answer session

Plan your presentation carefully

Introduction

•Purpose of the introduction is “to tell the audience what you are going to tell them”.•Remember that there is no second chance for a first bad impression. If you start off badly you will spoil everything.•During the introduction you need to achieve the following aims:

Gain Attention

attract Interest

create Desire

stimulate Action

Getting started - greeting the audience

• Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.• Welcome to my presentation.• It’s very nice to see you all here today.• Can we get started?• Let me say just a few words about my background...

What you need to do first is to greet your audience. Here are some useful phrases:

Then you proceed to the introduction to your topic

Making an effective opening

• Give them a problem to think about (Suppose you... Why is it that...)• Give them some amazing facts.(Did you know that ...)• Give them a story or a personal anecdote (stories always atract attention) • Use a citation (if you want to start on a more philosophical note)• Make a funny remark (but be careful with humour, not all jokes work well)• Record a music piece perhaps (if appropriate for the topic)

Possible Introduction Scheme:

1. start with welcoming courtesies/introduce yourself

2. state the purpose of your talk, using one of the techniques

3. give a route map (tell them how long will your presentation take)

4. give the rules (do you allow to be interrupted or should your audience keep questions until the end)

Some useful phrases

• What I want to do this morning is to …..• My talk will take about 30 minutes.• During my presentation, I’m going to be

focusing on four main areas. • I’ll be giving out copies of my

transparencies at the end.• If you have any questions, or comments

you’d like to make, please don’t hesitate to stop me.

Apply the KISS principle: Keep it Short and

Simple.

Use active verbs instead of passive verbs.

For example,

Toyota sold two million cars last year.

Two million cars were sold by Toyota last year.

Language matters: Spoken vs. Written Style

Chemistry

Chemistry is an area of study which touches human life at innumerable points. It is the science which forms a bridge between physics and biology as well as between earth sciences and life and medical sciences. It is therefore a central science which holds the key to an appreciation and understanding of life cycles on the one hand through to man-made processes on the other.

Adapting the language

Can be spoken as…

Chemistry is a science which touches our lives at many points. It forms a bridge between physics and biology, earth sciences and medical sciences. We can say that with chemistry we can better understand life cycles on the one hand, and man-made processes on the other.

Singposting is the halmark of the language

of presentations.

The more you use the signposting

phrases, the lighter and easier the

language becomes.

Singposting phrases will help you lead

your audience; they will know where you

are going.

Signposting

"I'll start by describing the current position in Europe.

Then I'll move on to some of the achievements we've made in Asia.

After that I'll consider the opportunities we see for further expansion in Africa.

Lastly, I'll quickly recap before concluding with some recommendations."

Good afternoon everybody. I’d like to thank you all for

coming here today and listen to me. I hope by the end of the day you will leave with a knowledge of what equipment can do for you and how the government can benefit by using it.

If you would like to take notes, please do so. However, all of you will be given a handout at the end of my presentation.

Use singposting in your presentations

I am going to talk today about a new product, a breath

control measurement instrument ALCOTEST. The first such product was introduced to the market 40 years ago and has been used all over the world.

The new range of products I’m going to familiarize you with are the Alcotest 7110 MK III and Alcotest 7410. Now,the main purpose of the talk, of my talk, is to outline the major benefits of using these models.

Contd…

Contd…

Before doing so, I would like you to look at some general technical features which I hope you will find encouraging. Then I’ll move on to the benefits for the users.

Let’s look at some figures. I’ll put them on the screen now. As you can see the Alcotest comes as a portable instrument, integrated in a metal case, including heatable sampling hose, a 40-digit alphanumerical display, integrated printer, mains connection and 12 V battery.

Ending your talk

Don’t just end up abruptly without giving a conclusion.The purpose of the conclusion is to “tell the people what you have told them”.

Follow this scheme:• summarise facts• give recommendations• give proposals

Thank the audience

Invite questions

Ending your talk : useful phrases

Wrapping up• This brings me to the end of my presentation.• Let me just run over the key points again…• To sum up briefly…• To conclude …• As we’ve seen…• So, my recommendation is ….• I would welcome any suggestions.

Thanking the audience & Inviting questions

•Thank you for your attention and if you have any questions I’ll be pleased

to answer them.• I’ll be happy to answer any questions.• Are there any questions you’d like to ask?

Consider this in preparing your presentation:

• Simplify the text.

• Focus your material. You can’t say everything.

• Use transitions (signsposting) to move smoothly.

• Use examples, anecdotes, statistics to support your message.

• Use a lot of visuals to reinforce the message.

• Consider timing.

• Apply the KISS principle.

• Practise alone and with the whole group.

Conclusion

Body language

Act confident, feel confidentLarge personal space

Eye contact with audience

Open body language

Standing upright with shoulders back

Use your hands for emphasis but avoid ‘flapping’

Do...

Illustrate your key messages, eg. a startling statistic or image

a quotation from someone famous that applies to your message

Use personal stories and easy examples to help illustrate your points

Involve your audience – interaction

Ask questions to involve, establish rapport and support your arguments

Practice, Practice, Practice

Don’ts – a recap

Just read your slides

Script everything

Put too much information on a slide

Go overboard with fancy effects, they distract from you and your key messages

Coping with nerves

Controlling your environment and handling pressure Practice using any equipment Plan B if technology fails you – eg. PPT formats Recognising adrenalin gives you an edge Pace yourself – most people speak too fast if nervous The more you practice and run through it, the more natural it

becomes Use crib cards with brief notes if you need to remember lots of

information Practice under pressure Deep breathing

Warm up!

Helps you to relax

Helps you to be heard

Helps you to sound more confident.

Warm up!

Deep breathing exercises- in for a count of 5, out for a count of 5. In for 6, out for 6, and so on, up to 10.

Hum! This loosens the vocal chords and warms them up

Do some tongue twisters. Really try to articulate the words. Get faster and faster!

Yawn.

Tongue Twisters!

Unique New York

She sells sea shells by the sea shore. The shells that she sells are sea shells I’m sure

Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry

Peter Piper picked a peck of picked peppers

Rubber buggy baby bumpers

Public Speaking Tips

Breathe deeply

Take your time

Test the microphone

Smile!

STEPS IN PRESENTATION

1. Planning

Start your Outline

No Powerpoint

Film with no script

Pencil & Paper

Order your thoughts

Key points

When you plan your presentation you need to answer the

following questions:1. Who is my audience (how much do they know about my

topic?)2. How am I going to organise my topic? (it needs to tell a

story)3. How long should my presentation be? (you will have

time limits and you need to say everything within that limit)

4. What visual support shall I use? (PowerPoint, transparencies, models, objects...?)

Plan

Structure

Have a sound, clear structure

Create interest

“We need to open gaps before we close them. Our tendency is to tell people the facts. First, though, they must realize that they need these facts.”

Dan & Chip Heath, Make it Stick

Introduction

Main theme

Summary/

Conclusions

Structure

Get Attention

Content

Key message

2. Preparation

Speaker’s 3 friends

1. Personal Notes

2. Visuals

3. Handouts

PowerPoint tips

Look at the audience, not the slides

Don’t overcrowd

Pay attention to colour and layout

Print out slides

Test beforehand

Flipcharts and Whiteboards

Good Points

Low-tech

Easy to add to

More contact with audience

More interactive

Bad Points

Can only use once

Can’t add graphics

Can be hard to read

Hard to see

Flipcharts and Whiteboard Tips

Don’t hide!

Draw lines if needed

Pay attention to colour

Call ahead to check on facilities

Stick to a few key points

Powerpoint Karaoke

The evils of Powerpoint are familiar to everyone, they include:

Too much text

Too small to read and is really only serving as a crutch for the presenter

Clip Art and Slide templates that have been seen a million times

Spinning, wooshing, dazzlings animations

Part of the problem with having so much text onscreen is that it puts of people. If the idea of your presentation is to read from the slides then we are you there? Besides people can read quicker than you can talk so they’ll have finished reading your slide and be waiting for the next one, or even worse working on a masterpiece doodle.

Your presentation, Powerpoint or otherwise, should be a

supporting aid – you want main the focus on you, not your presentation. Ideally, you should be able to deliver an equally interesting presentation should the projector/computer/room/audience break.

Avoid too many bullets as well – it makes the information dull for the audience.

Contd…

“should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points.”

Guy Kawaski

10/ 20/ 30 rule

Colour

Use colour well

High quality images

Use images to

support your point

Use a consistent

theme

Presentation skills

PowerPoint Critique

Critique slides you have been given:

What works?

What does not work?

How would you improve?

3. Practice

Fitness Slow to develop

Quick to disappear

The more you practice:

better you feel

more you want to do

Lack of experience

Lack of preparation

Lack of enthusiasm

Negative self-talk

Feeling Nervous?

It’s not about you

Focus on your goal

what you are going to say

Audience

Make them comfortable

Interesting

Be over-prepared

Rehearse and practice

Know your subject

Use relaxation techniques

Be positive +++

Avoid stressors

Becoming Confident

4. Presenting

The most powerful visual aid

• words

• voice

• body language

Make a strong start

Show your passion

Smile

Dealing with Questions

TRACT technique

1. Thank the questioner

2. Repeat the question

3. Answer the question

4. Check with the questioner if they are satisfied

5. Thank them again

Dealing with Questions

Questions show people are listening!

Allow time to deal with them

Decide when to answer them

Try and anticipate

Don’t be afraid to stop and think

What if I don’t know the answer?

Open it to the floor

Take details and answer later

Repeat the question back if you don’t understand it

Facing your Fears

Write your fears on a post-it

Stick them up

Find ways to face them in the group

Practice

Person A speak for 30 seconds about your

work.

Person B listen. At the end ask a question.

Person A use TRACT to respond.

Just a Minute

Speak about subject for 1 minute

Lose 1 point for each ‘umm’ or ‘ahh’

Pauses and repetition allowed

Giving Criticism

Step 1: Listen to Criticism

Step 2: Decide on Truth

Step 3: Respond Assertively

Passive Response

Directly Aggressive Response

Indirectly Aggressive Response

Key tips for slides

Font

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

The quick brown fox jumps over the

lazy dog

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Try to use “Sans Serif” fonts.

Try to avoid “Serif” fonts. These take longer to read. “Serif” fonts have a

typeface with a small stroke at end of the letters

Key tips for slides

To Bold or not to Bold

You can chose to use Bold letters to highlight words

If you want to typeset in Bold then keep in mind the Font and Font Size

This does not look that good

This looks okay

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Key tips for slides

CAPITAL ERROR

AVOID WRITING WHOLE SENTENCES IN CAPITALS. IT IS LESS READABLE AND MORE AGGRESSIVE

This is already much more readable

Use capitals for acronyms IMHO

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Key tips for slides

Font Size

Make sure it is readable to your entire audience 18 point

20 point

24 point

28 point

32 point

36 point

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Key tips for slides

There should be contrast in written text against the background

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This is OK This is OK

This is not OK This is not OK

Key tips for slides

Give space in your slides.

If you use any logos and picture ensure that they have a good resolution

For smaller audiences it might be a good idea to give handouts to make the talk more personal

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The speaker was nervous The speaker was disorganised The speaker never looked at me The speaker had bad accent The speaker did not sound enthusiastic The speaker was monotonous The visuals were bad His/her clothing The speaker was speaking too softly The speech was confused; I didn’t know what He/she was trying to tell me

This is what irritates people during presentations

Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening.”

-Dorothy Sarnoff

“The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives.”

-Lily Walters

Quotes to remember…

“Top presenters have total control of their fears. They make fear their slave, not the master.”

-Doug Malouf