invite questions
questions and answers
notes
when you give your presentation, you should be - or appear to be - as
spontaneous as possible. you should not read your presentation! you should be
so familiar with your subject and with the information that you want to
deliver that you do not need to read a text. reading a text is boring! reading
a text will make your audience go to sleep! so if you don't have a text to
read, how can you remember to say everything you need to say? with notes. you
can create your own system of notes. some people make notes on small, a6
cards. some people write down just the title of each section of their talk.
some people write down keywords to remind them. the notes will give you
confidence, but because you will have prepared your presentation fully, you
may not even need them!
rehearsal
rehearsal is a vital part of preparation. you should leave time to practise
your presentation two or three times. this will have the following benefits:
you will become more familiar with what you want to say
you will identify weaknesses in your presentation
you will be able to practise difficult pronunciations
you will be able to check the time that your presentation takes and make any
necessary modifications
so prepare, prepare, prepare! prepare everything: words, visual aids, timing,
equipment. rehearse your presentation several times and time it. is it the
right length? are you completely familiar with all your illustrations? are
they in the right order? do you know who the audience is? how many people? how
will you answer difficult questions? do you know the room? are you confident
about the equipment? when you have answered all these questions, you will be a
confident, enthusiastic presenter ready to communicate the subject of your
presentation to an eager audience.
equipment
easily your most important piece of equipment is...you
! make sure you're in full working order, and check your personal presentation
carefully - if you don't, your audience will! the overhead projector (ohp)
displays overhead transparencies (ohts or ohpts). it has several advantages
over the 35mm slide projector: