Presentations

And A Few Supposed Gems Of Wisdom

Robert Minton-Taylor
Associate Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Business & Law
Leeds Metropolitan University

03 November 2008

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 Presentations
And A Few Supposed Gems Of Wisdom

Aim
 An understanding and appreciation of the
requirements for a successful presentation
Learning Objectives
 At the end of the session students will be
equipped to present in a professional and
competent way to ‘real’ clients

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Presentation Hints And Tips

Don’t Let The Technology Dictate

 Don’t let the technology get in the way of
the presentation or what you want to say
 Microsoft PowerPoint is a great presentation
package
 BUT don’t let the visual wizardry get in the
way of your thoughts and ideas
 It’s the content that wins the tutor’s
approval

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Presentation Hints And Tips

Prepare for the Worst

 Always, always have a back-up CD
Rom/DVD and memory stick with the
presentation on i.e. leave nothing to chance
 Check-out the room ensure that you are
familiar with the presentation equipment
i.e. projector and PC

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Presentation Hints And Tips

How Long?
 Overall 30 mins from start to finish

 5 mins calling people to order

 15 mins presentation = approx 15 - 20

slides
 10 mins Q&As

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Presentation Hints And Tips

Presentations Are Not For ‘L’ Platers

 It has to be right first time

 So use your best presenter(s)

 But that does not mean the rest of the

team should look like stuffed turkeys and
take no part in the proceedings
 Support the presenters – it’s darn lonely up
front - and engage the tutor and the rest of
the group

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Presentation Hints And Tips

How Many Presenters?

 How many people should present?
 Probably not more than two or three.
 Guard against the ‘bobbing head
syndrome’
 Remember you get judged as a team
NOT on how many presented, or on how
brilliantly a particular individual came
across

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Presentation Hints And Tips
Overall
 One idea per slide
 Keep it simple
 Leave plenty of white space – don’t cram
with visuals and text
 Create a path for the eye
 Consider using “builds”
 Choose easy-to-read typeface
 Make words big enough for audience to see

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Presentation Hints And Tips

Slide Text: The Maxim - Keep It Simple

 Title every visual

 A picture tells a thousand words – use pie

charts, bar diagrams to illustrate your
results
 Complex statistics and buzz words have no
place in your presentation
 Explain what and why

 Use a maximum of 4-5 points per slide

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Presentation Hints And Tips
Slide Text: The Maxim - Keep It Simple
 Use simple, easy to grasp English

 Use active words e.g. use, make,

recommend
 Make each word count

 Write terse copy, not sentences

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Presentation Hints And Tips

There Is No Substitute For Rehearsing

 Ensure your presentation comes in on
time
 Then reduce the slides by 15-20% -
because on the day you’ll be more
verbose and overrun
 Rehearse the introductions and
changeovers
 Have understudies - it’s not unknown for
illness to strike a presentation team

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Presentation Hints And Tips
Visualising The Presentation
 Arrange the seating as you want it

 Ensure screen can be seen by everyone

 Ensure all the pieces of equipment you

requested are in place before you start e.g.
flip charts

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Presentation Hints And Tips
Establish Your Presence And Credentials
 Aim to establish rapport with your tutor and
the audience
 Introduce the team

 Outline the background to the presentation

 Summarise what you are going to speak

about

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Presentation Hints And Tips
Positive Body Language
 Smile!

 Put genuine conviction behind what you say

 Allow your emotions to come through

 Don’t play with hair, tie, jewellery, clothing,

coins in your pockets etc

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Presentation Hints And Tips
Positive Body Language
 If you talk better walking - walk around
naturally
 Use your hands as you would in
conversation for emphasis
 Don’t be wooden – use facial expressions

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Presentation Hints And Tips
How You Speak
 Speak clearly and more slowly than usual

 Don’t speak at your tutor; speak to him

 Speak plainly

 Be aware of your speech mannerisms and

consciously avoid repeating them
 Avoid hesitating; if you have lost your
place, pause; but don’t ‘um’ or ‘er’

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Presentation Hints And Tips
How You Speak
 Vary timing of your delivery and the pitch
of your voices
 Use inflections even if they sound
exaggerated to you
 Occasionally pause or stop completely in a
long presentation – your client will need to
time to absorb the content

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Presentation Hints And Tips
Questions and Answer Session
 Actively encourage questions

 If necessary, repeat the question so

everyone in the room can hear them
 If you don’t know the answer, admit it, but
offer to come back with an answer later
 Don’t get into a debate or argument

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Presentation Hints And Tips
Maintain Rapport with Your Tutor
 However good your presentation appeared
on screen, its success will be judged by
how your tutor receives it
 Maintain eye contact – talk to the tutor and
individuals in the room, not to the wall
 Play to the tutor and the tutorial group
 Avoid using ‘I’ or ‘me’ too often – this is a
team effort. Use we – it’s much better

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Presentation Hints And Tips
Maintain Rapport with Your Tutor
 If you are confident, use humour to lighten
or vary the mood
 If you make a mistake or are faced with an
interruption, don’t be put off your stride
 Adjust your mood and atmosphere to
match that of the tutor, even it this means
a different approach from you original
intention

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Presentation Hints And Tips
A Successful Conclusion
 Summarise briefly the key points you have
made at the end of your presentation
 End on a ‘high’ so that the tutor and the
tutorial group have this final impression to
take away with them

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