Task 1. Study the following stages of presentation preparing and guess what they include.
- Preparation
- Signposting language
- Delivery
Task 2. Which of the six key points on Preparation do you think these questions refer to?
| Preparation: six key points - Objectives - Organization - Audience - Visual information - Content - Practice |
1. Who are you talking to?
2. What is the aim of your talk?
3. Is the talk clear and logical?
4. Have you practiced giving the talk?
5. What is the important information to get across?
6. What do you want to achieve?
7. Have you checked the timing?
8. Can you use the visual display equipment correctly?
9. Are you using signposting language that makes the talk easy to follow?
10. Are you using too much information on the screen or slide?
11. What do they need to know?
12. Are you sure what you are saying is interesting?
Task 3. Read the text and see whether youve guessed correctly
The stage of Preparation is extremely important and there are six key areas the presenter needs to think about when preparing your presentation or talk. The first one is objectives. Its necessary to think carefully about the aim of your talk, and what you want to achieve. Second, the audience. Think about who they are, and what they need to know. The third area is content. Concentrate on giving the important information and make sure its interesting. The fourth area is organization. Your presentation needs to have a clear and logical organization. You must make certain that you are using what we call signposting language so that the audience can follow each stage of your presentation. The fifth area is visual information. Presenting information visually, for example through a computer, or on an overhead projector or a flipchart, adds interest to a presentation and makes it easier to follow, but make sure you know how to use the equipment and that you are not showing too much information on the screen or slide at one time. The last key area is practice. When you have finished preparing your talk, practise giving it. This way you will discover if there are any problems and be able to check the timing. It should also make you more confident.
Task 4. Look at the handout on Signposting language. Match each extract with the correct heading
- Introducing each section - Referring backwards and forwards
- Referring to questions - Concluding
- Summarizing a section - Referring to visual information
- Introducing the topic - Referring to common knowledge
- Dealing with questions - Checking understanding
- Signposting lg
Task 5. Read the text about Delivery stage and fill in the table
| Delivery key points 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. |
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Give more details about the five areas.
The stage of Delivery is very important in every presentation. It is necessary to consider five key areas here. The first one is nerves. Most of us feel nervous when we speak in public, especially if we are speaking a foreign language. It can help if you breathe deeply. Breathing deeply calms you down and stops you speaking too quickly, which usually happens when you are nervous. The second area is voice. Obviously its important to speak clearly and not too quickly, but its also important to sound interesting. If your voice sounds monotonous your audience will fall asleep!
Next, body language. Try to give the impression that you are relaxed and confident even if you are not, and try to avoid nervous gestures or movements. An important element of body language is eye contact, and keeping eye contact with the audience is important to keep them interested in what you are saying. For this reason you shouldnt read your talk or presentation. Instead, list key points on a flipchart or transparency, and refer to notes if you need to.
Stand rather than sit, but make sure you dont stand in front of visual information. Visual information is the fourth key area on our list. As it was mentioned earlier you shouldnt present too much information at a time, and the handout provides you with phrases for focusing the audiences attention on what you want them to look at. One good thing to remember is that giving the audience enough time to take the information in is essential.
The fifth and final area is questions. The best policy is to answer questions in a polite, diplomatic way.
Task 5. Work in groups or individually.
1. Prepare a talk or presentation on a topic of your choice. Use the information in this module to think how you will organize your talk e.g. how many sections. What visual aids, what visual information systems. How to deal with questions, what signposting language to use.
2. Give your talk or presentation to the rest of the class.
Module 3
