Presentation

[peachey]

I have to do a presentation next week

for a job


never done one before

am scared!

anyone got any ideas/horror stories?

[paulyoung666]

I have to do a presentation next week

for a job


never done one before

am scared!

anyone got any ideas/horror stories?



more info required methinks , one thing though , make sure you know your subject or they will catch you out :eek:

[Xaccers]

Use the phrase "Teambuilder" rather than teamplayer, it shows that not only can you work with others, you can unite them :)

[peachey]

Use the phrase "Teambuilder" rather than teamplayer, it shows that not only can you work with others, you can unite them :)


nice one

will use that!

[Ramrod]

As paulyoung said......know your subject better than them and you should be fine.

[gary_580]

I hate doing them too and my failing is i only look at the people that give me visual feedback. Make sure you look as if your speaking to everyone

[lemarsh]

Sounds Obvious, bu use 'idiot cards' to make sure that you have covered all items.


Only out down 'headers' on them, just to prompt. i.e. Dont write the full text, and he read it.

Also, try and relax (easier said than done) - you will spot your own mistakes, where the audience may not. Be confident, and as said - know your subject matter inside out.

Also, try to get audience participation. If they interact with you, it makes it sound better (i.e. not 1 voice), and you will also feel on safer ground whilst they participate.
And Good Luck!!

[peachey]

Sounds Obvious, bu use 'idiot cards' to make sure that you have covered all items.


Only out down 'headers' on them, just to prompt. i.e. Dont write the full text, and he read it.

Also, try and relax (easier said than done) - you will spot your own mistakes, where the audience may not. Be confident, and as said - know your subject matter inside out.

Also, try to get audience participation. If they interact with you, it makes it sound better (i.e. not 1 voice), and you will also feel on safer ground whilst they participate.
And Good Luck!!

thanks
it will only be to a few people thankfully

will take the issue of knowing what you are talking about as the main thing
but those idiot prompt cards sound a great idea

[Colin]

thanks
it will only be to a few people thankfully

will take the issue of knowing what you are talking about as the main thing
but those idiot prompt cards sound a great idea

The prompt cards actually make it a lot easier, as it makes you sound more natural. Instead of reading from a script, have a rough idea in your head, and improvise.

And as already said, know your ****. People in presentations always want to catch you out, so make a list of allthe possible questions, and then obviously figure out the answers.

If you are using Powerpoint don't use too many special effects as this will take the focus of the actual content of the presentation.

And the most important thing. Do not, i repeat DO NOT wear a shirt that will show sweat patches, gives a very bad impression, and makes you look a bit smelly, and know one wants that do they?

Good luck mate. Do your stuff and you'll be great

[peachey]

The prompt cards actually make it a lot easier, as it makes you sound more natural. Instead of reading from a script, have a rough idea in your head, and improvise.

And as already said, know your ****. People in presentations always want to catch you out, so make a list of allthe possible questions, and then obviously figure out the answers.

If you are using Powerpoint don't use too many special effects as this will take the focus of the actual content of the presentation.

And the most important thing. Do not, i repeat DO NOT wear a shirt that will show sweat patches, gives a very bad impression, and makes you look a bit smelly, and know one wants that do they?

Good luck mate. Do your stuff and you'll be great

thanks

will let you know how I got on

[Sociable]

Lots of great advice for you so far peachy just relax remember to breathe and take your time as most common mistake is giving the impression you are trying to get it all over with as fast as possible. (LOL That may be true but best not to let them in on that secret ;))

Main thing is enjoy yourself so good luck m8 I'm sure you will do great.

[Scarlett]

Try speaking slower than you think you should, It might sound as if yooouuur taaallllkinnggg lllliiikkkeee thhhhiiissssss but it will sound much better to the people you presenting to. If your nervous you will speak faster and that may well garble the presentation. If your VERY nervous wear some brown trousers:D

Try to keep the slides to a few bullet points and make sure that they are easily readable there's nothing worse than a large amount of text crunched up on a page. If in doubt, split the slide into two.

Make sure that you have a glass of water.

Periodically check to make sure that they are following you.

Don't be afraid to tell them that the answer is in a later slide, be prepare to cover slides again if requested.

Try to finish with an image or a little cartoon that's in some way relevant and finish on a positive note. Finally, ask for any questions.

This is not professional advice but just some suggestions for some professional advise, try here (http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/OTEd/jradel/effective.html).

[fireman328]

I have to do a presentation next week

for a job


never done one before

am scared!

anyone got any ideas/horror stories?

I have done my share of presentations and here are my tips for a good reception

1) KISS (Keep It Simple See !)
1a) Ask if everyone can see and hear you if not actions to remedy
2) Tell 'em what you are going to tell 'em, Tell 'em, Tell 'em what you've told 'em!
3) Know your subject
4) Rehearse in front of friends and family.
5) Use flash cards to trigger your memory
6) If possible have a handout for people to take away
7) Have a back up of acetates in case the PC goes up the pictures
8) Ask for questions (if you can't answer there and then tell them you'll get back to them AND DO IT.)
9) If appropriate give a look forward trailer for the next session.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST:-
Look calm
Look smart (Dress not clever)
Look confident (bullsh*t baffles brains)

Things like this got me to where I am today

[peachey]

I have done my share of presentations and here are my tips for a good reception

1) KISS (Keep It Simple See !)
1a) Ask if everyone can see and hear you if not actions to remedy
2) Tell 'em what you are going to tell 'em, Tell 'em, Tell 'em what you've told 'em!
3) Know your subject
4) Rehearse in front of friends and family.
5) Use flash cards to trigger your memory
6) If possible have a handout for people to take away
7) Have a back up of acetates in case the PC goes up the pictures
8) Ask for questions (if you can't answer there and then tell them you'll get back to them AND DO IT.)
9) If appropriate give a look forward trailer for the next session.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST:-
Look calm
Look smart (Dress not clever)
Look confident (bullsh*t baffles brains)

Things like this got me to where I am today


thanks people

you have given me a lot of ideas/info

nice to know other people have come through alive etc

[Ramrod]

1) KISS (Keep It Simple See !)
I prefer: "keep it simple stupid"..... :D

[ntl customer]

I hate giving presentations too, as I always think the audience are waiting you trip up on something or another and start laughing.

However these are my points that have always worked for me when I give presentations, from experience and seeing others (or rather their mistakes)

* Avoid using the Microsoft templates. Not only are some of the designs utterly hideous, any seasoned Powerpoint user/person who sees lots of presentaions can tell that you have used them. The amount of times I have seen people use those templates makes me want to cry in to my keyboard! ;)

* Do not go overboard with the special effects. Have some but not overload your presentation with them, otherwise it makes it tedious for the audience to sit there and wait for 5 minutes for your all the words of your paragraph of text to appear on screen character by character. Also it detracts attention away from the point you are trying to make.

* If you have photos or any raster images in your presentation, then do not stretch them so that they go all jagged around the edges. Leave them as they are or get hi-res versions. I have seen so many people in my business class do this with photos off the web and again it makes me want to cry everytime I see it ;) Also it makes the whole lot amateurish and not very professional looking.

* Do not use bright text on a light background if the computer that is doing the presentation is connected to one of those digital projectors (you know the type) as the image projected on screen is usually a bit more lighter than you would normally see it. People will not be/struggle to read what is on screen.

* Do not cram your slide with lots of text. The worst thing someone can do when giving a presentation is to cram a slide with lots of paragraphs of text written in font size 12 or 10 which people will struggle/can't be arsed to read. Break your points down into short, snappy sentences in bullet points. Give handouts at the end if possible to the audience.

* Rehearse your presentation and make sure your slides move smoothly between each other and do not end up getting stuck in a loop (yep, it happened to the MD of tesco.com when he gave a presenation at this ICT conference I went to).

* Speak clearly and if it is a large hall/room make sure those at the back can hear you. If you are using a mike then make sure it is switched on if it is of the cordless variety (yes it sounds obvious but it is a mistake that is very easy to make) and make sure you do not trip up over the cable if its of the corded variety. Make sure the volume on the amp is turned up to an appropriate level so that it is not too loud or soft. If you are using a clip-on mike then ensure that you clothing - particularly your tie or jacket does not rub against/bang onto/rustle against the mike, as people do not really want to hear rustling noises over the tannoy speakers.

* Always remember that computers are not always your best friend. Even all the best preparation in the world cannot prepare you for a system freeze/lockup/crash which has happened to me once :o . If it does pack up then switch to acetates on an OHP or just read some of the main points from your cards whilst you or someone else reboots the computer. Oh and never keep your presentation on a floppy disk - it is a recipe for disaster as I once found out when using a teacher's laptop to give a presentation to the class (this part of the building had no network sockets/cabling in :rolleyes: ). I had to make do with very quickly handwritten slides on acetate as I had no backup.

* If you use acetate slides then make sure how to operate the OHP. I spent a good few minutes during a presentation the other week figuring out how to switch the damn thing on - I didn't realise the on switches were on the back of the projector and hidden by some cable in the storage bit. :o

* Be sensible in the way you dress. Do not wear anything too revealing or anything that may draw their attention away from the subject being presented to yourself (example of the sweat patch thing in the earlier post). Avoid anything too bright as well.

* Make sure you are comfortable before you start, so make sure you have had a pee beforehand. As said earlier have a glass of water nearby should you get an attack of the coughs/dry throat or feeling in your mouth. Do not chew gum whilst you are giving your presentation, as it gives a bad impression to the people watching you.

* Make sure you switch your cell phone off or leave it on silent before you start talking, and ask the audience to ensure that they turn off theirs too if at all possible - I have been at events where someone has been speaking in a near-silent room and some idiot in the audience has left their ringer on full blast and it has started blaring out whilst someone is in the middle of speaking. It is off putting to the speaker, and if that happens whilst you are speaking then stop and wait for them to turn it off rather than battling with it.

Same goes too for aeroplanes if you are under a flight path - wait for it to go over and then resume speaking rather than battling with it - shouting at your audience is never a good thing and they probably will be struggling to hear you, unless they use some kind of tannoy system, buit then again the plane will probably be louder.

* Know what you are talking about. Do not sound 'robotic' and do not waffle on. Have questions and answers at the end and remember to thank them for listening. And most of all, be calm, and do not speak too quickly.

* If you are giving a presentation as part of a group then ensure that everybody in the group knows their stuff and agree on an order in which you are going to present them. Arrange the powerpoint slides in the order in which they are going to be presented by their speaker. Rehearsing is a must in this case.

I have had to do quite a few presentations both in school and at college and have found that the above has pretty much worked on most occasions. :)

And be prepared for the unexpected, such as fire alarms going off.

[peachey]

just did that presentation


felt it was too short and sparse


and I was dead nervous which did not help


still - there you are


what will be will be


wil let you know what happens