Prepare a Professional Presentation
A presentation is a reflection of you and your work. You want to make the best possible impression in the short amount of time given you, Presentation is the best possible way to do it . An effective presentation not only requires good content, but also requires a good way to deliver it, so as to maintain the interest of the audience.
Steps
- While preparing a presentation there are certain basic guiding principals:
- Make it simple.
- Make it clear.
- Don’t let the technology dominate the presentation. You want the audience to remember the quality of your research, not your PowerPoint wizardry.
- We need to take certain points in consideration, while preparing the presentation:
- What are the key points you want to make?
- Who is your audience?
- What are they interested in hearing?
- How familiar are they, with your topic? Do they expect data or concepts?
- Remember: A presentation is different than a paper. Don’t try to cover everything.
- Resources of information is key to success. We must think on ::
- What will you cover, what can be eliminated?
- How much detail do you need? (Remember, your time and your audience’s attention are limited. For any part of your presentation, ask yourself “So what?”)
- Logistics to be taken care of:
- How big is the hall where you will be speaking?
- How much time will you be given?
- What time of day is your talk?
- Carefully consider if you will depend on anyone else for producing your presentation—allow plenty of lead time.
- Equipment Needs should also be taken care-of:
- Ask what you will be given and what you must bring with you.
- Consider all equipment you will need
- Internet connection
- Computer
- Microphone
- Software
- Be prepared for a chalk talk because you never know if/when there will be technical problems.
- Organise the Material Introduction:
- Time to sell your idea or research.
- Answer the question, “Why should I listen to you?”
- Establish your personal credibility.
- Organise the Material Body
- Make sure you cover your main points.
- Be concrete. Use examples, statistics, reiteration, comparison.
- Organise the Material Conclusion.
- Give a summary.
- Emphasise the most important points.
- Format Of Presentation:
- For a presentation in a dark room, choose a dark background with light letters.
- When making slides, use a light background and dark letters.
- Use a big enough font.
- Pick a style and stick with it.
- Keep it short, especially titles.
- Leave empty space.Presenting Data
- Make data/results the focus of your presentation.
- Don’t try to include all data
- Use handouts for detailed information, or refer the audience to a website.
- Use color or special effects sparingly and consistently.
- Practice several times before delivering the actual presentation.
- And don't forget to be happy about it
Tips
- Always hold a dress rehearsal. Use the actual presentation space whenever possible and invite friends/colleagues representative of audience diversity.
- Include extra data, materials aimed at very specific audiences, details to possible but complicated questions in hidden slides.
- Respect the program schedule. Organize your content especially data into modules. This way you can skip a module if you start running over your time limit.
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