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Planning
an oral presentation is not that much different than thinking about
how to write a paper or a short article. The golden rules are the
same: that select and consistently implement an appropriate format
and that the format helps the listener to best understand the information
and arguments you are presenting.
However, since hearing is a different experience than reading, there
are some general recommendations that you should observe or only transgress
after considering how it will affect how easily the listener is able
to follow what you are saying.
- There are a variety of styles of presentation. One
way is to speak freely from keywords or short notes. This
usually results in a presentation in a more animated presentation,
but speaking from such keywords or notes takes a lot practice to
maintain your line of thought and to devote sufficient time to
all the important points. One
may alternatively read a paper to the audience. This often affords your arguments more clarity and you
more control over your presentation, but it can become somewhat
dull if you read sentence after sentence without changing your
voice. There are of course styles in between
these two extremes, for instance following along a written text
but having in advance marked out keywords about which you talk
more freely.
- When writing your paper for presentation, you
should calculate two minutes of reading time for every page. A fifteen-minute presentation, thus,
may be no longer than about seven written pages (Times New Roman,
12 point, double spaced, one inch margins). Many students overestimate just how long they have to
present and end up having too much material to cover in the time
allotted. Prepare
carefully and remember that you cannot possibly cover everything
in the level of detail you would in a written format.
- Limit the number of quotations in your presentation. It
is often difficult for the audience to distinguish who is speaking
when you read quotes. If
you do include a quote in your presentation, make sure to verbally
set off the quote, often preceding the quoted passage by saying “quote” and
ending it with “unquote.” You
will also always give the quote’s author credit in your presentation.
- If you use any other media with your presentation
(slides, video, power point, overheads, music) you should be aware
that it takes time for the audience to look at and understand such
images. You generally
must add a couple of explaining sentences. You
should use no more than one image every one to two minutes.
- Long, convoluted sentences that may make sense
when read are very difficult to understand when heard. Keep your prose concise and focused.
- Limit the complexity of your presentation. A
presentation of fifteen minutes should only under very rare circumstances
contain more than one general argument and under no circumstances
more than two. A talk the audience understands
and enjoys is much preferred over one where much of the audience
is lost along the way!
- PRACTICE your presentation ALOUD several times. It’s
particularly useful to practice in front of someone, but practicing
aloud by yourself works as well. It
is helpful to mark in your notes or paper intonations of phrases
and to highlight words with which you have difficulty.
- PRACTICE AGAIN! This includes making sure that any audio-visual media
are working as planned and that the necessary equipment is available
in the room in which you will be presenting.
- If you make a presentation at a conference
or professional meeting, it is often a good idea to have available
some copies of your talk or of the longer text from which your talk
has been derived. Offering such copies (with your name and contact
information prominately on the cover page) to people if they approach
you to hear more about your thoughts is a great way of building your
professional network.
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