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Mastering the Art of Presentation |
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The
budding managers have to use the PPT for class presentations, summer
project presentation or during seminars.
The managers have to master the art of presentation here
some guide lines are suggested for perfecting the art of presentation.
Effective slide preparation
"Rule of Sevens" to Produce Effective Slides
The most common errors in slide preparation are too much
writing, too much information, and too small a type size. You should
be able to hold your slides at arm's length and read the words.
Consider the "Rule of Sevens" when making your slides; a slide
should not be more than seven lines long and seven words wide.
Large Rooms Require Even Greater Care in Slide
Preparation
If you have to talk to several hundred people, the
teacher has to make new slides with an unusually large typeface.
Your audience should not be distracted while reading. If the type is too
small, they will not be able to read what is on your slide consequently
will not be able to listen to you. For large group presentations,
find out whether you are expected to have duplicate slides for dual
projectors.
Your Slides Should Appear to Go Together
The title for each slide should be in a larger font
than the text or all in capital letters, with a color scheme or format
that emphasizes the title, such as light color on a dark background, and
set off in some manner from the border of the text. We use yellow letters
on a very dark blue or black background. The text should be in upper
and lower case in a different light color on a different dark background.
We use white letters on a dark blue background. Do not use red
letters or red line drawings because the audience frequently will not be
able to see them. Red may be used if it is shaded towards orange or
pink, but still use caution. If you make your own slides using a
software program, learn the differences in color and size between what you
see on the screen and what appears on the slide. Use shading to give
depth to your letters. A horizontal format is preferred because
vertical slides often extend above or below the screen. Your text
should be bullets with phrase, not paragraphs. Your talk can add
information to that provided on your slides.
Your Abstract Forms an Outline for Your Presentation
Review your abstract and use it to formulate your
slides. If it was written according to the format described above,
it will contain the sections relevant for a 10-minute talk. Use your
abstract as the outline and expand with additional content or new
information.
Avoid Too Much Information in Your Tables and
Figures
We have all seen slides with so much information that
they were incomprehensible. Tables should contain no more than two
columns by four rows or three columns by three rows. Tables from
journal articles have too much information and should not be used.
Bar graphs should have no more than six bars. It is important to
label the axes. Pie graphs should include numeric percentages for
part of the pie. Most line graphs should have a zero origin for both
axes, the axes should be labeled, and rarely should the equation for the
line be a part of the graph.
Make sure your audience remembers one thing
Your goal in a 10-minute talk is to leave your audience
remembering one important "take-home lesson" from your
presentation. Only your closest colleagues and fiercest competitors
will remember more detail, so focus on marking your key point effectively.
Remember the adage: "Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell
them, and tell them what you told them."
Your slides organize your talk
In preparing your talk, you should make your slides
first and then practice or write your talk to your slides. There are
two very different points of view regarding reading versus talking in your
presentation. Decide which format is most comfortable for you.
Regardless of the format you choose, try to have your slides ready two
weeks before your meeting so that you can practice and revise them as
suggested by your own review and that of your colleagues.
Practice for the questions after your talk
The most important aspect of practice is the questions
asked by your colleagues. Too many presentations are derailed when
the presenter is unable to answer the simplest question. You need to
have colleagues and mentors who will ask you the difficult questions at
home and help you to formulate your answer. I f you anticipate an
especially aggressive rival in the audience, one of your local colleagues
should assume the rival's personal and challenge should assume the rival's
persona and challenge you with the questions you expect from such a rival.
Practice answering questions succinctly in "sound bytes" of no
more than three sentences. If the answer is not through enough,
the questioner will follow up with another question. Answers that are too
long will cause the audience to lose interest. If you get unexpected
questions at the actual presentation, then your practice sessions were not
sufficiently through.
Bad Answers Will Be Remembered Even if the Talk Is Good
Your presentation maybe a flawless presentation in
class or at the meeting however, when the questions answer session begin,
you realize that you have not truly understood the project. The
audience soon realizes this as well when you stumble over the answers.
Some of the answers take more than one minute, during which you talk
around the topic but never answer the question. Other answers are only a
single word, "Yes" or "no". The audience / students
will go with the impression that you are not thorough with your topic/
project and the flawless presentation will become meaningless.
Answering Questions Is a Learned Art
A good teacher understands the importance of practicing
not only the talk but also the questions. He/she practices in front of
his/her group. In addition to providing feedback the group, his/ her
group asks more than 10 questions. Some of these are very difficult,
so he/she has the opportunity of answering them and receiving feedback.
He/she also receives suggestions regarding her style of answering
questions. One should restate the question in brief before
answering, since most of the audience will be unable to hear the question.
This also gives her more time to consider her answer, which is especially
helpful if the question is difficult. One should also sought clarification
from the questioner he/ she does not understand the question and in
addition, one should also admit if the answer is not known, but don't
forget to answer the question in next session. Always keep your answers
brief, not more than two or three sentences. Encourage the students
to ask more questions by using phrases like, "This is an interesting
question, very good question."
The question answer session helps the students to
understand the topic in a better way.
The number of slides for your presentation should be
planned ahead of time
A general rule is 1 ½ slides per minute, or about 15
slides for a 10-minute talk. If the slide is a simple word slide or
photograph, you can expect to spend 30 seconds on it. If the slide
illustrates a complex procedure or theory, plan to spend 2 minutes.
Your talk is essentially an expansion of your abstract.
You should have one slide with title, authors, and affiliations, if it is
permitted. Some organizations do not allow you to use such a slide
since the session moderator reads the title, names of the authors, and
affiliations when the speaker is introduced. There should be one or two
slides for the introduction. The purpose should take one slide to
three slides can be used for the methods. Three to five slides are
needed to present the results. If you use summary slides, there should be
only one or two. Conclusions can be covered in one or two slides. If
you have any speculation or recommendation, use one slide each.
Be sure to acknowledge the work of others
In planning your slides, consider the background of
your audience. If your slide comes from the written work of someone else,
you should provide a citation at the bottom of the slide and acknowledge
the source in your talk. You do not want to give the impression that you
are taking credit for work done by someone else.
Preview your slides and the podium, and be gracious
during and after your presentation
When you load your presentation on PC, run the
presentation to make sure that every thing is proper order. Go to
the conference hall where you will make your presentation before the
session begins. Check out the PC, podium and other equipment.
Make sure you understand how to advance the slides and how the pointer
works. Speak slowly during your presentations. We all
talk faster when we are nervous. Thank the moderator and
projectionist before you leave. If there are problems with your
slides during your presentation, maintain your equanimity. Your
audience will remember you if you handle an unfortunate situation with
grace, and they will also remember if you do not.
If you have a questioner who is arrogant, aggressive,
handle him with poise. The audience will be on you side and will
respect you if you respond evenly and effectively. If the questioner
is particularly obnoxious, you have no need to respond- you have not
entered into a social contract with them that demands a response.
Just thank them and move on to the next questioner.
Know the Audience for Your Presentation
As you prepare your 1-hour talk, consider the venue.
You should ask the person inviting you about the audience and the type of
talk they are expecting. Is it scientific or clinical or
educational? Are the members of the audience from the same specialty or
subspecialty in which you practice? Will they be a homogeneous group or a
group with mixed backgrounds and knowledge bases? Is this a local,
regional, nations, or international meeting?
You need to consider the sophistication of your
audience and be sure that you define any terms that may be unfamiliar to
them. Another variable is the interest level of your audience. Are
they attending the meeting for intellectual curiosity, educational
purposes, or recreational purposes? If it is a meeting in a destination
location, you may have to be particularly creative with your title to get
the audience into your talk and hold in your presentations to keep them.
There are different types of 1-hour talks, including lectures, seminars
and problem-solving sessions. You need to determine which type you
are to present, because the goals and formats will be quite different.
Tailor Your Talk to Your Audience
The presentation for students is different than that
for experts. The presentation for workers is different than that for
managers. The audience should be at focal point and the presentation
should revolve around it, one has to tailor the presentation to the needs
and requirements of the audience. The lack of enthusiasm for the
audience results in lack of interest in developing an appropriate
presentation, which leads to lack of enthusiasm for inviting you to speak
at the national or state level conferences.
If you do not tailor your presentation to the needs and
requirements of the students they find canteen more interesting than
classroom.
Your Title Should Be Interesting, Your Organization
Clear, and Any Potential Conflicts Apparent
As you prepare your slides, you need to make a title
slide. Your title should be interesting to your potential audience.
You should never use the title of your last paper. You may want to
include subtitle to help orient your audience. You need to
acknowledge the source of support for your research. This is
especially important if the money comes from industry and there is a
potential conflict of interest, and it is also important if representative
of the funding agency supporting your research will be in the audience.
Determine whether you will be asked to provide an outline, learning
objectives and/ or a manuscript.
Organize Your Presentation like a Banquet
As you plan your talk, think about the last banquet you
attended. Think of the introduction and summary as the appetizer and
dessert. In between, you can accommodate three to five courses. If
you eat more than that, you would be unable to remember what you ate.
If you have more than three to five points, your audience will be unable
to remember them.
Preparation Will Reduce Anxiety
In order to deal with your anxiety, you should practice
at home in front of critical colleagues who will ask you difficult
questions. Be sure that your slides are correct; that your practice
audience can follow your organization, and that your presentation fits
within the assigned time. Preview your slides in the speaker ready room at
the meeting and take them to the presentation room before your session
begins, so that you can check out the podium and equipment and introduce
yourself to the moderator and projectionist.
Enjoy Yourself and Your Audience Will Enjoy Your
Talk
Your practice at home should give you confidence and
help you relax while you talk. Enjoy yourself, maintaining a sense
of humor without trying to be a comedian. Be friendly and enthusiastic.
Remember to Say Thank You so Your Audience Knows When
to Clap
At the end of your presentation, you should say thank
you. You have been at presentations at the end of which there are
embarrassed pauses when the audience is not sure whether it is over.
A pleasant and sincere " thank you" is polite way of letting
your audience know the presentation is over and they can applaud.
It's not over when it's over
In your answers to questions, you should be brief, your
responses no more than one to three one to three sentences in length.
Be sure to repeat the question if the audience cannot here the questioner.
This will also allow you time to plan your answer. Whenever
possible, you should attend the entire session to hear other presentations
after all, you wanted an attentive audience for your talk. At the
end of the session, you should thank the moderator and sponsor.
Experience Will Give You Confidence
More you present more you will get practice, which will
give you more confidence. |
