Making a Presentation

Best Academic Practices:
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Events

See also William Pfeiffer, Technical Writing: A Practical Approach Prentice Hall. Chapter 12 Oral Communication.

Here are a few hints for preparing presentations:

Absolute Rule #1: Who is your audience?

Sit with a friend and show them what you have done

Then use what you did as a model for your presentation.

Your presentation will go best if it seems to you, to your client, to me, and to the rest of the audience as though you are just showing off your semester's work to your friends.

Prepare a detailed outline

After you informally show off to a friend, record what you did.

Your outline should have about 3-6 main points, with about 2-5 sub-points under each one. Make sure you list each topic you want to be sure to mention. Be sure that there is a clear organization, a clear flow from one point to the next.

Opening

Know exactly how you will start.

If more than one person will be speaking (recommended), each person must know exactly how to start.

Once you get started, you'll do fine.

Closing

Know exactly how you will stop.

If more than one person will be speaking (recommended), each person must know exactly how to stop.

Know how you will transition from one speaker to another

Practice

You should run through your talk once or twice, preferably in front of a friend or classmate who can make suggestions.

Don't deliver the talk so many times you get bored with it.

Questions

Be prepared for questions. Think of what people might want to know, and how you wish to respond.

"Accordion" talk

No matter how well you prepare and how much you practice, the presentation will not go exactly as you plan. Hence, you should plan in advance for parts you can completely leave out to save time and for portions you can add if find you have extra time.

Relax, be confident, and enjoy

You have done good work, and you should be pleased to have the chance to show it off.