- Organization:
Think about how people listen. You will want to frame your
talk with a purposeful introduction
and provide clear verbal signposts along the way.
- Notes:
Plan a notetaking system that will work for
you when you are standing before an audience (with your knees shaking,
your throat dry, and your eyes blurry). Some speakers work well from
an outline on a pad of paper; some write their
whole talk out and virtually memorize it;
some work well from notecards.
- An opener:
Think hard about your first words. How will you pull your
listeners together and set them up for the talk? Remember,
they haven't been thinking about the subject at all, so your first words
will have to organize their thoughts as well as yours.
- A conclusion:
Think equally hard about a good way to wrap
up your talk. What last words do you want to leave your audience with?
If you have planned your conclusion carefully ahead of time, you will
be able to retrieve it even if you become flustered in the middle of
your talk.
- Context:
Remember that while you have been working on this project for months,
your audience is new to the subject. Giving them context
for your work will help them understand your presentation
much more easily. Offering examples or asking the audience to think
about similar experiences in their own lives can help provide context.
- Time:
Practice your talk aloud so you know you will stay
within the time limit. 15 minutes is enough to present a few major points
from your work. Emphasize the most interesting aspects of your work.
- Stance:
Decide how you will use your body during the
talk. Will you stand or sit? Are you comfortable using gestures to help
you? Do you have any annoying or distracting mannerisms that you need
to control?
- Voice:
Practice and experience will help you learn to control your
voice. Are you speaking too softly? Too loudly? Mumbling?
Are your words and sentences clearly enunciated, with clear beginnings
and ends? Are you speaking too quickly or too slowly? Learn
to project; your words need to reach your audience.
- Interacting with the audience:
Allow yourself to be aware of your audience.
Look at them; talk to them. Warm them up. Some speakers ask questions
of the audience, or ask them to think of something on their own. ("What
is your earliest childhood memory?" "Have you ever had this
experience: XXXX")
- Visual aids:
Many presentations require visual aids, especially as you move into
the work world. Eventually, you will want to think about how visual
aids can help make your point. You will need to learn to
design effective slides and transparencies and to handle
equipment.
See Tips for Visual
Presentations for information on designing effective visual aids.
See Information for
Presenters for further specific details regarding presenting at the
Ruhlman Conference. |
