There are various ways that you are able to make class/public presentations, and what follows are some examples. While these presentation styles may not be appropriate for your presentations on say, research methods, it does helps you in formulating a style in your presentations, even if it means just talking to your friend(s) in a particular setting.

Before we proceed to the various presentation styles, I will like you to know that there are primarily two purposes for making presentations: informative and persuasive. An informative presentation is one whereby the presenter’s objective is to inform his or her target audience. It usually happens when the presenter has knowledge/expertise of something that his or her target audience does not but it is not always the case. A persuasive presentation is one whereby the presenters try to persuade their target audience to their way of thinking.  This may be used to strengthen the audience’s stand on certain issues or it could be persuading the audience to change their beliefs/values/behaviour. 

Now, let’s move on to the various presentation styles (do note that you can use the following techniques even if you are talking to your friend across the table):

• Time: The use of the time concept in presentations should not be new to most of you. What presenters do when they use this style is to present from the past to the present to the future or vice versa.  Describing the happenings of World War II and a narration of an overseas trip are examples where this presentation style is suitable. This technique is more suited for informative presentations.
• Spatial: The spatial concept refers to spaces around us. And when it comes to presentation style, it means that the presenter’s presentation moves around things, areas or countries. A travel journalist describing his adventure in Japan from Tokyo to Kyoto to Hokkaido is one good example of such presentation style. Do note that in this case, the travel journalist could have integrated the time concept (as mentioned above) into his presentation but do note that the presentation will get complicated (since the travel journalist could have travelled to the same place at different times or two places within a day. This complicates matters). This presentation style is more suited for an informative presentation.
•  Topical: This presentation style will be one which you should be most familiar with as this is the style that most of you have been using in your presentations. That is, presenting something in terms of topics. Therefore, I will elaborate no further. This presentation style is more suited when presenting an academic subject of interest or informative presentation.
• Problem-Solution: You should also be familiar with this presentation style, which presents the problem(s) first before coming up with the solution. Come to think of it, your lesson begins with the problem and you come up with the solutions, isn’t it? So, here’s letting you know that you have the privilege to come up with the problems and proposed your solutions to the audience at the same time. This presentation style is suited for both informative and persuasive presentations.
• Cause-effect/Effect-case: Some of you may know this, while some may not. This presentation style brings the cause to the fore before backing it up with the effects. For example, a presenter may talk about the cause of smoking before he continues with the negative effects of it. On the other hand, the presenter might opt for the “shock” tactic by starting with the negative effects of smoking first before going into the scientific causes of it. The choice ultimately belongs to the presenter.
• Motivated sequence: This presentation style comes in 5 stages, namely attention, interest, satisfaction, visualisation and action. “Attention” here refers to engaging the audience using various tools available, with the most common being a humorous or dramatic story or asking a rhetorical  question ( which is a question used to make a statement or produce some desired effect rather than to secure an answer, which is obvious. For example: ”Do you want to be rich?”, “Do you want to be famous?” etc). After you have achieved this, you enter the “Need” stage, whereby you create an awareness in your audience of a particular need to learn or do something. Next comes the “satisfaction” stage, where you as a presenter provide the solutions. The subsequent “visualisation” stage either demonstrates to the audience the positive benefits if they heed your message(s) or the adverse consequences if they ignore them. Finally, the “Action” stage brings about a behavioural change in your audience (or at least this is the hope of the presenter) whereby they will do something that is advocated by the presenter. Do note that should the presentation be informative in nature, the presenter need only proceed till the “satisfaction” stage. However, if the presentation is meant to be persuasive in nature, then the presenter needs to go only as far as the “visualisation” stage.
• Structure-Function: As the name implies, this presentation style is most useful when describing the anatomy of a particular structure. It can be the ways that a particular educational institution is being run, the functions of the specific parts of a car etc. This presentation style is suited for informative presentations. 
• Comparison and Contrast: This presentation style compares and contrasts two or more different entities (which can be anything from issues to products to functionalities). This presentation style may be helpful in your presentations in the classroom, depending on the subject matter.  This presentation style is more suited for informative presentations, but it may be applicable when it comes to persuasive presentations.
• Pro and Con, Advantages and Disadvantages: This presentation style highlights the advantages and disadvantages of the issues that the presenters are presenting, often in a objective manner.
• Claim and Proof: In the same way that a persecutor makes a claim in the courtroom and subsequent provide proof on his or her claim, this presentation style makes a statement (akin to a hypothesis in research methods) and then provide evidence to prove it (akin to your research method except that in this case, there are no processes or procedures to go through but merely the presentation of the physical evidence). This presentation style is suited for persuasive presentations.
• Multiple Definition: This presentation style seeks to provide multiple interpretations to a single term or concept. For example, consider the act of looking at (and not measure) happiness. There are numerous ways to look at happiness. It can be considered in terms of social status, freedom, wealth, health, availability to basic necessities etc. This presentation style is more suited for informative presentations.
• Who, what, why, where, when:  This presentation style makes use of the 5Ws that you have learnt and I will like to add a “H” as well (which is “how”). This presentation style is often useful for informative presentations.

Do note that professional presenters usually do not adopt a particular presentation style but combines them instead. With a certain level of experience, all of you can do the same with constant practice. There are some pasta buffets whereby you are able to “mix-and-match” according to your personal preferences and/or dietary requirements. It’s the same for your presentation. For example, using the example of the travel journalist again, he or she is able to use the “cause-effect” technique to explain the movement from one part of the country to another while using the “spatial” technique to describe the shift in setting as well.  The “time” concept also comes into the picture if the travel journalist highlights the time of the day for the visit as well. The primary difference is that you have control over a pasta buffet but when it comes to presentations, you select the techniques that work best for your target audience and not yourself.

Considering that improvement only comes with practice, it will be good to start practising right about now. 

By the way, this is my 100th post! How time flies!

Reference:

Devito, J. (2005). Essentials of Human Communication. Boston: Pearson Education

I believe some of you might have already heard of Tony Buzan, the man who is most commonly associated with the use of mind maps. However, what’s not really known about him is the fact that besides the renowned “mind map” technique, Tony Buzan has also introduced to us other methods of recall that is invaluable to us. I remember reading one of his books and was interested in a technique that improves our recalling abilities. I will like to call this technique the “movie” technique since it employs the use of mental moving images.

Before I discuss this technique, I will like you to have an awareness that almost all of us think visually and not linguistically. What do I mean by this? Well, let’s consider a simple example. Look at the following scenarios and think of your own experiences:

• Celebrating your birthday parties
• One of the more memorable days in your secondary school
• One memorable outing that you have with friends

Now, what comes to your mind first? Is it images or text (as in words and sentences)? I am quite sure that it’s images. It is rarely that someone recalls any incident with words in his/her mind like this: “I see many friends in my house and my mum comes out of the kitchen holding the birthday cake…” In this instance, what someone sees is almost always a flashback of the entire scene happening simultaneously in images and not linearly in words (as what we usually do when we write an article or read a book).

Knowing that our minds think and recall using images rather than words, you can put this to good use in your presentations by stringing the points that you wish to present together and turning this into a movie. Hence, I call this the “movie” technique. This is most helpful to those who present using scripts but on the whole, it is useful to all of you. However, as most of you are using presentation slides, you will not find this technique helpful as you are able to read the points from the slides. Still, I will like you to learn this technique in the event that you have to present without any slides in the workplace.

So, how do you use this “movie” technique?

Say, you have several points to present for a particular presentation, as follows:

• Respect
• Curiosity
• Understanding

Now, try to visualise a scenario for each word. For instance, you can imagine a boy facing an old lady and speaking gently to her (indicating respect). Subsequently, he notices that the old lady is holding a plastic bag in one of her hands. He points at it and asks her about the bag’s content (indicating curiosity). When the old lady chooses not to answer his question, the boy merely nods his head and stop questioning her (indicating understanding).

You can always use a different story and you can always craft a story that is in a different order (such as highlighting ”curious” first, then “respect” and then “understanding”). When it comes to this technique, flexibility and creativity is key. Try practicing this technique to remember the points in the order that you want and before you know it, I believe that you will remember the points in the order that you want. From here, you merely have to elaborate on your points and provide examples accordingly.

You can even use this technique when you need to buy a list of items. Just visualise a story linking all the items that you wish to purchase and you won’t even need to bring a shopping list. Try it and see.

Happy practising!

I have noticed that there is a tendency among some of you to stop midway in your speech when you are presenting your points in class. Below are a few observations that I have made when you are unsure of your points:

• Give up trying to find a way to complete your sentence
• Informing your audience that you are unsure of how to continue
• Abruptly end your sentence with words that you find appropriate with no further elaboration
• Seek assistance from your team mates
• Stay silent and wait for your team mates to take the initiative to either help you or present their points

While I understand that all of us do encounter challenges while presenting, I will advise you not to give up too easily on the elaboration of your points. Being a presenter who can speak well is a skill that can only be improved through practice over time. The five approaches that are mentioned will not help you to improve in this aspect. One of the things that you can do is to be more confident of what you are presenting, which can be achieved through good preparation before your presentation. Try to familiarise yourself with what you are presenting. Then, rehearse your speech several times before your team presentation. During your rehearsal, do say out what you are going to present in your own words. You might like to seek feedback from your good friends as well with regard to your presentation. This will give you more familiarity with the presenting materials and improves the fluency of your presentation. 

However, this is not enough. The most important factor is still missing: confidence.

You must have confidence in yourself that you will do well. Having the thought that you can be a good presenter is not enough. You must take steps and make the effort to achieve what you want to achieve.  For a start, always make the effort to finish all the sentences that you are presenting.

Remember, confidence is important in all aspects of our endeavours in life. If others are not there to give us confidence, we need to instil confidence in ourselves.

The day when we are truly confident is the day when we will excel.

As media students, you will probably be asked to present your work in visual form. These may often include the use of photographs, photographs in text, visual design etc.  As all of you have the opportunities to make presentations on a daily basis, I will recommend that you seize these opportunities to learn about the usage of photographs. Usually, what is implied by the photographs is equally if not more important than the literal meaning interpreted by the viewer of the photographs directly. Yes, semiotics is equally important when it comes to the interpretation of photographs.

Now, let’s consider the following factors:

•  Semiotics: Semiotics is a rather abstract term and I will rather describe this field of study in simpler terms. Usually when a viewer looks at a photograph, his or her interpretation goes beyond what is shown. Just think of any movie poster that you have came across. How do you know- at a single glance- the type of movie that it is and the kind of content that you will expect? And more often than not, you will realise that you are right after watching the movie. How does this happen? This is because the photographs that you have seen previously have been somewhat stored in your memories as prior knowledge. When you view a new photograph, you will tend to associate what you know with what you have just seen.  Knowing this concept, we can – as presenters- put it to good use in the visual aspects of your presentations as well as any form of written communication that involves photographs. This is because your audience are like us, with their own prior knowledge. On the whole, some of our prior knowledge are somewhat similar. For example, all of us know that smiling indicates happiness and crying indicates sadness. Such  similar interpretations usually cut across different cultures.
• Humour: It can be observed that some of you are already applying humour in your presentations. So, do read this section for more insights. For those of you who have not, this section will give you some ideas on how to apply humour using photographs and in this case, images. Some common techniques that are commonly employed are the use of comic strips and captions below photographs, which is good. However, most of these images/photographs are usually retrieved from external sources. As presenters, using photographs that are taken by yourself and utilising your creativity to come up with insightful and thought-provoking captions can be refreshing and interesting as well. Try it and see.
• Factors that affect the mood of the photograph: In the process of using photographs in your presentation, it will be good to note that there are certain aspects of the photographs that can be changed to affect the mood of your presentation. For example, turning a colour photograph into black and white gives it a somewhat serious nature. Changing the colour of a photograph using sepia tone will give the photograph a somewhat nostalgic feel.

Another factor that you can change is the contrast of the photograph. When the contrast is increased, it will bring out the vibrant colours of the photograph. This is especially so for images where there are a wide variety of colours in the picture. Do note that contrast is different from the brightness of photographs. Increasing the brightness of photographs does not accentuate the colour differences in photographs, but changing the contrast does. However, both the brightness and contrast of photographs are often considered together when visual artists and designers made changes to their works.

Another aspect of enhancing the aesthetical value of pictures will be – as mentioned in my previous post - cropping. Try to crop the images in different shapes and angles to see if there’s a particular style that is appropriate for the presentation. The best way to do this is through trial-and-error.

Do note that when it comes to  journalistic writing (especially in the newsroom), no manipulation of photos is allowed as realism must be strictly adhered to. Do take note.

• Sequential photography shots: Sometimes, it might be useful to use photographs sequentially. For example, if you are presenting a topic that is somewhat instructional in nature, showing the sequence using photographs might be a good idea. Some flow charts can also be substituted with photographs but do leave the indicating arrows intact.  However, sequential photographic shots often have the drawback of overshadowing the texts on the same slide as well as consuming too much space. So, do ensure that this does not happen. Text and photographs/images are often vying for space, so it’s up to you as a presenter to strike a balance between the two.
• Photographs as backdrop of slides: Using photographs as a backdrop to your slides is also a good technique. This is especially so when you have a photograph that represents a specific thematic element of the presentation content. For example, if you are presenting a session on the school’s open house, it will be good to use the school’s logo as the backdrop. However, there are some areas that we need to steer away from, one of which is the fact that the colours cannot be too dark. This can be controlled by changing the “transparency/opacity” of the image. If the photograph is too dark, there might exists a possibility that the words blend in with the photographs, thus making the text unreadable. Do avoid this. As you practice this technique, you will gradually improve over time. Practice is key.

On the whole, whatever techniques that you use, do ensure that every photograph always reinforces the content that you are presenting. Do not include photographs that are irrelevant, no matter how much you want to put it in the presentation. It’s good to remember that aesthetical value is always secondary to the presenting content itself.

What you present and how you present is key.

Through the times that I have been facilitating classes for the past semesters, I have observed the strengths of different teams from their presentation sessions and have noted the various qualities that make such teams strong. I wish to highlight the essence of these teams’ attributes through the description of a hypothetical class Team X as shown below:

When Team X is asked to present, its members are calm and composed. Their strong coordination skills can be observed as each members goes about setting up the presentation. While some set up the projector, the rest began to position themselves either at the front or the back of the class, readying themselves for the presentation.

When all are ready and the facilitator gives the signal to begin, the team members are at ease and one presents after another. During the course of the presentation, the members are confident of their content and – save for some technical details which they might refer to on their laptops or scripts, they present their points using their own words to the best of their abilities. They put in the effort to elaborate on the points that they are presenting and they provide relevant examples whenever it is applicable. Coordination skills between them are strong when the team present.  All the members are attentive and focused on what the other team members are talking. In the event that any of their team mates fumble in their presentation, they will immediately step in and assist.  This same phenomenon can be observed during the “Q & A” session as well.

During the course of the presentation, it can be observed that the team is formal in their presentation. They are serious but not to the extent of forgetting to use a dose of humour every now and then. The team members always stand while they are presenting (and this is so even while their team members are presenting) and they refrain from engaging in any form of distractions such as eating, drinking or even spinning in their chairs while presenting.  All the team members are focused during the presentation and none of the team member can be seen to be joking with members of other teams during the entire course of their presentation. They do not walk around the class chatting with members from other teams as well while their team mates are presenting, and they do not doodle on the white board should there be one behind them during the presentation.

To engage the class in their learning, the team also pose questions to the class during the course of their presentation, making sure that they have sustained the audience’s attention with their questions while not allowing their questions to be disruptive to the flow of their presentation.  When the team presents, each team member presents according to their prepared slides while at the same time, they are aware of what other team members are presenting. This is because they have discussed the content of their presentation before the actual presentation. This has enabled all the team members to understand the content of the entire presentation and how their presentation contributes to the team’s presentation on the whole. In fact, the team members are so familiar with the presentation content for the lesson that each of them are able to switch at will and present any of their team member’s slides should the situation calls for it. This is because every team member understands the presentation content and more importantly, the flow of the entire presentation.

The above illustrates the strong team dynamics of an excellent team. Although it is hypothetical and such a team does not exist yet, I hope that all of you are able to work towards being the great presenter that you already are. All of you are doing well, and have the potential to be the great presenters and team members in such a team as described above if you put in the effort to realise your potential. I do not expect you to work towards my ideals or expectations but I hope that you are able to improve yourself to the point where you can present with ease as a presenter while being a cohesive team member in your team as well such that you will be able to contribute to the team effort.

When all of you work together as a team, you can achieve great things. And some of these achievements are things that you may not consider possible before. 

So, keep up the good work and enthusiasm!

SlideShare is a good reference website to improve your presentation slides. Click below for the website:

SlideShare.net

Do get some insights from the slides. But when preparing your own presentation slides, be original.

Please have a look at the following website below as it is a good reference website to improve your presentation skills:

 TED.com

This website has renowned presenters from diverse fields (such as Macolm Gladwell, Dan Gilbert, Daniel Goleman etc) who present their expertise and insights through their words and gestures. All presentations are condensed into a 10-22 minute segment, so it will be easy for you to examine the different skills that the different presenters have.

I hope that this will help you in improving your presentation skills.

I have noted some effective ways on how to increase your self-confidence when presenting and have condensed them into 21 points as shown below. I hope that you can have a good read.

So, how can you be more self-confident of yourself? Here goes:

1. Be more certain: Go through the materials that you are going to present and familiarise yourself with it. Then rehearse your presentation several times before presenting. Remember the adage: Prepare, Prepare, Prepare and you will not go wrong.

2. Get organised: Teams and presenters fumble because they are often not organised. There are several instances whereby team members are unsure who is presenting which part of the presentation. This has often resulted in unnecessary delays and hiccups during the presentation. Being organised helps in this aspect. Delegating the role that each team member will play prior to the presentation will surely help a great deal.

3. Understand human nature: People love to feel good about themselves, so be very positive when you speak, Try your best to avoid the negative. Using humour is a good way to diffuse tense situations while letting the audience have a good laugh. This wil in turn boost your confidence as well.

4. Be open to ideas: Some of you are scared of the Q & A session because you feel that you might not know the answer or answer the question wrongly. Do not be afraid. If you are stumped by a question, simply inform the person who pose the question that you will get back to him or her at the end of the presentation. This shows your dedication and confidence to respond to all questions while not allowing the question to hold up the presentation.

5. Attire: Having a neat attire when you present will boost your confidence level by a great deal. In fact, professionals dress well all the time, not only because it increases their credibility, it makes them feel good as well. Just think of how job candidates dress for their interview. Different situation, same concept.

6. Adopt a good posture: Some of you have made presentations while spinning a chair with your knees or you tend to present while sitting down. All this actually
sabotage the effectiveness of presenting well since it does not demonstrate
your confidence level. Stand upright while presenting and notice how a change
in physiology changes your confidence level as well.

7. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones: It is important that we replace our negative thought with positive ones. Keep encouraging yourself instead of putting yourself down. This is important.

8. Exercise: Try to exercise at least twice a week. Exercising often has the effect of making you feel positive and uplifted. There are many types of sports for you to choose from and most forms of exercise are healthy. You can try to engage several exercises instead of one since it can bore you over time.

9. Be familiar with your audience: I believe that most of you have no problem in this area, since your audience are your friends. Nevertheless, some of you are still afraid despite of this. However, do take this opportunity to practise presenting before friends because you might be presenting before strangers, colleagues and clients when you work in your later years.  Remember, try your best to familiarise yourself with your audience to increase your confidence level. Notice how comfortable you feel when you talk to your close friends when compared to conversing with strangers. The same concept applies.

10. Alight your personality with your presentation style: What I mean by this is that if you are someone who is humorous, imbue some humour into your presentation. If you are someone who is into details, elaborate more, If you are someone who is into photography and infographics, use them in your slides. Enjoy the process of presentation by making your presentation a part of you through the integration of your interest(s) into your presentation. You will feel more confident when you are comfortable with your presentation.

11. Prepare your own slides: Some of you may be presenting slides that are prepared by your team mate(s). This will often result in unwanted confusion as you look at one another when a point appears that you, confused about who are supposed to present. You are at a loss since you are unfamiliar with the slides. Knowing which slides / points that you are supposed to present because you are sure of what you are presenting is important when it comes to increasing your confidence level.

12. Simplicity is best: Use key words on your slides instead of wordy explanation. This will give you more space to explore by presenting using your own words (where it should always be the case). This is also a good opportunity to use your creativity as well. When you are fluent in your delivery after some practice, your confidence level will rise.

13.  Anticipate questions from your friends: Make it a habit to look through your presentation materials as a team. Look for areas that you feel that members of the audience will enquire and prepare your answers for them. The best way is to integrate these points into your presentation. However, if these points are not directly relevant, research the answers, note them down but leave it out of the presentation slides. When member of the audience pose these questions to you, use the researched answers to respond. Do note that you will need to be fluent and familiar with the researched answers to do that. If you are able to do this well, your confidence level will not drop and may even rise.

14. Rectify all technical and presentation difficulties: Before the presentation, make sure that the laptop(s) that you are using for the presentation are up and working. Also, project your slides prior to the presentation to make sure that all the font colour chosen for the words on the slides are visible on the screen. If you are using wireless projection, ensure that there is no lag time. Experiencing technical difficulty before or when you are presenting will seriously affect your confidence level in presenting successfully.

15.  Look for signs of acceptance among the audience: When you present, there will probably be several members of the audience looking at you, smiling at you or even nodding their head in agreement to what you are presenting. These are signs of acceptance of your presentation. Maintain eye contact with your audience around the room but look at these specific members of the audience often, as this will boost your self-confidence and improve your abilities as a presenter.

16. Creative visualisation: Before you present, try to imagine yourself presenting successful before your audience. Visualise yourself speaking confidently. How you do it is up to you. However, do employ the use of your sight and auditory function. Imagine yourself standing in front of your audience and hearing the words that you are saying. Look at the audience smiling at you and applauding after your presentation. Create an image of success before any presentation will reassure you and boost your confidence level.  

17. Physical and mental state: It’s important that you are in the optimal state of alertness during the presentation. So make sure that you have drunk enough water and have a good night’s sleep before the presentation.

18. Storytelling: I am sure that most of you will remember the times when someone told you about a story and you are totally engaged with the tale. Similarly, children often want their parents to tell them stories. Do you know why? This is because our mind takes better to story than words and statistics. So, do prepare a few stories before the presentation, familiarise yourself with it and then use it. The more engaged your audience is, the more confident you will be over time.

19. Never read from your slides: When you read from your slides, you show a lack of confidence. Paraphrase in your own words what you want to say. Remember, if you are reading from the slides, one question will pop up in your audience’s minds: Why will they want to listen to the presenter when they can get the information from the slides? Always surprise your audience with what you want to say. Make it special but ensure that what you are saying relates to the points on your slide.                                                          

20. Use of pauses: If you are unsure of what you are going to say next (which sometimes happen to the best speakers too), pause. Yes, you just pause. Do pause at appropriate moments though, such as during the “commas” and the “full stops” of your sentences rather than abruptly in the midst of a sentence.

21. Smile: This factor may be placed as the last item but it is the most important. This is because it is the strongest indicator of your confidence level. Think about it. Why do we find someone to be approachable and charismatic when we first meet him or her? It’s because of the smile. So, how different can it be when it comes to making presentations?

I may be adding more points in this section over time, so do come back for more updates.

There are some of you who may get nervous when you present. Although you are now into the second semester, it’s normal for some of you to experience some degree of nervousness or anxiety when presenting. In fact, it’s been said that even the most experienced presenter feels nervous during their presentations as well. It’s just that they are experienced and hence their anxiety is not shown externally.

To present well, we need to look at the causes that makes us fumble, be it in our speech when we stammer, in our voice when it quivers or in our body language which may seem awkward to ourselves when we make class or public presentations. Someone once states that we usually feel that we act awkwardly during our presentation but most members of the audience think otherwise. The members of the audience often think that the presenters do fine. In another words, our experience of not presenting well is often exaggerated many times more when compared to reality. Therefore, know that you are usually doing better in your presentation in front of your audience than what you really feel.

However, knowing this fact is not enough. You need to have self-confidence. This is true. Nevertheless, what’s more important is that you remain focused on the message that you are delivering rather than on yourself. What this means is that before you present, you can ask yourself questions and statements that are directed towards your message, as follows:

• What is the exact message that I am trying to convey to my audience?
• How am I able to make the message more concise to my audience?
• How am I able to better engage the audience?
• Am I able to use some appropriate humour to make my presentation my lively?
• I am going to do my best in my presentation so that my audience benefits.
• I believe that I will do well.

It’s important to remember not to question your own abilities as a presenter. That is, avoid asking the following questions:

• Am I competent to make this presentation?
• Are my audience laughing at me?
• Am I behaving unnaturally?
• Did I memorise my speech properly?
• Is this the right time to make the presentation?

Do note that all this questions will make you self-conscious, cast doubts in your mind and compromise your presentation. You need to have more confidence in yourself. Tell yourself that the presentation will go well and that you will try your best to deliver the message so that your audience will benefit from it.

Remember, always focus on the message that you are delivering to your audience when you present and not on yourself.

You will have noticed by now that I have mentioned self-confidence several times above because in the absence of strong self-confidence, whatever assertive statements or questions that you make to yourself will not work.

Because of the fact that one’s self-confidence plays a determining role when it comes to being successful in presentations, I will be talking in detail about the ways and techniques that you can use to increase your self-confidence next.  In the meantime, you can check out ways on how to increase your self-confidence by clicking here.

After we have been through several presentations for the past lessons, there are several things that I wish to highlight to you. I hope that you are able to read through these points and improve on them:

• Font colour: For most classes, this is one of the most common practices that teams have adopted. Do refrain from using inappropriate colour such as red. Please do not use this colour because it is unreadable when projected on the screen. Yellow and green are another two colours to stay away from.

• Elaboration: As the lessons progress, most of you are now able to elaborate very well. And you have improved tremendously since the first lesson. Nevertheless, there are still a few of you who are less vocal. Do note that you have the potential to be vocal as well. So, do continue to contribute your points for subsequent lessons.

• Names on presentation slides: Some teams have – at times – forgotten to put their names on the presentation slides. Do include your name (preferably on the first slide) so that it’s easier for your facilitator to use them as references to identify your work.

• Maintaining eye contact with your audience: It can be observed that most of you are now presenting while maintaining eye contact with your audience. However, there’s still a minority of you who are still focusing too much on your facilitator. Do sweep your eyes across the class and maintain eye contact with your audience. It need not be everybody but the gesture of doing so is important, because it shows that you are engaging your audience.

• Scripts: As at time of writing, none of you in the class present while using scripts. Well done! Do also paraphrase your words and not read off the slides. Do provide examples whenever appropriate as well.

• Order of presenting teams: Since I believe that the class has the ability to organise yourself, do take the initiative to determine the order of the presenting teams (read: who is presenting first, second etc) before the start of the presentation.

• Appropriate posture and behaviour during presentation: Do maintain an upright posture when presenting. Do refrain from spinning around in chairs or joke around with friends while presenting or while your team is presenting. Do not doodle or draw on the white board during your team presentation and face the audience.  Presenting from the front or the back of the class is fine but please do not present at your table.

• Stay engaged with the presenting teams: For those of you who have presented or has yet to present, please do stay engaged with the presenting team and listen intently to their presentation. This is a mark of respect and I believe you will want other teams to listen to you too. During the presentation session, do not MSN, play games or listen to music since this will disengage you from the presenting teams and distract you from the presentation.

• Statistics and figures: For complicated figures and numbers, please simplify them for your audience and increase the font size for display on your slides. Do not place them in a remote corner of the slide.

• Ask your audience questions: It is a good technique to ask your audience questions when you are presenting. Sometimes, your audience may tune off mentally when listening to your presentation not because they want to but all of us have a limited attention span. Hence, throwing questions to the floor will better engage them.

I will be adding more points as I discover them. Despite the abovementioned area for improvement, I personally feel that all of you are good presenters. So, keep up the enthusiasm!

 By the way, please use a different font colour for your responses in the worksheet.