How to Make a Presentation
There are two main points to making a presentation: what you say and how you say it.
What you say
Content is obviously important. When you give a presentation, or do any kind of public speaking, you are working to get a message across to someone. If you do not have anything to say, you are not going to go far.
Your content, or message, is usually called the topic.
The first thing to do is choose your topic.
Try to be specific. "Snowboarding" is a topic, but it is very vague. "How to snowboard", "The dangers of snowboarding", or "Important snowboarding competitions" is more focused as a topic. Try to express your topic in a single sentence, "Snowboarding is a dangerous sport."
Your content, or message, is usually called the topic.
The first thing to do is choose your topic.
Try to be specific. "Snowboarding" is a topic, but it is very vague. "How to snowboard", "The dangers of snowboarding", or "Important snowboarding competitions" is more focused as a topic. Try to express your topic in a single sentence, "Snowboarding is a dangerous sport."
Before you organise
Before you begin actually organising your presentation, there are several points you should consider:
- Who are the audience? Do they already know something about your topic or not? Is the situation formal or informal? This will determine how technical and formal your talk will be; you wouldn't explain a painting to a group of children and a group of art critics in the same way.
- What points do you want to communicate? You cannot say everything there is to say about anything. Choose specific points to talk about that support your main topic.
- How much time do you have? This will strongly influence how many points you can develop when talking about your topic. In a five-minute presentation you can usually only develop two or three points.
- Can you use visual aids? Power point projectors, flip charts, chalk boards, even an object like an old shoe can all be useful visual aids as long as they contribute to getting your message across. If the visual does not support what you are saying or help the audience focus on your message, then don't use it.
Organise your topic
Your presentation should have a logical order – introduction, body where you give your main points, and conclusion.
Introduction
Say what your presentation will be about: "Snowboarding is a dangerous sport."
Body
Develop the two or three main points you have chosen to support your main topic. For example,
You can use graphics, images and anecdotes to illustrate your points.
Conclusion
Briefly summarise your main points.
Try to end on a strong point like, "Snowboarding is an extreme sport – extremely dangerous!" instead of a weak ending like, "Well, that's all I have to say."
Introduction
Say what your presentation will be about: "Snowboarding is a dangerous sport."
Body
Develop the two or three main points you have chosen to support your main topic. For example,
- dangers to the snowboarder
- dangers to other people
- dangers to the environment
You can use graphics, images and anecdotes to illustrate your points.
Conclusion
Briefly summarise your main points.
Try to end on a strong point like, "Snowboarding is an extreme sport – extremely dangerous!" instead of a weak ending like, "Well, that's all I have to say."
Invite your audience to ask questions and be prepared to answer
How you say it
Content is only half of a presentation; how you present your message, that is the delivery, is just as important. If you are unable to get people's attention and to keep it, then your presentation will not be very successful.
One of the most important elements of a presentation is the speaker's body language. Smile, speak clearly, look directly at your audience, stand straight and don't rock back and forth from one foot to another. Follow these rules and your audience will respond more positively to you and your message.
Make notes so you will remember what to say, but do not read them. Use them as memory aids to help you keep your talk flowing.
Practice. Give your presentation to a mirror so you can observe yourself and practice positive body language. Give your presentation to a friend, or even your mother, and ask them to suggest improvements.
If you use visual aids, make sure they contribute to your presentation. Images and graphs should support your point. Don't put too much text on a slide. Key words are better than sentences – your audience will remember better and you will not be tempted to read.
One of the most important elements of a presentation is the speaker's body language. Smile, speak clearly, look directly at your audience, stand straight and don't rock back and forth from one foot to another. Follow these rules and your audience will respond more positively to you and your message.
Make notes so you will remember what to say, but do not read them. Use them as memory aids to help you keep your talk flowing.
Practice. Give your presentation to a mirror so you can observe yourself and practice positive body language. Give your presentation to a friend, or even your mother, and ask them to suggest improvements.
If you use visual aids, make sure they contribute to your presentation. Images and graphs should support your point. Don't put too much text on a slide. Key words are better than sentences – your audience will remember better and you will not be tempted to read.
A note on power point
A good slide
- contains one main point
- rarely has more than 40 words
- has good contrast between the colour of the letters and the colour of the background
- uses a large (28 or 32 point) Sans font like Verdana or Ariel
- does not write everything in UPPER CASE LETTERS
Help for preparing your presentation
In this video, the speaker talks about making business presentations, but a lot of what she says is valid for any presentation.
In this video, the speaker explains why Steve Jobs' presentations were always great.
This video gives some simple advice on how to make your power point presentation more effective.
TED is an organisation dedicated to spreading good ideas around the world. On its website it has videos of presentations on hundreds of subjects and of varying lengths. Look at this six-minute talk I chose at random based on its length. Notice how the speaker makes an unusual topic interesting by using images, video clips and his enthusiasm.
And just for fun, here is a presentation by a cyber-magician showing how magic is just a preview of tomorrow's technological reality.