by The Open University
Available in 42 free installments
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In summary:
Decide which order you are going to present the subsections in ? which ones follow naturally on from each other? This is called ?signposting?: it tells the audience where you are all going, and makes sure that there is a logical sequence to your material.
Keep reminding yourself of the purpose of your presentation ? it is easy to be diverted from this when new ideas occur to you.
Avoid jargon if possible. If not, explain yourself or check that your audience understands. Decide on a symbol to put into your presentation notes to remind you to do this. It is easy in the onrush of events to forget to explain simple concepts and theories ? you are the expert, not the audience.
Use personal anecdotes or examples wherever possible to liven up the content and show that you are sharing your experiences with the audience.
Don't be afraid to include a summary as you go along to make sure that you are still carrying your audience with you. There will be an overall conclusion or summary at the end of your presentation, but it doesn't hurt to check and make sure the audience is still following your line of thought.
Copyright is becoming increasingly important, especially now that all sorts of information are available on the internet. The problem with copyright is that it can become very complicated and the legal ruling varies from one country to another. Much of the help you can get with copyright on the internet is from the United States and does not always apply in the United Kingdom or Europe.
Copyright might affect your presentation if you decide to use somebody else's pictures or photographs, or even a quote in order to help illustrate your own text.
If you have doubts about using something, you must at the very least acknowledge your source material so that others can also easily find the reference.
Essentially, these are the main points about copyright that you should be clear about:
There is no official register for copyright.
Copyright is what is called an ?unregistered right? whereas patents, registered designs or trade marks are registered with an office via an official legally binding process.
Copyright has immediate effect as soon as something is committed to some sort of media including paper, film, audio recording and electronic record on the internet.
If you want to protect your ?creation? under copyright, then it is a good idea to mark the work with the copyright symbol © followed by your name and the date. This warns others against copying it, although is not a legal requirement in the UK.
Copyright does not protect ideas ? it protects the way the idea is expressed in the work you have produced.
There are exceptions to copyright and if in doubt then check with the intellectual property office in your country. The UK address is:
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/, accessed 6 October 2006.
A full list of the works protected by copyright is given on The Patent Office website at:
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ c-about.htm, accessed 6 October 2006.
This website also contains much more detail than is possible in this unit.
So now we've arrived at the section where you ?Tell them what you just told them?, in other words, summarise the presentation. Just as you need to attract the interest of your audience at the beginning of the talk, so you must finish on a high note. The effect of the overall presentation, which is otherwise good, can be damaged by its close.
