by The Open University
Available in 42 free installments
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Long descriptionLearn your first lines.
Make the first words you speak as simple and comfortable as possible.
Thank the person who has introduced you.
Greet the audience, or give the title of the talk.
When the presentation is over there may be questions which you either need to answer directly, or indirectly if members of the audience come up to you after the talk. Although every presentation is different, many talks follow some sort of routine and at the end of the talk it is no different. Here are some suggestions that you might follow to get you through the end of your talk.
As a good presenter you should give people time to applaud and express their enjoyment or thanks for your talk. This is the standard way of the audience saying thanks for your presentation, and you should enjoy the experience as you've worked hard to explain your material in a suitable way. You will mostly likely have some queries from the audience and you should try to answer each question as best as you can. In some cases you might not know the answer, and you should say so, rather than guess or bluff. You can't be expected to know the answer to everything and the audience will realise and understand that. If you make an educated guess, or an opinionated response, you should qualify it as such, and explain your reasoning.
Make sure you then collect all your equipment, leaving handouts and information leaflets if relevant. Find the organisers and make your goodbyes if you are going, if not sit back and relax a bit to admire the next speaker. If you can be dispassionate enough, evaluate your performance or at least make a few rough notes while everything is fresh in your mind.
You need to know how well your presentation has been received. Ask yourself some questions ? did the slides really work the way I wanted them to? And could they be made clearer? Did the script give me enough material to work with? You may also want to note which questions were asked repeatedly ? this may be an area which needs further clarifying in either the visual aid or the way you present it. Was it what the audience were expecting? What about the length and pace of the presentation? The answer to these questions can be valuable to your development as a presenter.
When a team is reporting on a group activity or where pieces of work are related to each other and to the overall presentation, room planning can get complicated. If one speaker is handing over to another you need to consider the ?choreography?. You also need to consider the logistics of a joint presentation. You may well have been in the audience and observed some of the problems, but if run well a presentation given jointly can be highly effective, as each presenter can portray their own point of view or findings. The change-overs need to be relatively smooth to avoid distraction.
These are some of the questions you need to ask yourselves when planning to have an effective presentation with more than one person presenting:
Do you have to pass over a microphone, or turn one off?
Is the lectern the right height for all the speakers?
Will there be trailing cables or remote control leads?
How will seating be arranged on stage so no one will be in the way of the current speaker?
