Golden rules of presentation

Let’s start from the main point of presentation. The general structure of your speech must be clear, convincing, and memorable. It includes introduction. As a rule, it is greeting, announcing the title of the subject. Then comes the main topic. It would be better to divide the main topic into some parts.The ending of your presentation has to summarize the topic and make conclusions. The sense of timing is very important too. It is necessary to make sure that what you say is significant, interesting and relevant to your audience. Remember:

· Significance creates passion.

· Passion attracts attention.

· Attention leads to action.

Give 3 – 4 reasons supporting each of your points. The audience will not remember more anyway.

You have to vary the speed – don’t talk the same pace all the time – a couple of seconds of silence are sometimes just as affective as words. You also should vary the volume. A quiet part should contrast with a louder one. A good way of varying the pitch is to introduce questions into your presentation. If you want to speak clearer you shouldn’t rush your words.

As you know short sentences are more understandable. You should avoid reading the text to reach this. It is good to use a lot of links - it is a natural way to guide your audience through the presentation and help you to vary the pace. Don’t be afraid to exaggerate a little. It could be some kind of emphasis.

You should hold contact with the audience all the time. Your communication will be more effective if your audience has an opportunity to participate actively. You have to know if your audience is interested in your presentation. If you are confident, it could help you.

Body language is not less important than delivery of speech. Your posture should be natural. You should use strong, clear gestures for emphasis. Please, don’t scratch your head if you forget something. If the audience is too big for eye contact, you can choose a few for keeping eye contact with them. People associate success with dynamic and enthusiastic person, so you’d better look like that person, even if you are not.

Visual aids are your first and probably last helpers during the presentation. Use them without limitations, but remember – they should be fairly simple and clear.

Power Point is widely used by presenters. It helps to visualize ideas, create key points, impress. Well-known design rules about 7 lines per slide and 7 words per line can be modified by the following:

· one point per slide

· few matching colours

· very few fonts

· photos, not clipart

· less text, more imagery

It is international tradition to use the US system of points for decimals (.) and commas for whole numbers (,). For example, 3.025 is said three point zero two five and 3,125 is said three thousand one hundred and twenty five. Ensure you make this change when you convert graphs and tables from a figure or text in your own language into an English version.

Design pie or bar charts and graphs in the way the audience can immediately understand them. Pie charts have good visual impact but do not show movement. The secret to pie charts is not to have too many slices. Bar charts are particularly good for making comparisons. Graphs are good for showing movements and how one thing varies against another. It is not necessary to describe every single movement on a graph; an outline of the main trends is enough.

Tables give very precise information, but their visual impact is poor. You’d better avoid them during presentations. If you still use them, don’t describe them. Just tell the audience where to focus their attention. Explain the importance of the data.

 

It will never work completely for the first time. So “homework” is essential. Present your talk to the furniture at home or in your office. Do it aloud. Check the room and the equipment. Make sure it works.

Remember!!! People tend to remember the information they heard last (and forget what was said at the beginning of the talk).

Notes: you shouldn’t rush your words - не треба поспішати

emphasis – наголос, акцент

you’d better look like… – вам ліпше бути схожим на…(краще буде, якщо ви будете схожі на)

clipart - is generally composed exclusively of illustrations (created by hand or by computer software),

imagery – образи