Unit 1 - Presentations (Planning and Getting Started)

Unit 1:

PRESENTATIONS: Planning and Getting Started

Look at the picture. Discuss or make notes on the characteristics of a good presentation. Think about both the content and the way the speaker presents information.

GEORGE: Right, now let's think about thepreparation of the presentation. Whathas to be ... what do you have to do toprepare it?

SARA: The most important thing is to knowabout the audience, find out about them

LUIGI: Yes, but you need to make sure aboutyour objectives first, so decide on theobjectives - what you want the talk toachieve.

SARA: Yes, but to do that you need to knowabout the audience - their knowledge,what they want to know, you knoweverything like that.

LUIGI: Yes, all that's important ...

HAL: Yes, true ...

GEORGE: SO, audience and objectives.

OTHERS: Yes / Right / Okay.

1. Presentation Technique 1. Presentation Technique and Preparationand Preparation1. Presentation Technique 1. Presentation Technique and Preparationand Preparation


HAL: And the third thing you have to sort outis content, collect information, organiseit, decide on a structure.

SARA: Yes, get a good structure, I agree ...Then once the structure is okay, well,you need visuals, any graphs, you know,that sort of thing ...

GEORGE: Yes, the visual supports.

SARA: Then, well, you could write it all out. Atleast the introduction - just to practiseit. Some people write out everything,some don't. It depends.

GEORGE: Yes, I think that's a good point. Butpractice is really very important. A key... key part of the preparation is toactually practise it, to give thepresentation - practise ... until youcould do it just from notes. Then well ...what else?

LUIGI: Check all the language, keep it simple,make sure there're no mistakes on thevisuals. Spelling and all that.


HAL: And I think you should check that theroom is okay, check the equipment isokay. And maybe also ... PowerPoint,you know. If you use PowerPoint, makesure your computer and the disk, or thedata projector, make sure it all works.

GEORGE: Yes, PowerPoint, of course.

SARA: If you don't know PowerPoint, go on acourse. Learn it.

GEORGE: Yes, using presentations software canhelp enormously.



2. The 2. The audienceaudience2. The 2. The audienceaudience


Read the comments from the audience who are listening to a presentation at an international conference.

What caused the problem in each case? 1. “What on earth is he

talking about?’ “I’ve no idea!”

2. “Hey, Sarah! Wake up! He’s finished!”

3. “Read that! I can’t read that! I’d need a pair of binoculars!”

4. “Speak up! I can’t hear a thing!”

5. “Summarize four main points? I only noticed one! Have I been asleep?”

a) Technical level of talk is too high / Speaker is saying something completely wrong orincomprehensible.

b) The talk is boring, too long, or delivered monotonously, no changes in pace, volume,tone, etc.

c) The visual is too small or too detailed.

d) The speaker is talking too quietly.

e) The structure of the talk was not clear.


Imagine to have to give a brief presentation in two of the above situations, plus one other situation that you decide.

Make brief notes on the following:

a.Will your talk be formal or informal? b.What are the audience’s expectations in terms of technical detail, expertise, etc.? c.What is the audience’s probable level of specialist knowledge? Are they experts or non – experts ? d.How long will your talk be: five minutes, half a day, or longer? e.What is your policy on questions? Will the audience interrupt or will they ask questions afterwards? Will there be any discussion? f.How will you help the audience to remember what you tell them?

Look at the following situations.

A medical congress in Tokyo with papers on new techniques in open heart surgery.

An internal meeting of administrative staff to discuss a new accounting procedure.

The Purchasing and Product Managers of a Taiwanese company interested in buying some production equipment from your company.

A staff meeting to discuss a charity event for earthquake victims.


3. Structure (1) 3. Structure (1) IntroductionIntroduction3. Structure (1) 3. Structure (1) IntroductionIntroduction

In any presentation the beginning is crucial. Certainly some things are essential in an introduction and others are useful. Here is a list of what could be included in an introduction.

Mark them according to how necessary they are using the following scale:

Essential Useful Not necessary 1 2 3 4 5

Subject / Title of the talk Introduction to oneself, job title, etc.Reference to questions and/ or discussion. Reference to the programme for the day. Reference to how long you are going to speak for. Reference to the visual aids you plan to use. The scope of your talk: what is and is not included. An outline of the structures of your talk.A summary of the conclusions.


SPEAKER: Thank you for coming today. As you know, I want to talk about the marketing plans. Brand identity is a key issue and what it means is how we are seen by our customers and how our products are recognised and what our consumers think of us as a company. And I should also say, what they think of our products and the name ... what Telco means for them. And advertising is part of it of course, though not something I am going to talk about now except to say that as for brand image, it's important in that area too, advertising that is.

Read the beginning of a presentation on the marketing plans for a new telecommunications system produced by Telco.

a.Is it a good introduction? b.Why? Why not? c.Label the structure of the talk.

Introduction


SPEAKER: Okay, thanks. I'm here to talk about the design proposals for the production plant at Taipei. My talk will be in three parts followed by a 30-minute discussion. I'm going to start with the background to each proposal -something about our negotiations with the Taiwanese government - then in the second part I'll go over the main characteristics of each proposal, Proposal One and Proposal Two. Then in the third part I'll highlight some key considerations we have to bear in mind. Finally, I'll end with an invitation to ask questions or make any comments you like. We'll discuss matters arising from the talk ... Okay? So to begin with, a few words on the history.

Now read the second example of an introduction to a presentation. This one is about plans to develop a new production plant in Taiwan.

Think about these points: a.Is it a good introduction? b.Why? Why not? c.Label the structure of the talk. Introduction

End/ Discussion


Work in pairs. Each of you should suggest a possible phrase for each of the prompts below.

a.Greet your audience. b.Introduce yourself. c.Give the title of your talk. d.Describe the structure of your talk. e.Explain that the audience can interrupt if they want. f.Say something about the length of your talk. g.Say a colleague will be showing a video later.

SPEAKER:

a) Good afternoon everyone. b) My name's Arnold Layton. I'm a (geophysicist) for (Elf Aquitaine), with special responsibility for (analysing newfields in the North Sea). c) I'm going to talk about (some recent research into new methods of detecting oil in shallow waters). d) I've divided my talk into three parts. First, (research that we have done). Then (I'll report on some published research from other companies), and finally (I'll talk about what this may mean for our exploration activities). e) Please interrupt if at any time you have any questions or something is not clear. f) My talk will last about (half an hour). g) Later my colleague Jacques. Flambert will beshowing a video on ...


Practice 1:

Use the notes below to prepare a brief introduction to talk on safety for a manufacturing company.

New safety conditions for New safety conditions for production staffproduction staff

1 Protective clothing 2 Training in accident prevention 3 Changes to working practices

Questions/ discussion

SPEAKER: Right, I want to say something aboutthe new safety conditions for production staff. My talk will be in three parts. First, I'll tell you about thenew protective clothing. Then I'll explain about the training in accident prevention, and the final part of mytalk explains changes to working practices. After my talk I'll be happy to answer any questions and we can have adiscussion about these new proposals.


Practice 2:

Give a one minute introduction only to talk on any topic you like! If you cannot think of a topic, choose from the list below:

Your hometown your favorite sport tourism Your first ever job eating out holidaysA thing you really like your previous job your hobbies

Transfer

Prepare an introduction to a short talk on one of the following:

•Your company and/ or its products/ services•Any company you know well•An institution that you know well


Greeting Good morning/ afternoon ladies and gentlemen. (Ladies and) Gentlemen . . .

Subject I plan to say a few words about …I’m going to talk about …The subject of my talk is … The theme of my presentation is … I’d like to give you an overview of …

Structure I’ve divided my talk into (three) parts.My talk will be in (three) parts. I’m going to divide… First … Second … Third …In the first lunch…Then in the second part… Finally…

Language ChecklistLanguage ChecklistStructure (1) The introduction to a Structure (1) The introduction to a presentationpresentation

Language ChecklistLanguage ChecklistStructure (1) The introduction to a Structure (1) The introduction to a presentationpresentation


Timing My talk will take about ten minutes. The presentation will take about two hours… but there’ll be a twenty minute break in the middle. We’ll stop for lunch at 12 o’clock.

Policy on questions/ discussion Please interrupt if you have any questions. After my talk there’ll be time for a discussion and any questions.


Audience •Expectations •Technical knowledge •Size •Questions and / discussion

Speaker’s competence•Knowledge •Presentation technique

Content •What to include •Length/ depth (technical detail)•Number of key ideas

Structure •Sequence – beginning, middle, end •Repetition, summarising

Skills ChecklistSkills ChecklistEffective presentations – planning and Effective presentations – planning and preparation preparation

Skills ChecklistSkills ChecklistEffective presentations – planning and Effective presentations – planning and preparation preparation


DeliveryStyle -formal/ informal -enthusiasm / confidence •Voice -variety/ speed -pauses

•Body Language -eye contact -gesture/ movement -posture

Visual aids •type/ design/ charity •relevance

Practice •tape recorder•script or notes


Room •Size/ seating•Equipment (Does it work?)•Sound Quality

Language•Simple / clear •Spelling •Sentence length•Structure signals

Documents

Unit 1 - Presentations (Planning and Getting Started)