Today we stopped talking about presentations for a bit and, instead, just had a go at doing one. Everyone had to do a two-minute talk on a topic picked out of a hat (without the hat).
Well done to everyone who took part in this activity. As I said, if people can get up and talk for (at least) a couple of minutes about a topic without any preparation, then the thought of getting up to talk for just a few minutes more with preparation shouldn't be so bad.
Some people commented about being very nervous. Two points on this: First, you will not have come across as nervous as you felt. Honestly, I didn't get that impression with anyone. Secondly, being nervous is natural and, to a certain degree, can even be useful when giving a presentation - think about the opposite: being too relaxed. Of course, we need to find a balance. Anyway, I'd like you to share your thoughts about getting up today and giving a presentation. How did people feel about doing this? Any lessons learned?
We also looked at some examples of presentations from the DVD. Many of the points that we identified previously about producing writing pieces come up with presentations: the importance of a sense of purpose; beginnings and endings; overall structure and flow of ideas/points; linking points; language style; and knowledge of content.
We also considered issues to do with body language and body positioning; visual aids (see previous post) and the use of voice.
As well as these specific issues, the two general points to consider for your own presentations are: planning and practice.
Next week we'll start to analyse the first of two presentations that you are required to look at as part of the Oral Presentation Skills unit.
As I said at the end, if anyone has any questions about essays and/or presentations, please get in touch.
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5 comments:
Any excuse to delay a History essay about The Chartists...
Hi Jerry. Today was a fun day.
Slightly nervous going in, but no out-of-control nervousness, thankfully.
I'll put back that purchase of brown trousers for the time being.
I think with preparation the talks will be fine, as stated. I'm sure knowledge of our chosen topic will give everyone an extra confidence to then allow for some fine-tuning of our presentations, such as making eye-contact, and to be more in control of our 'flow', which I myself felt was missing from my own talk. Everyone's talks were very well done, I thought, and I could have listened to them for longer than the allocated time.
Two perceptive people said they felt I was BS'ing, which was in fact true. Good catch! I don't watch reality tv at all but being media-addicted, I knew of certain names to drop - from about 3 years ago! Maybe if I actually knew my topic, I can do even better. It's a good thing no-one asked any detailed questions about the current slew of reality tv shows.
On the way home, I wondered how we would have coped if we were given the topic we declined to do, rather than the one we picked. I think I would have floundered with a talk about God. Or be struck with lightning.
The dvd was a worthwhile watch and the points are taken on board regarding presentation skills. To be honest, I would have liked to have seen real-life examples of good speakers, rather than exaggerated cases of bad ones done by actors. But I understand the need for it from an illustrative point of view and it was invaluable in that sense. Anyway, I'm glad, even in our first attempts, we did better than the speakers on show in the video.
I'm sure with planning and practice, as Jerry writes, we will do even better.
Thank Jerry.
Byee.
Just a quick addition to all this talk about talks.
One of the best presentations I've ever seen was one done by a lecturer.
I don't want to write too much about it because he would actually be the best person to do that for you. It's a very funny and engaging talk, along with it being very moving and inspirational.
If you have a free hour or so, I highly recommend a viewing.
Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
Todays class was good i liked the fact that we were forced (kicking and screaming) to stand in front of the class and give a talk. it shows that with a bit of preperation and a subject that we have chosen ourselves we are all capable of doing a good presentation. i need to work on the fact that my hands seem to no longer be controlled by my body when presenting but im sure that this will come with time. i am quite a confident person so i didnt feel too nervous standing there but i still found my eye contact going towards the safe place of the teacher even amongst friends! weird. i liked the comment about how well we would do with the topic we did not pick i would like to think that i could talk for two minutes or possibly more on the topic of desks.
One of the main problems I face when speaking in public, or n general, is my pace. I tend to speak too fast, and nerves don't help. Simon told me I could get a bottle of water with me, and use it not so much for drinking as for forcing myself to stop for a few seconds. I think this tip may prove really useful, so here it is for everybody to consider. Any other tips anybody?
Thanks for all the comments.
Most tips come down to two things: planning and practice. Plenty of both should help steady you on when it comes to the presentation.
Here's a link from Napier for their access to university students on oral presentations:
http://www2.napier.ac.uk/getready/writing_presenting/presentations.html#nerves
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