Guidelines for Community Service Presentation

One of the major assignments for this course is the participation in a class project
presentation. Students are expected to do these presentations in teams. The aims of
the presentation should be:

(1) to briefly explain and describe the team participation in the course.
(2) to provide highlights of the team’s Community Service experience as well as a to
provide a critical analysis on how the team’s performance could have been
improved.

Presentation time is approximately 15 minutes.

General Guidelines for Presenting Research

a. Font Size

o Use a font size of at least 16 points.

b. Colour

o Use a small set of colours consistently throughout the presentation.

o Use a high-contrast colour for text.
o Combine text or other visual elements with color rather than relying solely
on colour to impart information
o Use light backgrounds with dark text when using projection equipment.

c. Text

Presenters always have a tendency to just read from their slides and they usually
put too much text on each slide. So,

o Use no more than FIVE bullet points on a slide.

o Write fewer than TEN words on each line of text or bullet point.
o Use headlines and sub-heads for new topics.
o Perform a spell check on the presentation.
o Use appropriate punctuation(s) and use it consistently.
o Use bolding to emphasize words, but avoid using italics unless citing a
reference.
d. Slide Layout:

o Choose the slide layout that is appropriate for your requirements. Avoid
blank slides.

e. Number of slides

o At least 10 slides.

f. Animation

o Use animation and transitions sparingly and consistently; dissolves, blinds

and fly-ins distract the audience from your message.

g. Verbal communication (i.e., how to speak during your speech)

o Don’t simply read off a sheet of paper. It is always better to have your
speech committed to memory as much as possible.
o Try not to speak in a monotone voice, it becomes tedious to the listeners
and they will stop listening. Be interested and enthusiastic about your topic,
and your audience will be, too.
o Speak articulately (no mumbling) and sufficiently loud.
o Don’t worry about small silent pauses within your speech (the kind
everyone naturally needs in order to collect their thoughts). It gives the
audience time to process what has been said thus far.
o Be sure that you have memorized important titles, names of authors, etc,
and how to properly pronounce such things. Write them down and keep
them handy.
o Address the audience in a friendly and personable way.
o If you are giving a group presentation, introduce the next speaker when
called for.

h. Non-verbal communication (i.e. how to behave during your speech)

o Make frequent eye contact. Look at the audients when you are speaking to.
o Try to avoid unnecessary hand motions, shuffling of papers, fidgeting with
clothing, cracking your knuckles, etc.
o Use confident body posture. Keep your head up and face the audience. Try
to avoid balancing back and forth on either foot, swinging your arms,
swinging your legs and other nervous gestures.