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1.1 Discussion Forum

Elements of a Good Presentation

Ariel Martinez Rodriguez

1407078460
201901 - ENGL 2050 - 2010ONL
Professor Enrique Gomez
08/11/2019
- Explain briefly the eight (8) elements of an effective presentation. (Video: Speaking Essentials)
 Known your audience: We need to get to know are audience and know what they would
like to hear or what is the information they are interest on before we start are
presentation.

 Know your space: It will be helpful is we can get to know the space, place and equipment
that the presentation is going to take place.

 Be prepare: To have notes with points in order to have indications of the subject that you
are going to discuss clearly.

 A strong opener: The first minutes of the presentation are extremely important because of
this it is advisable to make a strong introduction on the subject.

 Using notes: It is important not to read our presentation because of this we must have
guides not to get lost in the presentation and bring to the audience the desired message.

 Nonverbal communication: Maintain eye contact for seconds with the audience, move
around and have a friendly attitude.

 Good communication skills: You need to be clear, demonstrate to the audience that you
know the material in discussion and define the purpose of it. Use verbal
communication, models, graphics, pictures and videos to make the presentation
interesting. Speak in familiar words and use an enthusiastic tone of voice. Use body
language with your gestures and hands.

 Suitable audience participation: Offer brief details of the presentation to interact with the
audience; maybe asking general questions related to the topic or mention some situations
related to it to “break the ice”. At the beginning of your presentation, you can set that all
the relevant questions should be asked at the end of it. Get on debates between the
audience to confirm the acquired knowledge or clear some doubts. Involve the audience
to ask questions, make demonstrations or narrate an experience related to the presentation
that brings knowledge to the presenter and the audience.
- Discuss the four (4) myths about what a good presentation should look like (The
presentation lab: Learn the formula behind powerful presentations).

1) PowerPoint is intrinsically evil: PowerPoint can be a powerful tool and may be used in
advantage of the speaker of any presentation. it is a very easy way of portraying any
image related to the theme of the speech or any other essential information you may want
the audience to see.

2) The slides are the presentation: The speaker should use the slides to help the presentation
and not fill them with the information you want to speak about. A slideshow should
include just basic information that the speaker will develop throughout the presentation.
The slides are not themselves the presentation, it is a combination of many parts that will
lead up to the presentation itself.

3) Presentation Zen / Typography: It states that the use of unnecessary stuff in a slide and
charging the slide with too much information are not helpful to neither the speaker nor
the audience. It is a book created to help people understand and learn the basic ways of
making a good slideshow for a presentation.

4) The 10/20/30 Rule: This rule states that a good presentation should have no more than 10
slides in the slideshow, the presenter shouldn't take more than 20 minutes in speaking and
the font size of the words in the slide should be on 30.
- Explain the seven (7) considerations a good presentation must include. Give examples.
(A student’s guide to presentations: Making your presentation count)

1) Careful planning and preparation. Examples: searching databases and on-line

resources for articles.

2) Relevant and interesting content. Examples: decide what to include and what to leave
out.

3) Clear structure. Examples: links can be made to what the audience already know and
understand.

4) Good communications skills. Examples: to achieve this you will need to consider
several questions like: what is the purpose of the presentation and what is it that you need
to communicate in the allotted time?

5) Appropriate use of technologies. Examples: in most situations, the technology should

be ‘the servant’ not ‘the master’. You should control it rather than letting it dominate the
presentation. If it creates problems, it will distract the presenters and the audience from
the content that need to be delivered.

6) Clear supporting documentation. Examples: creates handouts or print out of the slides.

7) Suitable audience participation. Examples: involve the audience in activities or

discussions at certain times within the presentation.
 - References

 Morton, S. (2014). The presentation lab: Learn the formula behind powerful
presentations. Somerset, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Available in the ebrary database on our Online Library. (Links to an external site.)  
o Element A: Introduction

 Chivers, B., & Shoolbred, M. (2007). A student’s guide to presentations: Making your
presentation count. London, England: SAGE Publications Inc.
Available in the ebrary database on our Online Library. (Links to an external site.)
o Chapter 2: What Makes an Effective Presentation?

 Films for the Humanities & Sciences. [Producer]. (2010). Basic overview of public
speaking [Segment 1]. Speaking essentials [Video file].