Class 8: Presentations II

 Visual Aids
 Team Presentations
 Answering Questions

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 Organisation
 Graphics
 Editing

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 Agenda Slide: （议程的幻灯片）
◦ Begin your presentation with a list of your main points
◦ All other slides should relate to one of these main points

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 Titles: （标题）
◦ Use effective and large titles so that the audience knows
what you are talking about

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 Transitions （转变）
◦ Have effective transitions between sections in your
presentation.
◦ Example: return to agenda slide

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 Number of slides （幻灯片的数量）
◦ In general, one slide should be at least one minute of
talking.
◦ There may be exceptions to this rule (short presentations
and lectures)

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 Organisation
 Graphics （图形）
 Editing

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 Graphics are used to:
◦ Wake the audience
◦ Emphasise a point
◦ Show impressive data

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 They should not be used too often.
 They must also:
◦ Be large
◦ Be clear
◦ Contain only relevant information

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 Organisation
 Graphics
 Editing （编辑）

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 Rule of 6 （六的定律）
 Try not to put more than 6 words on 6 lines on each slide
 Not always possible ^

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 Avoid centering text
 Remember indentation!
 Check for errors

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 Teamwork must be done as a team
 A group of individuals is not a team
 In order to be a team, we must prepare and present as a
team

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 Preparation （准备）
 The planning process begins with brainstorming

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 Preparation
 After the team has decided on a topic, begin:
◦ Researching
◦ Outlining

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 Preparation
 When preparing the presentation there are two options:
◦ Delegate tasks
◦ Prepare as a team

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 Preparation
 Delegate
◦ Assign each group member a focus area that they will
work on individually

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 Delegation （分担责任）
 Divide by topics
◦ Topic 1
◦ Topic 2
◦ Topic 3

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 Prepare as a team
 Work on all aspects of the project as a team.

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 There are advantages and disadvantages to both
◦ Such as?

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 Present as a team
 Team presentations must be:
◦ Organised
◦ Unified
◦ Coherent

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 They must not be an unrelated series of individual
presentations

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 Team Strategies （团队策略）

1.Organised as a whole
2.Transition between speakers
3.Practice and deliver as a team

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 Organise as a whole
◦ Divide your presentation by main points or topic areas,
not by number of members

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 Once you have outlined your presentation, decide who
will speak and when

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 Option 1: Each speaker gets one section

1. Section 1 (Speaker 1)
2. Section 2 (Speaker 2)
3. Section 3 (Speaker 3)

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 Option 2: One speaker gets more than one section

1. Section 1 (Speaker 1)
2. Section 2 (Speaker 2)
3. Section 3 (Speaker 3)
4. Section 4 (Speaker 1)

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 Option 3: Each section may have more than one
speaker

1. Section 1 (Speaker 1)
2. Section 2 (Speaker 2 and 3)
3. Section 3 (Speaker 4 and 5)

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 Team Strategies

1.Organised as a whole
2.Transition between speakers
3.Practice and deliver as a team

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 Transitions

 The first speaker should:

◦ Say the opening and preview
◦ Introduce each team member
◦ Say what topic each person will cover
◦ Introduce the first speaker

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 “Our team will speak about our design for the new pool
and its benefits. Steve and Bill will talk about the design
and Nancy will explain the benefits it will bring. Go
ahead Steve.”

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 Each other speaker should:
◦ Speak about their section
◦ Provide an internal summary
◦ Transition to the next speaker

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 An example transition to the next speaker:
◦ “Now that I have finished explaining the design, Nancy
will explain the benefits.”

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 Team Strategies

1.Organised as a whole
2.Transition between speakers
3.Practice and deliver as a team

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 Practice: （练习）
◦ What you will say
◦ In what order
◦ Where you will sit and stand

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 Deliver （发表）
 You are “on stage” at all times, from the moment when
you walk into the room
 Be attentive and focused when others are speaking
◦ Why?

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 Remember to:
◦ Prepare
◦ Practice
◦ Deliver
 As a team!

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 Visual Aids
 Team Presentations
 Answering Questions （回答问题）

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 Many presentations involve speaker-audience
interaction
 The audience will ask the speaker questions and the
speaker must respond

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 When to take questions
 How to take questions
 What to say if you don`t know the answer
 How to answer difficult questions

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 When to take questions
 How to take questions
 What to say if you don`t know the answer
 How to answer difficult questions

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 Inform your audience at the beginning of the
presentation, when you will take questions:
◦ “Please hold your questions until the end”
◦ “Please ask questions as they come up”

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 At the end
 Good because you:
◦ Control the schedule
◦ Maintain flow in your presentation

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 At the end
 Bad because:
◦ You may lose audience attention and comprehension if
they can’t ask questions
◦ It may be uncomfortable if important audience members
ask questions after you told them not to

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 If you do questions at the end, finalise the presentation
with a very brief summary after questions have been
answered
 Why?

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 During the presentation
 Good because:
◦ Provides quick feedback
◦ Encourages active listening
◦ Questions will be more meaningful

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 During the presentation
 Bad because:
◦ Change your schedule/agenda
◦ Waste your time

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 If you do questions during the presentation:
◦ Allow enough time
◦ Don’t get off topic (don’t digress)

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 When to take questions
 How to take questions
 What to say if you don`t know the answer
 How to answer difficult questions

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 Prepare in advance
 Show your understanding
 Stick to your objective
 Keep everyone involved

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 Prepare
◦ Guess what questions may be asked
◦ Bring extra information
◦ Get a friend to ask possible questions while practicing

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 Show understanding
◦ Ask audience to repeat questions
◦ Repeat or paraphrase questions if you are dealing with
large audiences

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 “Someone just asked how much this plan will cost, so I
will now tell you.”

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 Stick to your objective
◦ When answering the question, stick to main ideas
◦ If they ask a question you plan on discussing later, tell
them you will discuss it later

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 Keep everyone involved
◦ When answering one person’s question, keep eye
contact with entire audience
◦ Don’t turn the presentation into a conversation

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 When to take questions
 How to take questions
 What to say if you don`t know the answer
 How to answer difficult questions

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 If you don’t know the answer...
 Say “I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that question”
 Even better, say “I can look it up and let you know after
the presentation”

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 Only guess if you make it clear its a guess.
 “I believe the company started in 1983, but I might be
wrong.”

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 If you need time to think...
 Do something to buy yourself some time.
 Such as…

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 Repeat
◦ “You’re wondering how to fix that?”
 Turn it around
◦ “How would you fix that?”
 Ask the audience
◦ “How would the rest of you fix that?”
 Reflect
◦ “Good question. Let’s think for a second”

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 When to take questions
 How to take questions
 What to say if you don`t know the answer
 How to answer difficult questions

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 Confusing questions （混乱的问题）
◦ Ask the person to repeat or rephrase their question
◦ Paraphrase the question to make it more relevant

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 Controlling Questions （控制性的问题）
◦ Do not feel like you have to answer
◦ Thank them and continue with the presentation

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 Angry Questions （带有愤怒的问题）
◦ Look for common ground
◦ Identify their anger and answer in a non-personal way

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 When to take questions
 How to take questions
 What to say if you don’t know the answer
 How to answer difficult questions

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 Visual Aids
 Team Presentations
 Answering Questions

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 Making ppts
 Public speaking, analysing how others do it best

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