THE POWER OF

PRESENTATION
EVELINA MIŠČIN, School of Medicine Zagreb
evelinamiscin@yahoo.co.uk
The usual mistakes in presentations:

- Too much text

- Too small letters
- Too many colours
- Too many fonts and styles
- Too many distracting elements
- Speaking quietly and fast
- Avoiding eye contact
- Reading slides
- Time management
Colours

Fonts and styles

6 x 7 rule

Structure of the slide

Who
is the presenter?
Why
are we all here?
What
is he/she going to talk about?
How
is he/she going to organise the
presentation?

How to start a presentation?

Attention span
presentationtitle
name, year of study
academic year

e.g.
TYPE AND STRUCTURE OF BONES
Tomislav Horvat, 2nd year
2022/23

LAYOUT
balanced text-picture ratio

LAYOUT
 use notes, DON’T use full sentences:

A simple fracture means that the bone breaks in only one place, whereas
in a comminuted fracture the bone is splintered or crushed in several
pieces.
↓

 simple fracture → bone broken in 1 place

 comminuted fracture → bone splintered/crushed in several
pieces

LAYOUT
 start all notes either with CAPITALS or LOWER CASE:

CRANIAL BONES FACIAL BONES

frontal Nasal nasal
Parietal Lacrimal lacrimal
Temporal Maxillary OR maxillary
occipital Mandibular mandibular
Sphenoid Zygomatic zygomatic
ethmoid Vomer vomer

LAYOUT
 spell check!!!

 choose either American or British

spelling, DON’T MIX!

LAYOUT
 DON’T choose dark backgrounds
+ dark letters
 font size → not too small
 font type → don’t mix wildly, use
systematically (e.g. to EMPHASISE
titles/subtitles, key words, etc.)

LAYOUT
 1. introduction
2. main body
3. conclusion
4. references

CONTENT ORGANISATION
 introduction options:
→ global statement / general truth
e.g. The nervous system is one of the most complex systems,
operated by over 10 billion nerve cells which coordinate all our
voluntary and involuntary activities.
→ word origin
e.g. Schizophrenia is a compound term literally meaning “split mind”.
→ personal experience
e.g. I once saw a person having an epileptic attack.
I sustained a simple wrist fracture when I fell off my bike as a kid.
→ question to audience
e.g. What were the 2 types of bone cells that we learned about in
histology?

CONTENT ORGANISATION
 main body options:
e.g. organ system → function as a whole,
parts and their structure and functions

e.g. organ → location, structure (micro & macro),

physiology (function)

e.g. disorder → epidemiology /etiology /pathophysiology

clinical features
diagnostics
treatments

CONTENT ORGANISATION
Pause

Summary

Conclusion

Closing remarks

Finishing the presentation

→ interesting / curious facts
e.g. While most vertebrates are physically capable of producing
tears, many scientists say that humans are the only animals
that cry emotional tears.

→ new research / treatments

e.g. Recent studies report possible new breakthroughs in treatment
approaches to Alzheimer’s. For instance…

→ global trends / Croatian stats

e.g. While …percent of women are reported to be on the pill globally,
in Croatia the figure is much lower, i.e., …percent.

→ personal experiences
e.g. Dislocations are usually not treated surgically, but in my case…

CONCLUSION OPTIONS
BEFORE…
 rehearse!!!
 time yourself (approx. 10-15 min)
 fluency vs. preparation

DURING…
 DON’T read – talk
 interact → ask questions
 at the end → quiz to check understanding

PRESENTING TIPS
 References:
1. Hobbs, M. & Starr-Keddle, J.(2007),
Commerce 2, Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. Mascull, B. (2002), Business Vocabulary in Use,
Cambridge: CUP
3. Powell, M. (2001), Presenting in English, Hove:
Language Teaching Publications
4. Williams, Erica J.(2008), Presentations in English,
Oxford: Macmillan
Thank you for your attention!