Heather Mousa

Now that I’ve got your attention with the topic, let’s talk about talking!

I don’t mean to sound arrogant (although it is perfectly fine if I do) but I am raising this topic because I am dying for a good lecturer or an impressive presentation. More importantly is because I do not think we should spend about 10 – 15 min. in masters classes talking about how to make a good presentation (not that we are being shown good role models!) … Well, let’s jump through this quickly, shall we?

1. Material:
Well, (obviously) know the material “VERY” well. Discuss it before coming to class… Last thing you need, standing in front of a class, is to say: “I am not so sure about this”, or “I don’t really understand this topic… can anyone help me explain it?” (I am not making these up, btw).

2. Posture:

• Stand up straight. Do not lean on a desk, a wall, or on the board.

• Make eye contact with most, if not all, your audience. The teacher is only one person… the rest of the students DO matter.

• Speak out loud and clear. If your accent is difficult on the ear, speak slower, and use your audience’s facial expressions for feedback.

• A clean pressed shirt would certainly help.

3. PPT
“.ppt” is the file format of slide show presentations saved on MS powerpoint. It also seems to refer to the actual file these days. Some may claim that creating and handling a ppt is an art… but it is really simple. Slides in a good ppt are:

• SHORT:

They “never” have paragraphs… Take the hint from the name: “power POINTS”…. anything more than… say, two lines, is not a “point”… so make it a point to keep points short! If you need to re-adjust the font size of the slide to 16 so that it will fit in the white space… then maybe… just maybe… there is too much “clutter” there.

• UPDATED:

“The numbers in this ppt are old, but the point is the same”, a teacher commented on his slides. Well… No… Unprofessional. Slides should be up-to-date… to this very moment, if possible… That is the whole idea behind them being easily adjusted, and behind having access to the internet!!!

• LANGUAGE:

Although it would be interesting and “fun” to see the Chinese translation of key words on the slide, however, if most of the audience do not speak Chinese, having half the slide in Chinese, and cramming the English text in the corner isn’t really the best design!

• EASY on the EYE:

Empty space in a slide is a must. Clutter is distracting (writing paragraphs on slides is clutter). Colors are good, pictures are good. But too many colors, pictures, animations are confusing.

• READING your SLIDES:

Merely reading off your ppt never did, and never will, qualify to be called a presentation. Generally, reading off anything, standing in front or a crowd, does not qualify to be called a presentation. It is called a speech! Or maybe not even that… Use the short points on your ppt to jog your memory of what you want to talk about, read them quickly and add to them. Mainly, your crowd is waiting for your comments, rather than to test your reading skills (we can all read).

4. Your Audience:

Feel free to make the assumption that your audience is intelligent and interested in your topic.

5. Handling Questions:

• First and most important, if you don’t think you can answer questions, don’t encourage your audience to ask!

• Listen to the question. Understand it, and don’t try to make something else out of it. If you didn’t understand the question, ask the student to repeat or paraphrase it… Actually “what do you exactly mean?” is also a good technique to buy time to think of a good answer!!!

• Think before speaking. If you don’t have a good answer ready, simply say: “This is an interesting point, mmmm, let’s see….”, take a few seconds… even a minute… but for heaven’s sake, don’t start talking nonsense… and don’t give an answer that has nothing to do with the question (Remember, intelligent audience).

• Answer all parts of the question… don’t just choose the convenient ones and ignore the rest!

• Be short, comprehensive, and make sure (fiscal expressions feedback) that the person who asked, understood the answer.

6. “Will Get to that Later”:

Answering with “I will get to this point later” is a very risky business. Simply because it seems that whenever we don’t know the answer we say: yeah yeah… will get to that in a minute (of course we never do!). So, don’t use it unless it is true, or unless there is a good reason for it (one that you share with your audience). And when you do get to that issue, point out that this is the answer to the previously asked question, boasting your credibility.

7. Concluding Discussions:
Questions might develop into discussions, which is a healthy phenomenon. Stay in control of the discussion and the time, then, conclude the discussion by making a point out of the arguments contributed, THEN move on… Do not just move on without concluding a point. It would make the audience feel that their contributions were of absolutely no value.

8. Finally, Confidence:
Your audience will – most likely – get a very good idea of what you are talking about. In addition to their facial expressions as feedback, it won’t hurt to ask “Are you with me?” once or twice. But, do not ask that every two minutes, or after every slide, or every three points. You are not a ten-year-old seeking confirmation from your mom every time you point out the triangle. You are a confident presenter, who knows the material, and has good (or great) communication skills. And…. your audience have an average level of comprehension of verbal communication, they are not stupid, don’t make them feel they are!

All set… now all you need is to relax, breathe, and smile. Seriously, Smile.

~ Heather ~