Introduction

Informative
Present
Persuasive
PRESENTATION Types
Body language SKILLS
Dos & Don’ts
Necessary for personal,
academic and Ceremonial
professional purposes
How to structure
Prepare a presentation

Thank the audience

Rehearse Read Main body Introduction
Research
Conclusion
Invite & answer questions
Greet the audience (optional)
Get feedback (optional)
Introduce yourself (optional)
Introduce the topic

What is public speaking?

Public speaking is the act of addressing a group of people in order to describe a place or object, to narrate important
events, to persuade, or to communicate ideas. The most common form of public speaking is a presentation.
Types of presentations
There are different types of presentations:
• Informative e.g. school presentations, science &
technology presentations, business seminars.
• Persuasive e.g. in sales, debates, to a group of
peers, political speeches.
• Ceremonial e.g. graduation, wedding toast.
Public speaking skills are also needed in interviews
(job & journalism), project reports at a meeting, etc.
Purposes of presentations
We give presentations to:
A describe a product, an invention, a place, people
(e.g. myself, a famous person).
B narrate important events (e.g. historical events,
natural disasters and their causes/effects etc.).
C persuade by presenting arguments for & against
an issue, expressing our opinion on an issue,
stating a problem & suggesting solutions, political
discussions, campaigns etc.
D communicate in panels, debates, conferences etc.
How to structure a presentation
A presentation consists of a(n):
• Introduction, in which we greet the audience
and introduce ourselves (if the audience doesn’t
know who we are) and introduce the topic.
• Main body, in which we present the main points.
• Conclusion, in which we summarise the main
points, invite and answer questions from the
audience and thank the audience for listening
to us. We can sometimes get feedback from the
audience.
Opening/Closing techniques
To start a presentation we can:
1 address the audience by asking a question
e.g. When I say “the UK”, what do you think of? ...
Big Ben? Tea? Museums?
2 use a quotation/saying e.g. Anne Frank once
wrote, “How wonderful it is that no one need wait
a single moment before starting to improve the
world.”
3 ask a rhetorical question e.g. Freezing cold,
strong winds, deep snow and slippery ice. It
sounds frightening, doesn’t it?
4 make a statement e.g. It’s a very harsh climate
in the tundra, which is why even plants find it
difficult to survive there.
5 narrate a personal or general story e.g. Many
years ago, there was a group of people who lived
high in the Andes Mountains. They were strong
and smart, but they mysteriously disappeared
without a trace, leaving their city, Machu Picchu,
behind.
6 set the scene and stimulate emotions e.g. You
look around and all you see is sand. It is so warm
in this place that most plants and animals can’t
survive. It’s the desert.
7 use visuals (photos, charts, films, pictures etc.)
e.g. Look at this picture. It shows a polar bear in
its home – the tundra.
8 use music (a song, soundtrack etc.) e.g. Listen
to this piece of music. What does it bring to mind?
9 use humour (a joke, a riddle etc.) e.g. You can
see it during national celebrations and on
souvenirs. What is it? ... That’s right, it’s the flag of
my country!
10 use a rhyme or a short poem e.g.
This is my family as you can see,
it’s my mum, my dad, my sister and me.
To end a presentation we can:
1 address the audience by asking a question e.g.
So, what can you do to make the world a better
place?
2 use a quotation/saying e.g. Just as the philosopher
Confucius said, “Choose a job you love and you
will never have to work a day in your life.”
3 ask a rhetorical question e.g. It’s exciting
working with animals every day, don’t you think?
4 make a statement e.g. However for people living
there, it is just ‘Home sweet home’!
5 narrate a personal or general story e.g. I’ll never
forget my first look out across the ocean of gold
that is the Sahara. It is truly breathtaking!
6 stimulate emotions e.g. To be honest, I’m lucky
that every day I can go home from work knowing
that what I do helps save people’s lives.
7 use humour (a joke, a riddle etc.) e.g. What
stays in a corner but travels all over the world? A
stamp!
8 ask a ‘what if’ question e.g. What if each of you
take the time to lend a helping hand? Well, I can
promise you that you’ll all feel great on the
inside.
9 use a rhyme or a short poem e.g.
The best of friends will always share
your secret dreams because they care.
Ways to get feedback from the audience
(optional)
After you have presented your points you can check
if your audience has understood your topic. There
are several ways to get feedback and check
understanding. These are:
1 Pop quiz style questions in teams: Split the
audience into two teams (A and B) and ask
questions about the presentation topic. e.g. It’s
time for a quiz in teams! The team that gets the
most answers correct wins! Team A: When was ...
built? Correct! Team B: How old is …?
2 Open discussion: Invite the audience to share
their own similar experiences. e.g. Would anyone
like to share his/her own similar experience?
3 Polling questions: Ask the audience a question.
The audience can answer by raising their hands
or standing up. e.g. How many of you recycle on
a regular basis? Raise your hands.
4 Focus groups: Divide the audience into groups
of 3-4 people and give questions for them to
discuss and report back. e.g. Please get into
groups of 3 and discuss what impressed you
most about ... and why.
5 Game: Prepare a Y/N or T/F quiz with questions/
statements based on the presentation. e.g. Mars
is the second planet from the Sun. If the answer is
YES/TRUE, the participants stand up and if the
answer is NO/FALSE, they remain seated.
6 Make a list: Summarise the most important
points of your presentation. Write the
initial letter of each word/phrase on Recycle
a slide/a flipchart/the whiteboard. Reuse
Ask the audience to find the correct S...
words/phrases. e.g. What can we do P...
to protect the environment? Recycle/ R...
Reuse/Save water/Plant trees/Ride
a bike to school etc.
Prepare
Steps to follow
1 Read, brainstorm & prepare a spidergram to
organise your notes.
2 Research resources from videos, texts within the
module, the Internet, encyclopaedias etc.
3 Prepare your presentation. Decide which points
to include and how to present them.
4 Rehearse your presentation in front of a mirror or
friends, videotape or record yourself.
Present
Dos while giving a presentation
• Be prepared & know your material.
• Make sure your equipment works (check
connectivity, program versions, hyperlinks, etc.).
• Look confident & professional.
• Have positive energy & smile.
• Keep eye contact with your audience.
• Use positive body language (stand up straight,
use gestures/facial expressions to convey
meaning, etc.).
• Keep your presentation clear & simple.
• Keep slides short & use clear text/diagrams.
• Attract the audience’s attention with an interesting
beginning (a story, a joke, a video, etc.).
• End your presentation by summarising the topic
or by making a closing statement.
Don’ts while giving a presentation
• Don’t read directly from the screen or your notes.
• Don’t turn your back to the audience, fold your
arms, or put your hands in your pockets.
• Don’t speak in a monotonous voice or rush your
words.
• Don’t break the flow of the presentation by
using fillers while speaking (e.g. ‘um’, ‘er’, ‘ah’).
• Don’t use confusing graphics (e.g. dark fonts on
dark backgrounds).
• Don’t carry a lot of items with you.
• Don’t wear casual clothes (e.g. shorts, flip flops).
Body Language
Body language is very important when you give a presentation. It is part of communication and helps you
maintain your audience’s attention and interest.

Dos ✓ Don’ts ✗
Remember to be polite and smile. Don’t read directly from your notes.

Stand up straight and maintain eye contact with Don’t turn your back to the audience.
your audience.

Use appropriate facial expressions and gestures Don’t fold your arms or put your hands in your
to make your presentation clear. pockets.
Using Presentation Software
To engage your audience's attention, you can use presentation software, like PowerPoint or Keynote. This way
you can support and highlight your message, and make your whole presentation more interesting.

1 Use a simple layout 4 Use dark fonts on light backgrounds or

This will help the audience to follow your presentation light fonts on dark backgrounds
easily. This will make your slides easier to read.

Snake Milker

▪ take snakes out of enclosure

▪ collect snake venom
▪ use venom to make antivenin

2 Use a title 5 Use clear and easy-to-read fonts

This will let your audience know what you are Members of the audience will lose interest if they
speaking about. cannot read your slides easily.

3 Use visuals 6 Use notes rather than long sentences

Visuals capture the attention of the audience and This will ensure that your audience can understand
make your presentation more interesting. your points and focus on listening to the presentation
rather than reading long sentences on the screen.