How to Make an Effective Presentation *

An effective presentation should always have : - an introduction

- a body
- a conclusion

I. Introduction

In the introduction, say what you are going to say!

1. Signal the beginning

Right. Well, let s’ begin. / Let’s get started / Can we start?

2. Greet your audience

Good morning, everyone / Hello Ladies and gentlemen / Good morning…

members of the jury, dear colleagues.

3. Introduce yourself (when necessary): name – position – company

Let me introduce myself / Let me start by introducing myself..

My name is…. I’m a third year student in …
I’ve been working at… for X months, since the beginning of this year.

4. Give the title and introduce the subject [Slide 1]

I’m going to talk about… / I’m going to present my 3D project / I’m here today to
present….
( I won’t deal with…)

5. Mention the supports you will use (maps, images, drawings, transparencies,
slides,…)

I’m going to use transparencies / PowerPoint slides /

I’ve prepared a handout of the slides.
 6. Announce the outline (the structure.) Keep it simple and clear. [Slide 2]

My speech will be divided into three parts.

I have broken down my presentation into X parts.

In the first part, I’ll describe…

In the second part, in the next part, in the last part, I will explain…
I’ll start off by describing…. After that, I’ll…. and then I’ll go on to explain…
Finally I’ll…

7. Mention the time you will need

I will speak for 10 minutes. I have limited my speech to 10 minutes. My talk will
last / will take / 10 minutes.

8. Mention how you intend to deal with the questions and comments from the
audience

Please feel free to interrupt me at any moment to ask questions. Don’t hesitate to
interrupt me…
I’d be grateful if you could save your questions for the end.

9. Make a transition between the introduction and the body

Now let’s move to part I, that is…. Now let’s turn to point I, that is…

II. Body [Slide 3, 4, 5…]

In the body, you say it!

Here you deal with the content. The point for you is to present it clearly and
effectively. So the information you want to get across should be:

1. well structured

First, second, third…

Firstly, secondly, thirdly, lastly, finally

2. signposted

During the presentation, you are following your road, you are driving along a road.
You should never forget to tell listeners where you are and where you are going
to. Keep referring to the outline throughout your presentation (Slide 2) and
use simple phrases as signposts

Now that we have seen…, OK.So, let’s move on to the second point…/ let’s turn
to…
This leads me to my next point…
In conclusion / to conclude / to recap / to sum up…
 3. easy to understand

Give examples and show visual information (graphs, pictures, charts)

To give an example, let’s take an example, for instance

To illustrate this,…
Let me show you / Let’s have a look at… / So, here we can see…

And don’t hesitate to:

4. rephrase, repeat or summarize what has just been said

Basically what I’m saying is…

Let me rephrase that.
In other words…
Another way of saying the same thing is…
As I have already said earlier…
As we saw in part 2…
In short / In a nutshell.

5. highlight important points

What seems to me very important is the fact that…

I’d like to emphasize the fact that…
to stress
to highlight
to underline
What we need to focus on is the fact that…
What is very important to remember is…

III. Conclusion [Last slide]

In the conclusion, you say again what you have just said!

1. Signal the end of the presentation

This brings me to the end of the presentation.

2. Summarize the CONTENT in a few lines, emphasizing the points you want the
audience to remember.

I’d like to close by summarizing the main points.

3. Give your personal opinion (if necessary)

What I think about the project is…Let me give you my opinion about it.
Now I’d like to give you my personal opinion about this project.
 4. Close your presentation

Thank you for your attention!

5. Ask for questions and comments

Are there any questions?

IV. How to deal with questions

When they are easy to answer (you know what you have to say):

1. Try to use tripled answers

There are 3 aspects to consider:…

2. Keep it short and simple. Don’t make a second presentation.

When they are embarrassing:

 Either you haven’t understood the question (it was not clearly expressed):

rephrase it and ask for confirmation

So you would like to know if… / I presume you would like me to explain…

 Or you don’t know the answer! In that case:

be honest

Your question is very interesting but I’m afraid I haven’t tackled this problem /
I haven’t dealt with this aspect / this aspect needs further development.

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*Josiane CARRE and Dominique SMETS – HEPL-

Bibliography
Techniques for oral presentations by Dr Carl STORZ
Presenting
 Some useful tips to remember for an effective presentation

Beforehand

Practise, practise, practise : practice does make perfect !!!

Test your equipment

Check language and pronunciation

Don’t

rush your presentation

read out your notes and your slides

mumble

use slang

be static

make distracting gestures

Do

speak loud enough

speak naturally

articulate

make simple and short sentences

vary pace and tone

use visuals

check the spelling of your slides

comment any graph or picture you use

look at the audience (eye contact)

look and sound confident

smile and look enthusiastic

 5 tips for a good PowerPoint slideshow

Your slideshow is the support you will use; It is NOT your presentation!
This support will be a help for your audience and for you. So, make it clear, attractive
and to the point.
Here are 5 elements you should remember:

Use keywords as much as possible

Avoid text and long sentences; otherwise the audience will read your slides instead
of listening to you.

Use a light background

A dark background might prevent easy reading.

Avoid bright colours for background and fonts

Bright colours can put a strain on the eyes and can even give headaches

Font size
Fonts shouldn’t be too small or too big. Keep them between 20 and 44.

Animation
Animation can be great if it is to the point. Don’t overuse animation functionalities.
Your presentation shouldn’t be a firework!