Strategies for a Successful Presentation

September 2, 2010

Home UOP Information Programs Certification Workshop Faculty Qualifications Approval Process Compensation Strategies for a Successful Presentation	STRATEGIES FOR A SUCCESSFUL PRESENTATION Back to the Faculty Assessment Home Page
	1.	Introduce yourself briefly. Give your name, position, and special area of interest/expertise in just a couple of sentences.
	2.	Focus your presentation. Choose one issue of a large theme or a very limited topic. Introduce the issue, define the piece of it that you intend to present, and tell why it is important. Present your topic, then answer questions and summarize what was said/conclusions. In other words, "Tell them what you are going to say. Say it. Tell them what you said." Be aware that the people in the group come from diverse fields. Define terminology that may be unfamiliar to those outside your field.
	3.	Capture the group's attention. Begin with a group quiz, an illustration, a cartoon, or an anecdote. Make use of all senses for learning: hearing, seeing (overheads, poster boards, printed materials), touching (handouts or objects to pass around).
	4.	Rehearse your presentation and limit yourself to 15 minutes. Every presentation will improve if it is rehearsed. You will be given a "two-minute warning" before your time is up. Even if you aren't finished, make a closing statement and conclude your presentation.
	5.	Get people talking! To be successful, you will need to elicit participation, ask questions or divide the class into small groups. Two-way exchange is critical to this exercise. Avoid lecturing, drawn-out explanations, "war-stories," or tall tales.
	6.	Involve your audience. A successful presentation depends upon the involvement of your audience. You will also be called on to demonstrate your interaction skills by participating as a student while listening to other presentations.
	7.	Lead, don't lecture. Remember that your success depends on how well you can get your students to interact with your information, not on how much information you can provide them.
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