Unit 2 WK 2 Overview-Pg.3 of 4

Guidelines for the Presentation:

Group presentations take a bit more skill than simply showing up and reading from a power-point, or clicking on a video and talking into the camera. When formally "presenting" your work with your group members, think about three important things: Your Audience, Your Purpose, Your Time Limit. 

Below are some tips for getting the most out of your group work: 

1.   Have a goal and a purpose for your presentation: 

The first question to ask is,  ”What do we want our audience to learn?”  Have one or two specific takeaways that you want your audience to walk away with.

The second question to ask is,  “How will the audience best learn this information?”

Good presentations should have a clear beginning, middle, and end, and should have a pre-set time limit.

  • The beginning should set up what is to be covered.
  • The middle will get into the detail of the topic. This may include audience activities to help demonstrate the information or having each member sharing their own experience may help the audience understand or standard lecturing.
  • The end will remind the audience what they’ve learned and why this presentation is important.

2.     Practice, practice, practice.

Not everyone is comfortable in front of an audience and some people are too comfortable. Practicing with your group ahead of time will help the nervous group members feel more comfortable with the material and will help comfortable group members to remember to stay on track. Groups should practice at least 3 times before presenting.

  • The first time you practice, your goal should be to meet the time limit.
  • Once you have enough material to fill the time limit (or have trimmed over-time material), you should practice for delivery. Delivery means that group members should maintain eye contact with the audience, not read, be loud enough, don’t stand behind podiums, desks, or tables, etc.
  • The final time you practice, you should practice for language. This is the time to make sure that the examples you have selected will relate to the audience, and that the handouts or visual materials contribute to reaching the presentation goals, and also that everything is culturally appropriate for your audience.

 3.     Assign equitable speaking time, encourage one another, and don't block each other.

Presentations are best when the audience gets to hear from all participants. Presentations are even more exciting when speakers work together and seamlessly collaborate.

For example, let’s imagine you’re in a group of 3 people. It can be pretty boring to have 1 person cover the introduction, 1 cover the main points, and 1 cover the conclusion. However, if you split it up so that all help with the intro, each person cover a main point in the middle, and all help with the conclusion, the audience is a bit more interested and engaged. 

4.   Use visual aids consciously.

Visuals are great, but these days people think a visual is just a power point with slides that have text listing what the reader will read. That's not a visual aid for the audience, it's a visual aid for the speakers. Remember, visual aids are for the audience and should help to develop the goals of the presentation.

Whether you utilize posters, powerpoints, videos, or a classroom whiteboard, visual aids can help clarify or gain the attention of the audience.

Use them consciously and use them well. Here are some suggestions to use them better:

  • Only use visual aids to grab attention, explain a complex idea or reinforce something you’ve said.
  • Keep your visual aid simple. No long quotes or filling up the screen with lots of text information. What you say is more important and the visual should help your speech, not transcribe it.
  • Don't read your visual aid. Use notecards in your own hands for yourself if you need a reminder, but have just the "bullets" of information on a text slide.
  • Practice with your visual aid and always remember that what can go wrong will probably go wrong, so have a backup plan too. Practicing reduces the chances of your powerpoint not working or the video clip not loading, and practicing also ensures that even without the visual aid, you're ready to roll. If you’re just using one photo, you might consider just using a poster board to reduce your chances of a computer going on the fritz. If you’re using a powerpoint, save it in a few versions for yourself.

Panella, AC. Primer on Group Work & Public Speaking adapted and revised by K.E. Ogden, Pasadena City College, 2013.