- Before presenting What is, Why and How to use PPT, it is necessary to know how to perform a good Oral Presentation. - First of all, we have to know the process of presenting. - This process involves two stages: Prepare and Present The two main stages of any oral presentation; A good presentation requires preparation and research; The audience wants to see that you really understand what you are presenting. The more you know about your topic, the more confident and, probably, clear you will be.
- One important thing that can influence your performance is the audience - So, it is important to know your audience. - These are some questions you can make: - In the preparation stage: * Who will I be speaking to? * What do they know about my topic already? * What will they want to know about my topic? * What do I want them to know by the end of my talk? - In the presentation stage: * Are they really interested in my presentation? * Are they taking notes or making questions? - The questions made in the preparation stage are important to help you to choose the language and the way you will present the ideas. - The questions made in the presentation stage serve as a feedback. - Since the purpose of a presentation is to inform, present or defend a topic, the audience needs to understand and be interested. So, be interesting and you will be understood. - Another thing that is very important is to show confidence. - As said before, the more you know about your topic, the more confident you will be. - Even though your are nervous, you should show confidence. - This will even help you to be really confident. - Being nervous is pretty normal. Even experts can be nervous in a presentation. - Something that can be useful is to be sincere to the audience. This will show them that there is a small problem, but that it will not interfere in the presentation. - Another thing that can be useful is to tell a little joke related to the subject. But do not exaggerate! - The question is that the more confident you seem, the more open your audience will be to your statements. - Another important thing is the language , and how you use it. - Something that we must keep in mind is that “Less is more”. A good presentation presents a complex topic with simple language, in a simple way that anyone in the audience can understand. - There are also three features in our language that deserve attention: - At first, the voice : * It is important to everyone in the class (theater, park, lecture hall) listen to you. * A feedback question: “Am I being loud enough or too loud?” * Use a different intonation when you want more attention or when you want to emphasize a point. - Secondly, try to keep eye contact with the whole audience. * It will show confidence and also serves as feedback. * Do not stare people, or they will feel intimidated. - At last, the use of body language . * It is useful to drag the audience attention to you. * It is also useful if you are nervous and show that you are confident. * Do not exaggerate, or you will seem aggressive. - Therefore, what we can conclude is that in the use of language “Less is more”. - It is important to not seem like a robot, nor like a mad man.
- Knowing your audience is the first step in preparing a presentation. - The next step is about the subject. - Since you have already chosen a topic, you have to work and transform it in a presentation. - The first thing is to set the purpose of the presentation. - Some questions can help you: * What is your main point? (Can you put it into one sentence?) * What do you want your listeners to do or think? . Are you trying to inform, convince, guide or entertain them? - These questions will help you to establish the purpose of your presentation. - They will also serve as a guide to the whole presentation. - After that, you need to research . - Again, as said before, the more you know about your topic, the more confident and, probably, clear you will be. - Your research is part of the preparation, and it is important to focus on the purpose of the presentation. - It would be a waste of time researching on something that would not be used in the presentation, or that would be useless for the purpose you have already established. - Thus, as important as researching is focusing the research on your purpose. - Another key characteristic of the topic is that it must be organized . - As well as in an essay, story or fable, a presentation needs introduction , body and conclusion . - A good introduction drags the audience’s attention to the topic and also explains the purpose of the presentation. - The body is used to develop your ideas and support them. - It is good to pause between many sections to take a breath, drink some water and for the audience do think or take notes. - As the body is used to develop the content of the presentation, it must be very clear. - The conclusion should end the presentation on a positive note and make the audience feel that they have used their time well listening to you. - Therefore, organize your presentation and be clear to accomplish your purpose. - In a presentation we should be prepared to be questioned . - The more research you did, the more prepared you will be to any question. - A key word to the whole presentation is HUMILITY. - If you face a question you do not know, you should say “I don’t know”, or even ask the audience to try to answer it. - Do not try to answer a question you do not know the answer. It would be worse than admit your fail. - Nobody knows everything about every subject. We are humans, that is impossible. - However, if you are well prepared you will be able to answer more questions. - In order to make a good presentation you should have some notes . - A note serves as a reminder of what you have to say. - They can be small cards with key words, sheets of paper with key topics, overhead transparencies (OHTs) or a PPT presentation. - In the case of cards or sheets of paper, they are for your own use, the audience will not read it. - In the case of overhead transparencies (OHTs) or a PPT presentation, they act more like visual aids than like notes, for your audience will also read the same text and see the same images. - Therefore, besides reminding you of what you have to say, OHTs or a PPT will help the audience to follow your ideas. - It is on the PPT presentation we will focus now.
Power Point is a presentation software program developed by Microsoft. It’s the simplest and useful program for presentations. Where you can produce professional overheads, or make a computer-based presentation. Using PPT presentations, you can save your time and simplify your work.
It consists of a certain number of slides, which ones can possibly contain texts, graphics, sound, movies, and other objects and be arranged in your own way. The slides contain resumed topics that should be developed during the presentation orally. People tend to produce more on the PPT than the actual talk, and it’s not the purpose of the program. For larger audiences, the computer display is often projected by using a video projector.
Entrance, emphasis, and exit of elements on a slide are what Power Point calls Custom Animations. The animation can be used to create small story boards by animated pictures. As both the animation and multimedia have become more sophisticated which makes the presentation be more interesting and fun for the audience.
Nowadays to use PowerPoint presentation became extremely important, and the reasons to use this tool are: - PowerPoint illustrates in a better way the speaker’s idea; - PowerPoint makes the presentation more interesting, motivating those are participating in the lecture; - PowerPoint is extremely useful, if someone can not attend, it is possible to send the file for this one; - PowerPoint reminds what to say; - Finally, I guess the most important reason to use the PowerPoint is to organize your script.
A good slide is the first element that you are supposed to think about. Bear in mind that: -Simple design and color schemes are best; -You have to include most important points keeping in mind that is better to use words or phrases than sentences or paragraphs; -Too much information in a slide is not a good idea, so use maximum 6 points per slide.
To use text propely: -Never use more than two fonts; -Minimum text size recommend is 24 pt ; -Do not forget to use Vernada/Arial/ Times New Roman in your text, never use Comic Sans (it could be interpretaded as too young); -Never forget to check your spelling and grammar (You are not supposed to present something that was not revised).
To use the color properly: -The best PPTs are elaborated with a dark text on a light background; -Never use more than three colors; -In graphics, try to use the same colors for text; -Choose color combinations carefully, certains colors can convey meanig.
To emphasize points: -Use bold or color, avoid italic or underline; -Avoid using all uppercase (It “sounds” like a scream); -Use animation chemes to controls the pace of points.
You can use PowerPoint to emphasize key points and control the flow of information. Unless they are extremely relevant you should avoid animated gifs. They can distract the audience from the message you're trying to pass. Remember : In your computer screen ,animations tend to look cooler than projected before an audience. Use always simple and functional effects.
The graphics in your presentation are very important and play a large role in its effectiveness. They are used to give support to your presentation as well to emphasize certain points.
A text can be used to introduce the multimedia to the audience. But use only one or two multimedia clips per page. T he addition of multimedia helps the audience to remember the material better than when text is used alone.
Don`t forget that computers can failed, so you must have a plane “B”. Handouts are a great idea. You should distribute them before or after your presentation. And remember to include your references on a handout, so that people can have a look on them later .
Concluding this presentation, we are going to summarize it in four main points: Prepare yourself to oral presentations: -As stated before: The more you know about your topic, the more confident and, probably, clear you will be. -The purpose of a presentation is to defend, teach, show or entertain an audience. Therefore, you must be prepared. -Researching and reading are your tools in the preparation stage. Use strategy and creativity -Strategy means: organization, preparation and confidence. .After researching, you have to organize your ideas and present them, showing confidence. .Since you have researched a lot, you will not have problems in accomplishing this. -Creativity is the way you show your ideas. .PowerPoint can help you, since it has lots of tools and templates. .Your voice and body language are very useful. Use intonation and your body to highlight points. Equilibrium -Show confidence to your audience, but do not show hostility. -Confidence does not mean pride. Show that you really knows the topic, but if someone questions you something you cannot answer, just say “I do not know the answer for this question. But I can research and answer it later, if you want”. -Do not misuse PowerPoint. -Do not use too much colors, images and graphics. -Do not use too long texts in the slides, unless they are strictly necessary and/or you will read them. PowerPoint must be seen as an aid to the presentation, not be the presentation -Keep this in mind. Use PowerPoint to help you. Make a nice Oral Presentation.