Action Script for Making a Good Presentation
ORGANIZING A PRESENTATION: FIVE STEPS
Develop the objectives
Analyse the audience (this is important for making delivery adjustments (how you
technical and formal you should be)
Develop content
Chalk out the sequence of the presentation
Step 1: Develop the objectives:
In order to effectively present information to a group of people, the presenter have a clear
idea of:
Presentation objective
─ What do I want the audience to understand, learn, or apply after watching my presentation?
Step 2: Analyse the audience:
Who is the primary audience?
What is their knowledge base?
What do they need to know?
Why do they need this knowledge?
How can the presentation meet their needs?
Step 3: Develop content:
What are the main and supporting ideas that will help the audience understand the
presentation topic?
What type of information should be gathered for presentation (Statistics, historical
trends, graphs, graphics, quotes, telling a story)?
How to present complex information with clarity and simplicity?
Step 4: Prepare a presentation outline or sequence:
Presenter must work on the sequence of the presentation. There are three key elements that
must be kept in sight:
The beginning, middle, and the end of the presentation (there must be a clear
connect)
To enhance the effectiveness of delivery, visuals must be used strategically
Estimate the total time the presentation might take, and edit accordingly, to make
room for Q&A.
INTERPERSONAL COMPONENTS
Overcoming nervousness
1
Smooth transitions
Handling audience through kinesics
Platform Skills:
Platform skills refer to what a presenter does when giving a presentation. The platform skills
are what the audience sees and hears during the presentation:
Physical posture (e.g., standing, making eye contact, use of hands and arms)
Voice (volume, how fast or how slow, use of pause/ silence)
Intonation and accent
Guidelines for platform skills
Introduce yourself
Look at the camera at all times in a digital presentation
Every presenter has her/his own style – one may draw inspiration from another, but
emulation is difficult to keep up and suppresses one’s authenticity
Use appropriate language and humour
HANDLING Q&A
Maintain good humour
Conclude answer on a positive note
Follow “Less is More” principle and be brief
In case the answer is not known to you, be candid, and say so that you intend to look
for the answer
Handle audience responses in a positive manner (“…thanks for the suggestion…”)
Avoid confrontation
Even if the question is hostile, remain calm to send the message that you are guided
by active listening, rather than your emotions
GENERAL POWERPOINT TIPS:
Consistency among Slides:
Use smart template
Use the same font, size, and colour for all of the titles in a series of slides
Do not use full stop at the end of the sentence if using bullets
Make each slide appear as an integral part of a presentation, not as an afterthought
Most of the time, text should be left-aligned: text should be reduced to a minimum
