Guide to Presentations

Asians and Westerners have a very different way of grouping information. My Asian students find it difficult at first to put an English presentation in order, because they're not sure what's expected of them. Their language has a different way of doing it! And hey, this happens to Westerners, too! This step-by-step guide has helped bring out well-organised presentations. I usually give them a copy of this and go over it with them before they are assigned an (academic) presentation.

INTRODUCTION:

• HOOK: Say something to get people interested in your topic. It might be a question ("How many...?" "Have you ever...?" "What's your favourite...?") a statement (a fact, statistics), or a personal anecdote (not too long!).
• MENTION CLEARLY WHAT YOUR TOPIC IS. If you want to, you can also say why you chose this topic.
• You can also mention (briefly!) the PARTS OF YOUR TALK ("First, I'll tell you the history of..., Then I will tell you the kinds of ..., and finally I will mention how...")

BODY:

• Divide your information into PARTS: history, types, advantages, disadvantages, etc.
• With each part, use TRANSITION WORDS (next, and now, firstly, secondly, etc) so the audience will know you are focusing on a new point ("And now I'm going to tell you about the different clothes that people wear for this festival.")
• You can give your opinion about each part ("The food in this festival is delicious, but I think it's good we don't eat it all the time because it's very unhealthy.")

CONCLUSION

• RE-STATE THE MAIN POINTS OF YOUR TALK (Summarise) ("I have told you about..." "I have explained about...")
• GIVE FINAL THOUGHTS: your opinion, advice, or suggest a future course of action

MORE ADVICE:

• Use audiovisuals (at least 3) such as powerpoint, objects, posters, sound, etc, to make your presentation more engaging.
• Don't read from your notes! Use your own words.