Back to work after the Christmas holidays – it must be time for thinking about presentations! There are so many things to say about doing a presentation that it is hard to know where to start. I remember this time last year making a few comments about choosing an interesting topic, or a topic with an interesting angle and have already suggested to students that they don’t talk to me about the health risks of smoking! (Are you really going to tell me something NEW?)
Whatever topic you eventually do, you should realise that when someone marks your presentation they are going to give you some marks for the content of your presentation and some marks for the presentation and delivery of your presentation. Even if you choose a terrible topic if you structure it well and deliver it well you will be improving your chances of a better mark! Take a look at this video from The Higher Education Academy about how to structure a presentation. It is very accessible because it is produced for international students. Then use the structure in your presentation!. It’s here.
I’ve been experimenting with a great website for preparing and practising presentations. The name of the site is Voicethread and I am really excited about it! At Voicethread it is really easy to record your own presentations online. You can add pictures and other files if you like. It’s a good idea to record your presentation like this, and then listen to it so you can try to improve it. You can also get your classmates to listen and add voice comments (or text comments) to your presentation. In fact you can submit your presentation to your teacher in this way and then your teacher can watch and listen to it at a convenient time. I’d love to hear from any students who have used this site already and who have some good ideas about exploiting it. Just to start you off with it I have recorded a short talk about this blog on the site. You can listen to my talk, and if you want, you can add your own comment to it. Have fun! Here it is.
In this post I’m giving you a page from the University of Canberra which has some very helpful advice on getting ready for your presentation. It’s straightforward, clear and simple, and makes very good sense. When my students are getting ready to give presentations I don’t say ‘good luck’ to them because I don’t think it is a question of luck. It’s a question of preparation. Read the advice from Canberra University here. But don’t just read it once and forget about it! Read it and think about it. Act on it, read it again the following day or a few days later. If you are a university student then use your teachers and your tutors for help. Most importantly, check your pronunciation of the key vocabulary in your presentation with a native speaker. In my experience students don’t make enough use of the support facilities that the universities offer. You are paying good money for your course so make sure that the university supports you – librarians should help you find materials in the library and tutors should be available to help you prepare your presentation. If you were staying at an expensive hotel wouldn’t you want to use all the facilities – like the swimming pool, the sauna and the private beach? I know I would. But many overseas students have paid for services at university that they never use!
