PROJECT PRESENTATION
When making a presentation you, first of all, present yourself. Therefore, making an effective presentation is a vital skill.


Preparatory Stage
Aim: You are to carry out a mini research on a topic of your choice.
1. Choose a topic which is challenging and off the beaten track.
2. Put forward a hypothesis to prove or (possibly) refute as a result of your research.
e.g. The relations between X and Y are likely to deteriorate / improve due to [factors…]
3. Make sure your research will produce new and meaningful content educational for your audience and professionally relevant. Do your research using reliable resources; keep record of those you are going to include in the list of references at the end of your ppp.
4. Focus on ideas and data 100% relevant to your topic and hypothesis. If you want to use a quotation, remember to mention the author.
5. Structure your presentation logically: use ‘claim — reasons — evidence’ formula.
■ In the introduction, tell the audience what your presentation is about and what points you want to make. A slide with an outline of your presentation will be a big help.
■ Make sure each part of your presentation logically follows from the other.
■ End with a summary of your points.
6. Remember the time limit — 10 minutes: when your time runs out, you will be stopped. Take care to plan your presentation so that you will definitely say what you must; also, make a note of what you can leave out if you see there is no time.


Useful tips on preparing a Power Point presentation
■ Use a typeface big enough to be seen from the back of the room — font 20 to 24 (at least).
■ Avoid white / yellow printing on dark background.
■ Don’t use too many fancy visual effects or use these as background for text.
■ Avoid putting too much text on one slide.
■ Have the title of the presentation, your name and group number on the first slide.
■ Conclude with a thank-you slide.
■ A list of references is a must.


Presentation Stage
Aim: Present your research and present yourself
1. Greet your audience and give them a smile. Introduce yourself and say “thank you for coming to this presentation” (if you have new people in your audience).
2. Start with an overview statement which repeats the topic.
Today I’m going to speak on…177
3. To engage your audience you may start with a joke, or make a reference to a recent event:
Only the other day I read in the news that…
It was only yesterday that I saw…
4. You may also explain why the topic is important before you introduce your hypothesis (make your claim).
5. After this introduction, explain how you are going to proceed with your presentation. Make use of the ‘Outline” slide.
6. When speaking, make sure your audience are following you: do not speak too fast; make pauses before introducing the next part of your presentation and say clearly that you are moving to the next point.
7. At the end of your presentation recap what you have said and say “thank you”.


Useful tips on using a Power Point presentation
■ Stand rather than sit when speaking.
■ Look at the audience, not your slides.
■ Make eye contact with various members of the audience.
■ Do not read your slides — expand on the points on the slides.
■ Move from slide to slide as you deal with a particular point, move on when you have finished
talking about it.
■ Remain calm, composed and confident in your delivery.
Copying other people’s presentations is a serious offence!
Useful language for presentations
To introduce the topic:
Today I’m going to speak on…
In this talk I will deal with [the topic]…;
the theme of my presentation today is…;
To emphasise its importance:
I would like to start by saying / let me begin by saying that …
this is a significant issue at the moment in many ways…
this issue is particularly significant in this country / the world at large at the moment
because….
To present the structure of your talk:
I’m going to look at this issue from different angles. Firstly, I will talk about … .
Then, I will deal with… Finally, I will try to explain the …
First, I will tell you some facts about the history of…, then I will look into where things stand
and finally…
To conclude:
To recap briefly, …
Let me now summarise what I have said about…..