Seminar Presentations

Planning & Structuring Your Presentation

You need to plan the structure of your presentation very carefully. Consider:

• the time limit
• the amount of information available, then determine how much of it you will cover
• how much detail you can include
• dividing the material into sections, with subject headings
• the best way to present your information e.g., OHTs, Powerpoint, slides, videos, handouts whiteboard

Structuring Your Presentation

Have a clear, organised structure for your presentation. Structuring a presentation is no different from writing an essay or a report; it requires an introduction, body and conclusion. Like an essay, these sections of your talk need to fit together, and be linked clearly. A poorly structured talk will confuse and frustrate an audience.

Presentations should have the following structure:

Introduction

A good introduction will capture the audience`s attention. An introduction is like a series of signposts that tell your audience what direction your presentation takes. First greet the audience. Introduce yourself (even if they already know your name). Try starting with a question or simply saying: "Today I would like to talk to you about . . ."

Tell your audience what you are going to talk about. State:

• what your topic is, and what your presentation will cover
• an outline of the main points
• any necessary history or definition of terms.

Body

The body of your presentation is where you develop the main points of your talk, and present examples and evidence.

The information in the body needs to be well structured. Decide on an organising principle. It could be by chronological order, theme or order of importance.

• Move from one point to the next by using transitional phrases (such as 'Firstly . . . secondly . . . finally').
• Offer evidence to support any claims being made ('for example . . .')
• Emphasise important information. Tell your audience when information is particularly important or interesting. Tell them why.

Conclusion

The conclusion is usually a summary of the main points made in the body of the talk. Don`t introduce any new information in the conclusion. Take the opportunity to show that you have covered all the points you made in your introduction.

• Work out how you will finish your talk. You can signal your conclusion with the phrase 'In conclusion . . .'
• Restate the main points
• Re-answer the question