Seminar Presentations

Preparing to Speak

Getting the Audience Interested

Decide on how you will keep the audience interested. Plan an opening that will attract interest and direct the group's attention to your topic. You can start with an ice-breaker such as a controversial statement, a quotation, a personal anecdote, a question or a 'show of hands'.

Humour brings the group over to your side. However, don't tell a joke or story that doesn't relate to your topic.

Some opening examples:

Suppose you had an experience like this . . .

Three out of five people in this room will die of heart disease.

Who can tell us roughly how many Australians drive to work every morning?

If there are any monarchists in the audience,please raise your hands . . . now, how about republicans?

For more tips See Speaking to an Audience

Rehearse

• Rehearse the night before and time yourself.
• Practice projecting your voice clearly. Vary your pitch and tone; a person who speaks in a monotone is boring to listen to.
• Be aware of your body language and posture. Stand up straight. use appropriate gestures to emphasise your points.

When you are writing out your presentation, try to organise your information into main headings and supporting details or examples, much like an essay plan. If you know your topic well enough, you can give the talk from these headings and details. This technique prevents you from reading your talk which is boring for your audience.

Giving the Presentation

Delivery

• Stand in a balanced position, facing the audience, feet apart.
• Speak clearly and try not to talk too fast. When we are nervous, we tend to talk quickly, so try to be aware of this tendency. Don't be afraid to pause.
• Maintain eye contact with your audience. It will make your talk more interesting, and will help them concentrate because they will feel more involved. A good technique is to divide the audience into three sections (left, middle and right) and sweep your eyes across the room. If you don`t want to look anyone in the eye, look at a point in the middle of their foreheads.
• Don't read straight from your paper. This is boring for your audience. A tutorial is not a formal conference paper, but an introduction to a discussion. Try to express your ideas in your own words.

Performance Anxiety

If you are nervous, find a quiet place and take a few deep breaths. Concentrate on feeling your feet on the solid ground and remember that thousands of other students have been in the same situation and have survived. If you are feel nervous, tell the tutorial group-they will understand. Remember, your audiences consist of your classmates and friends. They all want you to suceed, so try to relax.

Tutorial Discussion

To begin the group discussion in the tutorial, it is a good idea to think of some questions that are relevant to your topic. At the beginning of your presentation tell your audience that you will be asking some questions at the end of your talk to prompt a discussion. It sometimes keeps people more alert if they know that they may have to answer some questions based on what they have just been listening to.

You can hand out copies of the questions or put them on an overhead transparency. You can also provide a summary of your talk, or a list of the main points to help promote discussion. Distribute these at the end of your talk. If you give them out before your talk people may not listen closely because they already have the information.

Answering Questions

After your presentation, members of your tutorial may ask you questions.

• Listen carefully to the question. Repeat or paraphrase the question so you are sure you understand it and so everyone in the audience hears it.
• If it is a long question, try breaking it up into sections, and answer them one by one.
• Be brief and to the point and avoid introducing new information. If you don't know the answer to the question, say so. It is OK to say "I don't know", you can always offer to find out the answer.