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Doctor Carlos Ferreira

Research Assistant, Centre for Trust and Ethical Behaviour


BES, June 2014
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Importance of presentation and oral
communication skills in academia
Plan and structure a talk
Sustains the interest and confidence of the
audience
Reflect on and learn from your experience.
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
At some point in your academic career you
are going to have to give a presentation or
stand up and talk

Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Some people get very anxious about doing
this.....








Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
No real secret to effective
presentations
Mostly down to planning, practice

This session will help you to
understand what an audience is
looking for
And some advice about how to
improve your skills
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Talks are an integral part of academic
and professional life.
Conferences, workshops, lectures,
interviews

Make the most of opportunities to
practice these skills.
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Try to know
your audience
yourself
your subject

Choose the right media
What to include in your presentation
Practice your presentation

Conferences 10 minutes talk, 5 minutes
questions

Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
In interview processes, presentations are a
common screening device prospective employers
use.
Academic posts present in front of departmental
staff

How would your current research make a
contribution to our Faculty and how could it link to
teaching?

Opportunity to show what a good teacher you are.
How you handle questions is very important.
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Everyone has different strengths
Some people are better at explaining
things aloud than when writing them
down.
For others the opposite is true.

Fear of making a mess of speaking in front
of people can by itself lead to a poor
performance
Building confidence through preparation
and practice can help overcome those
nerves

Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Are the participants experts in your field of study,
or from other disciplines?
Can you expect some of both groups?
Academic vs Practitioner?

How much do you assume participants will know
about your research and methodology?

How much do you expect participants will know
about the practitioner/policy relevance of your
research?
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
How often have you presented and how much
confidence do you have in presenting?
What are your weaknesses?
How much preparation do you need?

Each slide takes about 1-2 minutes.

Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
What have other people done in your field?
Are they likely to be there?

Do you have a good handle on the
literature?
Key names and references?

Whats the context of your presentation?


Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Powerpoint now standard in conference
presentations
Risk of death by Powerpoint
Information vs overkill
Pictures/visual material or no pictures?
In some disciplines, transparencies and/or
reading scripts are still the norm

Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Practice giving your presentation to ensure that it
is the right length
Avoid running out of time

Practice voice control
Practice talking to the audience and changing your slides
Aim to get it as smooth as possible - identify stumbling
points or confusion might exist
Enlist a critical friend to listen and give feedback on the
visuals and the sound
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Knowing how much time and the length of the talk
helps you prepare the right amount of material
Most people try and cram in too much
Audiences end up overwhelmed, cannot follow what is
being said

Decisions about visual aids, resources, props
depend on the audience and the room
Powerpoint/whiteboard/flip chart?
Check equipment in advance (sound, video, internet
connection)
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Start with a front page that includes
Title of your presentation
Your name and affiliation
Date, name of conference, paper prepared for

Next page
Acknowledgement to funders, co-researchers,
etc.
Any required disclaimers

Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Tell them if you are going to take questions at the
end, or as you go through

You might want to outline the structure, tell the
audience what to expect:
Today I am going to explain, illustrate, outline, give you
essential background information on..etc etc.

How to engage the audiences attention at the start
An anecdote; a short film clip; a question; some challenging
statements
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Lead the audience through your main points
You will have to limit content as time is usually short
Enough information to develop your ideas
Illustrate with examples
Sequence your ideas
Logical, chronological order
General to specific
Known to unknown
From accepted to controversial
Cause/effect
Problem/solution
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Signpost where you are:
Indicate when you are finishing one topic, moving
to another
Pause, change stance, pitch of voice etc.

Link ideas/sections - end of one, beginning
of another
Now that Ive shown X lets turn to Y

Verbal punctuation very helpful when
trying to keep the audiences attention
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
If someone interrupts, be friendly and do
answer clarification questions

Postpone responding to substantive
questions until the question period at the
end.
This is a really interesting conversation, maybe
we can continue it after the presentation/
session?
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Engage your audience
Make eye contact
Use voice projection
Show confidence the people who took
the time to come to your presentation are
interested in your work
Smile and try to build rapport with light
humour (if youre comfortable with that)
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES

You want your audience to be interested

Think about using a variety of materials if it is
appropriate for the topic:
Examples, anecdotes, case histories
Charts and graphs
Handouts
Video clips
Artefacts that can be passed around
E.g. examples of products, samples, models etc.
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
End
Summarise what you have discussed and conclude
Thank the audience for listening
Offer to take any questions
Dont worry if you dont know the answer to a question
Thats a really good point, I hadnt thought of that.
Suggest that you would like to follow this up with them
later.
Where appropriate, throw it out to the audience

A confident manner is just as important as what
you say.


Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Thank the people who ask questions
Oh yes, very good point, Ill check into it; oh yes, I did
address this, but )

Take notes of what people say

Disarm the obnoxious (active listening, as above)
Some tips
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Make sure you understand the question
Ask a question to see if have understood; rephrase it in
your own words
If not, ask the questioner to repeat
Delay the answer to allow yourself time to think
Im glad youve asked that question; Thats a very
good question, just let me consider for a moment..
Can I take that question later..
Deflect the question
That idea came from the work of X.
Agree but give an alternative perspective
I can see what you are getting at, but there is another
way of looking at this..







Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Often more informal, 5 minutes duration
Good test of succinctness!
Early career academics should try these sessions:
Exposure for your work
Useful for preliminary findings and feedback
Good networking opportunity
You will need to become sufficiently familiar with
the related literature and the other papers
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Reading aloud from notes sounds very stilted and
wooden

Free speech more interesting, even with the odd
mistake

If you must use prompt cards
Lay the text out in chunks pause, look up and engage
audience
Put a marker on the text to signal a pause
Dont just ramble on when reading; pause and make eye
contact
Where possible use only key words and phrases NOT sentences
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Prepare any PowerPoint slides well in advance
Aim for the Big Picture
Bullet points not sentences
You can fill in the gaps with your talk
Guide audience to read the full paper later

Make sure slide are clear and text is big enough
(24 point or larger ideally)
Stick to simple tables and graphs
Too difficult for audience to read otherwise!

Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Practice giving your talk on your own
Regardless of how silly you feel!
Allows a check on how long your talk is does it
need editing down?
Get used to the sound of your own voice
If possible find a room of a similar size in which to practice
you may need to project more
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Breathing
When people are nervous they tend to take quick, shallow
breaths
This makes your voice sound weak; it also makes you sound nervous
Overcome this and feel more relaxed by:
Breathing in slowly and deeply; concentrate on filling your lungs with air
in each breath
Breath out slowly, getting rid of as much air as possible...then repeat 5
times
This confidence trick REALLY DOES WORK!!

Stand tall and make eye contact in a friendly way
People respond better if they think you are talking to them
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Voice
Speak slowly and clearly
It will always sound much slower when you speak than it does to
the audience
Dont be afraid of gaps and pauses
Speak loudly enough for everyone to hear
Use the microphone if you need to

Try and sound as though you are enjoying talking
about your work, not dreading it!
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Move!
It is important to move as you give your
presentation

However
Avoid pacing only up and down
Dont fiddle with pens, hands, papers
Keep your hands away from your face

Use the furniture
But dont stay hidden behind a lectern
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
It takes time to become a confident and
effective speaker

Think of people that you have watched who
come across well or less effectively
Aim to avoid the pitfalls of those who are unimpressive
Use the techniques of those who have had an impact.
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
It is normal to be nervous at the thought of giving
a presentation.
Nerves are not all good
Be nervous, but rehearse until you feel confident.
Your subject - know what you are going to say
Your equipment - know how to work it
The room - have it arranged in an appropriate manner
Think through any potential questions and answers

Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Arrive early to check the space and deal with
problems
During the presentation it will help to:
Approach your speaking space with confidence
Look around at your audience and realise they are only
human
Smile

Don't broadcast your nervousness (i.e. "never let
them see you sweat")
Think carefully about what you wear



Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Body language is very powerful and can dominate
or override what we say
You are aiming to come across as natural when you speak

Posture sends out non-verbal messages
It can make people seem shy or confident, approachable or
standoffish - just by how you stand or sit
An audience will notice your posture before you even speak
be aware of your posture even when waiting to talk


Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
The key to successful presenting
Always be aware, plan and rehearse
It is fine to be nervous everyone is!
Identify and work on the areas where you have strengths
and weaknesses.
The more presentations you give, the better you will
become at giving them
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES
Attending a conference is an ideal way to
make useful connections and tell the world
about your research.
Gives you the opportunity to impress
potential employers with your work and
presentation skills.
Take every opportunity to present your
work or practice these skills
Dont forget to bring your business cards!
Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES


Thank you for listening

Any Questions

Dr Carlos Ferreira, BES

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