Cairo University

Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences

ALMUN 2011

A World delegated…

WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)

Presentation Skills

Presenting is nonetheless a skill that could be mastered. In order to be a good presenter,

you should plan a presentation wisely.

The base of a good presentation is planning.

Think of planning as constituting of 3p’s which you have to consider:

• Preparing
• Practicing
• Presenting

Or in other words, you could take them as 3 elementary phases through

ough which you shall
pass…

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 First • Preparing

1. Set an objective for the presentation.

“A speech without a specific purpose is like a

journey without a destination.”

Remember that;

Why set an objective?

Generally, setting an objective provides focus. You should an objective for your
presentation in order to focus on determining the necessary steps to support this
objective and establish guidelines to organize it.

How to set an objective?
i. General Objective— —general
general subject or the theme of the presentation; it is your
yo
starting point.
ii. Specific Objective— —breaking
breaking down the general objective into specific, clear and
measurable targets. It is usually a single sentence that sums up those targets.

2. Establish a strategy for the presentation.

What are you selling? To whom are you In what environment

•Ask yourself why are you
making the presentation? •Know your audience;
•Take another look at your
objective...product,
service, idea? •Determine the knowledge
•Pinpoint the reason for
making the presentation
selling it? do you expect the
message to be
received?
Know their position on
the subject.
•Think;
Think; will people be
friendly, hostile,
gap by identifying the sympathetic or
audience's interests,
unsympatheic?
patterns of thinking, etc. •Think;
Think; will they be open-
open
minded or close
close-minded?
•Think;
Think; will they be
supporters or opposers,
and if opposers, will they
be unified or divided?

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 3. Organize the presentation.
Bear in mind that the most forceful and persuasive presenter may fail to have a plan, idea
or information accepted by the audience if the message is not organized well.

Basic Structure

Introduction Body Conclusion

-Your aim is to gain
the interest of the
audience by asking a
rhetorical question or
stating a stirring piece
of statistic, and to
convey to them what is
to be covered or
presented
-It should not exceed
20% of your total
presentation
-It should contain the
bulk of the presentation
(message)
-It should be presented
in a meaningful form
as an outpouring of
plans, ideas or
information without
form or relationship
will not hold the
attention of your
audience very long
-You could use visual
aid or tell a related
interesting story
-It
It should simply
review the key points
of the presentation and
ahould wrap up your
presentation in an
interesting manner so
as to leave the audience
thinking; by asking an
open
open-ended question
for example.

Second • Practicing

A good speaker rehearses his/her speeches.

So, “practice what you preach.”

Why practice?
You are practicing because you are seeking to make an evaluation of your
presentation. In evaluating the presentation, you should consider: the factual
contents and the personal delivery.

In addition, there is always a possibili

possibility
ty that someone in the audience will assume
a “so what?” attitude. So, by evaluating your presentation, you will state:
i. What is clear.
ii. What is effective.

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 iii. What should be reworked or eliminated.

Practicing might not be a pleasant thing to do because it might reveal some trouble, but it
could be dangerous not to do so.

How to practice?
i. Know the points you are going to discuss very well (don’t depend
completely on improvising).
ii. Present in front of your team (if you have a group presentation) or in front
of your family, friends; rather than in front of the mirror. Make sure you
get feedback from them. You could get direct feedback from them by
simply asking what they thought of your presentation, or indirectly by
watching their facial expressions and reactions. This
This will help you a great
deal in evaluating your presentation.

And remember: be open and ready for questions.

Third • Presenting

Your main goal out of the presentation is delivery. You want to deliver a message to the
audience. That is why, at the start, you should win the kind of attention needed for the
rest of the presentation.

Why win attention at the very start?

The audience decides whether they like the presenter or not at the very beginning.
They consequently determine whether they will give credence to what the
presenter has to say or not. “First impressions last.”

Body language is the key

key…

According to research, 55% of the concentration of the listener to the presentation

is captured by body language.

Here are some tools to work on while giving a presentation:

i. Voice—you you voice is an instrument. Use it. Vary the tone, pitch, volume
intentionally in order to grab the audience’s attention.

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 ii. Posture—be relaxed and comfortable. If you are standing, stand steady
while you present.
iii. Facial expressions—your audience needs ‘human’ communication. So,
whenever is needed, provide it with pleasure.
iv. Eye contact—the capturer. Eye contact is the ultimate achiever of making
the presenter the center of attention.
v. Hand gestures/movement—should be natural and smooth as you move. It
provides assurance for your audience.

And finally, be effective. Be concise and short. The effectiveness of a presentation

depends upon the soundness of the message rather than its length.

It is simple. Speak up. Make yourself heard!

WTO Secretariat Team

ALMUN 2011

A World delegated…