Giving a Talk
Description of this Guide
This guide focuses on the skills and strategies you need to plan and give an effective talk or
oral presentation, individually or as part of a team.
Learning Outcomes
1.
2.
3.
4.
Recognise the importance of presentation skills in academic and professional life
Effectively plan and structure a talk
Deliver a talk in a manner which sustains the interest and confidence of the audience
Reflect on and learn from your experience.
Contents
1.0
Why give a talk?
1.1
The value of oral presentations in academic life
1.2
The value of oral presentation skills to professions, businesses and
organisations
1.3
How do you currently feel about giving a talk?
2.0
Planning a talk
2.1
Where to start when you have to give a talk
2.2
Giving a talk as part of a team
2.3
Visual aids
2.4
Prompt notes
3.0
Delivering the talk
3.1
Tips for effective delivery
3.2
Beginnings and endings
3.3
Inviting and responding to questions
4.0
Reflecting on and learning from your experience
4.1
Handy check list
______________________________________________________________
The material in this guide is copyright © 2003 the University of Southampton. Permission is given for it to be copied
for use within the University of Southampton. All other rights are reserved.
Giving a Talk
Skills
Giving a Talk
Talks or what are often called, more formally, oral presentations are an integral part of
academic and professional life. Some people become anxious about having to give a talk,
but there is nothing mysterious about being an effective speaker; talks involve the
application of techniques that can be planned and rehearsed. This resource helps you to
understand what tutors are looking for and how you might plan and deliver a talk at any
stage in your academic and professional life.
The following advice is made up of four parts:
1.
Why give a
talk?
Speaking about
what you know is
a highly effective
learning activity
Talks are an
integral part of
academic life
Presentation
skills are highly
valued by
professions,
businesses and
organisations
2.
Planning your
talk
3.
Delivering
your talk
4.
Reflecting
on your
experience
Considering how your
talk will be assessed
Using a checklist of tips
for effective delivery
Researching your topic,
selecting ideas and
supporting evidence, and
shaping the talk into a
coherent argument
Establishing clear
beginnings and endings
Use a checklist to
evaluate your own
performance after
you have given your
talk
Thinking ahead about
room layout and use of
visual aids, and preparing
accordingly
Preparing to invite and
respond to questions
Make notes about
what you might do
differently, if
anything, next time
Considering ways of
formatting ‘prompts’ to
help you through the talk
Using visual aids
Writing ‘prompt notes’
Please note that you will find a certain amount of repetition in this guide. This is deliberate
and is intended to reinforce key points and/or to allow for the fact that you may not read the
guide from beginning to end but simply dip into it.
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Giving a Talk
Skills
1.0
Why Give a Talk?
Being able to give a good and clear presentation to a public audience is a skill that you and
your future employer will greatly value in a wide range of situations. Oral skills, alongside
writing and research skills, teamwork, and time management, are aspects of your degree
course, or (key) transferable skills, which will have application to your future career in
whatever field that may be. Prospective employers always ask for these key skills in
references, and they can be seen as more important than the subject of your degree, so
when you are asked to give a talk think about how to develop the skills involved in doing
this well – not just about the topic you will be talking about.
When tutors ask you to give a talk as part of your programme of study, it may be an
informal talk, which becomes one of the learning activities experienced by you and your
fellow students, or it may be a formally assessed talk which counts as part of your overall
mark for that study unit.
1.1
The value of oral presentations in academic life
In this section you are asked to reflect upon your attitude towards communicating orally
in formal academic settings.
Which of the following statements are true for you?
Yes/No
A
I prefer to write rather than to talk about my subject, because I
have had more practice at writing and can do it in my own time.
B
Being able to express myself clearly in speech will help me think
clearly, and vice versa.
C
If I know I have to talk about something, I will definitely do some
preparation, because I don’t want to stand in front of others with
nothing to say!
D
If I’m interested in and knowledgeable about something, I find it
easier to talk about it.
E
Explaining things to other people helps me understand them better
myself.
People have different kinds of strengths when it comes to writing and speaking. You may be
very happy just getting on with written assignments, or you may be glad to prepare a talk
because you find that you are much better at explaining things aloud than you are at writing
them down. Whatever your particular preferences, research shows that speaking to others
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Giving a Talk
Skills
about concepts and information helps you learn – it helps you change and grow in familiarity
with the language of your subject discipline, which in turns helps you increase your
knowledge, understanding and skills in that area in the future. Grasping an academic
discipline is a bit like learning a foreign language; speaking it aloud is the best way to learn.
That is why, if you want to become increasingly involved in academic life, you will be asked
(for example, as a postgraduate student) to give papers at conferences, where you will
listen to and give talks to others with similar interests. Having to give a talk as part of your
programme of study will prepare you for this.
1.2
The value of oral presentation skills to professions, businesses and
organisations
It may well be, however, that you are planning to move out into the workforce as soon as
your course has finished, and you do not plan to stay involved in academic life. If that is the
case, you should take oral presentation skills just as seriously, as employers and
organisations everywhere ask for confidence and skills in the areas of interpersonal
communication and presentation. There are very few occupations and professions that do
not require these skills, and remember that being interviewed in person in order to get a job
is very largely about demonstrating your ability to answer and ask questions and,
increasingly, give a short presentation. You are also very likely to progress in your
workplace if you have good oral skills; the ability to speak and listen appropriately and
effectively is linked to the ability to work effectively with and to inspire others, whether they
are colleagues, clients or customers.
Both for learning and for your future professional life, speaking skills are so important.
1.3
How do you currently feel about giving a talk?
For a moment consider the numerous talks and lectures you have listened to during your
life and:
List some characteristics of the talks you enjoyed:
List some characteristics of the talks that bored you:
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Giving a Talk
Skills
When you give a presentation what do you think are your strong and weak points. ?
2.0
Planning a Talk
As with so many things, giving an excellent talk is largely about thinking ahead and
thorough preparation.
If you have been asked to give a talk, check that you have been given the following
information.
Yes/No
A
The date, time and length of the talk
B
Roughly how many people will be in the audience, and where the talk
will take place (the kind of room, facilities available and so on)
C
What your topic will be, or the area from which you must choose a
topic, and how to research it effectively
D
How your talk will be assessed – which criteria will be used to assess
it, and whether or how much it will contribute to your mark for that
unit of study
If you did not tick ‘A’ then make sure you get that information as soon as
you can. In particular, knowing the length of time you have to speak (a
minimum and a maximum, if possible) will enable you to select the right
amount of material for your talk. You may be worrying about having
enough to say, but remember that a common mistake is to select too much
material and to try to cram it all in, so that the audience members are
overwhelmed with too much information which they cannot follow.
If you did not tick ‘B’ then, again, make sure you get hold of that
information. Decisions about things like visual aids and use of supporting
handouts will depend in part upon knowing how many people will be there,
and whether certain pieces of equipment might be there, such as a
whiteboard or an overhead projector.
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Giving a Talk
Skills
If you did not tick ‘C’ then as a matter of priority find out more about
what topic you should be preparing by talking to or emailing the relevant
tutor. However well you expect to entertain the audience with your
speaking skills, the talk will not be effective if you have nothing relevant
to say! Remember that you will probably need to find supporting evidence
for the things you say, just as in written assignments, and that you can
use the same ‘search skills’ for a talk as you need for an essay or project.
Look at the Developing an Effective Search Strategy Guide to help with
this aspect. You will also need to construct an argument, or a train of
thought running through what you say, so that the talk hangs together
with a logical shape and a clear beginning, middle and end. For more tips
on how to construct a logical argument see the Writing Effectively Guide.
If you did not tick ‘D’ then ask your tutor to explain how you will be
assessed. Many tutors use checklists similar to the one in Section 4.0 of
this guide. Have a look at this now if you are unfamiliar with such
checklists. The more detail you have about the assessment criteria used
for your talk, the clearer you will be about what is expected. For
example, what proportion of the mark will be given for the style and
delivery of your talk, and what proportion for your research and the
content?
2.1
Giving a presentation as part of a team
You may be asked to work with others to give a talk or presentation; all of the advice in the
other sections should be useful for you and your team as you prepare, but bear in mind also
the following tips particularly aimed at group or team presentations:
PLAN THE TALK TOGETHER
Decide collectively how it will be structured, and who will be
responsible for which part of the talk.
SET RESPONSIBILITIES
Decide on who will be responsible for all of the elements of planning
– go through the list of ‘Twelve Preparation Tasks’ in Section 2.2
and work out who will be responsible for what, and by when.
VISUAL AIDS
Make sure you all know who will be preparing – and then using each kind of visual aid, and that you can all use equipment such as
the overhead projector, in case anyone has to drop out at the last
minute.
PHYSICAL LAYOUT
Before you give the talk, work out exactly where each of you is
going to stand, and how you will move on from one section of the
talk to the next. Introducing each other by name is a good idea –
for example, you may want to say something like, “I’m now going
to hand over to Rachel, who will tell you more about X, an aspect of
the topic which she has been researching.”
PRACTISE
Practise giving the talk together beforehand – even if it is to an
empty room – just to make sure that you all have the same things
in mind in terms of what you are collectively saying, and how you
are saying them. The more familiar and relaxed you are with each
other, the more relaxed and convincing your presentation is likely
to be for your audience.
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Giving a Talk
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For further guidance on working collaboratively, see the Working in Groups Guide.
2.2
Where to start when you have to give a talk
Firstly, remind yourself that giving a talk is NOT the same as writing an essay that you then
read out. Reading aloud from a script will result in poor marks for the ‘communication skills’
aspect of the marking scheme. So, writing an essay and then reading it is not an option!
What you will need is some form of notes – perhaps ‘prompt cards’, unless you are confident
enough to rely on overhead projector transparencies with notes on, or something like
PowerPoint, a software presentation package. Skills in using this kind of equipment can be
gained in a variety of ways – ask your tutor for advice, if you want to learn how to use it.
For a shorter, more informal talk, cards with ‘prompt notes’ on are probably still easiest. A
talk is about communicating with a particular audience by talking to them, just as you would
talk to a group of friends, but with a little more formality and structure. No one wants to
hear written English read aloud – it always sounds stilted, and it is easier to read it than to
listen to it! Free speech is much more interesting, and it does not matter about the odd ‘um’
or ‘err’ – that’s natural
If you really feel too nervous to talk from prompt cards, and
you feel you must have the written text then (but not a whole
essay):
large print
1. Read from a paper with
as this will
slow you down and prevent you from gabbling.
2. Physically layout the text in small chunks that remind you
to pause and LOOK at your audience
3. Put a note in at each point for a pause and look at the
audience.
4. Make sure you don’t gabble, you pause and you look at
the audience – make eye contact with a few people, you will
feel better and so will they!
Keeping these points in mind, you can set about planning your talk. We all have different
methods of planning. You may want to have a large piece of blank paper in front of you,
some separate cards to make notes on, or just a blank word-processing document on a
computer screen so that you can create a list of bullet-points. If you find these too
daunting, you can use an audio-tape to talk to yourself about what you need to do to
prepare, the main points you might want to include, and so on. Some people find that doing
this, then playing back the tape, is really helpful! Others prefer spider diagrams or sticky
paper notes, to help play around with ideas.
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Giving a Talk
Skills
To help with the preparation of your talk use the following activity to scope what needs to be
done and to monitor progress.
Aspects of the task you may want to explore, depending on your particular situation and the
requirements of the talk, include those listed in the grid below. While you are working on
the talk, tick the boxes once that aspect has been covered.
Twelve preparation tasks
To do
Doing
Now
Done
In the weeks or days before the talk
1 Decide on a title for your talk (even if a rough
idea at this stage)
2 Research the topic, so that you know enough about its
background to feel confident with your particular angle on it.
See the Developing an Effective Search Strategy Guide for
more on this.
3 Refine and narrow the topic so that you have a few main
points or headings (usually between three and seven,
depending on the length of the talk – a common structure is 3 x
3; 3 main points with 3 sub-points) on which you can elaborate,
together with supporting evidence for your argument or train of
thought. Make sure that your talk has a clear beginning, middle
and end. Try to begin with something memorable.
4 Write brief notes onto ‘prompt cards’ to help make sure that
you cover the ground you intend to, and in the right order
(unless you are using an aid such as the software presentation
package PowerPoint, which will allow you to create notes pages
as part of the package).
5 Look carefully at the assessment criteria to be used by the
tutor (particularly if your talk is to be formally assessed)
6 Check out the venue for the talk and making sure that you
know where you will want to stand or sit, where you will want
your audience to be, and what equipment you may want to use
to enhance the talk
7 Decide on the visual aids you will use, and preparing these
(see Section 2.3 below)
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Giving a Talk
Skills
8 Practise giving your talk and timing it – either to a friend, to
a mirror or to a tape recorder (audio or even video) – then
editing it as appropriate.
On the day of the talk
9 Re-read your prompt notes and any supporting material,
such as handouts you have prepared for the audience, to make
sure that you are feeling familiar with your topic and that they
complement each other
10 Check that handouts and visual aids are all to hand, and
that the venue is appropriately set up, with any equipment
needed
11 Remind yourself of the simple but vital rules for effective
oral communication listed in 3.1 below
12 Relax, breathe deeply and remember that your audience is
on your side!
As you assess what stage you have reached with each task make sure that
you keep in mind how it contributes to the end product. There is always a
danger of ‘losing the plot or the big picture’ when boxes are ticked in a
mechanistic fashion.
2.3
Visual and auditory aids
Depending on the kind of talk you are asked to give, there are numerous possibilities for
visual or auditory aids. A selection is listed below, so that you can consider their feasibility
for your situation. Alongside the selections is some brief advice about how to use – and not
to use – these.
Visual Aid
Advice
Whiteboard or
blackboard
Practise using these before the day, to check the legibility of your handwriting and the
size of writing needed. Do not write too much – just key phrases or short bullet
points. You can use boards to stick up pictures or posters. Do not stand between the
board and the audience, and do not talk to the board.
Posters
These can be very effective but will need to be well planned beforehand. Do not cram too
much into a poster – space between the text and pictures is very important if the poster
is to have impact, and if it is to communicate clearly.
Handouts
Keep these short (no more than 2 sides of A4) and use bullet points or other short
sections of text, illustrated where appropriate. Do not write an essay on a handout; use it
to summarise and note key elements of information such as technical terms, quotations
and references.
Quiz sheets
A few questions to facilitate audience participation and to reinforce key points can be
useful as a warm up or concluding activity (if time permits). Make sure the questions are
relevant and interesting!
Overhead projector
transparencies
Prepare these beforehand. You can print onto them from a computer, but if you do this
ask a technician for advice about using the right kind of acetate transparency. To
photocopy onto acetate it is essential that you use the correct kind, or you will cause
great damage to the photocopier. Be sure to ask for advice. Remember that ‘less is
more’ on transparencies – make sure that writing is large enough when projected, and
that you do not cram too much onto one slide.
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Giving a Talk
Skills
Objects of interest
(sometimes referred to
as ‘realia’)
Using real objects as visual aids can be very effective; for example, a garment on a textile
conservation course, or an artefact on an archaeology course. Using objects can be
connected with demonstration of a process, for example the use of a particular piece of
equipment
Audio-tape recorder or
musical instruments
and so on
Again, where appropriate the use of auditory material can be very interesting. Make sure
that you have checked and practised on any equipment used, well before you start.
Video,DVD,film,
transparency slides or
similar
As above, check all equipment beforehand. Do not overuse pictures or video – keep them
short and strictly relevant to your argument.
Multi-media
projector
These can be used to project computer screens, and therefore to show the internet, or
software packages such as PowerPoint. Ask for advice about the suitability of using
these, or about opportunities for learning how to use them.
The most important thing about all of these aids is that they need to be tied in with your
presentation:
Visual aids are used to illustrate a point that you have made (or are about to make) in your
presentation. Avoid using them as a kind of visual wallpaper, for example by ending your
talk by showing a transparency without commenting on it.
Choose transparencies to display items such as key points, graphs, grids, statistics,
illustrations and photos.
If you use video clips, use them economically: do not show about ten extract. If you have
a limited time for your presentation, use perhaps only one to three clips.
Have your visual aids ready to use and in the right order.
Introduce visual aids and speak to them. For example, you could say:
I am now going to
show you
2.4
What I want to show
you here is...
Prompt notes
The trick with writing effective prompt notes for a talk is to write notes, not full sentences
that you have to read out word for word. Dividing these notes onto a sequence of cards is
more helpful that using large sheets of paper; your eyes will get confused looking at a wide
expanse of notes, whereas on a small card they will quickly spot the next heading on which
to elaborate. So, for example, if you were giving a talk on how to give an effective talk, one
of your prompt cards might look something like this:
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Giving a Talk
Skills
Engage with your Audience
Introduce yourself
Smile and sound interested
Develop eye contact
Tell audience the structure of your talk
Use the right language for your audience
Maintain right pace
Use your voice and pauses to move between points
Use notes to move you from one point to next
If you need to make academic references, rather like you would have to in an essay, then
refer to the reference briefly on your card, but keep a separate list of quotations from which
to read. You might find it useful to incorporate quotations and references into a handout for
your audience – they can then refer to these later. The same advice holds true for detailed
evidence, such as complex graphs and statistics, used to back up your argument. (See the
Referencing Your Work Guide for details on how to reference accurately and appropriately.)
3.0
Delivering the Talk
The effectiveness of your talk will depend upon two main factors:
1.
The extent to which you have researched and understand the topic you are talking
about
2.
The extent to which you engage with and interest the audience in that topic.
Over-concentration on the first factor at the expense of the second will seriously undermine
the quality of your presentation. While the adage ‘It’s not what you say, it’s the way that
you say it’ should not be taken to extremes it does contain an element of truth.
3.1
Tips for effective delivery
It takes time and practice to become an effective and confident presenter. One suggestion
is to think of presenters who have impressed you when you have been in the audience
and seek to emulate them. Alternatively, you may have had experience of poor presenters
and aspects of delivery you would seek to avoid! Check what you wrote in section 1.3
earlier.
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Giving a Talk
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One tutor has given the following advice to his students about how to ‘get it right’. Read
each tip or pointer and tick the box alongside it if you are already confident that you can
do this well.
Tick
1
Speak in a lively and engaged way, so that you avoid monotonous delivery. Speak loudly
enough, and with a voice that has appropriate variety of tone, and with a choice of language
appropriate for that audience in that context – not too slangy, but not too formal either.
2
Do not speak too quickly, but keep a steady pace and allow your material to ‘sink in’.
3
Make frequent eye contact with your fellow students. Address them as your audience - not just
the lecturer. Smile appropriately.
4
If at all possible, stand up while giving your presentation. If you prefer to sit down, try not to
look down too much, or hide behind your notes. Choose a seat where you face your
audience, rather than blend into it.
5
At the beginning of your presentation, outline in a few words the aims of your presentation.
When doing a joint presentation, the first speaker should explain how the different parts will fit
together. It is essential that you co-ordinate your part of the presentation with your copresenters in advance, so that you avoid overlaps, or a presentation that appears disjointed.
6
Distribute a prepared handout where appropriate. This handout should give a run down of your
presentation, preferably numbered or in bullet points, and it should have a title. In any case it
should be structured, and easy to read and follow. A handout is NOT identical with your notes,
nor an essay, but a condensation of your presentation, so do not have more than one to two A4
pages. Use illustrations only if they relate to your argument or if you refer to them.
7
If you use (particularly lengthy) quotations from secondary sources, print them in full on your
handout, as your audience can then follow them easily. When you come to these quotations in
your presentation, tell your audience they can find them on their handout.
8
Also list on your handout all names and specific terms you mention in your presentation,
particularly those that your audience may find difficult to note down without seeing them spelt
out (for example, foreign names and technical terms).
9
Concentrate on arguments or developments, rather than simple facts. What is your angle on the
topic?
10
To facilitate a subsequent discussion, you can end your presentation with a number of
conclusions, or even better with a set of questions that emerge from your research. This is
particularly important when you are dealing, for example, with theoretical arguments or texts,
which you may not agree with, or which you do not fully understand. Do not try to gloss over
this, but use it instead as a way into the discussion with your audience. For example:
I don’t think I fully understand what X means when s/he argues... How did you interpret this...?
What do you make of...?
This will help clarify matters both for you and your fellow students who may indeed have similar
problems.
Don’t worry if you have not ticked many or even any of the pointers. Many
of them can be worked on. If you do this consistently and conscientiously
over time you should grow in confidence and ability. If you have a ‘dry
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run’ with your tutor or friends, you could ask them to look at certain
aspects of your talk on which you would particularly like feedback.
Dealing with Nerves






3.2
Be well prepared – that will make you feel more
confident about your material
Use prompt cards if you can, if not read text –
but see 2.2 above.
Breathe deeply before you start, this slows your
heart rate down and you should feel less nervous
Look at your audience – despite what you may
think, this does calm you.
Pause between points or slides, this allows the
audience to catch up, and gives you some time to
prepare the next part.
Smile and look relaxed, it should create a more
relaxed atmosphere for you (and your audience).
Beginnings and endings
It is worth dwelling for a moment on the importance of the beginning and ending of your
talk. Some public speakers say that you should structure your talk by:
‘saying what you are going to say’,
then ‘saying it’,
then ‘saying what you said’.
While you do not want to fall into the trap of saying everything three times (!), it can be
very helpful to start by describing your aims for the talk, and giving the main headings to be
covered. Then you work through the talk, and finish off by very briefly reminding everyone
of the key headings you have covered.
3.3
Inviting and responding to questions
Prepare beforehand for the moment when you have finished and you want to invite
questions. How will you actually conclude your talk, and how will you then ask the audience
if they have any questions? A common ‘awkward’ moment in talks is when the speaker has
finished, and people do not know whether they can then ask something. How will you avoid
this?
Likewise, if you receive no questions from your audience, what will you do? You could ask
one or two yourself. For example, were you clear about…? and so on. Or, if you are brave,
you could ask the audience specific questions with a view to determining how much they
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have taken in – in other words, assess the effectiveness of your presentation. Think ahead
about how you will handle this.
You can even write down what you want to say at these tricky points on your prompt cards.
4.0
Reflecting on and Learning from Your Experience
Once you have completed your talk you may just want to heave a sigh of relief and forget all
about it, but you will really benefit from evaluating your own performance, as well as
reflecting on any feedback received from your tutor or assessor and your audience
members. Also remember that there is no such thing as a perfect presentation and there is
always room for improvement. This applies as much to lecturers as to students!
The following checklist gives an example of the criteria your tutor may use to assess oral
presentations. Do not forget that the criteria used in relation to your talk may be rather
different, and the weighting given to the different elements can vary; use your own tutor’s
assessment sheet if you can. However, the checklist below gives you a feel for the kinds of
assessment criteria used.
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Student presentations: tutor assessment sheet (An example)
You need to check the assessment sheet your tutors will be using.
Planned learning
outcomes
Academic content
Knowledge and
understanding of core
material
Extent, quality and
appropriateness of
research
Conceptual grasp of
issues, quality of
argument and ability to
answer questions
Quality of management
Pacing of presentation
Effective use of visual
material -whiteboard,
visual aids, handouts (as
appropriate)
Organisation and structure
of material (intro; main
body; conclusion)
Quality of
communication
Audibility, liveliness and
clarity of presentation
Confidence and fluency in
use of English
Appropriate use of body
language (inc. eye
contact)
Listening skills:
responsiveness to
audience
Level of attainment
High
average
Tutor’s comments
low
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
10
9 8 7
6
5
4
3
2
1
10
9
8 7
6
5
4
3
2
1
10
9
8 7
6
5
4
3
2
1
10
9
8 7
6
5
4
3
2
1
10
9
8 7
6
5
4
3
2
1
10
9
8 7
6
5
4
3
2
1
10
9
8 7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Checklists of this kind can be used very effectively for self-evaluation purposes.
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Use the self-evaluation form on the next page, which is very similar to the one above, to
keep a check of how you are developing your skills. You may want to use this for practice
with your friends – you could fill in the sheet for each other. It is advisable to do this when
practising for your team presentation.
Finally there is a handy checklist of all the things you should think about when giving a
presentation.
16
Giving a Talk
Skills
Oral Presentation: student self-evaluation
Name:
Date:
Unit:
Presentation topic:
Planned learning
outcomes
My strengths in this
area
Things to work on
for next time
Academic content
Knowledge and understanding
of core material
Extent, quality and
appropriateness of research
Conceptual grasp of issues,
quality of argument and ability
to answer questions
Quality of management
Pacing of presentation
Effective use of visual material
-whiteboard, visual aids,
handouts (as appropriate)
Organisation and structure of
material (intro; main body;
conclusion)
Quality of communication
Audibility, liveliness and clarity
of presentation
Confidence and fluency in use
of English
Appropriate use of body
language (inc. eye contact)
Responsiveness to audience
and ability to answer questions
Overall comment:
Once completed this checklist should serve as a valuable resource for the
next occasion on which you are required to give a presentation. Make sure
that it is readily accessible and use it as the starting point for your
planning.
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Giving a Talk
Skills
4.1
Handy check list
Preparing the content of your talk
The organisation of your talk
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Who is your audience?
What are the objectives/aims of this talk?
Find the sources, read, cut down and trim for
talk
Develop a ‘line’, ‘argument’ , ‘thread’
Argue your thread tightly.
Reference well (especially if academic talk)
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Impose a structure: beginning, middle and
end
Explain structure and aims of talk to
audience
Use the ‘beginning’ to gain audience
attention, but make sure it is pertinent to
your argument
 a quote
 a startling fact/opinion
 a question
 a picture/video sequence/sound
Make points within the ‘middle’ clear, well
defined and neatly linked.
The ‘end’ section is your ‘take-homemessage’. What do you want your audience
to remember? What’s your main message?
Delivering your talk
Be as natural as possible as this will relax you and allow you to be more spontaneous.
Pace
Visual Aids
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When nervous you can speak too fast. Deep
breathing should slow you down.
Try speeding up if you have a tendency to
speak very slowly.
Don’t read from a sheet: you will be
monotonous, talk too fast and have little eye
contact with the audience.
Don’t adlib, it could go wrong (unless you are
very confident).
Use prompts from: cards or visual aids to
talk from (or large print in text to slow you
down).
Don’t be afraid to stop and think for a few
seconds.
Build in questions to the audience (even if
you just ask them to think) to slow pace.
Check for EGO (Eye Glazing Over) of
audience… make changes when you detect it!
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Visual aids: OHP or computer aided delivery
(.e.g. PowerPoint)
Visual prompts help you and show structure
to audience.
Computer aided delivery allows for
multimedia presentations.
Understand the equipment you will need
(from OHPs to computer leads)
Make sure you have the correct equipment
(& it works).
Check size of room, potential audience and
select correct font size (use approx 35-40)
for slides.
Have clear uncluttered visual aids.
Put graphs etc on to a handout.
Don’t use prose unless really pertinent, and
then give them time to read it.
Don’t use too much colour, it is distracting.
Give out handouts necessary for talk
BEFORE, give out additional material
AFTER.
Contact with audience
Voice/language
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Look at your audience when you come in.
Avoid a hostile posture: hunched shoulders,
arms across chest, standing on one leg!
With nervousness the pitch of the voice
rises. Deep breathing should control this.
18
Giving a Talk
Skills
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Develop a rapport through your opening and
talk TO rather than AT your audience.
Skim the whole audience, don’t just look at
the same section.
Try and find some friendly faces at the back
(in several areas) to give the appearance of
looking at the whole group.
Be relaxed and this will relax your audience.
Handling questions
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Questions during your talk. Make sure you
get back on track. Don’t let such questions
go on too long… use to clarify points rather
discussion (unless talk designed that way).
Questions after talk are more discursive… be
prepared to talk on theme beyond your talk,
e.g implications of things you said, other
views, where to get more information.
Be honest if you don’t know an answer.
Be polite if someone tries to put you down don’t enter into a row.
Make sure questions are not controlled by
one person.
Stay in control of question time and know
when to finish (check for EGO).
Don’t let your talk peter out through a long
question time.
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Vary you tone. A monotonous tone gives an
EGO audience.
Vary tone according to content:
 louder to emphasise important points
 use pause to indicate a change of
direction, or ‘pause for thought’
 clear diction - don’t allow sentences to
tail off - keep volume till end of
sentence.
 Use language markers (“And now….”,
“The next point….” ) etc plus voice tone
to indicate a change/new point.
 Don’t use cliches, empty worn out
phrases.
Add your own tips here & things
you need to work on.
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