Rehearsal

What is a presentation?

A presentation is a formal talk to one or more persons that “presents” ideas or information in a clear, structured way. All presentations have a common objective: they are given in order to inform, train, persuade or sell. The key factors of any successful presentation are:

· the audience;

· the contents of the presentation itself;

· and the presenter.

The starting point should always be the audience. If you consider their needs and interests you cannot get off to a bad start.

Preparation

Can you name the three most important things involved in giving any presentation?

Number 1 is………..Preparation

Number 2 is………..Preparation!

Number 3 is………..Preparation!!

Preparation is everything!

With good preparation and planning you will be totally confident and less nervous. And your audience will feed on that confidence too. And this will give you control of your audience and your presentation. With control you will be “in charge” and your audience will listen positively to your message.

Objective

Before you start preparing your presentation you should ask yourself: “Why am I giving this presentation?” If your objective is not clear to you, it cannot possibly be clear to your audience.

Timing

You only have a limited amount of time in which to tell the audience what they need to know, rather than everything that you know.

Method

How should you give your presentation? Which approach should you use? Formal or informal? Should you include visual aids, and if so, how many? Will anecdotes and humour play a part in your presentation?

Structure of the presentation.

A well organized presentation with a clear structure is easier for the audience to follow. It is therefore more effective. You should organize the points you wish to make in a logical order. Most presentations consist of three parts, followed by questions: The beginning is ideal for an attention grabber or for an ice breaker. The end is great to wrap things up or to end with a grand finale.

Beginning	Short introduction	welcome your audience introduce your subject explain the structure of your presentation explain rules for questions
Middle	Body of the presentation	present the subject itself
End	Short conclusion	summarise your presentation thank your audience invite questions
Questions and Answers

Rehearsal

"If you fail to prepare, you are prepared to fail". Plan to rehearse your presentation out loud at least 4 times, and if you can get word perfect so much the better.

Rehearse against the clock. If you have to give a presentation in a short period of time then try to practice your presentation against the clock. This is particularly true when your time is limited by, say 10-15 minutes. You can add in parts from the script or take them out to fit the time.

In the actual presentation you could take in a clock or take off your wrist watch and put it on the podium. This way you can see how the timings can develop.

Rehearsal is a vital part of preparation. This will have the following benefits:

· you will become more familiar with what you want to say;

· you will identify weaknesses in your presentation;

· you will be able to practise difficult pronunciations;

· you will be able to check the time that your presentation takes and make any necessary modifications.

So prepare, prepare, prepare! Prepare everything: words, visual aids, timing, and equipment. Rehearse your presentation several times and time it.

· Is it the right length?

· Are you completely familiar with all your illustrations?

· Are they in the right order?

· Do you know who the audience is?

· How will you answer difficult questions?

· Do you know the room?

· Are you confident about the equipment?

When you have answered all these questions, you will be a confident, enthusiastic presenter ready to communicate the subject of your presentation to an eager audience.

At the end of the booklet you may find relevant Useful Vocabulary, which provides some phrases and hints and could make your preparation a bit easier.