Advice for preparing a A1W group presentation

Question:

“With hindsight, what advice would you give to next year's students about preparing for the A1W group presentation?”

Answer:

Preparing for the A1W group presentation is essential; with no preparation you are more likely to achieve a low mark. There are many things you need to do to make sure you will give a high quality and effective presentation. Below are points which I advice you check before starting the presentation:

• Presentation slides must not be over loaded with text always be brief on each slide, over loading text or data on slides can lose you marks because too much text makes the slide unreadable.

• Research your subject and write notes about it and make sure you understand everything you are inserting into the presentation because, questions maybe asked at the end, so make sure you are prepared to answer.

• Use relevant pictures to go with the text; do not use meaningless pictures as it will confuse the audience.

• Make sure that all the presentation slides are numbered and titled, this will keep your presentation is organized.

• The size of the text should be reasonably large are readable, otherwise the audience will not be able to read the slides clearly. A font size of 28 to 34 with a bold font is recommended for subtitles. The title default size is 44. The san serif font for titles is recommended as it is clearer to read.

• Make sure that the colours are suitable for the presentation and clear for the audience to read, use popular colours e.g. Black, Blue, and Red etc... .

• Using animations in the presentation is a good idea but do not push the limits make sure the animation that are inserted are not going to distract the audience.

• A video or audio clip can be inserted into PowerPoint but make sure it is relevant and understandable.

• Practice Talking through your presentation to see how much time you use for each slide. Make sure you keep the presentation within the time limit given.

• Plan to get to the presentation room a few minutes early to test that the equipment is working properly and you have everything you need for the presentation.

• Turn off your mobile phone because if it rings during the presentation you might be asked to stop and might be given a very low grade.

• Speak clearly and distinctly so the audience can hear you perfectly.

• Make sure that you are wearing formal clothing to look professional.

• Body language is important when you are talking to the audience; make sure you keep your eyes on the audience and never put your hands in your pocket.

• All work taken out of a text book or a website or any other source must be referenced.

• End your talk with the summary statement or a question then thank the audience for listening and ask them if they have any questions about the presentation material you covered.

Good luck with your presentation.