Resources > Presentation skills

This page is divided into four sub-sections. Part one provides the information necessary to complete the assessed Problem & Solution presentation task. Part two provides guidance on how to ‘design’ an effective academic-style presentation. Part three provides guidance on how to effectively ‘deliver’ such a presentation. Finally, in part four, there is a list of vocabulary relevant to the subject of effective presentation skills.

Effective presentations — detailed review

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PROBLEM & SOLUTION PRESENTATION

Effective presentations — the essentials
Powerpoint file | PDF file

Project guidelines & Grading details

Presentation summary practice (E-waste)

Slide outline sheet

Template presentation
Powerpoint file | PDF file

Effective presentations — design principles
Powerpoint file | PDF file

Peer review sheet

Peer review report sheet

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DESIGNING A PRESENTATION

Layout & Style

Keep the design simple
Colour: newspapers/websites typically use black on white
Font-families: use a few and use them consistently
Font-sizes: use a few and use them consistently
As with the Template presentation create (a) a title slide (b) an outline slide (c), a section divider/summary slide and (d) a standard slide

Structure & Content

All main ideas to be delivered during presentation should be on slides
Try and follow the 5×7 rule: a maximum of five bullet points per slide, each point containing +/- seven words
Images, where used, are relevant to the topic and the point being made
Spelling and grammar should be error-free
As with the Template presentation use the ‘Notes panel’ feature to keep any additional information and record the sources you use

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DELIVERING A PRESENTATION

Presentation skills (5:50):

Remember: press “CC” to turn “Subtitles” on

Questions
* Make a note of the timefame and provide full sentence answers

What is the key factor for a good presentation?
What must you have detailed knowledge of?
What is Lesson 1?
What % of information/content is remembered by the audience and what is the other % based on?
Why should you make your presentation like a story?
Why is passion important?
Why are pauses within your speech important?

Weak versus Strong presentations:

These example presentations are designed to highlight common mistakes and how to avoid them.

Weak presentation (4:03)

Strong presentation (4:15)

How to become a more effective presenter:

The first video shows the same presenter giving the same presentation twice (the second time with some improvements). The second video provides some relevant information on useful body language skills whilst delivering a presentation (eye contact, gestures and posture).

Ways to improve (3:24)

Body language (2:43)

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USEFUL VOCABULARY

To really “know” a word you will need to:
Use it in the correct context (how, where and when)
Spell and pronounce it correctly
Be aware of (1) its meaning/s and definition/s
… (2) its grammatical form (e.g. adjective, noun or verb)
… (3) its synonyms and antonyms (related and opposite words)

Word	Syllables	Translation &c.
Enthusiastic	en•thu•si•as•tic	متحمس [adjective] Having or showing strong enjoyment and/or interest in something. — Khaled was very enthusiastic during his presentation and this is key reason for its sucess. Synonyms: energetic, passionate.
Rapport	rap•port	علاقة [noun] A good relationship in which the people or groups involved understand each other’s ideas and communicate well. — Mitha was able to establish a good rapport with the other students as a conseqence of her personality. Synonyms: affinity, empathy.
Gesture	ges•ture	إيماء [noun/verb] verb: ges•ture [noun] A movement of part of the body, especially a hand or the head, to express an idea or meaning. [verb] To make a gesture. — Alex made a gesture to say thank-you. — Alia gestered meaningfully with her hands for everyone in the audience to be quiet. Synonyms: signal, sign, motion, indication, gesticulation, show.
Posture	pos•ture	وضعة [noun] verb: pos•ture A position of a person’s body when standing or sitting. — He stood in a flamboyant posture with his hands on his hips. Synonyms: pose, strike an attitude, attitude, stance, standpoint, point of view, opinion, position, frame of mind.
Pronunciation	pro•nun•ci•a•tion	النطق [noun] The way in which a word is pronounced; the act or result of producing the sounds of speech.
Intonation	in•to•na•tion	ترتيل [noun] The rise and fall of the voice in speaking, especially the pitch pattern of a sentence, which distinguishes kinds of sentences or speakers of different language cultures. — She spoke English with a strong Arabic intonation.
Emphasis	em•pha•sis	نبرة [noun] Stress given to a word or words when speaking to indicate particular importance. — They placed great emphasis on the individual’s freedom. Synonyms: stress, accent, force.
Passionate	pas•sion•ate	شغوف [adjective] Having, showing, strong feelings or opinions about someone or something. — James is passionate about his favourite hobby which is gardening. Synonyms: affinity, empathy.
Pause	pause	توقف [adjective/noun] [adjective] To briefly interrupt an action or a speech. [noun] A temporary stop in action or speech. — Jawaher paused before giving here opinion on the subject. — John went outside as there was a brief pause in the rain. Synonyms: break, interruption.
Coherent	co•her•ent	متماسك [adjective] Forming a unified whole; the full story. An argument, essay, theory, or policy that is logical and consistent. — They failed to develop a coherent economic strategy, as a result there was a recession. — The collection of books together made for a coherent body of knowledge on the subject of ‘choice’. Synonyms: Logical, Reasoned, Rational.
Effective	ef•fec•tive	فعال [adjective] To be successful in producing the desired or intended result. — Ohud was very effective, when she presented, the whole room fell silent. Synonyms: Successful, Productive.
Significant	sig•nif•i•cant	ذو أهمية [adjective] Sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention; noteworthy. — It was agreed that the most significant point in Mahra’s presentation was that coral reefs could be saved. Synonyms: Important, Outstanding, Notable, Noteworthy, Remarkable.
Structure	struc•ture	متماسك [noun/verb] [noun] The arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex; the organising of sentences into paragraphs and, paragraphs into an essay. [verb] To construct or arrange something according to a plan. — The two sentences have equivalent structures. — The programme is structured around exams and projects. Synonyms: Arrange, Compose, Construct, Design, Form, Organise, Order, Shape.
Communication	com•mu•ni•ca•tion	الاتصالات [noun] Something imparted, interchanged, or transmitted; communications: the means of sending messages, orders, etc.
Fundamental	fun•da•men•tal	أساسي الأساس [adjective] noun: fun•da•men•tal [adjective] Forming a necessary base or core; of central importance. [noun] A central or primary rule or principle on which something is based. — The UN is designed to protect a number of fundamental human rights. — Two courses cover the fundamentals of microbiology. Synonyms: basic, rudimentary, elemental, elementary, underlying, root.
Analyse	an•a•lyse	تحليل [verb] Examine (something) methodically and in detail, typically in order to explain and interpret it. — We need to analyse our results more clearly. Synonyms: examine, inspect, survey, scan, study, scrutinize, look over, peruse.
Evaluate	e•val•u•ate	تقييم [verb] To form an idea about the quality of something or, the amount, number, or value of something. Synonyms: assess, judge, estimate, appraise, analyse, examine.

Aquascript’s full list of academic vocabulary and phrases

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Headphones

It is important to have headphones so that you can listen to instructional videos at your own pace. This enables you to replay sections of a given video and focus on the pronunciation of key phrases, terms and words.