Presentations are a common form of assessment at university. You might be asked to prepare a presentation on a particular topic and deliver it to an audience; either independently or as a group. A presentation is an excellent way to develop your employability skills, as well as improve your confidence and hone your abilities to deliver specialist information to an audience.
Effective presentations
Effective presentations
A presentation can be used for many purposes: to sell, persuade, inform; to demonstrate a person’s speaking skills; to provide a focus for discussion or defend a position.
It is argued that a person has seven seconds or less to make an impression (whether positive or negative) on another upon first meeting. So much is governed by our body language, tone of voice, our first words, and even our smile. Making a good impression is vital to the success of a presentation, as it the first connection you make with your audience.
Click here for the Marjon Study Skills guide to Effective Presentations.
Public speaking
Useful tools for presentations
Giving Presentations
University of Leicester – Deliver better presentations – Comprehensive advice on every step of the presentation process
University of Nottingham – Giving presentations – Advice on planning, presenting and delivery
Presentation Tools
University of Sussex TEL Team – Blog post with useful technology to enhance your presentations
Royalty free images under Creative Commons license – Photos for Class| Pexels| Pixabay
Marjon TELKit – Catalogue of tools selected to enhance learning, including presentations
Public Speaking
‘Common Traps: Four Talk Styles to Avoid’ in Anderson, C. (2018). TED Talks: The official TED guide to public speaking. London, UK: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. (In Marjon Library, shelf-mark 808.51/AND)
MindTools. (2019), Better public speaking: Becoming a confident, compelling speaker. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/PublicSpeaking.htm
Toastmasters International. (2011). Your speaking voice: Tips for adding strength and authority to your voice. Retrieved from https://www.toastmasters.org/~/media/B7D5C3F93FC3439589BCBF5DBF521132.ashx