This is not a lesson on how to use the tools from Power Point or other presentation software. This page is to help you use these programmes so that they make giving your presentation in English easier and more manageable.
If you have read the previous section: planning your presentation, you will now know the points you want to mention and the order you are going to present those points in. You will also have checked translations of technical words and expressions in the dictionary so you have the necessary vocabulary ready and at hand.
You now need to transfer the order of your points to the presentation software programme. The best way to do this is to make slides which are as simple as possible. The aim of the slides should be to:
a) serve as a prompt to indicate to your audience what you are saying now;
b) show important factual information that your audience may not hear or not have enough time to write down when spoken, e.g. numbers, dates, names, etc;
c) provide you, the presenter, with a memory aid so you know what you are going to say at any moment during your presentation in English.
Presentation software allows the user to do many wonderful things. You can create attractive effects if you use animations and transitions within one particular slide. This feature allows you to insert text, pictures and graphs into the same slide at any given moment from above, below, diagonally, with many spectacular results.
The problem with the animated transitions feature is that it may be difficult to control. If you are giving a presentation in a foreign language, like English, which requires you to think carefully and concentrate on what you are saying, you might avoid animated transitions of this type in the slides. Using this feature requires even more reference to your notes so you know which transition is next. This could be distracting and add unnecessary confusion for you. It can also look unprofessional if you say you have finished talking about the content of a slide and forget to insert a transition. Then when you push the remote control button for the next slide and new topic, suddenly a graph or picture appears belonging to the previous slide!
If you use a simple slide format with no animated transitions, you can refer to the points on the screen one at a time to the end of the topic. When you click the remote control button, you know that the next topic/slide will appear with no surprises. Of course, these are personal decisions. However, making the presentation slides as simple to possible should allow you concentrate more on your English.
If possible, avoid writing everything you are going to say on the slide. It is tempting to write the entire text on the slide. This technique may allow you to talk in English without memorising anything beforehand but it could be less interesting for your audience, who will read the text (if they can be bothered) and not listen to you. In other words, you, the presenter, become redundant. It is preferable to say less and use point prompts on your slides. Point prompts will be short phrases, pictures, graphs or tables which only introduce what you are going to say but do not say it for you.
If you really do not have sufficient confidence to talk in English from brief notes on paper or from the point prompts, you could read the entire text from a sheet you have in your hand. However, it is a good idea to look up frequently and look with conviction at your audience in front of you and refer to the slides using a pointer, for example. Avoid isolating yourself from your audience by always looking down at your notes.
Finally, you may need pre-written notes to refer to during your presentation. One way to do this is to use hand-held prompt cards. These are blank postcard-sized pieces of card where you can write down essential information not shown on the slides. Use one piece of card for each slide. Number your cards and your slides so you can check at any one moment that the prompt card in your hand refers to the slide on the screen. You can also note down difficult English vocabulary you may forget during your presentation and useful signpost phrases to help you structure your points. Hold all the cards in your hand in order. When you have finished talking about one slide, place the corresponding card face-down on the table so it does not get mixed up with the following cards.
Since writing the original version of this article, I feel more convinced now that the best way to deliver an excellent presentation is by memorising it. A presentation in your head means you can focus more on your audience. It helps you to place more emphasis on the message and meaning of the points you want to say. A memorised presentation allows you to look at the people in front of you and talk to them as though you were sitting next to them. In other words, you engage much better with your audience than when referring to prompt cards.
To memorise a presentation does not mean to be without any sort of backup help at all. Personally, I like to hold a piece of A4-sized paper in my hand with some brief points, names, data or other factual information I may forget and which I can quickly refer to. You will need to rehearse this type of presentation many times. Say it in your head when walking along in the park, or walking around the house. You could ask colleagues to listen to you giving the presentation before the big day itself. Each practice version may not be exactly the same - that does not matter. What matters is that all the content and language is firmly fixed in your mind and the points ordered in the same way.
Of course, the above suggestion may sound challenging and beyond your linguistic capabilities or simply you do not have time to memorise a complete presentation. However, this technique could be your objective, your goal to work towards for future presentations especially those important ones or for when speaking at a conference.
It is also useful to write down on the prompt cards or your A4-sized sheet of paper some useful "signpost" phrases in English you could use to structure your presentation. See the next section of this article for a list of these useful phrases...
Part 4 - Useful phrases in English for presentations - read and listen
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