Do you ever give presentations?

stay up late the previous night and be very sleepy

I am on a presentation crazy course and do a presentation just about every week. It's been good for me in some respects - I've stopped saying 'like' and 'basically' and 'sort of' and 'kind of' and 'in a way'.

I do think they're often redundant in an undergrad situation. People get pissed off at having to do so many and end up printing off a wikipedia page and reading it out. Lecturers don't notice, annoyingly.

I know I've not done a very good one when I tail off at the end and say : "And that's it really...."

I know I've done a good one when everyone's taking notes.

One thing I've learned: I never need as many notes as I think.

fireworks and/or confetti

palpable excitement abt topic

I don't like using Powerpoint or OHP slides for presentations. They are useful tools if you're likely to get nervous and lose your place - you can always go back to the slides. But they can make a presentation really stiff and boring. I prefer to be the ham actor. If you're nervous you could always pretend to be someone else, for example one time I delivered a presentation in the style of comedian Bill Murray. The subject was server uptime and QOS, so you can imagine how that went over!
There's a lot of BS talked about what you should do, things like "be sure your tie is straight", "don't let the audience see you using your notes", and "remember to talk clearly but not too loudly". Forget all that! Focusing on all those inconsequential things is what makes people nervous in the first place. All you have to concentrate on is that you have something you want to tell the audience, something important, something that matters, something they need to hear. And you're the person who's going to tell them.
As for the structure of a presentation, it's:

1 - outline what you're about to tell them
2 - tell them
3 - summarise what you've just told them

Palpable excitement?

Oh that's been ironed out of presentations here in the UK a long time ago...the aim is to look bland, unexciting and competent. Like a senior medical consultant or Alastair Darling.

Bring back the old days...the smell of the grease paint..unpredicability...the show must go on.

the place i really learned how to do/make presentations was in a govt-funded international youth exchange program right after graduating from university. so all my presentations are somehow, to varying degrees, "dudes omg! listen to this thing i need to tell you about and that you really need to know!"

From the best group presentation of ever gave, on Matthew Lewis's The Monk. I am in blue wig:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/igotabeefpastry/monk.jpg

We were rrrobyn-stylez stoked on it & did unparalleled job but this also helped: the American thing where if you wrap junk like jewelry, people act like it's jewelry.

Wednesday night I was asked to do a 30-minute presentation (on a topic I knew a decent amount about) for Friday. My prof knows me well and trusted that I would do fine. I spent 10 or so hours getting everything ready (including a 3 page handout) and in particular working out the 7+ minutes of straight lecture before the discussion/interaction part.

It seems to have gone well, although I got almost no specific feedback from my professor, which I think means that it went very well and she expected nothing less from me. Which is good. Also, I am very happy that I didn't look at my notes for anything. And that the class managed to hit on all my discussion points with minimal prompting!

I'm trying to write one now and it's killing me. We're supposed to roll activities and such into it, which makes the whole thing feel like kindergarten, as if the content isn't hard enough.

so all my presentations are somehow, to varying degrees, "dudes omg! listen to this thing i need to tell you about and that you really need to know!"

this is the BEST way to give a presentation that people will listen to.

Emulate your favourite lecturer.

Also keep in mind that you have four main types of person: those who like playing games and stuff, those who need theory, those who need to review what has just happened and those who need real-world examples.

It's good to try to cater for all these types if you can manage it.

Oh, and don't jam 600 words on a powerpnt slide. White space is crucial.

YYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

This picture is my first slide, but after that I'm pretty stuck. I have 36 hours.

And I'm talking for 60 minutes.

A few groups in a class I'm currently in have played 5-8 minute long youtube videos in the middle of their 25 minute presentations. I thought they may have been in for a thrashing from the professor, but he ended up praising the use of "new technology" in the classroom, and said something about that being what "this class is all about".

Next presentation I give, I am going to just open up ILX, project it onto the wall, and ask you guys questions about whatever. Internet extreme.

I'm a trainer so I'm in front of people nearly every day, often for hours at a time. I'm not even sure anymore what techniques I use, although I've been on enough courses that I should be able to rattle a bunch off. Upthread someone listed the steps to a successful presentation as:

1 - outline what you're about to tell them
2 - tell them
3 - summarise what you've just told them

That's pretty much it, except I often include a section for practice/consolidation depending on what the point of the presentation is. Ie. something practical like software or a discernable skill vs. theory or just information.

I have been giving thought to opening with this, which is a joke I have not tried before:

(my talk is about dark matter discrepancies)

But I figured if I don't even find it funny any more, how can I expect them to.

I teach a class! I'm boring! People fall asleep and snore!

i have to give a tour on thursday to a bunch of bitchy sorority-type co-workers and am dreading it. how to fill 20 minutes when the only thing i'll get back is the vapid look on their faces?

two months into this job I got sent to teach a week-long class on how to do this job to a bunch of our nato buddymen. I ran out of prepared slides on day two. I ruled. It was a blast.

i have to give a tour on thursday to a bunch of bitchy sorority-type co-workers and am dreading it. how to fill 20 minutes when the only thing i'll get back is the vapid look on their faces?

stop being such a sourpuss and HAVE FUN

slide one MY NAME IS THIS
slide two THIS IS WHAT I'M GOING TO TELL YOU
slide three through eight THIS IS WHAT I'M TELLING YOU
slide nine THIS IS WHAT I JUST TOLD YOU
slide ten ANY QUESTIONS? MY E-MAIL IS THIS

really the hardest part of a good presentation/demo is streamlining everything

ok max

This video is fantastic:

http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic58703/winston1.html

Ha! I gave a competent talk after 90 minutes sleep! ZING.

thanks for that link, btw polyphonic. I actually used a couple of those tips (including starting with a promise)

i had to give a presentation to two people in an interview recently. Shat my pants for hours beforehand but in the minutes before I had to go on I felt really good and confident. Half way through and things were rocking, it was going well.

And suddenly they started asking questions from the floor and it threw me completely, and basically my arse went for rest of the show.

I didn't get the job.

Unexpected questions during talks really knock the wind out of my sails too, but in this one I was told to present a 45 minute talk in a one hour slot and expect questions during the talk (people are encouraged to stop you when they don't understand something rather than wait until the end). Apparently I held them rapt:

Excellent talk! You're in the august company of $famous_astronomer, the only other speaker I know of to have had no questions during his talk.

: )

slide one THIS IS THE NAME OF THE PRESENTATION
slide two THIS IS THE NAME OF THE COMPANY FROM WHICH THE PERSON PRESENTING HAILS
slide three MY NAME IS THIS
slide four MY TITLE IS THIS
slide five through seven THIS IS WHAT I'M GOING TO TELL YOU
slide eight through eleven THIS IS WHAT I'M TELLING YOU
slide twelve through fifteen THIS IS WHAT I JUST TOLD YOU
side sixteen LOOK A PRETTY PICTURE THAT SUMS IT ALL UP
slide seventeen ANY QUESTIONS? MY E-MAIL IS THIS
slide eighteen THE END

I dunno, my talk had 55 slides

slides eight through eleven can be expanded.

I have to give a presentation on Friday, and the best title I have come up with so far is "Who are these people?"

The handouts have to be printed tomorrow. Could I possibly just go with this title and hope that people think it's funny?

dooo it dooo it

That is the answer I needed, thank you most sincerely!

This is totally under control now. Staying with "Who are these people?" because it p much sums up my purpose for giving this presentation. It's only an hour, not worth sweating whatsoever.

IMO, the worst sin you can commit in a presentation is to fill up your slides with text that says exactly the same thing you are saying aloud. Instead, put that pure textual shit in a handout. A slide is only useful to illustrate your point. If there is no useful visual information in it, leave it out.

Then concentrate on making the words useful to your audience. Connect what you are saying to a problem they recognize as a problem and explain why and how the info you're showing and telling them will assist them in solving it. If the group is small enough,consider allowing questions during the presentation, so you can clarify at each step of the way. Ask," is that clear", before moving on.

If the answer to any question is "I don't know, but I can find out", then say that and move on. If you're given 20 minutes but can do it in 10, avoid the temptation to pad it, or stretch it out. Be clear. Be brief. Say 'thank you' and get the hell out.

I guess you don't need to take my speech class ;)

Sorry, La Lechera. That wasn't specifically directed at you, but more of a general venting/advice on the general thread topic.

"Who are these people?" sounds fine for a title.

Seen dozens of presenters who ignored the one about pure textual slides. Deadening. Utterly wretched experience each and every time.

I know! I was just kidding!! You are so right, and that's why I teach that very same concept to my students. I want this presentation to be more of an outline for the brainstorming/workshop part of what I want to do. And I also want to avoid giving away all my best stuff in the ppt so people who don't attend the presentation will wish they had attended.

Either way, it's only an hour. Not a big deal.

I sat through a presentation last year about "student engagement" that had a FULL HOUR of ice breaker out of a 3 hour presentation. WTF.

I was not engaged.

Your presentation will be marvelously received if you hand out ice cream.

IMO, the worst sin you can commit in a presentation is to fill up your slides with text that says exactly the same thing you are saying aloud.

yeah, this. My boss and I always remark on it. You'd think it was the old people with a dim understanding of Powerpoint who consistently screw this up but no.

The guy who had the 60 minute ice breaker also gave away a stuffed dog as a "prize" and showed a motivational sports video.

I learned more about holding an audience as a drama student than I ever learned in a speech class. For public speaking it is all about timing and pace. And rehearsal!

My most significant tip is KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE and show them that you know them in one way or another.

Damn straight. protip.

I tell new teachers/instructors that our profession is really just acting.

...except when it's really just applied psychology.

xp - True in part, but imo it's also connecting with people in a real and genuine way, esp. if your classes are not in a content area but are more skill-based. It's not a The Teacher Show, it's a collaboration.

does skill based have a hyphen? i don't know. i don't even care, really.

Has anyone here used prezi? I'm tempted to use it for some presentations I have to do this semester but I'm a bit intimidated by the possibility of not using powerpoint, oddly.

I have to give an hour-long presentation in St Petersburg to about eighty university heads, teachers and government officials with variable levels of English. I don't really have anything to tell them. I can't really bring myself to be nervous about it but i have no idea how it's going to go.

^^^This is one case where the "minimal text on your slides" approach is to be avoided ime. When I was lecturing in China this summer the main advice I got from more experienced hands was not to say anything that's not on the slide because if you do, many of the students won't be able to follow.

True in part, but imo it's also connecting with people in a real and genuine way, esp. if your classes are not in a content area but are more skill-based. It's not a The Teacher Show, it's a collaboration.

sure but good acting is too!

^^^This is one case where the "minimal text on your slides" approach is to be avoided ime. When I was lecturing in China this summer the main advice I got from more experienced hands was not to say anything that's not on the slide because if you do, many of the students won't be able to follow.
Good example of "know your audience".

Also I don't know the first thing about acting, so I will take your word for it Alfred. I always imagine myself tap dancing up there when I'm just kinda trying to get/keep their attention.

look at this adorable picture of gene kelly!

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/252/30632449.jpg

I give presentations at work. My powerpoints are awesome.

Has anyone here used prezi? I'm tempted to use it for some presentations I have to do this semester but I'm a bit intimidated by the possibility of not using powerpoint, oddly.

I like prezi, and have always had a positive response when I've used it. It's more visually engaging than powerpoint, and keeps you from being overly reliant on text.

I once took a whole college economimcs class til the final presentation (=final exam) and then ditched the exam b/c of stage fright!

Oh god, studio reps give presentations most Thurs/Fri at work and 99.5% of them just read off the powerpoint. Half of them TRAVEL to us to give them, and it's like they're seeing the slides for the first time when they give the presentation, it's maddening.

My favorite reps put up the powerpoint and then actually tell you cool stuff about the movies, or tell us their honest opinion of the movies. It's so much more pleasant when that happens.

The worst is when the quarterly presentations come out with charts and statistics and zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh done! It went well, we ran out of chairs because so many people showed up, it was definitely the beginning of a conversation rather than the beginning and end of an informative session. Good class! I'm competent. Yaay.

I wish all of my classes were only an hour long though, geez.

My presentation went relatively well, i think. There was lots of nodding and laughing in the appropriate places. That said, i spent the rest of the day nodding and laughing at presentations in Russian i only understood about 20% of, so that's not necessarily a great guide.

I wasn't nervous in the slightest, which surprised me. This may have had something to do with drinking a concoction that was equal parts double espresso and Moldovan cognac at 9:30am to prepare myself.

The chief presenter referred to me as her 'young and very handsome' colleague three times, which was over-egging the pudding rather.

Everything was going swimmingly until it turned out that they hadn't paid for the conference hall, the filming or lunch and i was expected to come up with roughly US$1000 in cash, which is not particularly easy to do at short notice in the middle of St Petersburg.