Oral presentations are most effective when they follow a clear structure and stick to time. Use the oral presentation planner sheet (on the next page) to plan and structure your presentation.

Title, date, time and audience:

Recording details such as the title, date and audience of your presentation act as a reminder of what you have to do and by when.

Objective(s) and key point(s):

When planning your presentation, it is important to keep the objective(s) and key point(s) in the fore front of your mind. This will help you communicate them to the audience and keep your content of your presentation relevant.

Resources and equipment:

There is nothing more frustrating for presenter and audience, when technology hinders the timely delivery of a presentation.If possible, find out what will be available. Knowing this in advance will help you be more relaxed and confident during the presentation.

Timings and plan:

Always stick to your time. If you have 15 minutes, do not try to squeeze in 20 minutes worth of slides. It is also handy to keep these timings with you when you present so that you know roughly where you should be about half way through your time. If you are behind your schedule, you may have to skip over section in order to finish within time. Decide in advance what this should be and tell your audience what you are doing so they don’t get confused.

Questions and extra slides:

When you practice your talk, try to think of any questions that the audience may want to ask so you can prepare and practice any answers. You could also prepare additional slides.

Feedback and reflection:

If you are given feedback on your oral presentation, take some time to use it. It should tell you what was well received and what wasn’t. It may also contain useful tips that you can use in the future. You can also use the oral presentation planner for self-reflection to help you assess where you are and how to move forward. It doesn’t have to be long, just a few notes on what you felt went well, what didn’t, what (if anything) would you change for next time? If presenting makes you feel anxious, when did you feel most anxious and when did you feel most comfortable? This can help you find strategies to cope with similar situations in the future.


Timings / Plan
[Start]
[Finish]
[Question(s)]
[Extra slide(s)]
Title:
Date: / Time:
Audience:
Objective(s) and key point(s):
Introduction/beginning:
Middle:
End/conclusion/discussion:
Resources and equipment:
Feedback and Reflection: