untitled

Reading this chapter will help you to:

• develop your understanding of the purposes of student presentations

• accept the benefits of delivering these presentations

• understand some of the reasons why presentations can be stressful

• recognize different examples of student presentations

This chapter provides a general overview of student presentations. Even though these

presentations are very diverse, it is useful at this stage of the book to construct a gen-

eral understanding of student presentations. We suggest that you read this chapter as an

introduction to the book, before deciding which of the other chapters have relevance for

your needs and situation.

Student presentations usually involve an individual or group of students presenting

to academic staff, student peers or other invited audiences. Understanding the true pur-

pose of your presentation can help you to prepare and deliver it more effectively.

Student presentations might include:

• Group and individual presentations for a given topic as part of a module assessment

• Seminar presentations giving a paper to an academic or your peers for the purpose of

teaching or showing evidence of your understanding of the topic

• Providing an overview of some research carried out by you or your group

• Demonstrating the use of a piece of equipment or software such as PowerPoint to

show that you have developed the essential skills to use it appropriately

• Dissertation-related presentations and Vivas to demonstrate your ability to manage a

research project

• A job interview where you have been asked to present for several minutes on a given

topic

Why do a Presentation?

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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A STUDENT’S GUIDE TO PRESENTATIONS

We outline some examples of these later in the chapter. We hope you will find them

useful for improving your understanding of the factors that need to be considered when

developing your presentations.

To help you achieve the learning objectives for this chapter we have divided it into

four parts:

1 Purposes of student presentations

2 Pressures and problems of giving presentations

3 Benefits of student presentations

4 Examples of student presentations

1 Purposes of student presentations

There are many reasons why students are asked to give presentations and these will be

influenced by your academic course and situational and organizational factors.

The purpose and circumstances of your presentation will influence its style, content

and structure. Most presentations will involve a combination of purposes but it may be

helpful to think about the different features of each of these presentations.

Student presentations may be given for the purposes of:

• Advocacy/persuasion

• Training

• Teaching and learning

• Informing

• Assessment

By exploring these purposes, we can begin to understand the style that will need to be

developed.

Advocacy/persuasion

This presentation usually involves persuading members of the audience to take some

action or make a decision. Examples could include:

• support a cause

• join a student society

• vote for an individual to take up a role on a committee

• buy a product or service

• choose the best candidate for the job

This type of presentation will need a combination of relevant factual content delivered in

a convincing and confident style. You will need to communicate clearly and succinctly.

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Some emotions such as enthusiasm or passion may be used in your delivery if you think

this is appropriate, but you need to make sure that you do not embarrass yourself or the

audience. You may also have to deal with some emotional reactions from the audience such

as anger or ridicule. You will need to give a confident performance and deal effectively with

their comments, manage the crowd and limit any negative reactions. As with all types of

presentations it is crucial to keep control, especially when there are contributions and

responses from the audience. We discuss this in more detail in Chapter 3. Example 6 at the

end of this chapter involves some advocacy by persuading the recruitment panel that you

are the best candidate for the job.

Training

This type of presentation includes examples where students may demonstrate their

skills in the use of equipment and also their skills as a trainer or teacher. These types of

presentations may be used to practise, demonstrate and eventually assess the level of

these skills and techniques.

Examples include:

• Demonstrating the use of a piece of equipment

• Demonstrating a medical procedure

• Training someone in the use of a software package

• Training a novice to use a piece of first aid equipment

• Demonstrating your communication skills as a trainer

• Demonstrating professional practice such as an interview technique, counselling skills

or classroom management techniques.

In many vocational and professional courses, students have to learn the skills to use a

range of equipment or demonstrate their communication skills. Presentations can also

be used on these courses as opportunities for practice and rehearsal before the student

is formally assessed and expected to perform in real life situations such as during their

placements or probationary periods in employment.

Many first aid courses use this technique so that the participants can develop the key

skills needed for proficiency. Health courses such as radiography are examples where

the student will have to demonstrate the use of the equipment to a high level of profi-

ciency before they work with patients.

Nurses and other health professionals need to learn the training techniques to commu-

nicate effectively on health promotion programmes. These techniques can be developed

and practised in this type of presentation which can offer ‘safe spaces’ in which to develop

these skills.

If you can think of presentations as opportunities for your own development, they

may seem less daunting to you and indeed, this approach may help you to gain more

benefit from preparing and delivering your presentations.

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Immediate feedback can be an integral part of this type of presentation especially on

the occasions when no formal assessment is given. The tutor may interrupt the session

to ask for clarification or suggest an improvement that could be rehearsed several times

until the student becomes more confident. Members of the audience may suggest ideas

and changes for improvement. Role playing may be used so that students explore the

skill or issue from a range of perspectives, then share ideas in a plenary session. Training

presentations should result in learning for all the participants but we discuss this below.

Examples 4 and 5, at the end of this chapter, are this type of presentation.

Teaching and learning

Almost all presentations should have some elements of teaching and learning as part of their

purpose. However for the purposes of this book it is useful to explore this as a specific pur-

pose and to do this we have chosen a few examples where presentations are used for:

• Developing a deeper understanding of a topic or text

• Covering specific areas of the curriculum in more detail

• Explaining an experiment or cooking process

• Inviting a visiting expert to speak on a given topic

The content of this presentation is usually focused on a topic area relevant to a course

or module being studied. This may involve new research and knowledge that extends

how the topic has previously been taught by the tutors. It may also involve ‘repackag-

ing’ knowledge already covered or further exploration of the topic by looking at differ-

ent perspectives. An example of this could be where a group of students are asked to

present on the topic ‘Globalization’ from the different perspectives of a farmer in a

developing country, a small manufacturing organization in England and a multinational

organization that has offices on four continents. Sometimes, these types of student pre-

sentations are used to explore areas of a curriculum in greater detail than has been cov-

ered in lectures. This helps the presenters to develop deeper knowledge and the

audience to broaden their understanding of the topic and may be the reason why the

academic has included presentations in the module.

All of the examples at the end of this chapter incorporate some teaching and learn-

ing but Examples 2, 3 and 4 have a strong teaching and learning purpose.

Informing

In some circumstances this could be seen as similar to teaching but the aim of this type

of presentation could be to communicate as much information as possible in the time

available. The purpose of the presentation may be to:

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• Describe a new policy

• Outline a set of instructions

• Give a progress report on some research or development

This type of presentation is used in many organizations where students or employees

are expected to report progress at key stages of a project. It provides evidence of ongo-

ing work and can be used as a subtle measure of control where individuals work to meet

deadlines set for dates of these progress reports. Many employers expect academic

courses to have provided opportunities for students to develop their presentation skills

so that they could communicate effectively in the organizational environment.

For a student situation, a Viva could have this purpose where the function is to pre-

sent your research aims and results then answer questions from the audience. Examples

1 and 5 in this chapter describe this type of presentation.

Assessment

Student presentations are frequently assessed and may be awarded a percentage of the

marks that contribute to the overall module mark and credits. However, some presen-

tations may not be assessed but used as an opportunity for students to practise and fur-

ther develop their presentation skills, without the anxiety of earning marks for the

quality of their performance. There is a tension here for students, as most presentations

need quite a lot of preparation time. This time may only be seen as worthwhile if it

earns marks towards completion of a unit or module of study. Equally, it can influence

students to withdraw from non-assessed presentations or use a minimum of effort for

such events, seeing them as less important for their learning and achievement. This

focus on marks earned, rather than experience gained, may influence some tutors to

only use assessed presentations.

Use of assessment can have a positive advantage. For some students, presentations

offer opportunities to earn a higher proportion of marks than they might achieve for the

written part of their assessment. They may be better communicators and presenters in

their use of speech, visuals or technology than in a written mode. These students may

feel they need this book less for the general ideas about presentation skills but can use

it more for the suggestions about content development. We cover assessment in all the

examples at the end of this chapter but discuss assessment in more detail in Chapter 9.

2 Pressures and problems of giving

presentations

We intend this book to provide you with positive advice and encouragement but we do

recognize that presentations are not always popular with students. We think it will be

useful to outline some of the problems to reduce or even remove your fears.

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••

I would prefer to write an essay rather than deliver a presentation!

You may think presentations are more difficult to deliver than having to complete an essay

or report for an assignment. They can certainly increase your anxiety levels and you may

think that you actually have to work harder for a presentation than for an assignment.

Whilst this may not be true, your higher anxiety levels may cause you to believe this and

you may not use your time as effectively in the preparation, because of this anxiety.

You may feel more nervous about reading your work aloud in a presentation than the

more private situation where an academic reads your written work alone and no-one

from your peer group sees the quality of your work.

We discuss how to deal with this in Chapters 3 and 5. You might also find some use-

ful advice in Chapter 6.

••

I only seem to learn from the content of my own presentations but not when I have

to listen to other students. There is no point attending the other presentations!

This is a frequent complaint from students and a real challenge to academics for how

to use presentations as a good learning experience for everyone involved. We hope

that using this book will help to eliminate this attitude but it is useful to remember that

if you feel like this, so will your audience, therefore, think about what you can do to

make sure that they learn something from your presentation and find it interesting!

Chapter 10 will be useful to help with this problem. Chapter 6 provides some useful tips

for keeping the audience involved and Chapter 7 will encourage you to think about

developing content that is interesting and relevant to modules being studied.

••

I do not know enough about the topic to give a presentation!

Presentations can also be stressful if you are asked to present on a topic about which

you have only a limited knowledge. In these situations you may need to use a large

amount of preparation time to develop new knowledge before you feel confident

enough to prepare and plan the presentation. Whilst you may see this as stressful and

a disadvantage of presentations, in some circumstances, this is exactly why they are

chosen as a method of assessment. They force you to develop new knowledge and to

prepare well for the event. Use Chapter 5 to help you with this.

••

There is so much information on the topic I cannot decide what to include and

what to leave out!

In this situation, you may feel overwhelmed by the size of the topic and experience feel-

ings of panic when you have to make decisions about the content. There will probably

be some guidance and advice in tutorials to help you decide what to include and what

to leave out. Chapter 7 will also help you to cope with this situation.

••

I am nervous of using technology in public

To some extent, this is less of a problem for the younger students who will probably

have developed higher levels of ICT skills at school, compared with mature students

who may be less experienced. Using technology may be a real problem for mature

students. Some presentations are designed to provide opportunities for practice. We

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outline an example of this within the purposes section on Training, earlier in this

chapter. Chapters 8 and 9 will also be useful to help you deal with this problem and will

help you to use technology to improve the presentation.

••

I am always nervous about speaking in a public situation

Most people feel nervous about the public performance required for a presentation,

even if the audience is only one or two people instead of a larger group. Whilst good

preparation and rehearsal will help to reduce some of the nerves, it is only through

practice that you will learn to use your nervousness in a positive way that helps your

performance. Chapter 3 gives some useful tips. Some students say they feel more

nervous when presenting to other students on their courses than when presenting to

people who they do not know such as for a job interview. You may find it useful to

think about whether judgment by your peers may seem more daunting than by

strangers. Whichever preference you have, we discuss how to deal with an audience

in Chapter 6.

••

Group presentations are usually a problem. I usually feel that I do more of the

work than other group members!

You may experience higher anxiety levels preparing for and delivering a group presen-

tation than for an individual presentation. Problems with group behaviour may divert

attention away from the real preparation tasks and more time can be spent arguing or

discussing what needs to be done instead of actually doing the work needed to com-

plete the preparation. These are discussed in Chapter 4 which offers suggestions for

how to work well together.

••

I think I could earn higher marks for an individual presentation than for a

group presentation!

Sometimes this is experienced by students who have previously had problems work-

ing for a group presentation. You may believe that you could earn higher marks

because you are more capable than other group members, or that the group pressures

divert energy away from good content development. Whilst this may be true in some

situations, many tutors use group presentations as opportunities to develop the team

working and project management skills that many employers say are essential in the

workplace. On many academic courses the assessment procedures are monitored and

adjusted to make sure that final marks reflect the true ability of the individual student

rather than the group members, so a group mark may only be a small proportion of the

total marks for the module.

In spite of these concerns, presentations are a frequent experience in education

and you will probably have to deliver several on your courses, so it is useful to

recognize the benefits as well as the problems. When presentations have been

completed, students frequently claim to have enjoyed the experience and report feel-

ings of exhilaration and a sense of achievement. We discuss these benefits briefly

below.

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3 Benefits of student presentations

As with the variety of purposes, the benefits of student presentations will be influenced

by the situation but they can be summarized as providing opportunities for

• Student-centred participation in their learning

• Developing new knowledge and different perspectives on a topic

• Practice in a known environment/situation

• Increasing confidence to speak and present in front of an audience

• Improving marks earned for a module assessment

• Developing a wide range of communication and presentation skills

• Preparation for skills needed in the workplace

• An exchange of roles and perspectives from audience to presenter

Student-centred participation in their learning

Presentations offer variety and challenges that contrast with regular delivery by an aca-

demic lecturer. Students can sometimes be more willing to learn from the poor and

good performances of their peers than from their tutors. Presentations can also be used

as an effective form of peer learning. By taking responsibility for preparing and deliv-

ering a presentation, you take an active role in the process of your learning.

Develop new knowledge and

perspectives on a topic

Presentations offer opportunities for developing skills and knowledge together. This

process can strengthen learning and enthusiasm for further knowledge. If the presenta-

tion is effective, the audience should have learned something new and increased their

interest about the topic. We sometimes remember information when we have heard it

from an unusual source or one that is different. Tutors can learn new ideas from stu-

dent perspectives which can influence their teaching and delivery.

Practice in a known environment/situation

Presentations offer opportunities for students to practise performing in a fairly safe

environment. When you have to prepare several presentations on a course, you will

begin to develop the essential skills and transfer these from presentation to presentation.

The academic environment will probably be familiar to you. You might present in

rooms where you attend lectures and other events and this can help to reduce some of

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your anxiety. If the audience is made up of other members of your cohort, they may be

supportive because they can empathize with your feelings.

Increasing confidence to speak and

present in front of an audience

Well-managed presentations, as part of academic courses, can be used developmentally

to improve both skills and confidence levels. You may be able to demonstrate your per-

sonality in a way that is not possible as a passive listener in a lecture. Presentations can

help you to be noticed and stand out from the rest of the group. They enable you to

show your individuality. You can learn to deal with nervousness in a positive way that

can help to reduce your fears and anxieties. With regular practice, you will improve

your confidence and enter employment with some of the interpersonal and communi-

cation skills that employers value.

Improving marks earned for a

module assessment

Sometimes, presentations give you opportunities for earning a higher percentage of

marks than for written work alone. Students who prefer to speak rather than write, may

be better communicators and presenters in their use of speech or visuals than in a writ-

ten mode. This is because presentations use different intelligences in addition to the lin-

guistic intelligence needed for essays and reports. In our experience some students are

quite confident for their presentations and work better in group situations than on their

own. These students may earn a higher total mark for the module where there is a com-

bined assessment of presentation and written report, especially when the presentation

earns up to 40 per cent of the module mark.

Developing a wide range of communication

and presentation skills

You may need to think about your own skills and preferences for how you communi-

cate. Do you prefer charts and graphs, diagrams or text, mind maps or lists?

Presentations can help you to communicate using different media formats. They also

give you opportunities to practise performing in public and develop your speech, use of

hands and breathing, all of which we discuss in Chapter 3. Students in the audience will

also watch and learn from the presenters’ skills, especially if an opportunity is provided

to comment on the presentation. Indeed, students are often highly critical of their

own performance and that of their peers. These observations and criticisms can provide

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useful reflection and recognition of what makes presentations an effective learning situation

for them. This reflection can improve future performances and be used in the wider appli-

cation of job interviews and appraisals.

Preparation for skills needed in the workplace

Many employers seek confident candidates and use presentations as a part of their

selection procedures. Some organizations use staff presentations frequently for progress

reports, staff appraisal and development. Preparing and delivering presentations as a

student can help you to be a more competent and confident candidate for interviews.

They offer opportunities to develop your team working and project management skills.

You will have to work to deadlines and take responsibility for delivering an outcome of

your work. You will improve your research, design and communication skills as well as

your general presentation skills. We encourage you to see student presentations as a

positive experience that helps to prepare you for future employment.

4 Examples of student presentations

You may find it useful to read through the examples provided below. These examples

are used in later chapters where we discuss some of their features in more detail and

provide some useful tips for delivering effective presentations. These examples are:

1 A Viva to present an overview of your research.

2 A seminar presentation.

3 A group presentation on a topic allocated to the group.

4 A demonstration of your skills for using equipment.

5 Non-assessed presentations to report research progress or demonstrate your product.

6 An individual presentation for a job interview.

Even if your presentation situation does not match these examples exactly, you will be

able to see some features that are similar to your own experience. To help you identify

their relevance, we have structured each example under the same headings for easy

comparison. You could use these headings as a template to think about the different fea-

tures of your own presentations. These headings form a useful acronym PACTHATC:

• Purpose

• Assessment

• Content

• Timing

• Handouts

• Audience

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• Technology

• Comment

Example 1: a Viva to present an overview

of your research

Purpose All students are final year undergraduates presenting the research they have

carried out for their dissertation.

Assessment This Viva will be assessed to earn a percentage of marks that contribute

towards your degree classification. The percentage varies across courses and could

range from 10–40 per cent. A small proportion will be for your presentation skills but

the majority of the marks will be given for the quality of research and your under-

standing of the subject area.

Content This should consist of a brief outline of the research aims and objectives and

the methods used. However, the main part of the presentation should concentrate on

the results, conclusions and recommendations for future research. At the end you will

be asked questions about different aspects of your research to test your knowledge and

understanding of what has been achieved.

Timing One hour has been allocated for each student presentation. Within this time,

you will need to enter the room, load any PowerPoint presentation, present the

content for about 20 minutes, answer questions for up to 30 minutes, pack up and

leave the room. If time runs out you will lose marks for poor structure and time

management.

Handouts These must be provided for panel members and will probably consist of a

copy of the slides used plus additional notes that you think are important. These need

to be of a high standard as they could be used in the panel discussion after you have left

the room and may have a small influence on the final mark.

Audience This is a panel of three people, two will be academics. One is your

Dissertation Tutor. You may have been taught by the other academic who is in the same

teaching department as your tutor. The third person is an external visitor who could be

either an academic from another organization or a professional practitioner. The panel

will probably have agreed their questions before the start of the Viva but there will

be freedom and flexibility for them to explore the themes that emerge during your

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presentation. This means that the direction of the questions can be uncertain and you

will need to be knowledgeable and confident enough to guide their questions to areas

that you consider to be most useful or beneficial to your performance.

Technology You will be expected to use the most appropriate technology such as

PowerPoint, audio, video or any kit that needs to be demonstrated.

Comment This Viva will be an important event in your course. You will have

worked hard on your research and this is your opportunity to demonstrate the quality

of your research and your understanding and enthusiasm for the topic area. You will

have only a short amount of time to get your message across to the audience. At this

final stage of the course you will have deeper knowledge and be very ‘close’ to the

research so that preparing the presentation might be difficult. You will need to step

back and be objective about what is the most useful content that conveys the level of

work in such a short amount of time. However, this could be an opportunity to explain

and justify what was not articulated in the dissertation. It might be possible to find out

who the panel members are beforehand and this could help you to focus the content on

specific themes, especially if they are experts in the topic area of the presentation.

Example 2: A seminar presentation

Purpose You are asked to give a paper to your tutor and your student cohort. The

purpose of the seminar is for you to provide evidence of your research for and under-

standing of the topic or the text. Also, in this situation, you take some responsibility for

teaching the other students who attend the seminar. They are expected to understand

the content and use it elsewhere in the module when it is relevant.

Assessment For this presentation you earn a fixed amount of marks that are 15 per

cent of the module total but completing the seminar to a ‘reasonable standard’ earns the

marks rather than marks being awarded for content and performance. However, if the

tutor judges it to be of a low standard and of limited value, you will be asked to deliver

it again on another occasion. This is to ensure that students work towards an acceptable

standard of preparation and delivery. However, a similar example could be developed

where you earn an individual mark within the 15 per cent that reflects your skills and

performance in the seminar.

Content You have been briefed about the text or the topic areas to be covered by the

academic tutor. You have to provide an overview of the text or topic then explore key

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themes in more detail. The tutor has been available to offer guidance and you have

reported your progress and asked any questions through e-mails.

Timing The seminar will last for one hour. This will consist of approximately 40 minutes

for your presentation and the remaining 20 minutes for questions and discussion. You

are free to decide how and when you allow the questions to be asked. The tutor may

interrupt during the seminar to ask you for further explanation and may direct the

questions to ensure that relevant themes and issues have been covered.

Handouts You are expected to provide some handouts that explain the topic as it will

not be covered in detail in any other seminars or lectures on the module. These could

be a copy of your script for the seminar. Alternatively, they could be a list of the main

themes in your content, with brief descriptions, examples, facts and key issues relating

to the topic. Both types of handouts should include references to useful resources that

can be followed up at a later date.

Audience This will be the module tutor and student members of the cohort so it

could range between 4 and 20+ people.

Technology Use of technology will vary between giving a handout that is used to

direct the structure of the seminar to use of PowerPoint to cover the content.

Comment In this example, your presentation skills are not directly assessed but you

will be expected to deliver the content in a clear style that generates interest in the topic.

Probably much of the preparation time will have been spent reading so that you under-

stand the topic or text well enough to present a seminar from which the other students

can learn. You will need to develop a logical structure that explores key themes and

draws some conclusions. The quality of your performance in this seminar will develop

your reputation for delivering good or poor quality seminars. The audience will feel

more positive towards you if they leave with some useful notes and a deeper under-

standing of the topic and consider their time to have been well spent!

Example 3: Group presentation on a topic

allocated to the group

Purpose This presentation provides an opportunity to research and provide a more

detailed review of an area of the curriculum covered in the general lectures. You are

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expected to draw on themes covered throughout the module to demonstrate how well

you understand the topic. The audience will be expected to learn more about the topic

by listening to the presentation. Thus it combines several purposes of teaching, learn-

ing and assessment.

Assessment This presentation earns a percentage of marks that contribute towards

the overall module mark. The percentage varies across courses and could range from

10–50 per cent. How these marks are given will vary with the situation but they could

be given for your presentation skills, the quality of your research, your understanding

of the subject area and perhaps the supporting handouts. In some presentations, marks

may also be given for how well you work as a group. All members of the group will be

given the same mark so you might be concerned that you will be limited by the weaker

members of the group. There will however, be an opportunity to earn the remaining

percentage through your individual piece of work.

Content The topic areas to be covered have been allocated by the tutor. You have to

provide an overview of the topic then explore key themes in more detail. The tutor has

been available to offer guidance and you have reported your progress and asked any

questions through e-mails.

Timing A fixed amount of time will have been allocated for this presentation. The

time could be between 20 and 60 minutes. A small proportion of this time will be

devoted to questions from the audience.

Handouts You are expected to provide some handouts that explain the topic as it will

not be covered in detail in any other seminars or lectures on the module. These should

be more than just copies of any slides used and could be notes from part of the script

for the presentation or summaries of key themes with references to useful resources

that can be followed up at a later date.

Audience This will be the module tutor and student members of your cohort so it

could perhaps be up to 40 people. They will probably have a general understanding of

the topic but apart from the tutor, they will not be experts.

Technology You will be expected to use the most appropriate technology such as

PowerPoint, audio or video.

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Comment In this example, you will be expected to work well as a group. Your

presentation skills will be assessed and you will be expected to deliver the content in a

clear style that generates interest in the topic. Probably much of the preparation time

will have been spent researching and reading so that you understand the topic well

enough to deliver a presentation from which the other students can learn. Time will

also be needed to allocate tasks between the group members and share the responsibil-

ity for preparing the content, designing the handouts and practising the content. You

will need to develop a presentation that has a logical structure and interesting content

that explores key themes and draws some conclusions.

Example 4: A demonstration of your skills

for using equipment

Purpose This type of presentation is an opportunity to demonstrate your current

level of skill for using some equipment so that the academic can give advice on how to

improve these skills. This equipment will be something that you will be expected to use

competently in your future employment. This could be in a medical context or craft

design or technology courses. First aid training could be another example where dum-

mies are substituted for people. Other examples could include: hairdressing, cookery,

car maintenance, laboratory work. The purpose is to show the tutor your skills, plus

you will have the opportunity for further learning and improvement of these skills.

Assessment This is not assessed as a presentation. You will have some formal assess-

ment in the future before you become a practitioner so this presentation will be useful

as a form of rehearsal and training before the final assessed presentation.

Content You will need to explain the context for the use of the equipment and

demonstrate the correct use. You may also need to outline some examples of variations

of its use such as for different patients or different medical conditions. If it is a labora-

tory situation, you may also need to explain safety precautions or how problems and

mistakes can be rectified.

Timing The time may vary between 10 and 60 minutes depending on the type of

demonstration. Some time for feedback will be included so that areas for further prac-

tice can be discussed and agreed.

Handouts These may not be needed for this type of presentation. However, you may

be asked to provide a set of instructions for demonstrating the equipment as the process

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of creating these instructions will improve your understanding of the techniques

needed.

Audience The tutor will be present but there may also be other members of your

cohort as this can be a useful learning event through the chance to observe the proce-

dure and discuss aspects that arise from the demonstration.

Technology The technology will be central to the purpose of this type of presenta-

tion rather than a communication tool or enhancement. This will vary depending on

any of the examples given above such as the use of a dummy for a first aid course, engi-

neering equipment or a sewing machine on a craft course.

Comment Do not think that because there is no formal assessment, you do not need

to prepare for this type of presentation. You will need to work and rehearse as for any

others. This presentation offers an opportunity for some coaching and learning. It is

really useful to demonstrate your level of skill and where you are having any problems

with the technology. The tutor will advise you on how to improve and may give tips to

solve any problems.

Example 5: non-assessed presentations to report

progress or demonstrate a product

Purpose There are two presentations in this example. You are a member of a group

that has to design a website for the final assessment of a module. (On some courses this

could be a garment, prototype, recipe or other relevant product.) You also have to write

an individual report about the development of the site and discuss the reasons for choice

of features and content. Halfway through the assignment, everyone in the group has to

meet the tutor for an informal presentation on the progress of your work. The idea is

that the presentation will inform the tutor of the progress you have made, so that she

can advise you on any problems. This is similar to the previous example where the tutor

will advise and encourage the students to improve their product for the final assess-

ment. At the end of the module the completed website (product) will be demonstrated

by the group.

Assessment Neither of these presentations will be formally assessed. You will be

given an individual mark for your own final report and a separate mark for the website

that you develop as a group. It is therefore in your interest to create a good product with

the group but also produce a high quality individual report so that you earn a good

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WHY DO A PRESENTATION?

combined mark for the assignment. Whilst this presentation will not earn a mark it

should contribute to your final mark if you use it wisely. Having a date for the presen-

tation can help group members to focus on tasks that need to be developed. You will

also be able to explain any problems that have arisen and seek some advice and sugges-

tions from the tutor. The final presentation can be used to ‘sell’ the product and con-

vince the tutor of the quality of the website or product. This will be important if it

could influence the final mark given to the product.

Content For the first presentation, you only have a few minutes to explain your ideas

clearly. You will explain your progress so far, any problems you are having and how you

see the product developing. This will be interactive as your group and the tutor will be

able to ask questions about the product. The second presentation will be more formal

as you will explain and demonstrate the completed site. The tutor will ask questions at

the end of the presentation and make notes that will help later when she marks the site

and the individual reports.

Timing You are going to be allowed about 10 minutes for the first presentation and

45 minutes for the second one.

Handouts For the first presentation you will probably only need notes of the work in

progress that show tasks and proposed time scales that can be reviewed by the acade-

mic. However, clear detailed notes that perhaps include diagrams will help to keep you

working well towards the goal. For the second presentation you are asked to demon-

strate the product and give a brief outline report of the key features of the product and

anticipated users. This report will be included as part of each of the group members’

final individual reports that will also include critical analysis and reflections on the

processes used and features of the product that could be improved further.

Audience The presentation is to the tutor but other members of the cohort are

supposed to be present, so that they see the products created by other students, and

learn by observing their peers’ performance.

Technology This will be the software package used to develop the website.

Comment In this example, you need good presentation and communication skills but

they are not directly assessed. You may not feel very motivated because you know that

you will not get a specific mark for the presentation. It is important to see this as an

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A STUDENT’S GUIDE TO PRESENTATIONS

opportunity to practise in a non-threatening context, then to convince the tutor of the

merits of your product.

Example 6: an individual presentation

for a job interview

Purpose You are one of six candidates in the final selection group for a job. You are

asked to attend a final interview where you will meet the recruitment panel to answer

questions about the skills that you can bring to the job. You have also been asked to

prepare a 10 minute presentation on a given topic using PowerPoint. This presentation

is one of several methods used to select the most suitable candidate but it is your oppor-

tunity to demonstrate your presentation skills, levels of confidence, personality and

interpersonal skills.

Assessment The panel will use a scoring system for the presentation of each candi-

date, but you will not be given this score. They understand that you will be nervous

but will award marks for: keeping within the brief given; selection of relevant content;

clarity of communication skills; appropriate use of PowerPoint.The quality of the

presentation will contribute towards a final score of marks earned for group exercises

and psychometric tests which will also be used in the selection process. However,

where these scores are similar between candidates, the presentation will probably

influence the final choice. It is therefore an important method within this range of

selection methods.

Content You have been given a topic or statement relevant to the type of job you

have applied for. In a short presentation it is essential to be very succinct. However it

can still be useful to provide a brief introduction to the content, structure the main part

into three broad themes then close the presentation.

Timing A fixed amount of time will have been allocated for each candidate and the 10

minute presentation is part of this. The panel members will be able to question you

after the presentation and this could take up to 20 minutes. After you leave the room,

they will discuss your performance and agree the final mark.

Handouts You have been asked to provide a handout of the set of slides used

with space for notes at the side. Panel members will use these to make the notes needed

to remind them of your performance when they are comparing you with the other

candidates.

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WHY DO A PRESENTATION?

Audience This will be members of the recruitment panel and there may also be

several of the team of people who the successful candidate will be working with. You

will not have met any of these people before the interview; neither will you be able to

visit the place of the presentation before the event. The panel will make the decision for

offering you the job or rejecting you as unsuitable for the post.

Technology You will have been informed about the levels and type of technology

available. You have been asked to e-mail the file to a specific address the day before the

interview but are also advised to bring a copy on disc in case of unforeseen problems

with the organization’s intranet.

Comment In this example you will need to make an impact and get your message

across in a short amount of time. You will be expected to ‘sell’ yourself by using good

presentation skills to show your potential as a strong candidate for the job. Somehow,

you need to be better than the other candidates. Inevitably you will also be judged on

your appearance and how they see you as capable of representing their organization in

a positive way. Read Chapter 11 for more about this type of presentation.

Conclusion

Having read this chapter, you will now be aware of a range of examples of student pre-

sentations, why they are used, and the problems and benefits you can experience from

delivering presentations. We hope you find the rest of this book helpful for preparing

and delivering all of your presentations.

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