7. Talk about what you know

Another difference between great presentations and mediocre is the presenter’s knowledge of their material. A great presenter not only knows what points they are making, but knows why those things are important and what they mean. They can answer a question on the fly, or elaborate on a point as needed.

You might be caught having to give a presentation on a topic that you don’t know thoroughly, or use a presentation someone else has written. If this happens, rehearse it a couple of times, think about each of the points, why they are important and what they mean. Do some background reading, discuss it with colleagues and think up a story for each of the main points. This will increase your understanding of the material and your confidence.

8. Tell stories

Humans don’t learn by listening to strings of facts. We learn from stories and examples.

One of the best things you can do in a presentation is to tell stories. Make a point, then put it into a real situation. It may be something you’ve experienced, something a colleague has, or your opinion about an issue. Your listeners will understand your point better, and you’ll sound more credible.

9. Talk in inverted pyramid

Inverted pyramid is a style of writing where you present the most important facts first, then elaborate on them, then elaborate further. The urban myth is that it developed with the introduction of the telegraph and the need to get the facts through before the connection was lost.

Whatever the history, get your point across, and then build up on it. Your audience can then make a decision about whether to listen to you or do something else (think about the problems, read twitter, write nasty things about you on twitter). If you build up to your point essay style, chances are you’ll lose part of the audience part way through and they’ll never get the point you are so carefully working up to.

10. Balance imagery and text

If you’ve been attending presentations for a few years, you’ll have noticed that bullet points have almost disappeared. The current style, at least amongst the user experience and web folks, is gorgeous imagery and a small amount of text.

Don’t be terrified of text and bullet points. They are OK when:

• the point you want to make isn’t easy to communicate visually

• visual language is the best way to communicate the idea

• people need to see the whole idea in order to understand it

• you are discussing lists of steps or sequences

But if you are going to use bullet points, make them communicate your point. Don’t use them as a memory trigger for what you want to say – that’s what speaker notes are for.

Task 1.Answer the questions:

1. What should you do in order to submit your paper to a conference?

2. What should be done in order to avoid disasters during the conference presentation?

3. How can you make your presentation interesting and productive?

4. What are the differences between presentation paper and journal paper?

5. What are the most three important tips from “More conference presentation tips”? Why?

Task 2.Match the tips with their explanations:

Tips	Explanation
Rehearse	Comments about technology, ‘oops, there’s a spelling mistake’, ‘oh, there’s an extra slide’, ‘what does that point mean’.
Time	You should use bullets in order to communicate your point.
Self talk	You might be caught having to give a presentation on a topic that you don’t know thoroughly, or use a presentation someone else has written
Balance imagery and text	Preparing in advance because you hear yourself say the words.
Talk in inverted pyramid	Time management during the presentation is important.
Talk about what you know	A style of writing where you present the most important facts first, then elaborate on them, then elaborate further.

Self-work task:

Write your project and present it.