Presentation Skills In I.t.

http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointtips/qt/planningppt.htm http://arc.academyart.edu/esl/planningpresentation.asp Planning Your Presentation Planning Your Presentation Suggestions for Delivering Your Presentation Conclusion The MCM Conference Educational Presentation: Guidelines and Procedure Introduction The Master Club Manager (MCM) process requires that a candidate develop a monograph and discuss it with the MCM Academic Council. In addition, an educational presentation must be made at a session of the CMAA World Conference. Adherence to basic guidelines and procedures will help to assure that you use your development and presentation time most efficiently. It will also be more likely that attendees will receive maximum educational benefits from your presentation. Planning Your Presentation Please remember the following general points when planning your presentation: * This is an educational presentation on the topic of your monograph. It is not a presentation on the procedures you used to complete your monograph. * Emphasize how the problems or purpose(s) that drove the development of your monograph actually relate to the “real world” of club managers and the environment in which they work. It helps to use examples or stories and to stress the practical and applied aspects of your study’s conclusions. * Always remember the audience: constantly think “what’s in it for the listener” as you prepare and present your presentation. * State the conclusion(s) or solution(s) generated from your study. Show how they should be applied and how they will help the attendees’ clubs. Emphasize what should be avoided or what could be gained by following your recommendations. * While you may wish to note how you arrived at your conclusions, research methodology should not be a major part of your session. * A typical presentation at the World Conference will last approximately 30 minutes. You will be notified about the actual time allocated so you can develop your presentation. (Time schedules may need to be adjusted if multiple MCM presentations must be made during the same session.) Be sure to allow time for questions and answers. (For example, a 30-minute session might include about 20 minutes of presentation with the remaining time allocated for feedback discussions.) * You may wish to use some (but very few) handouts. You will need to duplicate these. (CMAA’s education department personnel can advise on the number that should be replicated and brought to the session.) You may wish to provide an abbreviated outline of your presentation on a handout and/or use the handout(s) to illustrate/reinforce “complicated” overhead or slide presentation material. Do not try to provide a handout for everything you plan to discuss. A relatively few, well-thought-out handouts usually will be much better. Visual Aid Tips Remember the following when planning visual aids: * Use to replace words. * Address one key point per visual. * Be sure each visual is legible.

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Ensure everyone can see the visual. Make sure visuals are attractive. Don’t include too much information. Give your presentation to the audience — not to the visual.

Be Organized When You Plan Five steps will be helpful in planning your presentation in an organized manner. They are: * Step 1: Remember that the goal of your presentation is to inform the attendees about what you wanted to research (your monograph’s objectives), what you discovered and, most importantly, how your discovery(ies) will help the club industry. * Step 2: Keep your audience in mind every moment as you plan your presentation. “What’s in it for them?” “Why should they know about each aspect discussed?” “What are the relatively few most important points they should know?” These are among the questions you should ask constantly as you plan your presentation. * Step 3: Organize your presentation effectively. Identify the main ideas (concepts or components) you want to discuss. * Step 4: Think about important sub points for each of the main ideas identified in Step 3. * Step 5: Think about the sequence for presenting the main points. Develop other components of your presentation including a “catchy” introduction, necessary visual aids and/or handouts and a brief conclusion (summary). Concentrate On Each Element in Your Presentation When structuring your presentation, consider the members’ need for an introduction. Use this section to arouse the audience’s interests. Explain how your topic is important to them. Assure them of your competency in the subject area, and establish a good rapport. When planning your opening, consider using humor in good taste and/or tell a relevant story. Be sure to explain how the topic will relate to the audience and indicate how it will benefit them. You might ask a rhetorical question (“How would you like to have all the employees you need at all times?”), or you might find an appropriate quotation from a famous person. After the introduction, you can provide a preview or suggest an outline (overview) of the presentation. (For example: “In the next 20 minutes I will explain the three major points I learned during my study.”) After the overview, you should state your main points. It is generally best to limit your discussion to the three to five most important points. Then, use a transition. (For example, “The second point I want to establish is....” or “Now that we have discussed point one, let’s look at the second point....”.) Be sure to summarize your main points. Perhaps you can refer to something you noted during the introduction. Experienced trainers have a “rule of thumb”: tell them what you are going to say (preview); tell them what you want to say (present); tell them what you told them (review).