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1 DistanceLearningCentre.com Subject: Topic 1: Further Study Skills: How to Guide How to Prepare for a Presentation Recommended reading: Recommended further reading for this topic is listed in the back pages of these learning materials. Further resources: Further resources to deepen your learning on specific aspects of this topic are listed throughout these learning materials. Read and make notes: Before starting work, we recommend that you read through all the content in this document, and make notes about the key information that you will be learning, anything that you don t understand and need to explore further, and the tasks that you will need to carry out. DistanceLearningCentre.com, 2016

2 Contents Press CTRL + Click in the contents list to go to the relevant page Introduction Aaargh! Preparing for a presentation Know your subject Practise Reflecting on your performance David Kolb Graham Gibb Gary Rolfe (et al)... 9 Recommended reading PDFs Websites Sources and credits Sources for these learning materials Image credits DistanceLearningCentre.com, 2016

3 Introduction In this topic: In this topic we will look at how to prepare for a presentation and how to use reflective processes to improve and develop your presentation skills. This guide is for students who will complete Further Study Skills as part of their Diploma, and those who are preparing for a presentation or a group activity in the university interview process. DistanceLearningCentre,

4 1. Aaargh! Let s just get it out of the way now presentations are really scary! They take us out of our comfort zone, test a lot of skills that we might not use very often, and make us feel nervous and uncomfortable. But it s not the end of the world! By preparing, practising, and feeling confident in the preparation you have done, you will ensure that you will not only be fine, but you ll be excellent. Things to do: Think back to a time when you have spoken in public and it went well. This could have been giving a speech at a wedding, a training exercise you ran at work, explaining something to a group, or telling a joke to your friends. Everybody will sit somewhere on a scale, with fine with public speaking at one end, and hate it and can t do it at the other. But everybody will have one example of a time when public speaking went ok. Nobody burst into flames, nobody fainted, and nobody died (if any of these things did happen to you though, my deepest sympathies!). Your job right now is to remember that time. Close your eyes. Picture it. What were you feeling before you started speaking? What was it like when you were speaking? What did it feel like when you were finished? Hopefully it felt good. You were relieved. And you were proud of your achievements. Remember, you can always do what you set your mind to. It s now time to put the fears and apprehensions aside, and focus on the positive affirmation I will be prepared, so I can do this. DistanceLearningCentre,

5 1.1 Preparing for a presentation Do you know the phrase 'Proper Prior Planning Prevents P*** Poor Performance'? It s a good one to keep in mind when you re preparing for a presentation or an interview situation, because it is completely true. But how do we plan and prepare for a presentation? Important points: 1. Know your subject 2. Practise 3. Be confident using your resources, equipment, hand-outs etc. (if you re using them). 4. Do a dummy presentation to an audience (of one person or more), get feedback, and reflect on your performance. 5. Make sure you are confident in your abilities. The more you repeat the above steps, the more you will be sure of your success. 1.2 Know your subject If you are preparing for the Further Study Skills assessment, you will have chosen your topic based on your interests and your passion for the subject. You should have a good idea of the basics of the topic, and will be engaged in detailed and thorough research. Use the Study Skills: How to Plan an Essay topic to help you structure your planning for your presentation. Pay particular attention to the type of sources you are using. Make sure that they are relevant, suitable, unbiased and appropriate. It s likely that you ll be using the internet for a lot of your research because you ll be exploring a current and up-to-date issue. Your approach to research should be cautious and intelligent at all times. During the research phase, there is nothing wrong with going into more depth and detail than you think you ll need. The worst thing that will happen is that you ll have some interesting ideas to discuss if you offer Questions and Answers at the end of the presentation. If you are preparing for your university interview process, you may have been told the topic that you will be discussing, either in a group activity or as part of your personal interview. Research around the topic in the same way that you would if you were planning a presentation on it. Be detailed and thorough. Plan for mini presentations using mind maps, so that you can structure your ideas and knowledge, and would be able to take part in informed discussion in an interview situation. DistanceLearningCentre,

6 SAQ 1: If you are using this Study Skills Guide because you are preparing for the assessment Further Study Skills, complete this SAQ. 1. How will you ensure that your presentation will be as good as it can be? Example 1: The university selection process Imagine you have applied for a Law degree, and have been informed that as part of the selection process you will be expected to take part in a group discussion on the topic of legal aid. In order to prepare for this, you would need to conduct research and draw mind maps for each of the following: What is legal aid? Why is it important? What s the current situation with legal aid? What do leading barristers and judges say about legal aid and the current situation? What do charities and human rights organisations say about it? Does legal aid ensure justice for all? What do I think about the right to legal aid? In order to explore and answer these questions, you would have to do quite a bit of research on each area, as they are not small topics. Once you have finished though, you should have a really solid and consistent knowledge base, enabling you to be an informed and constructive voice in group discussions on legal aid at the interview. If you haven t been told what topic you ll be discussing, either in a group or a personal interview, then do your preparation based on: 1. What interests you. 2. What s in the news. 3. Topical debates. Whatever your presentation research is about or for, focus on the following continuous cycle in your planning: DistanceLearningCentre,

7 Preparing for research: - background to the topic - what are the issues? How will it aid my argument? Finding research: - what is valid, reliable, ethical? - where will I find them? Organising research: - consequences of plagiarism - referencing correctly Using research: - explain - discuss - analyse - evaluate 1.3 Practise Now you have done your research, it s time to structure your presentation and practise it. You may want to do this in stages: Example 2: Stages of presentation practice 1. Plan a basic structure with an introduction, your main body, and your conclusion. Bullet point what you will discuss in each section of your presentation. 2. Mind map the sections of your presentation, paying particular attention to linking your ideas together. 3. Start drafting your presentation. Do this as an essay or a script. 4. Once you have a good working version of your presentation, it s time to start rehearsing. Do this in front of a mirror on your own. Use your script to help you and time yourself. 5. Reflect on your first attempt. What went well? Why? What did not work so well? Why? Next time, what will you do the same? What will you do differently? 6. Using your reflections, make the necessary changes and practise it again. Do this as many times as you need to until you are happy with your presentation. 7. Now focus on presentation style. You won t be standing there with a script when you come to give your final presentation, so think about how to do without one. Will you use flashcards? Or PowerPoint slides to keep you on track? What about a flipchart? Or perhaps you ll memorise your presentation? DistanceLearningCentre,

8 8. Keep practising without your script, using whichever method you have chosen to help you. Do it in front of a mirror, or maybe film yourself on your phone or computer. Reflect on each performance. What went well? Why? What did not work so well? Why? Next time, what will you do the same? What will you do differently? 9. When you re ready, ask somebody you trust to be your first audience. Ask them to make some notes on what you ve done well, and areas you might want to improve on. They should be supportive but realistic in their feedback 10. Reflect on everything you have learnt and make changes to your presentation if necessary. You are now ready to present! Further resources: Brunel University: Presentation skills University of Kent: Tips on making presentations MIT Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program: Public speaking tips TEDTalks: Learn by watching expert presenters. Browse and view hundreds of excellent, intelligent presentations on almost every subject you can think of. 1.4 Reflecting on your performance There has been a lot of mention so far of the need to reflect on what you have done. But reflective practice is a skill that requires knowledge and an understanding of the methodology behind it. At the beginning of this guide you were asked to remember a positive experience. This was a form of reflective practice because it made you think back to what had gone well, and how that had made you feel. The way that you will use reflective practice for developing and improving your presentation will be slightly different though, because it will be used to: analyse your performance in order to improve on it in the future; explain and explore what has gone well, and what can be improved; analyse your anxieties and weaknesses, as well as your successes and strengths. This analysis won t exist in a vacuum though. It s not just a case of saying, That was good, that was rubbish and forgetting all about it. Instead you are reflecting in order to improve, develop, grow in confidence, push yourself forward, and make yourself into a more skilled and dynamic presenter. The reflections are a step towards this, rather than the end result. Ultimately, reflective practice helps you to learn. DistanceLearningCentre,

9 The ideas behind reflective practice are based in psychology, and so there are theoretical methodologies that we can use to aid our reflections. By understanding the frameworks behind the methodology it encourages a structured approach to reflection; this in itself is extremely positive. We will look in detail at the works of Kolb, Gibbs and Rolfe. It s likely that you will be drawn to one approach in particular; this is fine, as there is no right or wrong way to engage in reflective practice David Kolb Concrete experience (doing something) Active experimentation (trying out what you have learnt) Reflective observation (thinking about what you did) Abstract conceptualisation (learning from what you did) Figure 1: Kolb s learning cycle, 1984 (adapted) Kolb s Learning Cycle is a useful tool to explore reflective practice because it promotes experiential learning. This means learning that is based on experience, or in other words, it s learning through doing. Look at the cycle carefully though, and you ll see that the participant doesn t learn through just doing something, or having an experience. The learning takes place when they reflect on the experience, learning from it by assessing the experience and making adjustments, and then finally through trying out the new adjustments and ideas. The cycle continues though, and this is because learning is continuous. You re unlikely to be 100% satisfied with your approach to your presentation, and so you will continue to reflect and tweak it to make it better. And sometimes, a tweak doesn t work and we have to try something else. In that case, the cycle would go round again. It must be noted that Kolb doesn t believe that there is a start point to the cycle, and he is clear that learning can take place at any point of the cycle. Methodologically, this is true. However you will find the process easiest to use if you start with the experience and work your way around the cycle. DistanceLearningCentre,

10 1.4.2 Graham Gibb Description What happened? Action plan What will you do differently next time? Feelings What were you thinking and feeling? Conclusion What else could you have done? Analysis What did you make of the situation? Evaluation What was positive / negative about the experience? Figure 2: Gibbs reflective cycle, 1988 (adapted) Gibbs reflective cycle, or Gibbs model of reflection, provides useful and clear questions, and requires detailed responses. It is based on the work of Kolb, and as such is a continuous cycle of reflection. This is what you would be expected to discuss in each section: Description: Keep the information to the point and relevant. If you are explaining your processes to a reader, use background and contextual information here. Feelings: Be honest about how you were thinking and feeling both at the time, and afterwards. The emotions that we feel influence our performance, so reflecting on what they were is a really important step in the reflective process. Evaluation: How did things go? What went well? What didn t go quite so well? How did your audience react? Refer to some reflective theory here to help guide your evaluation. And don t be too hard on yourself the evaluation is to help you to learn from your experience, not to beat yourself up. Analysis: What helped or hindered you? Why? How did this experience compare to previous experiences? What can you do to help yourself in the future? Conclusion: What have you learnt? How could you have done things differently? What will you replicate in the future, and what will you avoid or change? How will these changes help you in the future? Action plan: What are your goals for your presentations in the future and what actions will you take forward? Will you ask for advice or guidance? What will you do to ensure you are better equipped for the future? Source: adapted from: Gibbs, G., Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford: Oxford Polytechnic Further Education Unit. DistanceLearningCentre,

11 Gibbs work is extremely popular because it gives the lots of questions, which is really helpful when you re trying to assess yourself Gary Rolfe (et al) What? What now? So what? Figure 3: Rolfe s reflective cycle, 2001 (adapted) The simplest of all the reflective models looked at in this topic, Rolfe s method is based on the three simple questions: what?, so what?, what now?. Overleaf are some questions that you may want to answer as part of your reflective process using Rolfe s method. DistanceLearningCentre,

12 What? went well? did I struggle with? did I find difficult? was I trying to achieve? was the reaction of the audience? were the consequences? did I feel? was positive about the experience? was negative about the experience? So what? does this teach me? was going through my mind at the time? did I base my actions on? could I have done to make it better? is my new understanding of the situation? extra knowledge have I got? Now what? will I do to improve? do I need to do to make things better? do I want the results to be next time? Source: adapted from: Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., and Jasper, M., Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. You can of course adapt the questions and add in your own as appropriate. This is a very flexible model, but relies on you fully engaging with it in order for it to be successful. Full answers to very open questions such as these require you to think deeply about what you want to take out of the reflective process. SAQ 2: If you are using this Study Skills Guide because you are preparing for the assessment Further Study Skills, complete this SAQ. 1. What are the pros and cons of the reflective processes you ve looked at this topic? DistanceLearningCentre,

13 Let's recap this topic: In this topic we learnt about the stages of preparing for a presentation. We looked at the importance of knowing your topic and of doing detailed and thorough research. We then explored how you should put your presentation together, and ways to improve and develop your work including the use of reflective models. DistanceLearningCentre,

14 Answers to SAQs SAQ 1: 1. How will you ensure that your presentation will be as good as it can be? Answer: 1. By: preparing thoroughly; knowing your subject in depth and detail; practising (both on your own and with an audience); reflecting on your rehearsals and making adjustments where necessary. SAQ 2: 1. What are the pros and cons of the reflective processes you ve looked at this topic? Answer: 1. Kolb Pros: Following the cycle means that you are learning through doing (experiential learning). It encourages you to try out new things and to constantly be looking for improvements and ways to adapt. Kolb Cons: When do you ever stop?! At what point do you say ok, this is fine? Would this constant questioning and adjusting mean that you could lose confidence in your presentation and your abilities? Gibbs Pros: Clear questions and patterns of how to use the method. It is applicable to lots of different settings, and could be utilised well for lots of different things you could experience in your educational and professional life. Gibbs Cons: Really time consuming of course good reflective practice should take some time, and this would get easier with practise, but this is a weakness. Rolfe Pros: simple and easy to remember. Yet still have lost of possibilities and questions that could be raised. Rolfe Cons: You have to think of the questions yourself to some extent. Sometimes thinking of such open questions can be challenging, especially when you are new to reflective practice. DistanceLearningCentre,

15 Recommended reading PDFs DLC Student Handbook: Population Reference Bureau Presentation do's and don ts Tips for preparing great slides: Websites DLC Library: DLC Forum: University of Leicester Deliver better presentations: DistanceLearningCentre,

16 Sources and credits Sources for these learning materials The description of what you would be expected to discuss in each part of Gibbs' reflective cycle is adapted from: Gibbs, G., Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford: Oxford Polytechnic Further Education Unit. The questions that you may want to answer as part of your reflective process using Rolfe s method are adapted from: Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., and Jasper, M., Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Image credits Aaargh! Girl screaming Maks Karochkin / Flickr / CC-BY-2.0 DistanceLearningCentre,