Presentation Skills
Knowing how to present your ideas in a convincing and appealing way is a critical skill for scientists and professionals alike. The most successful academics know how to express their ideas in a clear, expert manner to their peers, but also have the skills to communicate effectively with a variety of specialized and lay audiences.
Effective presentations are all about the relationship between the presenter and audience. Great presenters take their audience’s needs into consideration and know how to tailor their message to ignite their interest and develop their understanding of the topic.
By the end of this course you will understand how to
• design and present presentations for different audiences
• develop a clear, appealing message which forms the foundation of your presentation
• use a variety of rhetorical techniques to help your key message ‘stick’
• make effective use of voice and body language to engage with your audience
• effectively structure your presentation and communicate your ideas in English
What does the course involve?
This course allows you to extensively practise your presentation skills in a safe environment. You will learn how to develop a key message and make use of rhetorical techniques to connect with your audience. You will learn how to use body language, voice and presentation design to engage your audience and convince them of your point. There will be opportunity to practise different presentation styles found in academic and non-academic contexts. By giving and receiving feedback, you will become aware the features of the most effective presentations. Your own presentations will be recorded so that you can grow through evaluating your own performance.
Schedule
The course consists of 5 sessions which will take place on Thursday evenings between 18:30 and 20:30:
Thursday 6 April
Thursday 13 April
Thursday 20 April
Thursday 11 May
Thursday 25 May
Teacher
This course will be taught by Wendy Naylor. Wendy is a trainer at in’to Languages specializing in communication, language development, and teacher education. With over fifteen years’ experience of teaching, Wendy has delivered a wide range of courses in general English, business English, teacher training and academic English. She has an MA in Teaching English as a Second Language and is studying a second Masters in Education and International Development. She enjoys supporting students to express their ideas and communicate their research to different audiences internationally and experimenting with Edtech as a tool for developing teaching, communication, and language skills.
Assignments
Before each class you will be asked to prepare either a pair or individual presentation. Your final grade will be based on the completion of these tasks and your performance in a final presentation.
Materials
Course materials and slides will be shared on Brightspace.