How to make a successful presentation?

Signposting and Question Period.

Today I would like to discuss the role of signposting in the communication. I would like to give an example from real life: have you ever, being a passenger, woken up occasionally and felt somehow disorientating and confused, because you could not understand where exactly you were. That is exactly the feeling of the some students when they cannot realize what is going on. The problem is that the writer has not clearly signposted the essay. That is why I will touch upon this problem and how to find solution to it. Today's theme is divided into three parts. Firstly, I will concentrate on the definition of “signaling”. Afterwards, I would like to comment on the two main types of this technique. And, finally, we will discuss how exactly this signs have to be used. 

We all do some signposting in our natural conversation. Phases such as “on the other hand” and “in conclusion” are effective signposts that we use in everyday life.

When you give a presentation, how can your audience know where they are? How can they know the structure of your presentation? How can they know what is coming next?

The answer is simple. They know because you tell them. Because a good presenter put up signposts for them, at the beginning and all along the route. This technique is called 'signposting' (or 'signalling').

In academic writing, the author is responsible for making the text as clear as possible for the reader. An active reader will want to know what the author’s aims are and how they will be achieved; what the author’s position is about key issues; how the argument is constructed; how ideas relate to each other. Good writers use signposting language to signal to the reader where these answers can be found.

So, what is signposting anyway?

Signposting is a technique to help people follow the meaning of what you are saying.
They act as guides to help the reader follow what you are saying throughout a conversation. 

 

You sholuld take into account, that signalling will:

• Clarify the structure of your talk
•  Help the audience to understand what you are saying and help to organize your thoughts as you give the presentation, respectively.

It is useful to divide signposting language into two broad categories:  

                    -major signposts that signal key aspects of the work, such as purpose, structure, author’s stance, main points, direction of the argument, conclusions. 

                    -linking words and phrases that show connections between sentences and paragraphs. 

Now let turn to the following material:

Presentation “Political situation abroad”

Introduction	Welcome Explanation of structure
Body	Europe Asia Africa
Conclusion	Summing up Recommendations

 Explanation of structure:

This is the variant of a well-structured presentation.
He will keep this image in his head during the presentation. He may even write it down. And throughout your presentation, you will put up signposts telling him which point you have reached and where you are going now. During your introduction, you should tell your audience what the structure of your presentation will be. You might say something like this:

          Introduction:

"I'll start by describing the current position in Europe. Then I'll move on to some of the achievements we've made in Asia. After that I'll consider the opportunities we see for further expansion in Africa. Lastly, I'll quickly recap before concluding with some recommendations."

         Body:

I would like to start with the political regime in Europe.

-Firstly...

-Secondly...

-At last...

When you finish Europe and want to start Asia, you might say:

"That's all I have to say about Europe. Let's turn now to Asia."

When you have finished Africa and want to sum up, you might say:

"Well, we've looked at the three continents Europe, Asia and Africa. I'd like to sum up now."

          Conclusion:

And when you finish summing up and want to give your recommendations, you might say:

"What does all this mean for us? Well, firstly I recommend...

 Now you are welcomed to watch the video material, based on the importance of signposting in communication:

To summarize what we have covered briefly, signposting is an effective method to help your audience follow what you are saying. Do try to bear this in mind whether you are communicating with a single individual, or to an entire audience. Thank you for your attention. I will be glad to hear your questions.

And, please do not forget that 

 

Question and Answer Session after the Presentation

 

               Allowing the audience to ask questions after your presentation is an excellent way to reinforce your message and continue to sell your ideas. In addition, because listeners can ask for clarification, audience members are less likely to leave your presentation or speech with misconceptions about the concepts you delivered. Because of these benefits, the question and answer period is actually another presentation and vital to most speaking situations. It is like a presentation after the presentation.

               If you do not want such an unpredictable situation to happen as at the following  picture, please follow a few recipes.

          

           Many presentations today are followed up with a question and answer period. To some people this can be the most exciting part of the presentation. To others it can be their worst nightmare. In fact, there are some presenters who purposely avoid the question and answer period all together. Below I have provided a 5 step approach to handling questions along with some additional tips to make your next question and answer session go smoother.

 

1.      Listen to the entire question Listen to the entire question BEFORE you begin to answer any questions. Too many people start responding to a question before the entire question is even asked. Not waiting to hear the entire questions can result in you providing a response which had nothing to do with the question. Force yourself to LISTEN to the entire question and make sure you understand the question.

2.      Pause and allow yourself time to value the question and listener. REPEAT the question out load so the entire audience can hear it. It is important that everyone "hear" the question or the answer you provide may not make sense to some of the people. By repeating the question, this will allow you some additional time to evaluate the question and formulate a response.

3.      Credit The Person for asking the question. You may say something like, "That was a great question" or, "Glad you asked that question" or even, "I get asked that question by many people". One word of caution. If you credit one person with asking a question, be sure to credit EVERYONE for asking a question. You don't want people to feel their question was not as important.

4.      Respond to the Question honestly and the best you can. If you do NOT know an answer to a question, do not try to fake it. Be honest, and tell them you do not know but DO promise to research the answer for them and DO get back to them.

5.      Bridge to the next question by asking them a question. "Does that answer your question?", "Is that the kind of information you were looking for?". This is critical.. Once they respond to you, "YES" you now have permission to go on to the next person. This also gives them one more opportunity to say, "No" and allow them to clarify their question more by asking it again.

Now let's watch some video material:

After listening this information, I would like to ask the following questions:

Which of the following statements do you agree or disagree with and why?

1) Never admit you don't know something

2) Rephrase the questions to make sure you, and everyone else, has heard or understood

3) Never interrupt someone who is asking a question

4) Reply to every question in detail

Finally, I woild like to provide tou with some additional tips concerning the  QP.

A. Ask people to stand up when they ask a question. This does two things: (1) It shows you more readily who is asking the question, and (2) It make it easier for the audience to also hear the question.

B. Have small sheets of paper available for people to write down their questions during your presentation. They may forget what they were going to ask earlier.

C. Allow people to pass the questions to you if they feel uncomfortable standing up and asking the question out loud. This gives the person who truly wants to ask a question an option.

D. Always repeat the question - this does three things: (1) it makes sure you understood the question, (2) it gives you a chance to value the question and think of an answer, and (3) it assures the other people in the audience can hear the question since you are facing them.

E. Always take time to think "before" you answer all questions. This allows you time to think, especially for those difficult questions. Do the same for those questions you readily know the answer for. Responding too quickly to those questions you are most comfortable with will only bring attention to those questions you do not.

F. Have a pencil and paper available for you to write down questions you can't answer. You select someone to record the questions on paper. This way, you can properly follow up with the person who asked the question you couldn't answer. Be sure to get their name & phone number or address. Promise to get back to them and DO get back to them.

 

            To sum up, I would like you to remember that many speaking situations really involve two presentations: the formal presentation and the question and answer period. Insure success with both presentations by using these techniques for the question and answer period.