Deck 13: Presentation Skills

Question 1

'You should always produce a handout to accompany your presentation unless you are told not to do so.' Is this statement true or false?

Answer 1

True
Explanation: A handout is very useful for the audience, so should always be provided unless you are told not to do so.

Question 2

Which of the following are good reasons to practice your presentation? Please select all that apply.

A) You need to know that the presentation fits into the time allocated to it.
B) You can ensure that you develop a clear and well-paced method of delivery.
C) You have an opportunity to spot errors in your content.
D) You can get used to delivering the presentation without the distraction of the visuals aids that you will use in the actual presentation.

Answer 2

A, B
Explanation: There are plenty of good reasons to practice your presentation. In particular, your approach to delivery will improve with practice and you can check that your material fits within the time frame. You should, however, have eliminated all errors prior to reaching the practice stage and you should certainly not practice without the visual aids that you intend to use.

Question 3

How many times should you practice the presentation prior to its actual delivery?

A) Not at all. You will worry about it more if you practice and it goes badly.
B) Once, just to make sure that you can fit it within the time available.
C) Twice. Any more than this and you will become too familiar with the material, and your actual presentation will be stilted.
D) As many times as necessary to ensure that you feel confident and comfortable with the material, and are used to hearing the sound of your own voice.

Answer 3

D
Explanation: This is a preferable means of calculating how much practice is needed. A mathematical approach is ill founded, because different people will need different amounts of practice depending on their level of experience with public speaking and their confidence.

Question 4

'You should write a script for your presentation to ensure that you do not forget anything that you want to say.' Is this statement true or false?

Question 5

Well-chosen ______ can add interest to the presentation and help the audience to follow your line of argument.

Question 6

You are worried that someone in the audience will ask a question during the presentation, so you start by telling the audience that you will not be taking questions until the end of the presentation. After ten minutes, however, a member of the audience interrupts with a question. Which ONE of the following would be the best course of action?

A) Reminding the member of the audience that the time to ask questions is at the end of the presentation.
B) Ignoring the question and carrying on. It was, after all, very rude of the member of the audience to ask a question when you had told them not to, so there is nothing wrong with ignoring that person.
C) Answer the question anyway. It must be something that the person really wants to know if they have interrupted after being asked not to and it will not be too much of an interruption to answer one question.
D) Tell the member of the audience that they are very rude to interrupt when you have asked them not to and demand that they leave the presentation immediately.

Question 7

Which of the following are factors that you should take into account when selecting a topic upon which to present? Please select all that apply.

A) The previous knowledge of the audience.
B) The time available for preparation.
C) The topic that others are planning to present upon if you are not giving the only presentation.
D) The availability of material on the topic.
E) None of above

Question 8

Imagine that you find that you are running out of time in your presentation and have only five minutes remaining to cover material that took you 15 minutes in your practice sessions. What should you do?

A) Speed up your pace of delivery to ensure that you get through all of the material.
B) Stop at the appointed time, apologize to the audience for your failure to cover all of the material, but tell them that the end was boring anyway to make a joke out of the situation.
C) Pick out the key points that you want to cover and do so in less detail. Apologize to the audience, draw their attention to the points that are covered on the handout and offer them the opportunity to email with any questions on the material that you have not covered.