Giving a presentation – Wie hält man einen Vortrag?

Hello! How are you? Today we have a really exciting topic: giving a presentation. I’m sure you’ve held a little presentation at school already, probably in German but maybe also in English. There is one thing you can really trust me: there will be a lot of situations in your life when you’ll have to give a presentation. For example, if you go to university and then, later, in your job. So, I think now is the time to really learn what it’s all about. In this video we’re going to discuss the following points: the structure or outline of a presentation. I’ll give you a lot of useful and helpful practical phrases which you can directly take from this video and then use them in your own presentation. You’ll learn some useful tips like what to wear and not to wear, how to make your listeners interested and how you can make your presentation easy to follow and to remember. And so on. At the end, I will show you an example of a very short presentation that I’ve prepared just for you. Ready? Let’s start. You must be the master of your topic. That means that you must find out all the information you can in the library or online. You should know much more than you will later say in your presentation, so you are ready to react to questions. If your topic is difficult and you’re going to use some technical or difficult words, you must explain them to your audience. Remember, they did not do all the research you did. And one more thing: before you start preparing your talk at home, think about what’s the most logical way of doing your presentation. That means that your ideas and facts should clearly and logically lead from one to another. All right, let’s talk about the structure of your presentation. First, you should say hello to your listeners. For example, “Good morning”, “Hello”, “Good afternoon”. If you’re having a presentation at school, and your audience is your classmates, you don’t need to introduce yourself. However, later in life you will often need to say your name, too. “My name is…”, “I’m…”. Introduce your topic. That means you should briefly define it, and it is nice if you also show your main points. The best way to do it is to have your topic and the main points on a board, a transparency or on the screen of a projector. I personally prefer the last option. I can prepare my presentation on a computer at home without any stress, and then, on the big day, I project it on a screen for the whole class to see. You may also want to say why you’ve chosen your topic. Your points should be as simply formulated as possible. Use only a minimum of words. You don’t want your audience to read all the time instead of listening to you. Together with your main points you can also very briefly outline the structure of your presentation. This means you mention the areas you’re going to talk about today. Example phrases for you: First, I’m going to talk about… Then, I’ll tell you a bit about… And finally, I’ll say a few words about. You should also decide if it’s okay for you if your listeners give you questions during the presentation or if they should wait until the end. And you have to tell them that. I personally like it if I get the questions during the presentation, as it makes it more interactive, but some presenters prefer to wait until the end with answering the questions because they don’t like to be interrupted when they talk. It’s up to you. Example phrases for you: If you have any questions during my talk, feel free to interrupt. Or: If you don’t mind, we’ll leave questions till the end. After this nice introduction, everybody knows what they can expect, and they are ready to listen. Now the main parts of your presentation start. Tell your audience what you know about your topic. Here are a few tips and rules. During your presentation use pictures and charts. The font size you choose should be clearly legible. If you prepare your presentation on a computer, make it interesting and neat, but don’t use too many colours or special effects. A crazy presentation is not a good presentation. Write notes on little cards so you don’t forget what you want to say, but NEVER write whole sentences on them. Never ever! A few words is enough. If you write a whole sentence on your card, you’re going to read all of it, and that is bad. This will make it very hard to follow and also a little boring. Use short and simple sentences in your presentation and also make breaks between sentences. Eye contact is also very important. And you should practise your talk at home. At the end you might want to briefly summarise your main points and then finish by thanking people for their attention. If you want, you can also prepare a short handout to give to your audience. Let’s now look at the dress code. If you’re giving your presentation at school you can wear your usual clothes, which should look clean and neat. Later, in your job, clothing is a bit more important. These are some bad examples: This is better: But remember: you must always feel comfortable in what you’re wearing. All right, before you go, I want you to watch a mini-presentation that I’ve prepared for you. It’s about running. Good morning! My name is John, and in my presentation, I’m going to tell you why running is good for you. Every day is a good day when you run. This is one of my favourite running quotes. I’ve chosen this topic because not only is it my biggest hobby, but I also think it’s the best sport. Today, I’m going to try and convince you to start running too. First, I’m going to talk about reasons for running, including these three areas: health, mental and financial reasons. Then, I’ll tell you a bit about possible problems and how to deal with them. And finally, I’ll give you a few tips for your training. If you have any questions during my talk, feel free to interrupt. Let’s start with the reasons for why you should start running. Let’s start with health reasons. Running is good for you. It keeps you fit, it prevents you from becoming overweight, and it’s good for your heart and lungs. However, it’s not just health reasons that runners start and keep running, it is also for mental reasons. Only a couple of minutes are enough to make you feel great about yourself, and it automatically brings you into a good mood. This is thanks to endorphins. These are the so-called lucky hormones that are produced in your body when you run. So it is scientifically proved. Running also gives you the feeling that you can achieve anything you want in life if only you work hard for it. And the last and also a very important reason is financial. Many people want to take up some sport, but they argue that they don’t have money for it. That is why running is so perfect. The only investment you need to make are good running shoes. Also a few special running t-shirts and trousers or shorts are a good idea. But no expensive sports lessons, no equipment and no sports club are needed. Let’s now talk about possible problems. Problem number 1: “I’m not a sporty type.” People who say this don’t realise that everyone can start running. Nobody cares if you’re slow or don’t look like a typical athlete. Number 2: “I live in the city, and you can’t run anywhere around here.” That is simply not true. There are many parks and rivers which are perfect for that. You can also use public transport to go a bit further from your home and run there. And number 3: “I don’t have any time.” This is the classic one. People don’t just have time, they make it. Exchange running for watching TV or for spending too much time on your computer. And finally, let me tell you a few training tips. Don’t push yourself too hard. Start slowly. A ten- or twenty-minute run is okay. You don’t need to run for hours. Drink before you get thirsty. Convince a friend to start running with you. And listen to music while you run. You’ll enjoy it all the more. To sum it up: running will make you healthy, happy and successful. All right, that’s all for now. Are there any questions? Thank you for your attention. Okay, so that was my example presentation. I hope this was useful. Bye!