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Guidelines on Seminar Presentations

Your main goal in presenting this seminar is to communicate your topic to

an audience of mixed backgrounds and interests. Your seminar should tell present your information in a way that everyone present can understand and go home with some lesson learned.

PURPOSE OF SEMINAR:

A presentation concentrates on teaching something to the audience. A good

seminar presentation means that the audience understood the message. The first

rule is to place yourself in the mind of your audience. The second rule is to

provide the minimum amount of information to the audience; this helps

overcome the temptation to fill presentations with details meant to impress

the audience.

So, make sure to:

Try not to cover so many ideas, stick instead to a major theme.

Focus on what the audience needs to know about the subject and not on

what you want to tell them.

For each set of data, explain the significance of the findings, don't just only

show it.

Don't assume that the audience will know what you mean.

Make transitions from one topic to another logical and smooth: "now I'd

like to tell you..."

Unlike a written report, the audience must be able to immediately grasp

the information. So, keep it simple.

Use repetition as a tool to help the audience remember important points.

AUDIENCE ANALYSIS:

Remember that your audience will be Media literate but will not

automatically understand terms, jargon or abbreviations you have used in

your analysis or discussion. When planning your seminar, put yourself in their shoes.

Explain all terms and concepts that are important for understanding your

topic and will be used throughout your presentation.

Ask yourself:

What do they know?

What do they want to know?

What do they need to know in order to understand my presentation?