Presentation tips

[TheChippendenSpook]

I beed some help from somebody who knows how to write and remember presentations.

I've got to deliver a ten minute presentation as part of an interview. I have written some notes and know what I need to talk about but I just don't know the best way to go about it.

I can't use PowerPoint or anything that, I have to just talk at the interviewers for ten minutes. How am I going to remember it all and get the timing right.

Please help!

I'm so tired as I've got a bad shoulder. That should say, I need some help.

Practice!

Try and get your presentation down on little cards. I'd go for 1 card per minute. Keep practicing. And try and get the notecards down to one card with 10 words on. 1 word for each minute to act as a prompt.

To get it down, you'll need to keep condensing the words you need to trigger the memory. Does that make sense?

I don't have much experience with presentations, but for my A levels in sociology for example, I would read and copy relevant information from textbooks. Then I would read what I'd written and re-write in short form, then I would do this again. So I ended up with bullet points instead of paragraphs. Sounds long winded but after reading and re-reading you end up being able to remember a lot of information just from a few key words. This method got me a good grade, as I was basically able to regurgitate passages from books just by remembering a study or the name of a sociologist.

Or you could record yourself reading what you want to say and listen to it several times. This would also help with the timing.

Then just practise, practise, practise.

Best of luck. If you know what you're talking about I'm sure you'll do fine.

Sorry to be that poster but - are they really asking you to memorise your presentation? Seems a bit unnecessary. Neither barristers nor leaders of political parties are required to present their narratives without notes - and it would be an odd way to recruit a professional storyteller.

But anyway - you need to practise, repeatedly, paying attention to timings. (It helps if the material is important, and something only you can talk about!)

Hi I had an interview with a ten minutes presentation 2 weeks ago. I used notes as a prompt for each topic but the thing that really worked was setting the countdown timer on my phone for 10mins and practising over and over. I think less is more I spoke about 5 topics. I also 'performed' to my partner so he could help me get rid of the unneccessary bits as I tend to waffle. I had a bad chest infection at the time so I sympathise its rubbish when you feel crap. Just try and get through it.

Thank you so much for all of your help.

Totters yes... I have to memorise it. It's being done via Microsoft Teams so at least I don't have the extra stress of having to actually travel somewhere on the day and it's in the morning too.

I like the idea of bullet points and little cards. I'll go with that, thank you

I've got 8 points to talk about so that's very doable.

Are you sure you aren't expected to have slides?
That would be unusual.

Over teams you can what you want to say written out behind your camera

Post it notes stuck around the edge of your screen. One for each of the 8 points.

No one ever delivers a 10 minutes presentation without either a slide deck which prompts them or note cards.

Given the bizarre memory test scenario described by the OP, I wouldn’t be surprised if the interviewers require her to place a camera behind her, to ensure there is no cheating.

(Sorry OP, your interviewers’ demand does seem unreasonable.)

I'm not making it up, I can't use slides at all.

I have done one before but not for the same company (but along the same lines) and they did provide me with a sheet that had the topic headings on and that was it. I'm not ashamed to say that it was a disaster!

but unless they ask you to put a camera behind you, how will they know what's on your screen?
Have you asked to clarify?

I'm using the excuse that I'm in pain and not thinking clearly as you're right, I can put notes on the wall behind the computer

I had to do an 8 minute presentation in an interview recently. Electronic aids were not allowed, but I had to send powerpoint slides in advance and a hard copy was available on the day, and interviewers also had a hard copy. (So information only - text and pictures, but no whizzy effects or videos).

Some people had 2 or 3 slides only (we had to do the top 3 challenges facing the organisation in the next 3-5 years), while I had 9 slides with a lot of text on them (I know a few others had a lot too). Scant slides people thought they would be able to talk around theirs a lot more. MY thinking was that I was putting down all the problems and how they needed to be solved, and I was spending my speaking time telling stories of how I had dealt with similar issues in previous roles so I would do similar or do something differently because....it was all about ME not their problems (but I still showed I understood those problems).

I wrote out a script, practised to the mirror and recorded on my ipad, edited teh script down again, practised again, edited it shorter again....asked DH to listen ...edited again....

Speaking out loud (to the mirror, ipad or DH) was much more effective in realising what needed to be taken out or shortened, or a couple of things strengthened, than just reading on screen or in my head. And doing it to the ipad meant I was better at timing too - not watching the clock as I said it but seeing how long at the end.

I also put a watch on the desk in front of me in the interview to keep to time. Chair said she would tap on the table at a minute to go and interrupt me when my time was up - I didn;t notice the tap as I was engrossed (I'm sure she did) but I did finish just before the time by my watch. And there was a clock in the room that I could see as well.

Sorry, it moved on with the "no slides" while I was typing - prompts stuck to the edge of the screen or wall behind are useful - but practise, practise, practise so they are ONLY prompts is really important. I have also had to do those "no slides, on VC" presentations and the more comfortable you are with the material that it just rattles off, the better it comes across. In person or on screen.

Unless you're asked to screenshare, you could have a whole script on your screen - don't even need post it notes. Or have them on your phone and prop that up against your laptop screen.

Look at your camera not the screen, then it will appear like you are making eye contact rather than looking down.

Brilliant, thank you so much everyone!

Thank you so much everyone for all your help. I used bullet points and managed to remember most of my presentation.

I found out this week that I passed

Only one more step to go now!

That is wonderful!

Thank you Cheesecake