This week I thought I would write about presentations. If you are someone like me, who has a borderline pathological fear of public speaking, the prospect of delivering a presentation can be daunting. Presentations are definitely my Achilles heel. Essay writing comes much more naturally to me, and although this comes with its own difficulties, such as writing intelligently and coherently, these difficulties are more profound when in front of an audience. Before I start sounding too alarmist, I should also say that yesterday I had my first presentation of the year and contrary to my own expectations, it actually went rather well. In this blog post, I will share with you some of the changes I made and offer some advice on how to master the presentation.
1) Know your Topic
This one may seem self evident, but it is easy to fall into the trap of over preparation and end up with a mountain of notes without any of it registering in your head. Notes are important, but they are just props. The most important information should be stored in your brain when you walk into the presentation room. This will give your audience the impression that you really know your stuff. There are a number of things you can do to help with this. In philosophy you will be examining arguments. It is therefore imperative when reading a text that you can follow where the argument is going and locate the main moves. If you have understood the main arguments for and against an issue, then you should be able to debate it. I would advise you to do just that. The likelihood is that you’ll have a flatmate or coursemate who will be interested in this stuff too. If you can speak clearly about these issues in an informal way with friends, then it is only a small step to being able to do it in a formal setting.
2) Abstraction
Being prospective philosophy students some of you may have heard this term used before. When philosophers talk about abstraction, they are referring to the method by which concepts and ideas are stripped of irrelevant information, leaving only the aspects that function as a necessary part of the argument. This is important as you don’t want to be bogged down by irrelevant details and so you should focus only on what matters as part of the bigger picture. Philosophers like to use fantastical and sometimes outright bizarre thought experiments to test our intuitions on certain concepts. It is important not to get distracted by this. Some philosophers present arguments with so many twists and turns that it is often difficult to remember where you began. The thing to do is to take each part of the argument at a time, frequently taking a step back to identify the underlying theme, and then write it down. If you do this, by the end of your preparation you should have all the relevant information at hand, with which you can start to construct your presentation in a clear and concise way.
3) Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
This one is especially important for people like me who find public speaking difficult. It is important for two reasons. First, it allows you to perfect you delivery and tone. I was advised by my lecturer to record myself and play it back, as this will give some indication of what your audience will hear. Listening to your own voice is a painful and cringe worthy experience, but it is also a useful educational tool, which will allow you to correct and alter the way you deliver your presentation. Second, rehearsing also helps with timekeeping, which is why you should time yourself. Presentations usually have set time limits, and you don’t want to be left with the additional worry of not keeping to time. If you have practiced your presentation and you know you are keeping to time, you will be more confident when it comes to the real thing.
Hopefully these suggestions will help. But, of course, different people have different ways of learning, and if you have your own way of doing things that works for you, then maybe you should stick to it. Next week I will be writing about Lancaster’s nightlife.