Present Like TED

On By kzIn PhD Tips

For these past few days, my Facebook feed has brought me back some memories from my old post, that for some particular reason, related to tips on doing presentations. Coincidentally (or not), I had to give a presentation on Project Based Learning this morning to a group of academics for their Basic Teaching Methodology Course. I planned my 1.5-hr presentation by first segmenting it into 3 key segments: overview of the topic, examples of application, hands-on activities. For each segment, I weaved in questions as prompts for the participants to do simple things like listing ideas, sharing their list, and sharing short videos.

These FB posts only popped up tonight – which would be very useful to chunk my session into more biteable lessons and to keep me on track with time. I couldn’t do the hands-on activity today but the previous activities did in some ways cover what I wanted the participants to have a kick-start to their PBL. Lucky me, I have another 2 sessions with different group of academics, so there’s room for improvement.

1. Tips from inc.com:

Plan presentations, lectures, talks, activities in 10-minute chunks. Change voices frequently to keep your audience from getting bored. Article link here.

2. Learn how to present like TED Talk

Key tips from the article:

  1. Hook―How do you establish a connection with your audience so you can get them to “buy into” the idea?
  2. Explain the Current Problem―What exactly is the current environmental challenge, what do your peers need to understand about it, and how does impact present and future ecosystems.
  3. Share the Current Solutions―What solutions are currently available, how do they work, and what kind of difference can they make?
  4. Closing―Reconnect with the audience and close with a passionate call to action.

Students are encouraged to think about the following when they are preparing:

· Who is in your audience?
· How can you use humor in your speech?
· What visual will help get your point across?
· Your information must rest on accurate data.

Have a go, as I will too 🙂