Practice
Your Presentation.
The time you have for your presentation
is limited, and if you don't practice, you are likely to have difficulty
fitting everything you want to say. Practice also gives you a chance to
try out your transparencies. Are there too many? Do they fit logically?
In a lecture hall, place your
transparencies on an overhead projector and find out 'what the audience
sees' by physically moving to the back of the room.
One way to practice is to set up a
"dry-run" session before a group of colleagues 2-3 weeks before
the conference. This approach can provide valuable feedback in time to
make changes and adjustments before the conference.
Speak slowly and clearly. Avoid
colloquialisms. This is good advice for any presentation, it is critical
for international conferences where for many in the audience your
mother tongue, is a foreign language.
Remember, one of the main themes
of ACT-WACRAŽ conferences is "Interactive Teaching and
Learning." While presenting, speak from your outline (do not use your
manuscript) so that your wording will be spontaneous. Flip charts,
transparencies, etc., which represent your outline, work better than
notes, since they allow you to move freely without being tied to your
notes (which should never be held). Speak to your audience, keep eye
contact. Engage your audience, to the extent possible, in your
presentation. Do not read to your audience. Reading your paper to your
audience is not only boring, but a waste of valuable time.
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