5. Gather all the Relevant Information

Once you have established the purpose of the presentation, the audience and environment considerations, the next step is to gather all the information you need. The brief provides you with the document from which you can gather all the information to prepare a presentation that addresses the brief’s requirements. Start analysing the document provided on “How to prepare for an assignment” and make notes about the below aspects before starting with your script.

1. Focus on the brief

• What are the instructions? (Are you reporting on observations, analysis of a situation, defining concepts, discussing, or explaining ideas)
• What are the keywords of the brief?
• What are the expectations of the person setting the brief?
• The instruction is to prepare students for their first assignment so in this case you will be defining certain concepts and explain some ideas. Afterwards you will lead a discussion on how these ideas are going to be applied.
• The keywords of the brief are:
  • Best practices for a presentation in an academic environment
  • Mentor – this means that your approach will be one of showing the way as opposed to being an instructor. A mentor also leaves the way open for the mentee to return with questions.
  • First assignment
  • How to prepare for an assignment
  • 5-10 minutes presentation face-to-face and online
  • Facilitate a discussion
• The mentoring programme at the university encourages students to study independently and introduces them to senior students who help them with academic as well as social challenges. Therefore, the expectations are that the presentation’s content should be credible and that working relationships with the mentees are to be fostered.

2. Keep it simple

The terminology will include:

• Which terminology is to be explained to the audience?
• Could images/graphs/diagrams be used to convey your ideas instead of text or keywords and phrases?
• What information is to be prioritised? For example, on page 2 of the source document in the brief, there are 6 main ideas. Which of these ideas would you prioritise?
  • What an assignment entail
  • Process words
  • Critical thinking
  • Academic conventions
  • The sort of writer you are
  • Understanding the question 
  • Planning your writing
    
    

3. Organise it in a logical way

The introductory slides include the title slide, the housekeeping slide, the objectives and the introduction slide.:

• What is the starting point of your presentation?
• What is the sequence of the ideas you will present?
• What are the key ideas you want to leave with the audience?