Team Resources
This section can serve as one of your main resources in developing a high-quality and meaningful presentation, as it provides important information on SIFE’s policies and guidelines in regards to competitive events and details helpful tips and suggestions on how to take your written and verbal reports to the next level. The sections included are:
Preparation Tips
This section provides helpful suggestions and ideas on how to best prepare for your regional/national competitive event. Please note that these are best practices and NOT mandatory guidelines from SIFE World Headquarters or your SIFE National Office. These tips are an accumulation of experiences and successes from those that have been most active in working with SIFE teams around the globe. Feel free to use what you may find useful in developing your presentation.
The section is divided into several key segments:
A. Selling Your SIFE Projects
B. Selecting Your Presentation Style
C. Making a Mark at the Competition
D. Making the Delivery
E. Preparing for the Question and Answer Period
A. SELLING YOUR SIFE PROJECTS
I know you have spent an incredible amount of time developing, financing and implementing your projects, and have created projects that are worth sharing with judges, that’s why you decided to compete. But how can you share these great projects, in 37 minutes if judges have a difficult time understanding your annual report and audio visual presentation? If you want to do a better job of getting your point across and make a better impression, you have to deliver a presentation that judges will comprehend and remember.
The first thing you need to know is that your team is condensing a whole year’s work into a 37 minutes presentation. Right, I mean only 37 minutes, it takes a team with great selling skills to be able to convince the judges in 37 minutes about projects that have taken you more than a year to execute, whilst tying it to the SIFE Judging criteria. This is no mean task and must be approached with utmost skill. (Note 37 min time is inclusive of time allocated for judges to read annual report, verbal presentation and Q&A)”.
Your team has to put together a well thought- out written structure for your annual report in order to communicate what you have to say, taking into consideration your annual report being constrained to only 4 pages or 2 sheets of A4 paper and 24 minutes for your audio visual presentation. (Please check page 15 of the SIFE Team Handbook for details)
Here are a few thoughts that can help you structure your presentation, in order to sell effectively within your stipulated time constraint.
A) The message of your presentation should be concise, to the point and tell an interesting story (you can create a central theme around your presentation).Most teams want to write volumes of chapters in their annual reports, forgetting that it takes only 7 minutes for the judges to read and comprehend your annual report. IN PREPARING YOUR ANNUAL REPORT ASK YOURSELF THIS SIMPLE QUESTION, WOULD I BE ABLE TO READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS REPORT IN 7 MINUTES IF I WERE A JUDGE? The above question should always be your litmus test, when it comes to determining a good annual report.
B) In addition to the obvious things like content and visual aids, the following are just as important since the judges will be subconsciously taking them in:
• Your voice - how you say it is as important as what you say.
• Body language - In essence, your body movements express what your attitudes and thoughts really are.
• Appearance - first impressions influence the judges’ attitudes toward you. Dress appropriately for the occasion.
• Room Ambience- Make sure that the room lights for reading and presentation are adequate for each segment.
C) Audio visuals: Note that your audio visual (PowerPoint, flash etc) are not just there to impress the judges but to help you convey your verbal presentation. You need to make sure your visual aids don’t become impediments in your verbal presentation. Should incase you visual presentation freezes or you have a technology problem, please go ahead with all the confidence of a presenter and never let that deter you from advancing and selling your projects. NB: Package your presentation in such a way that will give you the opportunity to sell all your great projects effectively and efficiently in 37 minutes.
B. SELECTING A PRESENTATION STYLE
It is important that when you are developing your presentation style, you take into consideration the kind of people who will be judging your SIFE event- business people. It is also your responsibility to make sure that the judges don’t fall asleep or loose concentration when you are presenting. One ideal way of catching judges’ attention is by making eye contact when speaking.
Below is a model for your consideration:
Greet the judges (for example, 'Good morning, ladies and gentlemen'), and tell them who you are.
You can then decide to follow this simple formula:
• Summarize to the judges the flow/subjects of your presentation.
• Deliver the detailed presentation by subject (making the connection to the SIFE criteria).
• Tell them about the situation before you engaged in your project; some people call it the why of the project.
• Explain to the judges what you did to salvage the predicament or problem you met.
• How what you did changed the situation.
• Show them with charts, diagrams etc how you measured the impact of your project.
• At the end summarize/re-cap your key points and remind of the criteria connection.
Keep to the time allowed (24 minutes for your audio visuals). If you can, keep it to exactly the total number of minutes, that’s fine. If not then keep it short. It's better to under-run than over-run but try to use at least 22 of the 24 minutes.
As a rule of thumb, allow 1 minute for each general overhead transparency or PowerPoint slide you use, but longer for any that you want to use for developing specific points. 35mm slides are generally used more sparingly and stay on the screen longer. However, the judges will get bored with something on the screen for more than 5 minutes, especially if you are not actively talking about it. Stick to the plan for the presentation, don't be tempted to digress - you will waste time and could end up in a dead-end with no escape!
I also advice that you make sure your laptop is fully charged before you enter the presentation room. Always have a back up presentation by that, I mean store presentation on a CD, Floppy, external hard drives or Jump/Pen drive, so that you could easily access information when a problem arises with your laptop.
C. MAKING A MARK AT THE COMPETITION
Practice, Practice, Practice
Nothing calms jittery nerves before an oral presentation than knowing you could deliver it in your sleep. Standing up and verbally practicing your presentation with use of your audio visual and slide projector has many benefits. You can hear where you need to work on better wording, you can tell if you are going to be too long, you can see if some of your slides need improving, and you achieve a smoother talk. Practice early and often, for best results. That gives you more time to make improvements. So as always, practice is essential, both to improve your skills generally and also to make the best of each individual presentation you deliver.
Preparation
The following steps focus on helping you prepare the structure of your verbal presentation carefully and logically:
1. Make a list of these two things as your starting point;
• The objectives of your projects?
• The main points you want to imprint on the mind of the judges?
2. Write out the presentation in rough, just like a first draft of a written report.
3. Focus a great deal on outcomes (results) and not just outputs (the activity used as part of the project). Include measurements that are both quantitative (for example; percentage increase in knowledge) and qualitative (i.e. testimonials). Remember that video of field footage and testimonials are more compelling than still pictures or words.
4. Review the draft. You will find things that are irrelevant or superfluous - delete them.
5. Check that the story is consistent and flows smoothly. If there are things you cannot easily express, possibly because of doubt about your understanding, it is better to leave them unsaid.
6. Learn your script verbatim if possible.
7. Never read from a script. It is also unwise to have the presentation written out in detail as a prompt sheet - the chances are you will not locate the thing you want to say amongst all the other text.
8. You should know most of what you want to say - if you don't then you should not be giving the presentation! So prepare cue cards which have key words and phrases (and possibly sketches) on them. Postcards are ideal for this.
9. Don't forget to number the cards in case you drop them.
10. Remember to mark on your cards the visual aids that go with them so that the right slide is shown at the right time
11. Rehearse your presentation - to yourself at first and then in front of some colleagues and business advisory board. The initial rehearsal should consider how the words and the sequence of visual aids go together. How will you make effective use of your visual aids?
D. MAKING THE DELIVERY
1. Speak clearly (consciously, remember you have an accent and so people will find it difficult hear what you say). Don’t shout or whisper - judge the acoustics of the room. Speak with conviction – show that you really believe in what you are saying. Persuade your judges effectively. The material you present orally should have the same general flow as that which may be required for a written research paper, i.e. a logical progression from INTRODUCTION to BODY (strong supporting arguments, accurate and up-to-date information) to CONCLUSION (re-state key points/summarize, and logical conclusion). Don't rush, or talk deliberately slowly.
2. Be natural - although not too relaxed conversationally.
3. Deliberately pause at key points - this has the effect of emphasizing the importance of a particular point you are making.
4. Avoid jokes - always disastrous unless you are a natural expert.
5. To make the presentation interesting, change your delivery sometimes, but not too obviously, e.g.: speed, pitch of voice
6. Use your hands to emphasize points but don't indulge in too much hand waving. People can, over time, develop irritating habits. Ask colleagues occasionally what they think of your style.
7. Look at the judges as much as possible, but don't fix on an individual - it can be intimidating. Pitch your presentation towards the back of the judges, especially in larger rooms. Maintain sincere eye contact with your audience. Use the 3-second method, e.g. look straight into the eyes of a person in the audience for 3 seconds at a time. Have direct eye contact with a number of people in the audience, and every now and then glance at the whole audience while speaking. Use your eye contact to make everyone in your audience feel involved.
8. Don't face the display screen behind you and talk to it. Other annoying habits include:
• Standing in a position where you obscure the screen. In fact, positively check for anyone in the judges who may be disadvantaged and try to accommodate them.
• Muttering over your PowerPoint slide and not realizing that you are blocking the projection of the image. It is preferable to point to the screen.
9. When using audio-visual aids to enhance your presentation, be sure all necessary equipment are set up and in good working order prior to the presentation. If possible, have an emergency backup system readily available.
10. Audio Visual (AV) – Have a plan B.
Everyone who has done public speaking has had an AV horror story to tell. The demo didn’t work, the Internet line went dead, the computer gave out, the list goes on. Murphy’s Law is in full form when it comes to presentation technology. Everything that can go wrong will indeed go wrong at some point. Because of the stakes – the importance of the presentation – you’ll want to have back-ups. Computers do pick the worst times to fail. If this presentation is important, make sure someone on your team is close by with a back-up laptop, with the presentation loaded, ready to go. Make sure your laptop is charged. Meet with the technical team ahead of time and do a run-through making sure your computer can hook into their AV system with no problems.
11. Avoid moving about too much. Pacing up and down can unnerve the judges, although some animation is desirable.
12. Own the stage:
Pretend that the stage is yours and that those in the audience are your invited guests. Act as if the competition room is your home living room, and your best friend has just brought over some of her friends, and you are having a conversation. Use the room. If you can, move away from the podium. Try not to have physical barriers separating you from your audience. Depending on the venue you can step forward and away from your main position when talking. It’s more intimate, more “risky”, more charged with energy when you remove the safety blanket of the podium
13. Keep an eye on the judges’ body language. Know when to make adjustments to your presentation style.
14. Focus on the judges not the observers. Remember that you are not competing for the public’s vote but for that the judges’.
E. PREPARING FOR THE QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD
Giving the right answer after your presentation is as important as the presentation itself. Most SIFE teams make a shipwreck of their presentation during the question and answer period. The big concern is the fact that one cannot prepare effectively for this section since one does not know what questions to anticipate. This may not however be fully accurate because the judges will primarily ask questions based on what was covered in your presentation or annual report. Therefore, you can actually prepare for question and answer time during a SIFE presentation. While there is no right way that will always work for answering questions, the following tips may help you prepare for this section of your presentation.
A. Answering Questions
In any question and answer situation, retain flexibility -- you pick and choose the best method of dealing with the broad needs of your audience, which will in turn maintain a positive image of your team.
Question & Answer Period Tips:
1. Know the purpose and content of your presentation and answer questions with the purpose of the project / presentation in mind. Then try to satisfy the judge and audience and retain prestige. Not all questions can or should be answered directly.
2. Know the time for question and answers (5 min).
Pay attention to the clock (you should have a watch or clock visible to you) so you can wind up your presentation in time for questions and answers. Be aware of the time. Why waste time on one answer? Additionally, gauge how many questions you have left when the time begins to run out
3. Listen carefully to the question being ask and don’t hesitate to ask for clarification when necessary
4. Have the most informed and capable person answer the question. Avoid the common “and to add to that”, except where absolutely critical.
5. Don’t allow congratulatory comments and praise from judges to get you too excited during the Q & A session. Remain composed, focused and at your best regardless.
6. Repeat the question and give additional information here if it will aid the judges in understanding your project.
7. Try to draw a conclusion in answering and relate it to your project or presentation.
8. Direct your answer to the specific judge in responding to a question.
9. Sometimes answering a question with a question is a good technique to achieve better understanding.
10. If you don’t know the answer: Don't be embarrassed to answer a question with "I don't know”. The mere fact that you don’t know the answer says nothing about the success of your speech. Remember that. All it means is that you don’t know one answer. Never pretend to know it if you don’t; offer to find out the answer or accept the judges point and let him know you will inculcate it when you get back to the drawing board.
B. Characteristics of a Good Answer
A good answer:
1. Answers the question.
2. Is stated positively.
3. Is expressed in layman's terms.
4. Has main point "up front."
5. Is specific (i.e., it uses specific examples, illustrations, anecdotes, concrete detail, analogies; backs up quantitative statements with figures).
6. Is concise.
7. Does not include more than is necessary.
8. Recognizes opportunities in question to state your point of view.
9. Doesn’t sound antagonistic, evasive or defensive.