Presentations

 

BASIC TIPS

• Dress smartly: don't let your appearance distract from what you are saying.
• Smile. Don't hunch up and shuffle your feet. Have an upright posture. Try to appear confident and enthusiastic.
• Say hello and smile when you greet the audience: your audience will probably look at you and smile back: an instinctive reaction.
  
• Speak clearly, firmly and confidently as this makes you sound in control. Don't speak too quickly: you are likely to speed up and raise the pitch of your voice when nervous. Give the audience time to absorb each point. Don't talk in a monotone the whole time. Lift your head up and address your words to someone near the back of audience. If you think people at the back can't hear, ask them.
  
• Use silence to emphasis points. Before you make a key point pause: this tells the audience that something important is coming. It's also the hallmark of a confident speaker as only these are happy with silences. Nervous speakers tend to gabble on trying to fill every little gap.
  
• Keep within the allotted time for your talk.
• Eye contact is crucial to holding the attention of your audience. Look at everyone in the audience from time to time, not just at your notes or at the PowerPoint slides. Try to involve everyone, not just those directly in front of you.
• You could try to involve your audience by asking them a question.
• Don't read out your talk, as this sounds boring and stilted, but refer to brief notes jotted down on small (postcard sized) pieces of card. Don't look at your notes too much as this suggests insecurity and will prevent you making eye contact with the audience.
• It’s OK to use humor, in moderation, but better to use anecdotes than to rattle off a string of jokes.
• Take along a wristwatch to help you keep track of time – the assessor may cut you off as soon as you have used the time allocated, whether or not you have finished.
• It can be very helpful to practice at home in front of a mirror. You can also record your presentation and play it back to yourself: don't judge yourself harshly when you replay this - we always notice our bad points and not the good when hearing or seeing a recording or ourselves! Time how long your talk takes. Run through the talk a few times with a friend.
• It's normal to be a little nervous. This is a good thing as it will make you more energized. Many people have a fear of speaking in public. Practicing will make sure that you are not too anxious. In your mind, visualize yourself giving a confident successful performance. Take a few deep slow breaths before your talk starts and make a conscious effort to speak slowly and clearly. Research by T Gilovich (Cornell University) found that people who feel embarrassed are convinced their mistakes are much more noticeable than they really are: we focus on our own behavior more than other people do and so overestimate it's impact. This is called the spotlight effect. If you make a mistake, don't apologies too much, just briefly acknowledge the mistake and continue on. For more details see "59 Seconds" by Prof. Richard Wiseman
• Build variety into the talk and break it up into sections: apparently, the average person has a three minute attention span!

Referencing

Referencing is the practice of acknowledging and describing other pieces of work that you have read or used whilst completing your own assignment/essay/report etc…

We are Stafford shire University students we have to follow the Harvard Referencing method.

When the lecture was going on I was thinking why we need to reference. After the lecture I got that we need to reference ,

• To show how widely you have read around the subject in order to complete your own work.
• To enable other people to trace the sources you have used easily.
• To acknowledge other pieces of work you may have read, quoted from or paraphrased.
• If you need to refer it in a later day it will be much easier to retrieve it back
• If the reader wants to read the original source

What is Harvard reference.,

Harvard is a generic term for any style which contains author-date references in the text of the document, such as (Smith 1999). There will also be a list of references at the end of the document, arranged by authors' names and year of publication. There is no official manual of the Harvard style: it is just a generic term for the many styles which follow that format.
The UQ Library Harvard Style is based on the AGPS/AGIMO style manual. The latest edition of that manual is the 6th edition (2002).

Harvard Referencing Examples

• Books - printed and electronic
• British Standard
• Computer games/programmes
• Conferences
• Dictionaries/encyclopaedias
• Exhibition catalogues
• Government/legal materials - includes command papers, official publications, statutes (Acts of Parliament), UK bills, statutory instruments
• Images - includes works of art, images in a book
• Interviews
• Journals
• Law reports
• Lecture
• Maps and atlases
• Market Survey reports
• Music score
• Newspapers
• Personal communication
• Poem
• Social Media - includes blogs, wiki, Twitter, discussion lists
• Sound - includes podcasts, sound recording, radio broadcast
• Thesis
• Video/DVD
• Visual -  includes plays, dance performance, podcasts, TV broadcasts
• Web

Team roles test results.....

"A team is not a bunch of people with job titles, but a congregation of individuals, each of whom has a role which is understood by other members. Members of a team seek out certain roles and they perform most effectively in the ones that are most natural to them."

                                                                                                                 Dr. R. M. Belbin

The NINE TEAM ROLES

1.Plant. The role was so-called because one such individual was “planted” in each team. The tended to be highly creative and good at solving problems in unconventional ways.

         2. Monitor Evaluator was needed to provide a logical eye, make impartial judgments where               required   and to weigh up the team’s options in a dispassionate way.
         3.Co-coordinators were needed to focus on the team’s objectives, draw out team members and          delegate work appropriately.
         4.Resource Investigators provided inside knowledge on the opposition and made sure that the team’s idea would carry to the world outside the team.
        5.Implementers were needed to plan a practical, workable strategy and carry it out as efficiently as possible.
        6.Completer Finishers were most effectively used at the end of a task, to “polish” and scrutinise the work for errors, subjecting it to the highest standards of quality control.
      7.Team workers helped the team to gel, using their versatility to identify the work required and complete it on behalf of the team.
      8.Shapers,Challenging individuals, provided the necessary drive to ensure that the team kept moving and did not lose focus or momentum.
      9.Specialist emerged. In the real world, the value of an individual with in-depth knowledge of a key area came to be recognized as yet another essential team contribution.

Strengths and ALLOWABLE weaknesses

As well as the strength or contribution they provide, each Team Role also has an associated allowable weakness: a flipside of the behavioural characteristics, which is allowable in the team because of the strength which goes with it.
For example:

• Plants could be unorthodox or forgetful
• Resource Investigators might forget to follow up on a lead
• Monitor Evaluators could be overly critical and slow moving
• Co-ordinators might over delegate leaving themselves little work to do
• Implementers might be slow to relinquish their plans in favour of positive changes
• Completer Finishers could be accused of taking their perfectionism to the extremes
• Teamworkers might become indecisive when unpopular decisions need to be made
  
• Shapers could risk becoming aggressive and bad-humoured in their attempts to get things done
• Specialist may have a tendency to focus narrowly on their own subject of choice

 

Time management

Why use time management skills?

It's important that you develop effective strategies for managing your time to balance the conflicting demands of time for study, leisure, earning money and job-hunting. Time management skills are valuable in job hunting, but also in many other aspects of life: from revising for examinations to working in a vacation job.
Sometimes it may seem that there isn't enough time to do everything that you need to. This can lead to a buildup of stress. When revising for examinations or during your final year when you have to combine the pressures of intensive study with finding time to apply for jobs good management of your time can be particularly important. Once we have identified ways in which we can improve the management of our time, we can begin to adjust our routines and patterns of behavior to reduce any time-related stress in our lives

 
 
Ways to Use Your Time More Efficiently

1. Create lists. In 18 Reasons to Love Lists, I talk about the subconscious power behind creating a list of everything you have to do and how I have a list for just about everything.  The reason lists work so well, is that they make you stop and really think about everything you have to do.  The next step would be to consider whether everything on your list is accomplish able in the time available.  Most of the time, it’s not.  So what’s next?  You must prioritize your list items.  The problem you’ll run into here, though, is that sometimes what is most important isn’t doable right now, or even in the time available, so you must put it off to another time.  That’s fine, as long as you really do come back to it.  (By the way, never, ever, check something as completed until after you’ve done it.)  This is why keeping ongoing lists is so important. But how do you prioritize when your projects are many and varied, and some things simply must be done while others are more important but optional?
2. Evaluate your top 20. In How to Maximize Your Personal Productivity, I explain the Pareto principle in detail.  From a time management perspective, you must identify those activities that contribute 80% or more or your value to your business.  (This applies whether you work for yourself or someone else.)  What are those precious few tasks that actually contribute to income for your company and, therefore, yourself?  Whatever those tasks are, perform them first.  For me it’s one thing; writing.  If I spend just 90 minutes per day, every day, five days per week, writing, everything else I do falls into place.  Blogging, speaking, consulting, training – everything – revolves around writing.
3. Time chunk. Once you’ve determined what your top 20 tasks are, group them.  Then, group everything else.  For example, when I sit down to write a blog post, I write it from start to finish, proofread and edit it, and then post it – all in one sitting.  I get up for breaks when I need to do so, but I don’t put it down and come back to it later – that wastes time.  I have found this method to work wonderfully because it makes you focus.  The longer you spend on an idea or thought, the more ideas you get related to that thought.  Therefore, as you spend more time focused on a project, the easier the project becomes to complete.  Now, if you have a huge project to complete, you will have to break it down into manageable chunks.  I have personally found that working in 90-minute segments, 3 hours at a time, works best for me.  I have worked as many as 9 hours in one day in that highly focused, highly productive, extremely efficient mode.�
   Grouping your other, less-productive tasks is very effective as well.  For instance, run all your errands at once, and do all of your online shopping once per week.  I keep a running list of things to buy from Amazon and make my purchases when I get enough items to avoid the shipping charge.  Hey, every little bit helps, right?
4. Do it now. Another highly effective time management model is the “Do it now” theory.  In this system, when a task presents itself, you do it now.  When your desk gets piled up, you sort through all the paper and each time your hand lands on something that requires action, you do it now.  When someone calls and asks you to do something, if you agree to do it, you do it now.  This method makes you stop and think about the interruptions you allow into your day.  If you’re having a day where you’re swamped, you’ll think twice before picking up that phone because you know if you’re asked to do something, you’ll have to do it now.  If you choose not to answer the phone, the person on the other end might just call someone else to do that little chore.  You learn these things with the “Do it now” approach and that’s one reason I like it.  If you don’t like lists, for whatever reason, you’ll love the do it now system because there’s rarely a need for a list.  What I like best about the “Do it now” approach is that is eliminates brain clutter.  Having a long list of undone tasks can clutter up your brain and keep you from getting anything accomplished.  Doing everything now eliminates that problem because you’ve done everything that has crossed your path.  You still must prioritize in this system, but the way you do so is by deciding if the task that has interrupted your workflow is more important than what you’re doing now.  If not, you continue with your current project.  If it is, you stop, complete the task now, and come back to your project.  Some theorists say that it is slightly less effective than time chunking because if you stop to do something else, it takes you longer to get back on track with your project.  However, if you’ve ever had trouble concentrating because you were worried that you were going to forget some important task, you’ll understand why doing it now can be just as effective.  I try to practice a little of both throughout my day, which brings me to my favorite time-management system of all:
5. Your ideal day. Working in my husband’s dental practice for five years taught me the benefit of this technique, but it was a while before I started applying in my own business.  Since I have – about a year ago now - my productivity has greatly increased and the best part is that my personal satisfaction with what I’ve accomplished at the end of the day has greatly increased as well.  Here’s what you do.  Forget the lists for a moment and think about your top 20 activities.  What are they? Write them down.  Over the course of about a week, maybe two for you, when would you most ideally complete these important tasks?  For example, if you need to call on clients, when is the best time to do that?  Once you have all those activities arranged, start thinking about your ideal day.  When would you complete your most important tasks - morning or afternoon?  Would you have time set aside for catching up on lists?  Would you make sure you had time for exercise?  Would you set aside time to “Do it now” and do whatever inspires you?  Would you make time for reading important articles in your field?  How would your day look if you could wave a magic wand and make it exactly the way you want it - the most productive, both personally and professionally?  Want some good news – it can be that way.  Exactly.  Here’s my ideal day.  I get up at 6 AM, hug both of my cats, and start my tea.  I go outside and feed the birds while the water is getting hot.  While the tea is steeping, I make my breakfast.  After eating, I go into my office to do my daily goal writing and “Self MEI.”  (In Put Yourself First, I talk about how it’s hard for me to Motivate, Educate, or Inspire someone else when I haven’t first motivated, educated, or inspired myself.)  I spend an hour on Self MEI on my ideal days.  Then, I get on the treadmill for 30 minutes, followed by a shower and getting dressed for the day.  By this time, it’s 9 AM and I’m ready to write.  I write my blog posts, speeches, training projects, or seminars in the morning because this is when I’m at my best.  Sometime around Noon, I’ll eat lunch.  Then, in the afternoon of my ideal day, I work on all those other projects that are less important, but must be done nonetheless.  If I’m working on something really big, I might go back to writing; this is where prioritizing and keeping lists comes in handy.  And, as you can see, my ideal day is definitely time-chunked.  I usually end my work day at 5 or 6 PM, but not before taking time to create tomorrow’s ideal day.  I look at my lists and carry over anything that did not get accomplished.  I finish the evening with household chores, just like anybody else, you know the drill – laundry, cooking supper, cleaning up this mess or that, followed by some “down time” with my husband, on the couch, watching TV for about an hour before going to bed.