This three day modulised supervisor training presentation skills course is fully experiential with the tutor providing interactive demonstrations and feedback throughout on participants work products and performances.

1) COMMUNICATION FOUNDATION

The initial presentation skills studies are designed to test participants presentation skills particularly as effective communicators and listeners. Aspects of listening, message perception, and message content are reviewed to further understanding of what presentation skills are required to make an effective communication. The communicators manner and demeanor, questioning skills, perception checking and focusing techniques will all ensure that barriers and misinterpretation are eliminated. Personal factors covering speech, voice control and language, how to relate to and interact with the audience, attention curves, breaks, delivery lengths and distracting mannerisms are all reviewed, i.e. presentation skills is not a simple question of delivering a message, presentation skills is also about enthusing and energising the audience.

A prime aspect of presentation skills is not what is said but how it is said. Visual messages including body messages are given more importance by the recipient than the actual word message. Therefore this supervisor training presentation skills session will place emphasis on body language and visual aids.

2) PLANNING

Most tasks need careful preparation if objectives are to be secured with resources carefully channeled into key elements to maximise utilisation. In using presentation skills the novice often has difficulty in deciding how far to go, what level of detail, which points are key to their argument, what should be included/left out, what emphasis needs giving, what delivery sequence etc. Clearly the more cluttered the more confused the presentation will be. To guard against this, this presentation skills session contains a review of mind mapping, column plan, and horizontal plan techniques. These will enable supervisor training participants to sift and structure information so that their presentation and supporting materials can be produced with maximum impact. These presentation skills techniques will be practised using work based examples.

3) ORAL PRESENTATION

New ideas, plans, proposals etc. have to be presented to gain acceptance but the best strategies can fail to secure approval because of poor delivery. Equally disturbing is authorisation may be given without full understanding resulting in opportunities, problems and logic weaknesses getting overlooked, resulting in loss of attention. Effective use of presentation skills will recognise and prevent this.

This presentation skills session is designed to develop participant's confidence and ability in the area of formal oral presentation and this will involve practice, followed by practice, which leads to more presentation skills practice! Throughout these practice sessions feedback will be given on all aspects of participants presentation skills including their effective preparation. Judgment will also be made on whether participants had effectively decided upon the general purpose, defined specific objectives, developed ideas, designed structures, drafted notes, prepared interesting and relevant aids, maintained audience interest, etc.

These rehearsals, and constructive feedback, will help sharpen participant's presentation skills.