GoalPlan a presentation: choose an issue, write the message and decide how many slides to use.
New words
issue · a topic that people care about or that needs a solutionmessage · the one main idea you want your audience to rememberaudience · the people who listen to or watch a talkengaging · holding your attention so that you want to listen
Explanation
A good presentation starts with a plan, before any slide is made. First choose an issue from your teacher’s list, for example an environmental one such as saving water, or a school one such as keeping the playground tidy. Second, write your message in one sentence, for example ‘Closing the tap saves water for everyone.’ Third, decide how to make it engaging: a clear question, a simple picture, a real example from daily life. Fourth, decide how many slides. A short talk may need six: title, the problem, two facts, a solution and a thank you. Never use more than ten. Fifth, show your plan to a partner for suggestions, and update your notes. Remember to name where your facts came from. Choose a topic that is calm and useful; avoid arguments about politics.
Step
What to write
1. issue
a topic from the teacher’s list
2. message
one sentence
3. engaging
question, picture, example
4. slides
how many (up to ten)
5. partner
suggestions, then update
Worked examples
Slide
Content
1
title
2
the problem
3
fact one
4
fact two
5
the solution
6
thank you
A plan for six slides. Issue: saving water. Message: ‘Closing the tap saves water for everyone.’ Slide 1 title, 2 the problem, 3 fact one, 4 fact two, 5 the solution, 6 thank you.
long message, three ideas→partner suggests one idea→one clear sentence
One sentence is the message. Farida’s first message is long and has three ideas. A partner suggests one idea only. She changes it to: ‘Keep the playground tidy so everyone can play.’
Slides
Minutes
Minutes per slide
6
12
2
Counting the minutes. A talk has 6 slides and 12 minutes. 12 ÷ 6 = 2, so about two minutes for each slide. That is within the 20-minute limit.
Class activity
Plan it. Choose an environmental or school issue from this list: saving water, keeping streets clean, planting trees, tidy classrooms. Write your message in one sentence. Plan the slides as a table (slide number and content) for six to eight slides. Show it to a partner, write one suggestion they gave, and update your plan.
Practice
1
What should your message be like?
One clear sentence with one main idea.
2
Name two ways to make a presentation engaging.
For example: a clear question, a simple picture, an example from daily life.
3
A talk has 8 slides and 16 minutes. How many minutes for each slide?
2
4
Why show your plan to a partner?
A partner can suggest improvements you did not notice.
