Andrew Preshous
Andrew Preshous is Assistant Professor in Academic English at Coventry University. He teaches academic writing and presentation skills on the BA International Business (Top Up) degree programme.
Activity
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
Many thanks to everyone for taking part in this short course. We hope you found it interesting and useful. Good luck with your future presentations!
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
Thanks for the comments and observations - some good tips too!
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
Thanks for sharing these examples of gestures and body language.
It is important to be aware of what is acceptable or appropriate when giving presentations in different cultural contexts . -
Another Perth Presentation planned - Sounds good!
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Thanks Rebecca - Perth, Scotland seems to be less popular!
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Andrew Preshous replied to Leon Chin
I'm looking forward to hearing about Sandakan, Leon - thanks.
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Andrew Preshous replied to Mara S.
Thanks Mara - and that's fine to specify your parameters.
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Which town/city will you select Thomas?
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Which city will you talk about Nwawere?
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Andrew Preshous replied to MARK FLORES
Which town/city will you choose Mark?
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Great to hear about a city I know nothing about - thanks Emmanuel (and apologies for my limited knowledge of this location!).
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Andrew Preshous replied to Andrew Preshous
@BlanchyDodd
Wow - you've got a great memory Blanchy! Where were you studying back then? -
Andrew Preshous made a comment
Thanks for all your comments and posts this week. We’re pleased to hear that you've found the activities and resources useful.
It’s also been great to see how you've shared experiences and got tips and advice from each other.
Have a great weekend and see you all in week 2. -
Andrew Preshous replied to Christine Jeppesen
Good points, Christine.
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
How you finish your presentation is important too. I have seen many presentations when the speaker says "The End" or "That's all" or even nothing at all. Cue awkward silence.
Sum up key points, thank the audience, ask for questions and don't forget to smile!! -
Andrew Preshous made a comment
Thanks for posting your introductions - it was nice to see that they were varied. If all presentations had the same opening words and structure, that probably wouldn't be very interesting for the audience!
The language and guidelines used in this section are not meant to be prescriptive (other phrases are available!), but hopefully having some kind of... -
A very clear opening to your talk Marette.
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Your introduction provides a clear outline of your talk, Chris. Good luck with your book review.
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Thanks Graham - good use of rhetorical questions in the intro to gain the audience's attention.
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A clear outline of your talk Patrick - nice.
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Nice to see that you are including the 'presenting remotely' element Christine.
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
Many thanks for posting comments about Zahra's presentation and for identifying many positive features of the talk. It was also interesting to read the very specific and constructive points about areas in which the presentation could be improved.
In my view, reflecting on presentations (whether delivered by others or our own talks) is key to developing... -
Andrew Preshous made a comment
Really nice to see that the opening 'Big Question' provoked such a lively discussion with some great comments, insights and personal experiences of delivering and watching presentations. :)
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
Many thanks for introducing yourselves - nice to meet you all!
It's great to hear about such a wide range of global contexts in which you will be delivering presentations.
We really hope this short course will be useful and that you enjoy it too! -
Andrew Preshous replied to Helen Honeyman
Yes, knowing your subject is vital - that's content then, right?
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Andrew Preshous replied to Graham Divall
Nicely put Graham.
And in business contexts the delivery of information could also include persuading, requesting, recommending, reprimanding...... -
Andrew Preshous replied to Richard Lawson
Thanks for sharing this Richard and for your comment(s) Laura. That phrase you used (D by PPT) has almost become a cliche, hasn't it? But you make a really good point. Content really needs to be relevant, useful and/or interesting for the audience but it does help if the delivery is engaging too.
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Andrew Preshous replied to Elaine Ridley
@ElaineRidley
This is indeed sometimes true. So for an effective, engaging presentation, both content and delivery are important.... -
Hi Veronica, many thanks for telling us about Florianopolis - I have to admit it is a new location for me, but a pollution-free island off the coast of Brazil, with an interesting market and samba does sound very appealing! Yes, as you say, the lighting on your mini video could be improved but the language you used was appropriate and the clarity and tone of...
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
That's right. Preparation and practice are key.
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
Thank you for sharing these interesting comments about avoiding certain gestures in different contexts.
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
Good outlines and a nice range of locations around the world.
We look forward to seeing the pitches for these cities. -
Andrew Preshous replied to K H
Good to know KH - keep working on it!
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Andrew Preshous replied to Matthew Morris
Agreed - preparation and practice are essential.
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Andrew Preshous replied to Niamh Hoey
That's good to know Niamh - thanks.
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
It's really good to know that there have been some useful 'takeaways' (as they say!) from this week's activities. We hope that by reflecting and focusing on different aspects of presentations such as preparation, structure, language and delivery, this should help you develop and fine-tune your skills. Enjoy week two!
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
Thank you for your relevant postings about ending a presentation. In my view it is really important to signal that your talk is coming to an end and that you sum up key points and invite questions (depending on the context). I have sat though quite a few presentations which end very abruptly, or conversely, just peter out. A phrase I'm not too keen on hearing...
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
As I mentioned below, each person's natural pace will vary. When practising your presentations, ask friends, colleagues, family members to comment on your delivery pace - does it sound a bit slow, too quick or just right! Pauses and pausing are important - whether to emphasise a point, to give the audience a chance to digest key information or just to allow...
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Andrew Preshous replied to Ian O L
And that's OK Ian - each person's natural delivery pace might be quite different. The key is making sure your delivery is at an appropriate pace for your target audience.
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Andrew Preshous replied to Matthew Morris
That's right Matthew. Pauses and pausing at appropriate moments are keys to effective delivery in my view.
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
Thank you for all these excellent introductions on a fascinating range of subjects!
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Nice attention to detail on specific features of pronunciation, Veronica. I guess this would be fine-tuning as the main message wasn't affected significantly, but good to highlight key areas to work on.
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Andrew Preshous replied to Jessica Van Coevorden
Glad you liked the question Jessica! And good points too.
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Andrew Preshous replied to amanda dougan
Many of the components of an effective presentation mentioned here.
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
Really good to see that the initial question has provoked some interesting discussion and great comments. Enjoy the course!
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
Many thanks to all of you who took part in this short course and for your comments.
We hope you will continue to develop and deliver effective presentations.
All the best! -
Andrew Preshous made a comment
Clear outlines and the cities sound very interesting.
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
A real town or city please, Pete.
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
Really good to hear so many positive comments about Zahra's presentation and some great suggestions on how the talk could be tweaked to make it even more effective.
Whether it's the content, the delivery or the visuals you use, it's important to reflect on how you can improve your presentations. -
Andrew Preshous replied to Juliet Ezeakolam
By 'lexical resources'. I expect this is referring to the speaker lacking an appropriate range of vocabulary and phrases for this particular context.
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Andrew Preshous made a comment
Hi and welcome to this short course everyone!
It was very interesting to read your introductions and comments to the discussions today – many thanks for your contributions so far.
We hope you enjoy the learning on this short course and continue to reflect on and develop your presentation skills.
