first presentation in an interview

I have a Year in Industry placement interview tomorrow, I’ve never done one before.

it includes a presentation, to not risk forgetting everything and babbling gibberish would prompt cards be ok, or will i look a bit stupid and should do without them

cheers
Tom

tomorrow

presumably it’s written and has been rehearsed a couple of times ?

cards not required IMO (but can use if you wish, especially if you know you’ll flounder without them) – but they should just need to say “keep calm” and approx how far through you are (esp if timekeeping is important in this) – your slides (assuming there are some) should prompt you to say what you need to

Prompt cards are great – a few keywords to keep you on the straight and narrow, can be held in one hand as you gesture.

I’d much rather you used prompt cards than read slides full of text.

Prompt cards are okay if the presentation turns out decent, no prompts even better.

Personally, my slides are my prompt cards. I don’t mean “read from the slides”- some people choose to misinterpret that comment… But the slides and the spoken word work together so even with fairly different content on the wall, it’ll still keep me on track with the words and a quick angle of the body/gesture is all the time i need to grab what I need to stay on track then turn back to the presenter.

If you don’t feel yours does, or your not comfortable you can work this way, then go prompt cards. I dislike using them personally (not because I think it’s bad- I just don’t like how it feels) but it’s about a million times better than just botching it.

(to be fair- this can work the other way- some people will end up presenting to the wall instead of to the recruiter, they’ll just stand and talk the slides to the slides. Hopefully you know your own game.)

If it’s a year in industry, presumably you’ve presented before for your uni course? It’s just the same at heart. Assuming it’s not an industry where supercharismatic presentations are essential, they will have some candidates that are expert/excellent presenters but they’ll also be used to having some that suck, frankly. It’s a chance to impress so you want to be as good as you can be but any basically competent presentation shouldn’t be a disaster unless it’s a key skill. which I doubt, from your post.

This late in the game you’re fairly committed to what you’ve already done so just try and relax, be prepared for questions on your material. If there’s anything you don’t like saying- a clanky forced-in quote, something that breaks your flow or you stumble over- consider a mild rewrite just to smooth it. Talk through it, out loud, act like you’re presenting (I’m quite “body-languagey” when I present so if I don’t do that while writing or practicing it ends up clunky!).

And good luck, have faith in what you’ve done. There’s a ton of tips and tricks you could use last week to make a better presentation but tonight it’s all about what you’ve got in the can already IMO.And if it’s a total ****ing disaster, just take the punch and get back into the interview. And if that’s a disaster too go and speak to your careers department for advice!

I’ve had to do a lot of presentations in my time (it was a big part of my job) and by the end, enjoyed doing them.

Prompt cards are fine but make sure they’re single words / very short phrases so that you aren’t reading from them.

If it’s a single piece of paper or card, number the prompts. It’s never good to be searching for the next prompt because you’ve lost your place.

Practice. Know exactly what you want to say. I used to write a full script and practice reading it directly over and over again like a actor would. I’d make prompt cards with the first couple of words from the first sentence and pertinent points (3 word max). Then I’d practice without the script and only the cards, then finally, without the cards. I guess the same way you revise for an exam. You go from a full text book to notes to nothing (in the exam hall).

Are you using ppt? If so, use the notes feature there. Maybe the first few words or line from your script re. that slide and pertinent points. A useful trick someone gave me was to use this and as you go to the laptop to press the arrow for the next slide, read through the notes for 10 seconds. It comes across much better than looking down at cards in your hand and that second to re-compose before beginning the next slide can do wonders. Walk in front of the screen so you’re not tempted to look at it when presenting.

If you do lose your place for whatever reason, and it happens to everyone, be honest. I’d use the phrase, “sorry, have I got head of myself?”. It comes across better than, “shit. What was I talking about?” Take a few seconds to look at your prompt and then nail it again. If you do need this then use your fingers one the laptop screen / paper like a child reading. It just helps you focus and get there in a less haste, more speed kind of way.

Sometimes I’d have weeks to perfect a presentation and could have one index-card prompt for a 45 minute presentation. Sometimes, it would be written in the afternoon, practiced in the evening and presented the following morning. Without prompts, the latter would have failed. I think it’s more about how you use them. Use them like prompts and it’s grand. Use them like a script and it won’t come across well.

If you can use the slides (assuming there are some) as prompts, make sure you aren’t also presenting to the slide and away from the audience.

Finally, relax. Break a leg etc. Let us know how it goes.

Don’t talk to the screen! Number 1 fault of speakers everywhere.

Personally, I’m a big fan of using crib cards, but then i don’t often use .ppt if i can get away with it. As above, i use them as stepping stones to get from one key point to the next, and the gaps i fill in myself.

Whatever you’ve done, good luck! Keep relaxed, and the interviewers will take your lead.

Agree completely with the above in general – use slides as the frame that you then hang your words on. Personally I hate slides with masses of text that people just read out.

A couple of pitfalls though – firstly, there is a risk that you start talking about stuff on forthcoming slides; you do need to know what’s on each slide so that you don’t deviate from the running order. Using the framework + words ISN’T a licence to just busk it – then you end up doing that ‘err, I’ve already covered this slide’ embarrassment which looks amateur.

Secondly – if presenting to people whose first language isn’t english, you might need to do the ‘lots of words and read them out’ style. Simply because writing ‘1 x 10’ on the slide and then speaking for 5 minutes about narrow wide and chain angles and….. could leave a non-english speaker miles behind.

Lastly – avoid giving people your pres in advance. I always used to take handouts for afterwards; less so now you can email it but avoid that being available before you speak. A presentation is interactive, encourage eye contact and physical signs of agreement / understanding at least, if not full interaction (I personally prefer questions as we go, although I’ll happily delay answering if it’s then covered later) – and it’s difficult to get interaction if they’re reading it, and even worse if they are reading three slides in front of where you are. You may as well present to the wall then.

And enjoy it. It’s a fundamental business skill and not hard to learn.

If it’s for an interview they’re not that bothered about the content, they’ll be looking at your delivery style and ability to use information and data to put a point across or influence a certain outcome, so if you can pick a subject you know slot about, could be anything, maybe something outside of the work environment if you can. And don’t be afraid to be a buyout there with your style. They’ve got to remember you in amongst a see of other candidates. Good luck

Good advice. I was told 5 points each of 5 words. Short and snappy for the audience to read and you’re not just reading a slide at them.
Prompt cards are fine but just the point.

It really depends on your style and what is comfortable for you. I do loads of training, presentations (on some proper boring stuff too !) and I prefer to have very image heavy slides, and speak without notes. That way you maintain eye contact with your audience and can see if they look perplexed, or are dozing off. That does rely on you being very familiar with the subject and material.

If you want to make sure they got your main points then summarise at the end and have postcards for them.

And don’t be afraid to throw in a few jokes. Clean ones, of course.

thanks for all the responses its really appreciated,

the presentation is for a facilities management placement, the content covered is about you, interests, achievements and any projects that i have been involved in,

I’m hoping that because they are things i know alot about i will have plenty to talk about. I’m just conscious to only use the slides as a point to expand on, and making sure it lasts the required 5-10 mins,although I’m not sure if they will be timing more to use as a guide, when thy contacted me about the phone interview it was meant to be half hour, but on the day she called it a 10 minute chat.

the content covered is about you, interests, achievements and any projects that i have been involved in

You have all the cards. You know everything about this subject, and they know nothing. If you miss any information out, they’ll never know.

Hah, good answer that.

So how’d it go?

and dont bang on unnecessarily, they dont want to be there either.

the presentation is for a facilities management placement, the content covered is about you, interests, achievements and any projects that i have been involved in,
I’m hoping that because they are things i know alot about i will have plenty to talk about.

One clear topic/theme broken down into
Three clear and divided segments that are connected to each other and the main theme.
A conclusion that fits with the title.
I gues I would be looking at points that are both relevant to your background are reasons why they should give you the job.
Practice with a watch for timings and don’t practice with slides ( see how many slides you really need/want).
And don’t ramble, you might think that filling time is good. It isn’t.
Good luck and let us know how it went.

think it went well,

was a lot less formal than i thought it would be. i presented it sat around the desk with the 3 people interviewing, and a projector screen at the end of it. they chatted through the presentation so was very relaxed which was a relief. i was worried about filling the time but with them asking questions through it that wasn’t a problem.