Comments on: Surviving the Presentation

By: Bryan Loar

Bryan Loar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:57:06 +0000

There's also an excellent article in C&RL entitled, "From the inside out and the outside in: The academic library interview process in a tight economy." As the title suggests, it gives insight to both sides--the interviewers & interviewees.

By: Professional Development « [ArLiSNAP]

Professional Development « [ArLiSNAP] — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:49:08 +0000

[...] Surviving the Presentation [...]

By: Heather Koopmans

Heather Koopmans — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:20:47 +0000

I echo Jill’s recommendation to approach the presentation as if it were an instruction session. I personally find that if I think of it as an opportunity to interactively demonstrate personal knowledge that others are going to be interested in, it takes the edge off of nervousness and feeling the pressure to look like an expert.

I’m providing a link to a PDF handout created by Duke University’s excellent Center for Instructional Technology, about avoiding “Death by Powerpoint”. As the title suggests, it provides advice on creating compelling visuals that will enhance your presentation, not distract from it.

cit.duke.edu/pdf/events/death_by_ppt_handout1.pdf

By: Meredith Kahn

Meredith Kahn — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:22:59 +0000

Thanks for the (excellent!) additional tips, Bryan and Jill!

By: Jill Luedke

Jill Luedke — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:55:00 +0000

Here are some tips if your presentation is to be conducted similar to a regular library instruction sesstion (i.e. Database demo, How to research X topic, etc.)

– Try to relate your presentation to the school and its curriculum when possible. Most institutions will provide curriculum information on their Website. Look at the courses to give you an idea of what is taught and use this as inspiration for creating your presentation. Consider selecting a course as your “sample class”. Refer to real classes taught at the institution and real professors. This will make it relevant, show you’ve done your research and help you with your research of the institution.

– If you’re going to do live searches, bring a back-up version of screenshots. Let me reprase that… DO LIVE SEARCHES, but bring a back-up version of screenshots. And make sure it is MAC and PC compatible.

– Involve your audience as you would in a regular teaching session. Ask them questions. Make them brainstorm with you. Etc.

– Provide handouts as you would for a regular teaching session.

– Provide class surveys as you would for a regular teaching session.

– Provide rewards for participation, if you usually do this while teaching.

– Remember, many of the people in your audience may not be art librarians, much less librarians at all, so you are very likely teaching them new things. Just like in a real library instruction session. This should put you at ease.

– Smile

By: Bryan Loar

Bryan Loar — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:29:11 +0000

If your presentation is to be a portfolio of your work and skills, you might want to check out ALA JobList's links to portfolio resources.