Delivering information

Earlier in this guide we described the presentation as a key component of each of the workshop designs. Involving participants in the presentation through questionand-answer and embellishing the presentation with audio-visual materials and handouts were emphasized as important ways to increase participant interest, comprehension, and acceptance.

It stands to reason that the more familiar you are with the subject of the presentation, the more confident you will be in yourself and the more effective you will be in reaching your participants. What you include in your presentation should be a combination of several things:

· material contained in the essay that makes up Part I of each handbook,

· your own ideas and experiences about the subject, and

· culture-specific anecdotes, illustrations, and incidents, whenever possible, to add realism and local colour.

Reduce your presentation to notes written on cards, numbered consecutively to prevent mix-ups. Don't memorize your material. But, don't read it either. Practice your presentation until you feel comfortable using your notes as an occasional reference rather than a script.

Be flexible about staying within the time alloted for your presentation. The decision to adjust the programme to be longer or shorter is up to you with the concurrence of your participants. If you say everything that needs to be said in less time than is shown on the schedule, ask some questions to be sure you have got your points across successfully. If you have, stop. Don't repeat yourself. If you find, instead, that it is taking you longer than planned to finish your presentation, it is possible that you are being overly repetitive. You may be losing the interest of your participants. On the other hand, if a stimulating discussion is going on, and you think this is contributing to workshop objectives, let it continue. Just remember that you will have to make up the time somewhere else in the workshop.

Finally, we would like to offer several tips for successful presentations that will be useful to you in conducting workshops.

· Avoid using cliches, jargon, or "buzzwords" that are familiar to you but may not be understood by your participants.

· Watch out for distractions that could break your participants' concentration such as jingling coins in your pocket or leaving unrelated materials on a flipchart.

· Maintain eye contact with participants in all parts of the room.

· Announce two-minute stretch breaks occasionally when you sense that participants might need them.

· Restate essential points frequently to reinforce the continuity of your material and to aid comprehension.

· Use pauses to emphasise important points or to encourage participants to offer questions or ideas of their own.

· Avoid distracting body language like shifting your weight from side to side, pacing back and forth excessively, folding or unfolding your arms, or stationing yourself behind a podium. Stand when making your presentation and position yourself, as much as possible, to avoid having tables, the podium, or other objects between you and your participants.

· Face your participants at all times. Even when writing on a flipchart or chalk board, stand on the side of the writing surface nearest the hand with which you are doing the writing. In other words, don't carry on a conversation with the flipchart.

· During breaks, move materials or equipment, review the schedule for the next segment of the workshop, and be available to talk with participants. However, don't let these conversations prevent you from starting on time after the break.

· Avoid language, jokes, or stories that might offend anyone attending the workshop.