How to effectively present in English in the 21st Century

One of the most important things a presenter should be aware of is the way the room is prepared.

If you are doing a large keynote speech, you are quite often going to be presenting to a large group of people. However, most presentations are in front of a small group of people. When you are presenting to a large audience, it is unlikely that you will be able to change the room layout. Most large presentations are done in the ‘classroom’ style or ‘theatre’ style. And this is the best style for large numbers of people.

Standard room layouts

However, if you are presenting to a group of around twenty people, then you will have a degree of control over the layout.

Personally, my preference is for a ‘U’ shape style. This gives me a lot of room to walk around, and it ensures that there are no barriers between me and each member of the audience. Sometimes, you are presenting in a boardroom or a room with a large long table and you are standing at the front of the room. This can be difficult, usually because there will be a limited amount of space in front of you.

I have seen a rather strange layout called, ‘square shape‘ this layout has a large square inaccessible area in the middle, and I find it a layout that is particularly difficult to present to as there will always be a line of people who have to turn around to see your presentation. If you are faced with this layout, ask the organiser to remove a line of chairs and turn it into a ‘U’ shape. You can always add a line of chairs behind the back row.

This is another reason why you should always arrive at your presentation venue at least one hour before your start time. Making sure that the room is set up how you want it, with as few barriers between your audience as possible is essential for a successful presentation.

One more thing I would add, is that where you place your computer for your presentation is important. You do not want to be turning away from your audience to glance at your notes, and neither do you want your computer to act as a barrier. Make sure that your computer is viewable by yourself, but not in a way that causes you to turn away from your audience.