Help - Interview Presentation

BYTEr

BYTEr

BYTEr

Associate
Joined
2 Oct 2004
Posts
1,048
Hi all,

I've just been offered an interview for a Graduate Management Trainee role for a recycling, renewable energy and waste management company and I've been asked to deliver a 10 minute presentation on a topic of my choice. There will be no electronic aids available, however, I will have use of a flipchart.

I'm totally bricking it to be honest, I'm 'ok' at presenting, did quite a lot of it at uni, but I tended to be the one who made the presentation and did a lot of the research, I'm not the best speaker and tend to speak quite fast or slur some of my words through nerves.

I would have rather been given a topic, but currently I'm thinking of either doing something on space junk/debris as its quite interesting and it could fall under 'waste management' so it slightly relates to the business. My other idea was to analyse whether the River Parret should have been dredged, only because its a little contraversal, close to home and my dissertation was on it so I'm fairly confident to talk about it.

If anyones got any tips it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
 
If your not that confident a speaker go with the River Parret option as you'll find yourself no doubt being more relaxed talking about something you've already done and know the facts.
 
Practice with the flipchart if you're going to draw on it, even a few hours going over your drawings will improve things massively.

I guess if you wanted you could pre-draw some of your 'slides' if you can take them in, if not then may be worth asking for some time to setup and have visual aids ready to pre-draw.
random general points:

-Talk at a slower rate than you think you should do
-Look at all the people in the room, try and meet their eye while your talking then move on.
-Try and be both passionate and knowledgeable
-Start with an intro and end with a summary - for 10 min the middle bit needn't be that long
-Keep to time

and most of all practice :)

good luck
 
BYTEr said:
analyse whether the River Parret should have been dredged, only because its a little contraversal, close to home and my dissertation was on it so I'm fairly confident to talk about it.
Click to expand...

Defo this, since you've already got all the material for it. Might need some tweeks to make it more interesting ... you don't just want to drone on and read it for 10 minutes.

Can you make some posters or some charts or graphics for the Flip Chart? Don't just want to stand and lecture them.

As for speaking, practice in front of the mirror and as your parents/misses to let you do it in front of them as well.

When you do speak, you want it to sound slow in your head.. that means you're speaking at the correct speed. Practice it so you don't um and er about things and give them the chance to ask questions at the end. If you get stuck at any point, fake a cough for a second (cover your mouth!) and take a sip of water. Don't do it 100 times, but once or twice and you will get away with it and it will give you 5 or so seconds to gather your thoughts.
 
Siliconslave said:
Practice with the flipchart if you're going to draw on it, even a few hours going over your drawings will improve things massively.

I guess if you wanted you could pre-draw some of your 'slides' if you can take them in, if not then may be worth asking for some time to setup and have visual aids ready to pre-draw.
random general points:

-Talk at a slower rate than you think you should do
-Look at all the people in the room, try and meet their eye while your talking then move on.
-Try and be both passionate and knowledgeable
-Start with an intro and end with a summary - for 10 min the middle bit needn't be that long
-Keep to time

and most of all practice :)

good luck
Click to expand...

+1 to this as well, make sure to start with explaining what you are going to talk about before you talk about it.
 
The one thing that you MUST do is get someone to proof read anything you are thinking of putting up on the flip chart.

Don't choose Glanza for this job, because his post isn't any better than yours ;)

With regards to the content, I would choose the River Parret topic as it appears to be more relevant.

BB x
 
BrightonBelle said:
The one thing that you MUST do is get someone to proof read anything you are thinking of putting up on the flip chart.

Don't choose Glanza for this job, because his post isn't any better than yours ;)

With regards to the content, I would choose the River Parret topic as it appears to be more relevant.

BB x
Click to expand...

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I had to do a presentation as part of an interview recently, being able to choose your own topic is a massive plus. I ended up having to do mine on something I was completely unfamiliar with that wasn't easy to research. The people I presented to had knowledge of the topic so I was slightly concerned I would end up talking rubbish and they would call me out on it :p

I would say the main thing I to chose a topic you're confident about so it will be easier to compose and easier to talk about so I would go for the River Parret topic. It would be nice if the topic is relevant but appearing confident and presenting the information well is more important.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far. In terms of topic, I think I will do it on dredging the River Parrett, I was initially a little woried as it might seem a little boring, but I think it would work best.

As for making use of the flipboard, I don't think I'll get an opportunity to draw anything too significant beforehand, the interview is at 10:00 too, not to mention my drawing ability is severely lacking! I think I'll just try and make a few A4 posters.

Once again, thanks all for the replies, its only my 2nd job interview after uni and its an amazing opportunity with a big company in an industry relevant to my degree and interests and I just want to make sure I do the best I possibly can.
 
General presenting tips.
3 deep breaths before you start
Don't be static for too long. Keep moving, keeps pressure off your heels and keeps you calm (in my experience)
Voice projection - talk, don't shout but make sure everyone can hear you.
Confidence is key. Have a bit of swagger. Practice in front of your mates if needed.
Know your stuff. If anyone questions you respond in an articulate and concise manner.
I thought I was a good presenter after having training when speaking to directors.
Was put in front of 30 kids when I started teaching and lost it!
Practice practice practice!
 
Sounds like the River Parrett is a good choice. However, as the interview is for a graduate position you may get asked about your dissertation - will it cause a problem for you if it's the same topic as your presentation?
 
planty said:
Sounds like the River Parrett is a good choice. However, as the interview is for a graduate position you may get asked about your dissertation - will it cause a problem for you if it's the same topic as your presentation?
Click to expand...

Well my dissertation was analysing the effect of climate change on the flood freuqency and magnitude on the Somerset Levels and Moors, analysing the effect of dredging was a relatively small part and so if I am asked about my dissertation I've still got a huge amount to discuss.
 
With no electronic aids and no topic given, they have zero interest in the content of your presentation and are purely going to be looking at how well you present as a person.

So I'd avoid any content that you think suits the role and instead go for something you are fully confident about and know inside out. Maybe a hobby, or your family history, or something like that. Something you can draw some pictures of is good too. Basically you wan't something you don't even have to think about or try hard to fill 10 minutes with.

When being assessed by Oracle as a trainer I did a 1 hour presentation on Formula 1 :). Had some model F1 cars, talked about tyres, had some interactive bits discussing racing lines and down-force. Other people did things like Whisky tasting, how to fly a glider, the history of Cricket, and even one on how to complete a Rubik's Cube! Nobody out of the 10 or so of us that did it covered anything to do with Oracle software, or even software or computers at all.
 
Just an update if anyone cares.

I had my presentation and interview this morning.

Started with the interview, which was in the presence of the regional director and head of training and development and it was going really well, with the usual questions of 'what do you think is good communication', 'tell us about a time you have demonstrated leadership' and so on, but then I completely fell down when I was being asked questions like what do I know about the company, specific EU directives and what is circular economy? I did do my research, but I was so worried about my presentation that I've basically only skim read a lot of it and under the pressure just forgotten it all.

So pretty disheartened after the interview, it was time for my presentation with 2 other directors, which was far more laid back than I was expecting, had a decent chat beforehand and they said just stay seated, in the end, I felt so relaxed it was easy, especially talking about a topic I knew a lot about it, they were really interested in it and we talked about it a fair amount. Did some scenarios with them too, 'How would you act if an angry customer rang' etc, again went really well.

All in all it could have gone worse I suppose, but I screwed up the 2nd half of my interview with the regional director and so I'm not holding out much hope, its all experience though. Surprised I was even asked for an interview, the other candidates seemed quite strong, a few with masters, one with a phd and a few who had even flown from other countries for the interview.

Thanks again to everyone who helped with tips etc.
 
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