Some presenters treat handouts like an afterthought or even forget them altogether, justifying their action with: "They will just get trashed anyway." That kind of thinking becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. When handouts are not designed well, they may get trashed. By contrast, quality handouts are used and ensure that your presentation is remembered favourably (WALLACE 1999). Here, you will find information and useful tips on how to prepare your handout properly, so that it supports your presentation with useful details and will not be trashed but used after the lecture.
Handouts are an important part of a good presentation. Source: MITCHELL (n.y.) Your presentation handout is the lasting concrete manifestation of your presentation. As you can see on the picture, the handout is an important part of the total experience for the audience (MITCHELL n.y.). There are many benefits of preparing handouts when giving presentations/ lectures (see also presentation tricks), on the presenter’s and the audience’s side. The most important are listed below (adapted from WALLACE 1999). Handouts Enable Presenters to:
Handouts Enable the Audience to:
(Adapted from UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS LIBRARIES n.y.) Handouts should be created at the same time that you are planning a session. This ensures that the information you include will be tailored to that specific course. It's a good idea to make copies of your handouts ahead of time to avoid problems such as copier jams five minutes before your session begins. Preparing handouts in a rush before a lecture is usually not working out well – if a handout is not appealing, it will not help you reach your targets and might be a waste of paper. Make sure your time management works out. Opinions differ on when to pass out your handouts - some think it's best to give them out at the beginning or end of the session and others prefer the point at which the information is most relevant. Just remember that your students will probably look at them right when they receive them and will miss whatever you say in the next several minutes. Sometimes it can also be good to hand them out a week or some days before the lecture takes place, so that the participants can prepare the course with the given structure or reading material.
(Adapted from UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS LIBRARIES n.y.)
(Adapted from UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS LIBRARIES n.y.; LONDON DEANERY 2011)
(Adapted from UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS LIBRARIES n.y.) When your handout is prepared, ask yourself the following questions:
Handouts are usually a good tool to make sure the contents of an oral presentation can be reviewed by the audience after the presentation. It helps the audience focusing on listening rather than taking notes. For a good presentation, a handout should be prepared including further reading material and weblinks.
A good presentation should be well organized, with a beginning, middle and end. Beginning: The beginning of a presentation is very important! This is when you have an opportunity to grab the audience's attention, and set the tone for your presentation.
Body:
Conclusion:
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