Public Presentations
This page contains various resources for crafting public presentations.
Writing Speeches
Structuring a Speech
- Video of Nancy Duarte's The secret structure of great talks (from TED Talks)
Creating an Outline
- Former Instructor Gail Reid's Public Speaking Outline (PDF, 61K) from The Department of Mass Communication at the University of West Georgia
- This is a series of four videos from former UWG Mass Communication instructor Chris McDowell on: developing ideas for an essay or presentation, arranging information, writing topic sentences and main idea sentences, and writing an outline. Watch them in order for best results.
- Writing an essay/presentation outline, Video Part 1: Information Arrangement Strategies
- Writing an essay/presentation outline, Video Part 2: Thesis Trees
- Writing an essay/presentation outline, Video Part 3: How to write about anything
- Writing an essay/presentation outline, Video Part 4: Going from a Thesis Tree to a Written Outline
Writing the Speech
- Video from former UWG Public Speaking instructor, Chris McDowell, Awesome Attention-Getters for Essays and Public Presentations
- Nancy Duarte's article Don’t Be Boring: Your Presentation’s Missing Secret Ingredient
- Forbes's 10 Keys to Writing a Speech (PDF, 55K)
- Nick Morgan's article Speechwriting Under the Gun from Harvard Business School
- Adam Frankel's article 6 Tips for Writing a Persuasive Speech (On Any Topic) from Time Magazine
- Agnes Scott College's Center for Writing and Speaking page
- Agnes Scott's Handout section offers a variety of helpful documents for the different components of speech writing.
Preparing for Presentations
Minimizing Stress
Video of Daniel Levitin's How to stay calm when you know you'll be stressed (from TED-Ed)
Preparing for a Presentation
Video of Chris Anderson's TED's secret to great public speaking (from TED Talks)
Building Confidence in Public Speaking
- Video of Amy Cuddy's Your body language shapes who you are (from TED Talks)
- Video of Caroline Goyder's The surprising secret to speaking with confidence (from TED Talks)
- Video of Megan Washington's Why I live in mortal dread of public speaking (from TED Talks)
Creating the Presentation
- Video of David McCandless's The beauty of data visualization (from TED Talks)
- Roberto Cipolla's How to prepare and deliver a presentation (PDF, 1.1M) from University of Cambridge
- Planning an effective presentation (PDF, 203K) from University of Leicester
- Preparing a good presentation (PDF, 61K) from University of Colorado
Resources
Prezi: This website helps students turn their ideas into a top-notch presentation. The graphics and presentation style far exceed the traditional PowerPoint presentation.
Copyright-and royalty-free Music Sources
Miscellaneous
- Video of Dan Pink's The puzzle of motivation (from TED-Ed)
Preparing for Job Interviews
Inspiration for the Job Hunt
- Scott Dinsmore's TED Talk video How to find work you love
- Dan Ariely's TED Talk video What makes us feel good about our work
Résumé Writing
Resources for résumés and cover letters provided by Career Services
Job Search Writing
- Job Search Writing from Owl at Purdue Online Writing Lab
- Analyze your Employability Skills from University of Kent
- How to answer competency-based questions on application forms and at interview from University of Kent
- Job Skills Checklist from Owl at Purdue Online Writing Lab
Job Interview Preparation
- Video of Regina Hartley's Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume (from TED Talks)
- Career Services provides students with tips on interview preparation.