Effective Presentations

We all know that presentations can be one of the scariest things to do but a way to help us overcome this is to know how to do these presentations in an easy way.  This is where presentation skills come in.  I done my first presentation this year and it was one thing that I was not looking forward to.  I needed to know what to do and find an easy way to help me do it.   In class we were told about three steps that I found helped me a lot.

1.       Tell them what you’re going to tell them

2.       Tell them

3.       Tell them what you told them

Without these steps I think that I would have found the presentation even more difficult.  It is important to make sure that you are telling the class the important and relevant facts that you want them to know about your chosen topic. You don’t want to go off talking about something that is not relevant at all to your topic.  Cue cards are a good way of preventing this.  Another thing to remember is to try and not be too nervous.  It’s an easy thing to say but harder to do but practicing your presentation in front of family and friends will help you get use to what you’re saying and what it’s like to have people watching you do it.  Be prepared for questions at the end of your presentation and if you’re not sure of an answer don’t be afraid to say so.  Try to have fun while doing your blog, it may be hard but when you’re finished you’ll feel great that you done it.

Compiling a Literature Review

This year I done my first literature review.  Being honest I had never even heard of a literature review before never mind thinking about having to do one.  The topic we were given was about organisations needing people with more skills and a better workforce.  When I saw this I thought that I would never be able to do it.  I hadn’t got a clue what to do or how to start.  After I had thought it through I realised that I was going to need to do some research.  The whole point of my literature review was to back up the statement.  I needed to find information that I thought would help me do this.  When I found the information I had to see if I could use this. 

Critical thinking is a big part of literature reviews.  When I looked through everything and realised what I wanted to say I had to then put it altogether.  It was important that I decided whether I wanted to agree or disagree with the statement.  I decided to agree so I was able to argue for the statement.  Literature reviews are all about making a point and showing that you are able to back it up.  When I had this done I was able to reference to show further that I was able to do it.  In the end after all the worry and the uncertainty I finished the review and felt that I learnt something new while doing it.

SQ3R Reading Strategy

The SQ3R is a reading strategy that is often used by students when studying.  We all know that studying isn’t the most fun thing for students to do but the SQ3R strategy is a way to help us understand what we have to learn.  For me studying wouldn’t top my list of things to do but I think that this strategy is a good way of helping.  SQ3R stands for survey, question, read, recall and review.

Survey is about having a quick glance over what it is you’re going to read.  By just looking at the title you can get a better idea of what it is you are going to do.  Also look out for headings and what these are to give you a better idea of what this piece of writing is about.

Question is all about asking yourself questions about what you have just read. Do you understand it? Do you agree with it? When asking the questions you will be able to see yourself learning the information you have read and it also gives you the chance to see what sections it is that you may be finding difficult.

Read the text next.  When reading through it make sure you keep the questions that you thought of in mind and see if you can answer them.

Recall what you have just read.  See if you can answer the questions that you have thought of from your memory.  If not go back and re-read the text.

Finally is the review section, this is all about talking about what you have just read.  You can write more notes or talk about it.  Asking other people to help you by asking questions is also another way of helping you to understand and learn what you have just done.

Effective Note Taking

Note taking isn’t something that I thought about before I came to college.  I never really seen the importance of having to take notes I just thought that when I came to college all the information would be in the lectures.  Even though we have the information in the lectures not everything is there.  I started to realise this pretty quickly.  I found that I needed to take notes to make sure that I had all the information available to me.  In class it is important to take notes because it is a good way to get information quickly and in your own words.  By taking notes down you have extra information available to you when it comes to revision.  There are so many different ways to take down notes some people take them straight down, while others prefer mind maps or cue cards.  Whichever one you prefer note taking is an easy and clear way to help prepare you for studying and exams.  It is also a good way of ensuring that you’re going to listen.  If you go into a lecture with the mind-set that you will take notes and pay attention you know that you will learn more.  When it comes to exam time where we’ll all be panicking looking for notes and cramming, knowing that you have your own set of notes in your own words will be a weight lifted off your shoulders.  So at the time we may not want to take notes but think about it in the long term, I know that I’ll be glad I took the notes when it comes to revision.

Time Management

It’s so important when doing anything to manage your time.  You need to be able to have enough time to do what you need to do without rushing or leaving yourself with too little or too much time.  This is where time management comes in.  If we can manage our time we can get so much more done.  For me when I have to do something I need to plan ahead.  I need to be able to know how much time I have to do something or else set myself a time to get it done in.  When it comes to studying it’s the same.  You need enough time to get what you need done but you don’t want to go crazy and spend all day and night studying.

1.      Set yourself out a timetable.  Plan out your day and see when you can study and do this throughout the week.  You’ll be surprised how much you studying time you can fit in.

2.      Have breaks.  We all know that we need breaks but it is important that we do have them.  The thing that we have to make sure is that are break isn’t an hour or two in front of the TV.  Go outside or get yourself something to eat to get ready for some more revision.

I find that by doing these tips I am able to study better and manage my time.  There are many distractions but when you have a schedule out in front of you and you know what you have to do you’re more likely to stick to it and to do it.

Image Reference: effective time management effective time management – times.com