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FutureLearn

Talk Like a Pro: Effective Presentation Skills

National Tsing Hua University via FutureLearn

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Overview

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Deliver confident presentations on technical topics

Many speakers overlook audience needs and struggle with unclear objectives, particularly when presenting complex research or engineering concepts.

This course teaches audience analysis and purpose-driven planning for technical contexts like academic conferences and professional presentations. You’ll learn proven frameworks to structure content, develop delivery skills, and handle questions confidently.

Through video analysis and practice, you’ll transform nervous presentations into compelling communication.

Analyze audiences and structure content clearly

Learn to identify audience knowledge levels, expectations, and needs before crafting your presentation. You’ll define clear objectives that guide content selection and structure.

Master frameworks like IMRD and CARS. Organising complex technical material logically. You’ll practice distilling research into engaging narratives that guide audiences through data and arguments without oversimplifying.

Perfect verbal and non-verbal delivery

Develop voice control, pacing, body language, and stage presence through video analysis and feedback. Study techniques from TED talks and successful technical presentations to understand what makes presentations engaging.

You’ll learn to reduce filler words, build natural flow, and project confidence, with specific support for non-native English speakers navigating pronunciation and fluency challenges.

Master Q&A and discussion skills

Practice handling questions respectfully while advancing your key messages. Through role-plays simulating conference scenarios, you’ll develop strategies for difficult questions and managing time effectively.

You’ll gain confidence bridging technical depth with accessible responses that satisfy diverse audiences, from specialists to generalists.

This course is ideal for engineering and computer science students, early-career researchers, technical professionals preparing presentations, and non-native English speakers looking to improve academic and conference presentation skills.

Taught by

Yun-yin Huang

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