Independent Learning Centre

The book is an indispensable guide to choosing the right types of visual aids for your academic presentations. Covering an array of visual forms of data such as scatterplots and heat maps, the book targets at not only students, but also academics, researchers, and professional data analysts. Learning objectives, exercises, and recommended resources are provided in each chapter.

Highlights include visualising comparisons (pp. 33-70), what the survey says (pp. 101-138), communicating correlation and regression (pp. 161-174), visualising qualitative data (pp. 175-194), and depicting trends (pp. 195-224).

Focusing on academic presentation contexts, the book will guide you how to prepare for paper and poster presentations in seminars and conferences by articulating results, findings, and conclusions accurately and concisely. Supplemented with chapter-end exercises and explanatory notes, you will learn how to produce and deliver memorable presentations with abundant examples of graphs and tables.

Highlights include how to make graphs (pp. 67-88), tables (pp. 89-104), memorable presentations (pp. 141-174), and posters that captivate (pp. 175-202).

Incorporating sample student speeches, this book appeals to students who want to improve their public speaking and impromptu speech skills. This guide to effective speaking has 16 chapters organised in a general-to-specific manner. Beginning with introductory chapters about public speaking, the principles of effective speaking are then discussed, followed by strategies to deliver persuasive presentations and skills in ceremonial and group presentations.

Highlights include adapting to audiences (Ch. 5), organising the speech body (Ch. 7), language and oral style (Ch. 10), and persuasive speaking (Ch. 14).

The book explicates the oral presentation process in terms of its content, delivery, and design. A presenter in a TED talk is required to speak for 18 minutes or less on a topic. The book provides you with useful and practical skills and tips in engaging, impressing, and captivating the audience. Through careful selection of content and applying a range of verbal and non-verbal communication skills, you will learn how to deliver inspiring as well as entertaining presentations.

Highlights include enhancing your language (pp. 121-130), mastering your verbal delivery (pp. 139-146), managing your nonverbal delivery (pp. 147-152), and creating inspiring slides (pp. 161-166).

This concise guide helps you enhance your presentation skills by walking you through the necessary steps in preparing, delivering, and self-reflecting on a presentation. This quick read also identifies possible embarrassing moments on the stage and provides you with particularly practical and witty tips, helping you better prepare for the presentation and overcome the stage fright by anticipating different scenarios.

Highlights include crafting your message (pp. 23-34), practising your delivery (pp. 49-56), delivering your presentation (pp. 57-64), and managing the response (pp. 65-72).

With simple yet vivid pictures in only four colours throughout the book, you will learn how to make an outstanding presentation by crafting it as a story. The book emphasises the importance of visual effects in presentations and illustrates the art of “show & tell”. Using minimal texts in a few colours and with different typographical features alongside doodle-like pictures, presentation skills are shown and explained in a clear and memorable way.

Highlights include three rules in making a presentation: tell the truth (Ch. 2), tell it with a story (Ch. 3), and tell the story with pictures (Ch. 4).

本書共分四章，作者以十一篇經典講辭為例子，逐步講述提高演講技巧的方法。全書以點列方式鋪述內容，讀來一目了然，方便讀者尋檢作者的各項建議。其中第三章「演講技巧」（頁50 - 77）對如何準備演講內容、編撰講辭大綱與安排全文結構等問題都有扼要的說明，並特別針對資訊性演講提出三種實用技巧。全書雖圍繞英語演講立說，惟讀者如能融會貫通，當亦能提升中文口頭報告能力。

全書計有三部分，作者以如何做好簡報為重點，總結出一套實用的報告方法。比如第二部分（頁30 - 139）歸納出「鑽石五步驟」，說明由設定目標、組織論點、建構內容、編製輔助資料與準備跟進問題的流程，為需要準備口頭報告的讀者提供切實而具體的指引。至於第三部分（頁140 - 159），則談及鍛煉說話技巧等事項，務求報告能達到內外俱佳的水平。書末另附各種表格，以便讀者能有系統地準備報告內容。

本書分為四部分，作者以「少即多」為主要原則，講解口頭溝通須注意的事項。其中第二部分（頁60 - 142）主要介紹讓說話保持簡潔的四個原則，如以腦圖等視覺化工具草擬大綱，以及利用新聞報道的敘事方式鍛煉剪裁內容的技巧，讀來頗富啟發。而第四部分（頁254 - 269）則提出二十條有助精進溝通能力的建議，從如何集中聽眾的注意力到控制自己的說話節奏，都有詳細說明，是相當實用的提示。

全書分成二十三章，所舉例子雖以TED演講為主，但作者所提及的多種技巧，亦適用於其他口頭報告場合。比如第一至七章（頁1 - 173），作者對如何選好題目、安排結構、鋪述資料，乃至不同段落的銜接等問題，都有詳細介紹。第十四至十八章（頁237 - 267）則談及使用投影片或影片等輔助資料時應注意的事項，以及如何配合講桌說話、製作提示卡與選擇服裝等問題。讀者如能細讀，於報告時當更具自信。