FireNuggets , Inc July 2017
• Ten to fifteen minutes is not a lot of time . You do not have the time to get too in depth , even on one subject . A good rule of thumb for an oral presentation is to keep it to three main points .
• Start with your introduction .
• Have a body ( with no more than three bullet points on what you are discussing ). Remember , it ’ s all about depth and detail ( quality ), not quantity .
• Then end with your conclusion .
• Basically , your Introduction sets the stage and tells the audience what you are going to tell them . Motivate them to want to listen to you . Your body contains about three bullet points
… depth ( quality ) is more important than quantity .
of main items . This is where you tell them about your key points . Your conclusion is where you summarize and review what you just discussed . This is where you tell them what you told them .
• Still don ’ t believe me about keeping to a maximum of three bullet points ? Think of it this way . It will take you a minute or two to say hi , introduce yourself and introduce your topic . It will take you a minute or two to summarize everything in your conclusion . Your introduction and conclusion could in theory be up to four minutes , only leaving eleven minutes ( assuming you ’ re going to use the full fifteen minutes , which you don ’ t want to do since you should leave some wiggle room ) to cover three bullet points . Three bullet point
By Firefighters , For Firefighters items in eleven minutes is barely over three minute per bullet point , which is not really a lot of time to get into depth about each bullet point . But , depth ( quality ) is more important than quantity .
• If possible , try to take the time to pass out handouts to your evaluators ( just like you would to a real audience ). Also , try to put together a brief lesson plan to work off of .
• Do not think you have to talk about everything there is to talk about your assigned subject . You are not graded as much on what you say , as much as you are on how you say it , how you present your material ( flow , level of comfort , ease of talking to the audience , etc .), how you communicate and interact with your audience , and how you can make a convincing case for your topic .
• Well before the presentation , take the time to review instructional methodology books and resources on the Internet . There are plenty of resources to assist you to become the best instructor / presenter you can be .
WHAT ARE YOU GETTING TESTED ON DURING THIS PORTION OF THE EXAM ?
While you are getting graded on a number of different dimensions or behaviors , the most commonly evaluated dimensions with an oral presentation exercise are as follows :
• Oral communication skills
• Presentation ability
• Interpersonal skills
• Time management skills
• Leadership ability
• Command presence
• Persuasiveness
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