Business Presentation Skills

How to succeed in this class – 7 secrets to success

1. Come to class and participate.

You’re expected to attend every class and participate in class discussions and activities. This includes volunteering for activities and acting as a leader to other students. Part of BUSM 1500 is being the audience for your classmates’ presentations. In addition to helping your classmates improve their confidence and public speaking abilities, you’ll learn from watching other people’s presentations.

2. Be supportive and respectful. Public speaking makes most people anxious.

Actively pay attention to presentations, and use body language to encourage the speaker. Don’t distract yourself or disrespect the speaker.

3. Check Brightspace regularly.

You are responsible for:

• Keeping up with the course, completing assigned work and submitting before deadlines
• Reading and responding to announcements
• Being prepared and ready to participate in class

4. Check your email daily, or forward it to an account you check daily.

You are responsible for all email sent to your Langara account

If you need technical support, contact IT

5. Practice your presentations: This will make a huge difference in your grade and your confidence.

Practice each presentation at least 10 times

Practice alone, in front of people and record yourself
6. Be timely.

Present on the date assigned.

Submit before the deadlines. Some instructors deduct marks or don’t accept late submissions. If you need help or an extension, contact your instructor before the due date. Don’t leave it to last minute.

Contacting your instructor

The best way to contact your instructor is by email. Your instructor’s email address is on the course outline.
Always write clear, professional emails:

1. Put your course number and section number in the subject line. For example, BUSM1500-001
2. Start with Dear or Hello [Name],
3. Be brief, clear and professional
4. Close with Thank you, Sincerely, or Best regards,
5. Type your name under that, followed by your student id, course number and section number
6. Fix all spelling, punctuation, capitalization or grammar errors

Plagiarism

Instructors are contractually obligated to report all plagiarism. All work containing plagiarised content will be penalized and reported to the Office of Student Conduct & Academic Integrity. No exceptions. Please do not place an instructor in a conflict of interest situation by asking them to ignore plagiarism.

The benefits of public speaking

Learning to present effectively has many benefits that will positively affect your career, education and personal life. These benefits include:

• Communicating clearly with others
• Increased self-esteem and confidence
• Managing stress
• Improved polish and professionalism
• Teamwork
• Listening skills
• Giving feedback
• Being able to “think on your feet“

A time before reading & writing

Long ago there was no writing. Information, culture and history were passed down orally. In other words, people told stories. If you wanted power or influence you had to be a great presenter.

An example of this is Canada’s Indigenous peoples, including Vancouver’s Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh communities. They had no written language, so they used stories, such as the ones symbolized in these totem poles in Stanley Park, to pass down wisdom.

Then came a major shift – the rise of written communication. The printing press was introduced to Europe in the mid-1400’s, which meant that books could be mass produced. The western world became more and more literate over the following centuries, and the influence of written communication grew. Instead of just stories and presentations, reading and writing became a major way of wielding power. If you wanted to influence people, you’d write books or own a newspaper.