Public Presentations

Below are different resources for crafting public presentation: 

• Writing Speeches

  Structuring a Speech:

  • Video of Nancy Duarte's The secret structure of great talks (from TED Talks)

  Creating an Outline:

  • Professor Gail Reid's Public Speaking Outline from The Department of Mass Communication at University of West Georgia

  Writing the Speech:

  • Nancy Duarte's article Don’t Be Boring: Your Presentation’s Missing Secret Ingredient
  • Forbes's 10 Keys to Writing a Speech (PDF)
  • Nick Morgan's article Speechwriting Under the Gun from Harvard Business School
  • Adam Frankel's article 6 Tips for Writing a Persuasive Speech (On Any Topic) from Time Magazine
  • Agnes Scott College's Center for Writing and Speaking page can be found here. Under the Handout section, Agnes Scott offers a variety of helpful documents for the different components of speech writing.
• Preparing for Presentations

  Minimizing Stress:

  • Video of Daniel Levitin's How to stay calm when you know you'll be stressed (from TED-Ed)

  Preparing for a Presentation:

  • Video of Chris Anderson's TED's secret to great public speaking (from TED Talks)

  Building Confidence in Public Speaking:

  • Video of Amy Cuddy's Your body language shapes who you are (from TED Talks)
  • Video of Caroline Goyder's The surprising secret to speaking with confidence (from TED Talks)
  • Video of Megan Washington's Why I live in mortal dread of public speaking (from TED Talks)

  Creating the Presentation:

  • Video of David McCandless's The beauty of data visualization (from TED Talks)
  • Roberto Cipolla's How to prepare and deliver a presentation from University of Cambridge (PDF)
  • Planning an effective presentation from University of Leicester (PDF)
  • Preparing a good presentation from University of Colorado (PDF)

  Miscellaneous: 

  • Video of Dan Pink's The puzzle of motivation (from TED-Ed)
• Preparing for Job Interviews
  • Scott Dinsmore's TED Talk video How to find work you love
  • Dan Ariely's TED Talk video What makes us feel good about our work

  Résumé Writing:

  • We have a selection of writing resources for résumés and cover letters here in the drop-down category Professional and Technical Writing.

  Job Search Writing:

  • Job Search Writing from Owl at Purdue Online Writing Lab
  • Analyze your Employability Skills from University of Kent
  • How to answer competency-based questions on application forms and at interview from University of Kent
  • Job Skills Checklist from Owl at Purdue Online Writing Lab

  Job Interview Preparation:

  • Video of Regina Hartley's Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume (from TED Talks)
  • Career Services provides students with tips on interview preparation here.