3. Building a Rich Body

Strategies for Increasing Learning

While you are trying to hold your audience’s attention by using the different techniques described above, there are several special tips that Garmston and Wellman (1992) suggest you use in order to accelerate learning during the body of the presentation.

• Foreshadowing – not only helps people know where the presentation is going, it also excites them about the journey. (When we return from lunch, we will share with you some intriguing ideas about…)

• Bridging – provides a transition between one content chunk and the next (We’ve just examined… Next we are going to… This afternoon, we will… ). Good bridge phrases help your listeners shift gear, readjust expectations and recap what has been covered. Without transitions it is almost impossible for listeners to follow even a relatively simple line of thought.

• Backtracking – means to frequently review what has occurred in a presentation. It is important to backtrack several times in a longer presentation.

• Processing – enables participants to reflect about and talk about the material presented. (Turn to your neighbor and summarize what has been said; write in a journal.)

Reference:

Garmston, R. J., & Wellman, B. M. (1992). How to Make Presentations that Teach and Transform. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

---

Adapted with permission from Soil and Water Conservation District Outreach: A Handbook for Program Development, Implementation and Evaluation. Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Soil and Water Conservation, 2003.