Presenter and discussant
Table of contents
The Presentation
Presentations play an important role in your training. They are used in seminars to present content, impart knowledge relating to the seminar topic and practice the ability to present facts clearly, systematically and interestingly in a good presentation style. A presentation usually lasts between 15 minutes (proseminar) and 30 minutes, whereby the time budget set by the lecturer should neither be exceeded nor fallen short of.
Presentations always follow a clear pattern: question - argumentation - answer. In the proseminar, the questions are still given. For presentations in advanced seminars, you must develop a precise and insightful question yourself; only the subject area is fixed. You will quickly realize that the preparation and presentation of a paper is simple and successful if you organize your information on the basis of such a question. A presentation is also particularly interesting for fellow students listening to it if it does not simply reproduce and describe facts, but analyzes a problem and provides answers to an interesting, important question on the basis of an argument. A presentation usually concludes with some further aspects or questions that provide impetus for the subsequent discussion.
In a presentation, you should visualize the core statements of your presentation. On the one hand, this is an effective aid to understanding for your fellow students. On the other hand, you will find that such visualizations (slides, blackboard pictures or a PowerPoint presentation) will also guide you through the material to be presented in a results-oriented manner and help you to present your argument logically, coherently and convincingly.
Talk through your presentation beforehand! Like any professional, you should make sure that your presentation is very well prepared. At least one, preferably two or three rehearsals - even in front of friends or fellow students - will help you to optimize your time management and check the coherence of your argumentation. Last but not least, you can also ensure that the linguistic presentation is appealing and convincing.
Checklist:
- Do I have a clear question or problem and can I make its importance plausible?
- Do I stick to the question-argument-answer pattern?
- Do I use insightful analytical categories and do I really capture the central content with their help?
- Is the argumentation I have developed logically coherent and correct in terms of content?
- Do I present further thoughts and questions?
- Can I present the presentation well in terms of language?
- Do I make good use of visualization tools (slides, working paper, blackboard presentation)?
- Do I keep to the given time budget?
The discussant's contribution
Critical discussion of the positions presented is practiced in discussants' contributions. Discussants who speak immediately after a presentation usually have a time budget of 10 minutes to fulfill the following tasks: The discussants praise what was praiseworthy about the presentation given, criticize what was worthy of criticism about the presentation given, contribute their own additional perspective and thus open up the subsequent discussion space. These are the central services that the discussants have to provide.
As a discussant, you should discuss in detail whether the understanding of the material presented by the speakers was the best possible one. Question the train of thought of the previous speakers and check the arguments for their coherence and persuasiveness. Use other approaches to obtain further information or evaluations of the topic under investigation. And if you see ways to arrive at more precise, deeper or more useful insights than the presentation was able to provide, then present this alternative to your fellow students.
Be as well prepared as you would be for a presentation - and don't give a "co-presentation"! It is advisable to prepare a contribution as if you were giving a presentation, because the more information you have on the subject matter, the easier it will be for you to open up additional perspectives. But then really discuss the lecture you have heard and refrain from giving another presentation in which the material that the Advisor has passed over would simply be presented in addition!
Good luck!
Please also note the download of the working instructions for presentations and moderations/discussions in our download collection