OK, I can see all of you out there saying, what the heck does giving presentations have to do with amateur radio? Well, I happen to be of the opinion that giving a good presentation is one of those basic skills that apply to every aspect of one’s life. In this case, I’m writing about it here because I am in the process of trying to plan out this year’s list of presentations at our monthly meetings..
Generating a list of topics is the easy part. In fact, here’s my list:
- PSK31 and other digital modes
- Emergency Communications
- 60m
- Working satellites
- Shortwave listening
- Antenna Experimentation
- License class results
- Show and tell night
- Construction Night
- ARRL Videos
- Power line safety
- Other Ham Radio Clubs – QCWA, Fists, TAPR, NJ QRP Club, etc.
- NTS
- APRS
- Public Service Events
- Choosing and Using an digital multimeter (DMM) or oscilloscope
The hard part is finding someone to give the presentation. First, it’s a fair amount of work to give a presentation. You have to research the topic, prepare the slides, etc. Then, you have to actually give the presentation. This is what gets a lot of people. They get so nervous about it, that they just freeze up when they get in front of a group.
That being the case, I wanted to be able to point people to some Web resources on how to give a presentation. I did a Google search and came up with the following websites:
- 10 tips for academic talks
- Tips for Talks – A Checklist for Success
- Making Business Presentations Work
Perhaps more important than pointing people at resources is to offer your own personal support. Offer to help the presenter prepare the presentation. That makes the task easier for them and helps ensure that you get a better presentation.