IT Literacy 3
Last updated
Last updated
Basic knowledge on PowerPoint presentations/animations
Create a personal e-mail address and use it
Registration at www.scout.org website (optional)
Email is still among the most widely used communication tools in the workplace today. However, while email is still the go-to medium for a lot of people, companies find that its disadvantages overtakes its advantages if they don’t take steps for improving email communication.
Email is a free tool. Once you are online, there is no further expense that you need to spend on in order to send and receive messages.
Email is quick. Once you have finished composing a message, sending it is as simple as clicking a button. Email, especially if an email system is integrated into the network, is sent, delivered and read almost immediately.
Email is simple. It is easy to use. Once your account is set up, composing, sending and receiving messages is simple. Also, email allows for the easy and quick access of information and contacts.
Email allows for easy referencing. Messages that have been sent and received can stored, and searched through safely and easily. It is a lot easier to go through old email messages rather than old notes written on paper.
Email is accessible from anywhere – as long as you have an internet connection. Whether or not you are in the office or on the field, or even overseas, you can access your inbox and go through your messages.
Email is paperless, and therefore, beneficial for the planet. Not only can you reduce the costs of paper, you are actually reducing the damage paper usage does to the environment.
Email allows for mass sending of messages. An effective medium to utilize to get your message out there, you can send one particular message to several recipients all at once.
Email allows for instant access of information and files. You can opt to send yourself files and keep messages so that you have a paper trail of conversations and interactions you have online just in case you may need them in the future.
There are two main types of email service providers to choose from: email clients and webmail. When you use your provider to access your email from a different device or location online, you can use one of three major email protocols to do so: POP3, IMAP, and Exchange.
Email clients are software applications that you install onto the computer itself to manage the email you send and receive. To access this email, the client interacts with a remote email server.
Email clients you've likely heard of include Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Apple Mail.
If you want to access this type of email from the web, rather than the client's computer application, the email client uses one of the email protocols described below. For example, although you might have Outlook installed on your computer, you can also log in to your email account via outlook.com using a specific email protocol.
Webmail is a form of email you access exclusively from the internet, and therefore exists primarily on the cloud rather than your computer. Instead of an installed application fetching your email, you manage your inbox right from your internet browser.
Webmail providers you've likely heard of include Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and AOL (all of which have made our list of best free email accounts, below).
If you want to access your webmail from a mail app on your mobile device, rather than your desktop web browser, your webmail provider can use one of the email protocols described below.
Now, before we get into the best free email accounts, let's talk about those email protocols.
Email protocols are the systems that actually retrieve your email for you. They can be used to fetch email client accounts on the internet, and fetch webmail accounts on a mobile app. Here are the three main types of email protocol your account can use.
POP3
POP stands for "post office protocol," and is best suited for people who have just one email account and email client. POP3 is the latest version of this email protocol, and allows you to access email while offline. It therefore requires less internet bandwidth.
IMAP
IMAP stands for "internet mail access protocol," and is one of the older email protocol available today. IMAP4 is considered the latest version, and unlike the POP protocol, you do not download your email to your offline email client. Instead, all your email stays online while you're accessing and managing it.
IMAP is particularly useful for people who have more than one email account and access them from multiple devices or locations.
An email provider
Basic details (First Name, Last Name, Date of Birth, mobile phone number)
An easy to remember email address according to your purpose
A strong password with combination of Uppercase letters, symbols and numbers
Making a good presentation starts with crafting the content. No matter how compelling your message is, if you don’t get it out of your brain and on to the screen in a simple way, you’ll be met with a sea of blank faces. So, where to begin?
When it comes to what you have to say, break it down into three simple sections: your presentation needs an introduction, body, and conclusion.
A compelling introduction. Your introduction needs to briefly sum up what you’re going to talk about and why it’s useful or relevant to your audience.
Offer a body of evidence. The body of your presentation is where you hit ’em with the facts, quotes, and evidence to back up your main points.
Sum up with key takeaways. The conclusion is where you loop back to your original statement and give the audience some key takeaways on how they can put into practice what they’ve learned.
No more than 10 slides in total. Who wants to sit through pages and pages of slides? No one, that’s who. By keeping your slide deck to 10 slides, even if your presentation is 30 minutes long, you’ll give the audience a chance to digest the on-screen messages in line with your talk. Using concept maps before structuring your slides can help keep to the point.
Less really is more, especially when it comes to making a good presentation. Too much text and the audience will just be reading the screen instead of looking at you and feeling the emotional impact of your message.
No more than six words per slide. Choose your words carefully and rewrite until you’ve got it just right.
Think ‘bite-size’ information. Studies have shown that information is retained better when it’s broken down into bite-sized chunks. Video is a great way to learn and research suggests it’s 95% more compelling than text.
A good design can make or break a presentation. If you haven’t got the budget for a designer, tools such as Visme or Canva will help you make great slides, and Pexels or Unsplash offer stunning royalty-free images.
Use color sparingly. Bright colors can dazzle, but too many can be off-putting. Use the colors most relevant to your message. We’d recommend sticking with one or two (not counting black and white) for your palette so it has a consistent look and feel.
Be consistent with your font. Consistent design makes you look more professional. Don’t switch between caps and lower case, Times New Roman and Comic Sans, or 8 and 30 point text size. Stick with one font and one size throughout. You can vary the emphasis with your words later, but keep your on-screen text uniform for a more cohesive message.
Format for perfection. A wonky line on a slide or a badly pixelated graphic will put some people off, as it will look like you haven’t tried very hard (or worse, that you just aren’t very good). Make sure your text is aligned and neat like in the example below.
Just like some well-worn shoes, a good presentation often needs a few rounds of dusting before it’s all shiny and sparkly.
Start Messy. Don’t be afraid to start messy. Using a non-linear writing tool like Milanote allows you to explore and outline your initial ideas in a flexible way before you even open up Powerpoint or Keynote. Arrange your ideas side-by-side and discover new connections that you didn’t see before.
Edit ruthlessly. At first you might have a huge amount of information and will wonder how you’re ever going get it down to six words per slide.
Get someone else to look at it. A fresh pair of eyes can work miracles when it comes to refining your presentation. Get a trusted mentor or colleague to review your work. If you don’t know anyone who can help, an online writing assistant like ProWritingAid or Grammarly can help you weed out a lot of problems.
How you start and finish your presentation will make all the difference. Audiences usually make up their minds about someone in the first 7 seconds, so make those first moments count.
Be different. You open with an amusing story.A story like this is different and unexpected for your audience, so they’ll sit up and take notice.
Ask a question. Rhetorical questions are a great way to frame a topic and introduce ideas. Martin Luther King Jr. said: ‘there are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?’”
Tailor it to your audience. How much do you know about your audience? The more you know, the better. Especially if you know their likes and dislikes. Inserting a relevant metaphor or popular culture reference.
Oscar Wilde said ‘Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.’ A lack of authenticity will be spotted a mile away. Whatever you’re saying, speak from the heart and don’t try to impress – there’s no need to prove yourself, just to get the point across as you see it. After all, that’s why you’re there, and you can’t do more than that.
Use humor. Humor can be great for giving a presentation, but cut it out if it feels like a stretch. Telling a humorous story can break down any barriers, make you more likeable, and make your message more memorable (and people are surprisingly generous with laughter) but the faintest whiff of desperation will kill a funny vibe.
Don’t be afraid to mess up. The fear of making a mistake can make you inordinately nervous. Relax, even the best speakers mess up or have bad luck.
Open up and be vulnerable. “Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up.” This means speaking your truth and daring to feel a little uncomfortable as you share a meaningful story. It will connect your audience to you like never before.
With all the prep you’re doing on the content and design of your presentation, it can be easy to overlook other variables that are within your control for a stress-free delivery.
Have a practice run-through. There’s nothing like reading it out loud to ensure your message makes sense before you actually deliver it. Try recording your presentation on video — this way you’ll be able to review with an accurate eye and notice whether your speech matches up with your slides. It’ll also help you sort out your run time.
Use a remote. A clicker or remote will help you face the audience and not have to keep turning back to your laptop. A remote is essential in order to pause and advance your presentation so you have time to be spontaneous and control the flow of your delivery.
Have backup material. Not everything you say is going to resonate with your audience. It’s best to be flexible enough to change the game as and when needed. Preparing for every eventuality will help soothe your nerves and allow you to feel more in control.
Use a timer. When you get into the flow of your message, it’s easy to go off on a tangent or even spend too long on audience questions. Put your phone on airplane mode and set the stopwatch just as you begin speaking. A quick glance down at the table during a pause will allow you to make sure you’re not going overtime.
You’re coming to the end of your presentation. How do you wrap it up in a way that will be everlasting in their memories? The experts recommend you focus on the feeling you want the audience to take home.
Leave your audience with an emotional impression. ‘They might forget what you said, but they’ll never forget the way they made you feel’. By leaving them with an emotional impression, from a piece of video with moving music to a line from a song or poem, you’ll strike that resonant chord and end on a high.
Use a pause for key takeaways. Want the audience to remember something specific? Say it slowly and leave a pause at the end. The silence will emphasize what you said and make it meaningful.
Make your core message sing. A call to action is the best way to wrap up your presentation with strength and impact. What do you want your audience to do next?
