FMP preparing for your presentation
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This document provides guidance for students preparing to present their final major project for an MSc in Music Engineering and Production. It recommends summarizing each section of the dissertation into manageable chunks to aid in revision. It also advises identifying key authors and references in the research area and preparing to discuss them. Students should anticipate common types of questions that may be asked, such as about their research objectives, methodology, conclusions, and contribution to knowledge. Proper preparation includes practicing delivery alone and with others, using visual aids effectively, managing nerves, and engaging their audience.
FMP preparing for your presentation
- 1. MSc Music Engineering and Production Final Major Project - Preparing for your Presentation
- 2. Summary Summarise your own work into manageable chunks. Take each of your dissertation sections, from your Introduction right through to your Conclusion and summarise them, using a sheet of paper. This will make it easier for you to revise.
- 3. Highlight Write down who you think are the main players in your research area, identifying in what respect they are important (make use of one or two particularly memorable quotations). You will look incompetent if you are unable to talk about authors whom you have cited in your dissertation as key players.
- 4. Anticipate questions and prepare your answers. Do not panic, because most of the questions will be straightforward. The examiners are not your enemy– they are genuinely interested in what you have to say. It is generally not difficult to anticipate the type of questions you will be asked, although there will always be one or two from ‘left field’! The questions tend to follow the structure of your dissertation. Examples of typical questions that crop up again and again are: Anticipate
- 5. • Alone • To a friend/colleague • Video yourself • Time yourself • Evaluate Preparation
- 6. • Check out the room if possible • Test your technical equipment • Plan/practise any logistical moves Reconnoitre
- 7. • Graphics • Pictures • Graphs/charts • Audio • KNOW YOUR POWERPOINTS Prepare Visual Aids
- 8. • Be yourself • Be enthusiastic • Speak clearly • Make eye contact • Don’t be afraid of physical gestures • Vary volume and speed Presentation Style
- 9. • Adrenalin is good for you • BREATHE!! • Slow down and take your time • Look for physical support Dealing with Nerves
- 10. • Interact – converse • Show conviction • Inform • Entertain • EYE CONTACT!! Your Audience
- 11. • In one sentence, what is your work about? • What led you to do this research? • Why is this work worth reading? • Can you explain your research objectives to us? • You say so-and-so has such-and-such a view. Are you sure about that? • Who would you say are the main players in your field? • I don’t agree with your interpretation of so-and-so’s model . . . • Your references are pretty old. Why haven’t you used more up-to-date sources? • Explain your procedure for ensuring that your survey was random? • You cannot claim that your case study is representative, can you? • Why should we rely on your research? • You know the people you interviewed, so surely your work is biased? • Are you really saying that your approach to empirical research is the only way to do research? No other way counts? Examples of typical questions that crop up again and again are:
- 12. • Can you explain to us how you analysed your empirical data? • Do you think you achieved your research objectives? • I’m not sure that your conclusions follow from your empirical work . . . • What would you say are the practical implications of your research? • Can you elaborate on your recommendations, particularly on how you see them being implemented? • What’s good about your work? • If you had to do this research work again, what would you do differently? • Why do you think this work deserves a pass? • So, what would you say is your contribution to knowledge? • Why should we award you an MSc/MPhil etc.? Examples of typical questions that crop up again and again are:
- 13. References Succeeding with Your Master’s Dissertation A step-by-step handbook John Biggam
- 14. MSc Music Engineering and Production Final Major Project - Preparing for your Presentation