Presentation at AC

[TB96]

Hi all,

I have an Assessment Centre at a regional firm in January. We have to prepare a 5-10 minute presentation on a subject of our choice. The brief is quite broad - 'it is a chance to showcase your personality/interests and to make it fun and interesting.'

Do you think it is best to present on a topic that is 'intellectual/academic'? The topic that I would probably be most interested/comfortable with is my hobby, which is football. Do you think this would be too rudimentary to discuss at an assessment centre?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi all,

I have an Assessment Centre at a regional firm in January. We have to prepare a 5-10 minute presentation on a subject of our choice. The brief is quite broad - 'it is a chance to showcase your personality/interests and to make it fun and interesting.'

Do you think it is best to present on a topic that is 'intellectual/academic'? The topic that I would probably be most interested/comfortable with is my hobby, which is football. Do you think this would be too rudimentary to discuss at an assessment centre?

Something like football is fine to talk about in a presentation, but I’d try to present on something very specific within the topic.

A good proportion of candidates are likely to be able to talk about football in this type of assessment. So try to think of a more intellectual element to it - maybe something about the game’s history, maybe something to do with the sports science related to the game. Football itself may not be intellectual as a whole, but there will be lots of fascinating, intellectual elements/sub stories within it. It might be wise to focus on one of them as it will be more unique and more interesting to your audience.

 

[George Maxwell]

Hi all,

I have an Assessment Centre at a regional firm in January. We have to prepare a 5-10 minute presentation on a subject of our choice. The brief is quite broad - 'it is a chance to showcase your personality/interests and to make it fun and interesting.'

Do you think it is best to present on a topic that is 'intellectual/academic'? The topic that I would probably be most interested/comfortable with is my hobby, which is football. Do you think this would be too rudimentary to discuss at an assessment centre?

Hi @TB96,

Welcome to the forum! 🚀 I hope that you had a great Christmas 🎄.

I think @Jessica Booker is right. Football is a perfectly ok topic to talk about. I also do not think that you need to make it academic. However, I do think that it is important that you draw out points which share an overarching theme (besides being about football).

In my opinion, the best talks explore on a topic with a particular angle in mind. For example, this TED Talk draws lessons from football and tries to apply them in a business context, albeit using a fairly academic lens. Choosing an unusual or unique angle about a fairly popular topic (like football) could make for a fantastic talk.

To start this process, try considering the following questions:

• What is it that you would like to say about football? Is it something curious about the sport, or perhaps an unexpected link with another aspect of life (as the TED Talk above does)? Are you able to make any links between football and other aspects of your life? For example, has it taught you lessons that you have utilised elsewhere?
• What attracts you to, and makes you excited about, the sport? Is there something in particular that triggers your curiosity?
• What would you like your audience to have learned by the end of your talk, other than that you just like football? Focus on this. Centre your presentation around it. If you are clear about why you are giving the talk, the more structured it will be and the easier it will be for those listening to follow.

In addition, try to link your chosen theme/topic back to yourself and your experiences (i.e., explain why you have chosen this topic and angle beyond "it interests me"). This will make your presentation more personal and engaging.

I hope that helps!

 

[AvniD]

I think @Jessica Booker and @George Maxwell have broken this down brilliantly! @TB96 good on you for reaching out here on the forum with your question- it's very commendable 👏 👏 👏

 

[TB96]

Thank you @Jessica Booker @George Maxwell @AvniD - this is really helpful! Much appreciated!