The seminar: how to develop and deliver a dynamic presentation

Oral presentation of information and facilitation of discussion by students through seminar presentation are now major components of many graduate nursing courses. Facilitators of seminars need to use a wide variety of techniques to structure the interaction of learners to develop higher order cognitive skills. Seminars are a method of motivating and involving participants through discussion and interaction with facilitators and peers. Participants build on each others' knowledge and ideas through discussion while also discovering new knowledge for themselves which generates and sustains interest, attention and critical thinking. Students' previous experiences in communicating information and ideas, however, have been focused primarily on writing reports and essays, not in oral presentation that often leaves graduate students at a loss to know how to develop and deliver effective and interesting seminars. The authors have identified a lack of easily accessible literature for nurses on how to conduct seminar presentations. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to offer some practical suggestions with respect to the development and delivery of successful seminar presentations. The authors will discuss key skills such as how to prepare and structure seminars, how to facilitate discussion, use visual aids and how to deal with problems common to the conduct of seminars.