1 - Introduction ~5 mins
Welcome
A presentation without a clear purpose is just slides (or clips) in a row. Today you name what your VET presentation is for, because purpose decides structure, tone, and what you cut. That one decision will shape every format choice you make later in this module.
Something Real is your own vocational or project topic for the VET interview. Your VET Presentation Plan is the short planning document for that talk. If you do not have the plan file yet, you will create it in this lesson.
On screen: the six purpose words you will use today — inform, persuade, entertain, instruct, report, reflect.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Distinguish inform, persuade, entertain, instruct, report, and reflect purposes
- Match structure choices to purpose
- State the primary purpose of the VET presentation in one justified sentence
Warm-up
Think of the last video, deck, or talk that held your attention. In one word, what was it trying to do: teach you something, change your mind, make you laugh, walk you through steps, show results, or look back on an experience?
When your teacher asks, show hands or call out one word so the class can hear the range of purposes in the room.
2 - Key Concepts ~6 mins
Purpose is the job the presentation is hired to do. Pick one primary purpose first. Secondary purposes can sit underneath, but the structure follows the primary job.
Six purpose words (your teacher will add examples from the poster):
| Concept | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Inform — help the audience understand facts or context | Audience needs accurate knowing, not a sales close | — |
| Persuade — move the audience toward a decision or yes | Everything aims at one clear ask | — |
| Entertain — hold attention through story, humour, or energy | Rarely the primary job in a VET interview | — |
| Instruct — enable the audience to do the thing themselves | Needs steps and a finish line they can repeat | — |
| Report — present what happened or what the numbers show | Timeline or findings lead; opinion stays labelled | — |
| Reflect — look back on learning and what you would change | Honest evaluation beats a perfect success story | — |
VET worked example: Topic: custom GAA boot laces sold locally. Inform: "By the end, the examiner understands how the product, costs, and customer fit work." Persuade: "By the end, the examiner is convinced this project shows real vocational skill." For most VET interviews the primary purpose is inform or persuade, not entertain.
If you catch yourself writing inform and persuade and show my personality, stop at the first word. You can always add personality later without making it the job of the whole talk.
Keep the six-purpose poster in view while you write later: your sentence may use only one of those words.
3 - Sort Presentation Purposes ~15 mins
As a class, sort real presentation briefs into the purpose they primarily serve. Talk the placements through first, then confirm on screen in challenge mode.
If the interactive is unavailable, your teacher will run the same eight briefs as an oral or card sort. The briefs are:
- Explain to new members what the club training rota is and why it exists (no walkthrough of how to book a slot)
- Convince a local business to sponsor the GAA under-18s kit
- Keep the room laughing with a match-day banter highlight reel
- Teach a peer how to export a CapCut video as MP4
- Present last month's ticket sales numbers to the event committee
- Look back on what went well and what you would change after a side-hustle trial
- Explain Met Éireann rainfall data so parents understand a fixture risk
- Sell the examiner on why your Something Real project (your own vocational or project topic for the VET interview) shows real skill
What is this presentation for?
4 - Common Issues ~4 mins
Purpose sentence builder
Leave this frame and the spine table projected through the portfolio build.
The primary purpose is to [one purpose word] [audience] so that [one clear outcome].
One purpose word. One audience. One clear outcome. One sentence only — not a paragraph.
Structure spines (one line per purpose)
| Purpose | Typical spine |
|---|---|
| Inform | What it is → how it works → key facts → takeaway |
| Persuade | Problem → proof → ask |
| Entertain | Hook → story or energy peaks → memorable close |
| Instruct | Steps → check → finish line the audience can repeat |
| Report | Timeline or findings → labelled opinion (if any) |
| Reflect | What happened → what I learned → what I would change |
Common Issues
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Two purposes both seem right for the same card | Ask what the audience must be able to do or decide when it ends. That answer is the primary purpose; the other is secondary. |
| I want my VET purpose to be "entertain" so it is not boring | Energy and a hook can still sit inside inform or persuade. Entertain as the main job rarely helps an examiner verify learning. Pick inform or persuade first, then add one engaging device later. |
5 - Portfolio Build ~20 mins
Portfolio build
This Purpose section is evidence toward your Vocational Education Task presentation plan. Your teacher will check the Purpose section before you leave.
Open your cloud storage with the class. Go into the {{code:Project_Portfolio}} folder, then {{code:09_specialism}}, then {{code:sm2}}. Open your VET Presentation Plan there. If you do not have one yet, open the four-heading template your teacher placed in that folder (or create a new document named {{code:sm2_vet_presentation_plan}} with headings Topic, Audience, Format ideas, and Purpose).
- Fill Topic and Audience in one rough line each if they are blank. They do not need to be polished today. Purpose is the assessed piece this lesson. Leave Format ideas blank if you need to.
- Under Purpose, write one sentence using the frame: "The primary purpose is to [purpose word] [audience] so that [one clear outcome]." Use exactly one of: inform, persuade, entertain, instruct, report, or reflect. Tie it to your Something Real topic and the VET interview audience.
- Under that sentence, add two bullets: (a) one structure choice that follows from that purpose (use the spine table still on screen), and (b) one thing you will deliberately leave out because it does not serve that purpose.
- Check the file is saved in {{code:09_specialism/sm2/}} inside {{code:Project_Portfolio}}.
Sentence starters (pick one and finish it in your own words):
- The primary purpose is to inform the SEC examiner so that…
- The primary purpose is to persuade the SEC examiner so that…
One sentence is enough. If you are torn between two purpose words, pick the one that matches what the examiner must do when you finish, and write that.
- One sentence names a single primary purpose word, links it to the VET interview audience, and is clearly about your Something Real topic
- Two bullets sit under it: one structure choice that fits the purpose, and one cut that protects that purpose
- The plan is saved in {{code:09_specialism/sm2/}} inside {{code:Project_Portfolio}} and your teacher has seen the Purpose section
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