What is your presentation supposed to be about? How many minutes should your presentation last? Should the presentation include a visual aspect as well? For example, should you have a PowerPoint presentation, a flip chart, or other props? Are you allowed to have note cards in your hand while you present?
If you are creating a visual presentation, writing out everything that you want to say will also help you pick out important points to include in the visual part of the presentation.
If you have been instructed to use a poster board or flip chart, then create your presentation using bold markers that will be able to be read easily from a distance. Consider gluing on images that help your presentation make sense. As with PowerPoint, make sure not to make your poster/flip chart too busy. You want your visuals to aid your presentation, not take over it. Keep the presentation simple and neat. Unless your teacher has given specific instruction on this, stick to fonts and colors that are neutral and easy to read, like Garamond, Arial, or Times New Roman. [2] X Research source Find ways to use pictures that can illustrate what you are talking about with your words. For example, if you are presenting on an important battle in history, you might find paintings, drawings, or photographs and use those to help your listeners imagine the battle.
For example, you can save your presentation on one or even two different USB sticks, and you can also email the presentation to yourself. This way, you have a few different options for getting it open.
If you’re giving your presentation late in the day bring your presentation clothes with you and change into them right before class. If you’re giving the presentation early in the day, come dressed for the presentation and then have more casual clothes to change into, if you don’t want to wear your nice clothes all day. It is a good idea to lay out the clothes that you want to wear the night before. This way, you will know they are ready to go, and you won’t have to think about what you will wear at all on presentation day.
If you wear makeup, consider bringing a bit of makeup for a touch up before your presentation. You could also bring a comb or brush to make sure your hair is neat.
Try to make sure that your presentation is completely ready to go before going to bed. This will help keep you from laying in bed trying to remember anything you might have forgotten to take care of. Pack everything you will need for school including anything for the presentation before getting ready for bed.
You might not have access to a projector, but you can still stand next to your computer for practice. If you are using a different visual presentation, set it up in the way that you plan to use it during the presentation. For example, hang your poster board on the wall. In your first trial runs, you may find that you have to stop to fix major problems or to make notes of things you want to say. This is OK to do, but try not to get in the habit of stopping every time you have a problem. Practicing helps to work out issues, but it also helps you practice getting past mistakes as smoothly as possible.
You can use the timer on your phone or a stopwatch. If you don’t have either of those, try doing a Google search for “stopwatch” and you can use the built-in one on the Google search page. Alternatively, you can also just make a note of the time when you start the presentation and then see what time it is when you end the presentation. Don’t forget to factor in a few minutes for potential questions!
Keep in mind that memorizing, in this case, doesn’t mean having a word for word script in your head. Instead, it means that you know what you are presenting well enough to do it without the use of note cards. It’s OK if you say things a lit bit differently each time you practice the presentation as this will make you seem confident and natural. If your teacher has said it’s OK, you could consider writing down a few points that you’re having trouble remembering on a small note card.
Keep in mind that if your parents are the type that think everything you do is perfect then they may not be very critical of your presentation even though it would help you. On the other hand, if you have extremely critical parents, try to take everything they say in moderation, and remember that they just want you to do well.
If you don’t have a classmate you want to ask, then ask a friend who you trust to be helpful with the presentation. Avoid asking a friend who you know will not take the task seriously.
You may not be able to answer every question that is thrown at you, and this is OK. If you get a question that you don’t know the answer to, do your best to tell them what you do know, and tell them you will find out the rest of the answer and get back to them. [10] X Research source
If you really don’t want to go first, try to go second or third. The earlier you can get your presentation out of the way, the better.
During this time, take a few deep breaths and reassure yourself that you’re going to do great. You’ve done everything you need to do to make your presentation go well.
Don’t go into too much detail when introducing the topic of your presentation, but try to get your listeners interested quickly. For example, if you are presenting about how to choose a college, you could say something like, “You may think that where you go to college isn’t that important; however, you probably don’t realize that where you go to college will have a huge impact on your life. It will have an impact on where you live, who you meet, and most importantly whether or not you can get the job you want. ”
If you’re using an electronic presentation, you can use each new slide as a chance to stop for a few seconds and recognize whether you are speaking slowly and loudly enough for everyone to hear.
If the mistake was small, chances are that nobody even noticed it. If they did notice, they probably didn’t care too much. Remember that your teacher probably isn’t out to get you, and they won’t get mad at you for making a mistake. You can also make a joke out of the mistake. For instance, if you stumble over the pronunciation of a word, then purposely mispronounce the next word or two after that and really get the room laughing. Smile and laugh about it yourself — being able to laugh at yourself shows confidence. Then continue with the presentation.
If you are able to make eye contact for a few seconds with several different people over the course of your presentation, you will be giving the impression that you are relaxed and confident. Don’t forget to smile!
For example, it’s OK to use hand gestures, but don’t overdo it. Use hand gestures where they fit naturally into what you’re saying. Avoid crossing your arms or your feet; this gives the impression that you are not open to your audience. Don’t fidget with your hands. When you are not gesturing, you can clasp them together gently in front of you or simply let your arms hang at your sides. You don’t have to stand glued to one spot in the room, but don’t move around too much or too quickly. Remember that you are trying to convey a confident attitude.
If your teacher has instructed that there will be no question and answer portion, then leave out the part where you ask if anyone has questions. Having a few closing remarks will bring the presentation to a more natural and less awkward close than if you simply stop talking and go to sit down at your desk.
