presentation techniques teaching

The Ultimate Guide to Effective Teacher Presentations: Strategies & Tips

Dianne Adlawan

Teachers, by nature, are considered professional presenters. Their main responsibility is to talk in front of their students to relay educational knowledge, sharpen their minds and skills, and even serve as a second guide alongside their parents. They also speak in front of parents, co-teachers, and school administrators. This just means that preparing for a presentation is already not new to them.

Still, teachers can become so comfortable with their presentation routine that their techniques turn into autopilot. The result of a repetitive task can become tiring and not challenging anymore which may result in students losing interest or attention span in the process.

The tips featured in this article are dedicated to these hard-working professionals. This will help them prepare and perform a better presentation in front of any type of audience.

Why You Should Prepare for a Presentation

• Preparation helps you build to structure your thoughts to create a well-organized presentation. By taking the time to prepare, you can decide what information is most important, plan the flow of the presentation, and make sure that everything is connected and easy to follow.
• Second, it allows you to think ahead of the questions that your audience might ask. Especially if you’re giving a presentation to a group of various audiences, who are curious about the topic at hand. By preparing in advance, you’ll be able to answer any questions they may have, which will not only increase their understanding but also boost your credibility as a teacher.
• Lastly, preparation helps you make the most of your time. Advanced preparation ahead of the presentation can ensure that you’re not wasting time trying to organize your thoughts at the last minute.

Effects of an Organized and Well-Planned Presentation

An audience engages with a speaker who knows their words and poses a confident attitude. While the projector may display clear and concise slides, the presenter is the main ingredient to every presentation.

For teachers, a well-planned lesson presentation helps the teacher maintain the attention and interest of their students, which is crucial for effective learning. Additionally, being organized and prepared will help teachers convey their ideas more effectively and it will help the teacher to feel more confident, which also impacts their teaching and in turn can help to build trust and rapport with their students.

Possible Outcomes of An Unprepared Presentation

Let’s suppose you haven’t allocated enough time to plan and prepare for an important presentation. What could be the potential outcomes?

• Increased Stress and Anxiety: Lack of preparation can lead to increased anxiety and stress, which can not only hinder your ability to deliver a convincing presentation but also hurt your mental health and work balance. It can cause a “mental block,” causing you to lose focus and concentration during your delivery.
• Poor Presentation Delivery: Without proper preparation, your presentation can appear scattered and disjointed. This can lead to an incoherent message that fails to convince your audience.
• Diminished credibility: Delivering an unprepared presentation can harm your reputation as a professional. It can portray you as disorganized and unreliable which could lead your colleagues or students to question your competence and reliability.

Effective Visual and Content Organization Tips

Consider this as the first stage towards an effective teacher presentation. Before moving on to improving your verbal communication cues, let’s enhance first your presentation visuals and content.

Visual Tips

1. add powerpoint animations and different media.

Establishing an attractive slideshow is one of the keys to a successful presentation. This will put a good impression on your audience that you’re prepared just by seeing how well-designed your presentation is. Of course, images add to slideshow attraction, but consider adding another forms of media such as GIFs and videos, as well as animations! Microsoft PowerPoint has a lot of fun & captivating features that you may not be aware of. Check out this example of an easy yet appealing Slide Zoom trick in PowerPoint that you can add to your presentation to wow your audience.

@classpoint.io Did someone say FREE??? Yes, we did. Here are free websites to help you upgrade your next PowerPoint presentation! 😎 #powerpoint #presentation #design #studytok #edutok #tutorial #tipsandtricks #ai ♬ original sound – r & m <33

Read Next: Make Your Presentations POP With This PowerPoint Animation Template

2. Use Readable Font Styles

Make sure to use the best font style that makes your presentation look sleek, readable, and won’t strain your audience’s eyes while reading. We all want to use a fancy font, trust me, I get it. But most of the time, simplicity is beauty, especially if you’re presenting a professional-looking slideshow. Font styles such as Poppins, Tahoma, Verdana, Montserrat, and Helvetica are great examples of font styles that screams simple yet professional to look at.

On the other hand, font styles such as Bradley Hand, Comic Sans, and Chiller are not ideal choices as they are not meant to captivate your audience’s eyes. And another tip is to stick to two or three fonts only!

3. Use Relevant Graphics

Selecting graphics for designing your presentation depends on your audience and the goals you aim to achieve with the presentation. For example, if you are presenting in front of students and your goal is to keep them engaged, motivated, and actively participating, then you might consider incorporating charts, tables, and relevant shapes into your design.

It’s important to remember that your presentation design should align with the theme of your topic.

Free Websites to Upgrade your Presentation Graphics:

• Craiyon. com
• The Noun Project

4. Use Audience Engagement tools to Activate Learning

Want the quickest solution to an engaged audience? Well, it’s audience interactive activities! Adding interactive activities to your presentation can help keep your audience engaged and interested. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use ClassPoint, an audience engagement tool added right into PowerPoint presentations.

With ClassPoint, you no longer need to worry about strategies to keep your students engaged, as this tool transforms PowerPoint into a teacher presentation tool with a teacher toolbelt and student quizzes , polls, and games that make presentations more fun & engaging.

By combining ClassPoint with your presentation techniques, you can focus solely on setting up your lesson content in PowerPoint and allow ClassPoint to handle the rest for achieving a learning-activated presentation lesson .

🔍 Learn more about ClassPoint, the teacher add-in for better lessons & student engagement 👍

5. Use a Laser Pointer

Help focus your audience attention by using a laser pointer!

With the help of a laser pointer device, teachers are able to attract the attention of their audiences and concentrate on essential points in their presentations. Highlighting these main ideas and terms assists the speaker in organizing their speech, preventing distraction, and increasing retention of the information presented.

You can use a physical laser pointer & clicker, or with the addition of ClassPoint into PowerPoint, presenters can easily turn their cursor into a laser or a spotlight . This can make it even easier for students to follow along and is a convenient tool for creating a more captivating teacher presentation.

Secret tip: if you write on your slide with the laser, it will leave disappearing ink! 🪄

Content Tips

1. research and fact-check your presentation.

As educators, it is crucial to equip ourselves with reliable and accurate information before presenting to our students. We have a responsibility to not only educate them but to also mold them into critical thinkers who are equipped with factual knowledge. Without thorough fact-checking, we risk disseminating misinformation and hindering their intellectual growth.

To avoid such situations, we must prioritize research and fact-checking before presenting any information. Conducting research helps us not only in finding accurate information but also in ensuring that the sources we use are reliable and credible. Moreover, taking the time to fact-check demonstrates our commitment to providing students with high-quality education and the desire to create a safe and accurate learning environment.

2. Be Prepared to Anticipate Questions during the Presentation

It is important to be well-prepared for a presentation especially anticipating and addressing questions. This applies particularly to a teacher presentation, as educators face varied expectations and questions. Adequate preparation allows you to organize ideas and justifications, and it can deepen understanding, boost confidence, and improve adaptability. Addressing questions, makes your audiences feel heard and appreciated. This will result in comprehensive presentations, enhanced confidence, improved information flow, and an atmosphere of respect and understanding.

A great & visual way you can elaborate, or explain your material in new ways, is by using ClassPoint’s whiteboard tools added to PowerPoint. ClassPoint’s added toolbar presents teachers with unlimited whiteboard slides they can open whenever they need, and user-friendly yet comprehensive pen tools with available shapes, and text boxes. Plus you can also use ClassPoint’s quick poll or other question types to assess students’ understanding with hard data & insights.

Addressing questions well makes your audience or students feel heard & appreciated leading to improved learning, enhanced confidence, and a respectful, safe learning environment.

3. Provide an Outline Structure of your Content

When you are preparing your presentation, it is best to first create an effective outline structure that will guide your presentation flow and help you focus on the main learning objective. But what you may not be doing, is offering that outline structure to your students, but you should!

Providing students with a clear understanding of what this lesson is about, the structure of the lesson, and what they will be able to take away from it is important. By doing so, you can help students stay focused and follow along with the material. Additionally, you are setting expectations and ensuring that everyone is on the same page, which can help promote student autonomy. So, include an outline at the start of your presentation lesson.

Step-by-Step Strategies for a Successful Presentation

Before presentation, know your audience, your students, or observers.

Once you have completed your deck, you may want to add a guide script and any additional notes with important points you don’t want to forget or you want to highlight in your presentation to impress your students .

Practice your presentation delivery/lesson

Practice delivering your presentation give you a chance to fine-tune your content and get your facts down. This will help you become more comfortable with the material and identify areas that need improvement. You can practice in front of a mirror, record yourself and watch it back, or even rehearse with a colleague or friend. When practicing, pay attention to your posture, tone of voice, and pacing. By doing so, you’ll be able to deliver a confident and engaging presentation that will captivate your audience.

Use a friendly tone of voice and pace

Adjust your tone to match your message, and avoid speaking too quickly so that your audience will get the chance to absorb the information you’re sharing. By being mindful of these aspects, you will capture your audience’s attention and leave them feeling informed and inspired.

Use engaging body language

Body language is essential for engaging your audience during a presentation. Stand up straight, make eye contact, and use hand gestures to emphasize important points. You can also move around the classroom to keep your students’ attention. By using engaging body language, you’ll be able to convey your message more effectively and keep your students interested throughout the presentation. You’ve got this!

During Presentation

Create an icebreaker.

Having an icebreaker is a warm-up for your students’ brains, allowing you to focus and engage with the material being presented. It also helps break down any barriers or tension between the presenter and the audience, making for a more relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Additionally, an icebreaker provides an opportunity for the presenter to showcase their creativity and personality, adding an extra level of excitement and engagement to the presentation.

Good thing that ClassPoint has numerous features to help you perform an entertaining and unforgettable icebreaker. Here are some examples that you can use during an icebreaker.

• Quick Poll : Quick Poll allows you to create interactive polls right inside your presentation. When used as an icebreaker, it can engage the audience, initiate discussions, and provide valuable insights that help tailor the content to participants’ preferences.
• Word Cloud: Presenters can ask thought-provoking questions related to the topic or general interest. Using Word Cloud, the audiences can answer through their mobile which can be instantly seen as collective responses, with the most frequently mentioned words appearing larger.
• Short Answer : In short answer, you can challenge your audiences’ thought process in a short-form writing activity with no options to get from to test their ability to understand.
• Image Upload : Using single image, audiences can interpret what they feel like, or their mood using only the photos in their gallery or surroundings. A creative yet fun way for an icebreaker!

Speak clearly

Effective communication is crucial when presenting important information to students. Speaking clearly helps ensure that students understand the concepts being taught and follow instructions effectively. As a teacher, it’s important to focus on clear speech to promote effective communication and help your students comprehend the material being presented.

Pay attention to your audience’s attention

Since distractions are aplenty, attention spans are dwindling, it’s important for presenters to captivate their audience’s attention right from the beginning. For teachers, when speaking in front of your class, you should not only focus on the content of your presentation but also on your students’ attention.

To ensure that your students won’t start drifting away or zoning out, start with a compelling opening that immediately grabs their attention. Use vivid storytelling, examples, or demonstrations to engage your students and drive home your message. Don’t forget the power of humor, and never be afraid to be yourself – authentic, passionate, and confident.

Add Personality: share short relatable stories

“A great personality makes everyone feel energized; just like a flower’s fragrance that freshens ups the complete surrounding.” 29 Personality Quotes to Achieve Greatness

As to what is stated in the quote, having a positive and vibrant personality affects the overall mood of your surrounding, it can capture the audience’s attention and maintain their interest throughout the presentation. While the ultimate goal is to deliver a presentation rich with new learnings and knowledge, adding humor can do no harm to lift up the mood in the room. You might want to start by segueing a short story that your students can relate to and make interactions by encouraging them to share a story too or ask questions.

Post-Presentation Reflection

Take the comments by heart.

Receiving feedback from your students is a great way for evaluating the efficacy of a teacher presentation. This can help you identify areas where you can improve and tailor your teaching tactics to better suit the needs of your students. Listening to your students’ feedback can also promote a feeling of cooperation and enable them to become more actively involved in the learning experience. So, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback and take it to heart in order to continually improve your presentations.

Experienced educators understand that they are perpetually crafting their skills, and feedback from their audience brings an opportunity for professional advancement. In addition, accepting audience feedback illustrates esteem and worth for the students’ views. It promotes a feeling of cooperation and enables students to become more actively involved in the learning experience.

Preparing for a presentation is essential for teachers to deliver engaging and impactful content to their students. By structuring thoughts, anticipating questions, and preparing ahead, teachers can achieve a well-organized presentation that will enhance the students’ understanding and leave them feeling confident.

By following our strategies and tips teachers can achieve successful lessons using PowerPoint presentations. And, with the help of an advanced educational technology tool like ClassPoint, teachers can create dynamic and memorable presentations that their students will enjoy and actively participate in.

Try out ClassPoint today and experience a whole teacher presentation in PowerPoint! ✨

About Dianne Adlawan

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Effective Communication in the Classroom

Why is It Important?

In a student-centered classroom, the instructor should not be speaking all of the time. However, when you are speaking, students count on you to: provide clarity by highlighting key ideas; elaborate on difficult concepts; and provide clear instructions for in-class activities. These messages should be backed up by appropriate visual aids that reinforce what you are talking about: board work, slides, and/or handouts. 

In-class communication can be thought of as consisting of verbal, vocal, and visual channels. 

Verbal channel

The verbal channel relates to word choice: the same content or point can be delivered in different ways using different words. Those differences in delivery affect how students comprehend and engage with the material.

The verbal channel can clarify and reinforce course content by:

• Defining and using discipline-specific vocabulary. 
• Verbally outlining your presentation. Verbal indicators can signal transitions between ideas, helping students make connections to their prior knowledge and experiences, follow along, and organize their notes.

The verbal channel can also be used to send growth messages and create an inclusive classroom. For example, the way you respond to students’ questions and incorrect answers can be an opportunity to create a warm classroom climate but are often not something we consider rehearsing.

 When a student asks a question:

• Try to call on them by name. This will help to create a sense of belonging.
• Thank them for their question to motivate them to ask questions again in the future.
• If a question is common, say so. This will help the student see that others’ have needed clarification on this point as well.

If you pose a question and a student responds with an incorrect answer:

• Thank the student for responding.
• If the student’s response is in line with a common error, say so, so they do not feel alone in their misunderstanding.
• Ask the student about the process that they used to come up with the answer to better understand where they made a misstep. This emphasizes process over product and also teaches good troubleshooting strategies.
• If a student’s answer is partially correct, ask another student to add on or clarify the response. 

Certain verbal phrases can detract from a presentation by being distracting, signaling a lack of instructor preparation, or by making students feel insecure in their ability to succeed in the course.

We all use some filler phrases habitually, and we should strive to minimize them. However, over-focusing on avoiding filler phrases can distract from a clear presentation. The best strategy is to practice avoiding filler phrases when rehearsing a lecture, but when actually teaching to focus on communicating with the students.

Vocal channel

The vocal channel includes aspects of speech such as volume, pacing, and tone. The vocal channel can be used to draw students attention and convey enthusiasm.

Visual channel

The visual channel includes all visual aids that support your message, including you (!), anything that you write on the board, project on the projector, or distribute as a handout. 

Your physical appearance—posture, attire, expressions—are all part of your presentation and affect how students listen to you and receive your message. Here are some ways your appearance affects your presentation:

• Presence/Position/Posture : standing up straight conveys confidence and authority.
• Eye contact : helps you connect with your audience and keep your students engaged. You may tend to focus your gaze on a particular side of the classroom. Consciously make eye contact in a “W” pattern across the room.
• Movement : too much movement can be distracting, but well-timed movements emphasize key points or physically signal a transition between points – reinforce the information you’re presenting.

Plan what you will actually write on the board so you can make sure it’s organized, large, and legible. If you have limited experience writing on the board, try to practice in the room in which you will be teaching. You may be surprised at how large you have to write so that it is legible from the back of the room.  

At MIT, most classrooms are outfitted with multiple, movable boards. Visit your classroom in advance to know the layout of the boards and use this information in your planning. For example, with movable boards, consider the order in which you will fill them to maximize the amount of information students can see at any given point. Students will want to write down everything that you write on the board.

Practice drawing important schematics. If a schematic is necessary but challenging to draw, consider supplementing your board work with a slide, which can also be distributed to students as a handout. Consider using color to highlight ideas, group items, or add clarity to diagrams.

Slide design

The digital nature of slides makes it easy to include more information than students can process on them. In general, try to keep the mantra of “less is more” in mind to reduce the likelihood of cognitive overload and including extraneous information.

When creating slides, words and images are better than words alone. Relevant images can help to support and clarify your message. That said, there are times when images may not be appropriate and you just need to use text. In these cases, summarize the ideas using phrases and avoid full sentences on your slide.

Simple animations of having bullets appear in a synchronized manner with your oration will help to reduce cognitive overload and help students stay focused on what you are saying. Key ideas can also be highlighted by using bolding and color.

Managing Nerves

Stage fright is natural. Almost everyone gets some degree of stage fright. Below are some things you can do at different stages of your preparation to minimize the effects of stage fright.

While preparing for class

• Acknowledge your fears by writing them down or sharing them with a friend or a trusted colleague. This will help you identify specific things you can practice to reduce your nerves. 
• Practice your presentation. Try to make your practice as realistic as possible: practice in your assigned classroom with an audience of friends, colleagues, or a video camera.

Shortly before class

• Warm up your body by stretching, walking around, and standing up straight.
• Do breathing exercises to warm up your vocal cords and to regulate your breathing.
• Drink water to stay hydrated.
• Use relaxation or meditation resources to reduce nerves, like the MIT Community Wellness Relaxation Line, 617-253-2256 (CALM)

During class

• Use pauses to give yourself a chance to breathe and think. You can use longer pauses between major ideas or during active learning exercises to get a drink of water from your water bottle.
• If you find your speech rushing, try taking a longer pause after your next point. Take a couple of deep breaths and get comfortable with silence to reset your rate of speech.
• If you find yourself pacing or moving a lot, try planting your feet or putting your hands on a table or podium (if it doesn’t ruin your posture) to ground yourself. Once you’ve reset, give yourself more freedom to move around the room and interact with your students.

Additional resources

Mit school of engineering communication lab.

The Communication Lab is a discipline-specific peer-coaching program for MIT’s School of Engineering that helps graduate students with their scientific writing, speaking, and visual design.

MIT Writing and Communication Center

MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing offers innovative programs that apply critical analysis, collaborative research, and design across a variety of media arts, forms, and practices.

• Our Mission

How a Simple Presentation Framework Helps Students Learn

Explaining concepts to their peers helps students shore up their content knowledge and improve their communication skills.

A few years ago, my colleague and I were awarded a Hawai‘i Innovation Fund Grant. The joy of being awarded the grant was met with dread and despair when we were informed that we would have to deliver a 15-minute presentation on our grant write-up to a room full of educational leaders. If that wasn’t intimidating enough, my colleague informed me that he was not going to be in Hawai‘i at the time of the presentation. I had “one shot,” just a 15-minute presentation to encapsulate all of the 17 pages of the grant I had cowritten, but how?

I worked hard to construct and deliver a presentation that was concise yet explicit. I was clear on the big picture of what the grant was composed of and provided a visual of it in practice. I made sure the audience understood the “why” behind the grant. I showed how it worked, the concrete elements of it, and how they made it successful. I finished with a scaffold that would help others know how to initiate it within their context, giving them the freedom to make it authentically their own.

I received good feedback from the presentation, and more important, what was shared positively impacted student learning in other classrooms across the state.

A Simple Framework for Presentations

That first presentation took me over a month to prepare, but afterward I noticed that my prep time for presentations shrank exponentially from a few months to a few (uninterrupted) days. Interestingly enough, as a by-product of creating the original presentation, I created an abstract framework that I have used for every professional learning presentation I have delivered since then. The “What, Why, How, and How-To” framework goes as follows:

• What? What can the audience easily connect to and know as a bridge to the unknown for the rest of the experience?
• Why? Why should they care to listen to (and learn from) the rest of the presentation? What’s in it for them to shift from passive listeners to actively engaged? The audience needs to know why you believe in this so much that you are compelled to share it.
• How? What are the key elements that make it unique? How is it effective in doing what it does? What are the intricacies of how it works?
• How-to? How could they start doing this on their own? How could this knowledge serve as a foundational springboard? Connect it to “why.”

Benefits for Students

One of the best parts of presentations is that they help the presenter to improve their communication skills. The presenter is learning how to give a presentation by doing it. To prepare a presentation, the presenter must know the intricate elements of what they are presenting and the rationale for their importance. In the presentation delivery, the presenter must be articulate and meticulous to ensure that everyone in the audience is able (and willing) to process the information provided.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that preparing and delivering presentations could provide a valuable learning opportunity for my students.

I recall teaching mathematical concepts whereby students would immediately apply knowledge learned to accomplish the task in silence and without any deeper questioning. Only after I asked them to provide presentations on these concepts did they regularly ask me, “Why is this important, again?” or “What makes this so special?” My students’ mathematical literacy grew through preparing presentations with the “What, Why, How, and How-To” framework, which supported them in their ability to demonstrate content knowledge through mathematical rigor (balancing conceptual understanding, skills and procedural fluency, and real-world application).

• The “what” served as the mathematical concept.
• The “why” demonstrated the real-world application of the concept.
• “The “how” demonstrated conceptual understanding of the concept.
• The “how-to” demonstrated skills and procedures of the concept. 

In addition to content knowledge, the sequential competencies of clarity, cohesiveness, and captivation ensured that the presenter could successfully share the information with their audience. When combined, these framed a rubric that supported students in optimizing their presentation deliveries. The competencies are as follows:

1. Content knowledge. The presenter must display a deep understanding of what they are delivering in order to share the “what, why, how, and how-to” of the topic.

2. Clarity. The presenter must be clear with precise, academic language. As the content they deliver may be new to the audience, any lack of clarity will alienate the audience. Providing multiple modes of representation greatly addresses a variety of processing needs of a diverse audience.

3. Cohesiveness. When making clear connections, the presenter bridges gaps between each discrete component in how they all work together as integral elements of the topic. Any gaps too large may make the elements look disjointed or, worse, the audience feel lost.

4. Captivation. The presenter must captivate the audience through any combination of audience engagement or storytelling . They make the presentation flow with the energy of a song , and in the end, they leave the audience with a delicate balance of feeling fulfilled and inspired to learn more.

Anyone can build an effective presentation with the “What, Why, How, and How-To” framework, along with competencies of content knowledge, clarity, cohesiveness, and captivation. The better we teach and coach others on how to create and deliver presentations, the more we learn from these individuals through their work.

In my class, one multilingual learner responded to the prompt “What are the non-math (life lessons) you have found valuable from this class?” with “I learn what is learning and teaching... I truly understood how teaching is actually learning when I had presentation. I found a bit of desire to being a teacher. I hope you also learned something from this class.” I always learn from my students when they present.

Home Blog Education Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success

Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success

Getting the perfect presentation design is just a step toward a successful presentation. For the experienced user, building presentation skills is the answer to elevating the power of your message and showing expertise on any subject. Still, one can ask: is it the same set of skills, or are they dependable on the type of presentation?

In this article, we will introduce the different types of presentations accompanied by the skillset required to master them. The purpose, as always, is to retain the audience’s interest for a long-lasting and convincing message.

Table of Contents

The Importance of Presentation Skills

Persuasive presentations, instructional presentations, informative presentations, inspirational presentations, basic presentation skills, what are the main difficulties when giving a presentation, recommendations to improve your presentation skills, closing statement.

Effective communication is the answer to reaching business and academic goals. The scenarios in which we can be required to deliver a presentation are as diverse as one can imagine. Still, some core concepts apply to all presentations.

 We define presentation skills as a compendium of soft skills that directly affect your presentation performance and contribute to creating a great presentation. These are not qualities acquired by birth but skills you ought to train and master to delve into professional environments.

You may ask: is it really that evident when a presenter is not prepared? Here are some common signs people can experience during presentations:

• Evasive body language: Not making eye contact with the audience, arms closed tightly to the body, hands in pockets all the time.
• Lack of interest in the presenter’s voice: dull tone, not putting an effort to articulate the topics.
• Doubting when asked to answer a question
• Irksome mood

The list can go on about common presenter mistakes , and most certainly, it will affect the performance of any presented data if the lack of interest by the presenter is blatantly obvious.  Another element to consider is anxiety, and according to research by the National Institute of Mental Health, 73% of the population in the USA is affected by glossophobia , which is the fear of public speaking, judgment, or negative evaluation by other people.

Therefore, presentation skills training is essential for any business professional who wants to achieve effective communication . It will remove the anxiety from presentation performance and help users effectively deliver their message and connect with the audience.

Archetypes of presentations

Persuasive presentations aim to convince the audience – often in short periods – to acquire a product or service, adhere to a cause, or invest in a company. For business entrepreneurs or politicians, persuasive presentations are their tool for the trade.

Unless you aim to be perceived as an imposter, a proper persuasive presentation has the elements of facts, empathy, and logic, balanced under a well-crafted narrative. The central pillar of these presentations is to identify the single factor that gathered your audience: it could be a market need, a social cause, or a revolutionary concept for today’s society. It has to be something with enough power to gather critiques – both good and bad.

That single factor has to be backed up by facts. Research that builds your hypothesis on how to solve that problem. A deep understanding of the target audience’s needs , concerns, and social position regarding the solution your means can offer. When those elements are in place, building a pitch becomes an easy task. 

Graphics can help you introduce information in a compelling format, lowering the need for lengthy presentations. Good presentation skills for persuasive presentations go by the hand of filtering relevant data and creating the visual cues that resonate with what your audience demands.

One powerful example of a persuasive presentation is the technique known as the elevator pitch . You must introduce your idea or product convincingly to the audience in a timeframe between 30 seconds and less than 2 minutes. You have to expose:

• What do you do 
• What’s the problem to solve
• Why is your solution different from others 
• Why should the audience care about your expertise

For that very purpose, using engaging graphics with contrasting colors elevates the potential power of your message. It speaks professionalism, care for details, and out-of-the-box thinking. Knowing how to end a presentation is also critical, as your CTAs should be placed with care.

Therefore, let’s resume the requirements of persuasive presentations in terms of good presentation skills:

• Identifying problems and needs
• Elaborating “the hook” (the element that grabs the audience’s attention)
• Knowing how to “tie” your audience (introducing a piece of information related to the hook that causes an emotional impact)
• Broad knowledge of body language and hand gestures to quickly convey your message
• Being prepared to argue a defense of your point of view
• Handling rejection
• Having a proactive attitude to convert opportunities into new projects
• Using humor, surprise, or personal anecdotes as elements to sympathize with the audience
• Having confidence
• Be able to summarize facts and information in visually appealing ways

You can learn more about persuasive presentation techniques by clicking here .

In the case of instructional presentations, we ought to differentiate two distinctive types:

• Lecture Presentations : Presentations being held at universities or any other educative institution. Those presentations cover, topic by topic, and the contents of a syllabus and are created by the team of teachers in charge of the course.
• Training Presentations : These presentations take place during in-company training sessions and usually comprise a good amount of content that is resumed into easy-to-take solutions. They are aimed to coach employees over certain topics relevant to their work performance. The 70-20-10 Model is frequently used to address these training situations.

Lecture presentations appeal to the gradual introduction of complex concepts, following a structure set in the course’s syllabus. These presentations often have a similar aesthetic as a group of professors or researchers created to share their knowledge about a topic. Personal experience does tell that course presentations often rely on factual data, adequately documented, and on the theoretical side.

An example of a presentation that lies under this concept is a Syllabus Presentation, used by the teaching team to introduce the subject to new students, evaluation methods, concepts to be learned, and expectations to pass the course.

On the other hand, training presentations are slide decks designed to meet an organization’s specific needs in the formal education of their personnel. Commonly known as “continuous education,” plenty of companies invest resources in coaching their employees to achieve higher performance results. These presentations have the trademark of being concise since their idea is to introduce the concepts that shall be applied in practice sessions. 

Ideally, the training presentations are introduced with little text and easy-to-recognize visual cues. Since the idea is to summarize as much as possible, these are visually appealing for the audience. They must be dynamic enough to allow the presenter to convey the message.

Those key takeaways remind employees when they revisit their learning resources and allow them to ruminate on questions that fellow workers raise. 

To sum up this point, building presentation skills for instructional presentations requires:

• Ability to put complex concepts into simpler words
• Patience and a constant learning mindset
• Voice training to deliver lengthy speeches without being too dense
• Ability to summarize points and note the key takeaways
• Empathizing with the audience to understand their challenges in the learning process

The informative presentations take place in business situations, such as when to present project reports from different departments to the management. Another potential usage of these presentations is in SCRUM or other Agile methodologies, when a sprint is completed, to discuss the advance of the project with the Product Owner.

As they are presentations heavily dependent on data insights, it’s common to see the usage of infographics and charts to express usually dense data in simpler terms and easy to remember. 

Informative presentations don’t just fall into the business category. Ph.D. Dissertation and Thesis presentations are topics that belong to the informative presentations category as they condense countless research hours into manageable reports for the academic jury. 

Since these informational presentations can be perceived as lengthy and data-filled, it is important to learn the following professional presentation skills:

• Attention to detail
• Be able to explain complex information in simpler terms
• Creative thinking
• Powerful diction
• Working on pauses and transitions
• Pacing the presentation, so not too much information is divulged per slide

The leading inspirational platform, TEDx, comes to mind when talking about inspirational presentations. This presentation format has the peculiarity of maximizing the engagement with the audience to divulge a message, and due to that, it has specific requirements any presenter must meet.

This presentation format usually involves a speaker on a stage, either sitting or better standing, in which the presenter engages with the audience with a storytelling format about a life experience, a job done that provided a remarkable improvement for society, etc.

Empathizing with the audience is the key ingredient for these inspirational presentations. Still, creativity is what shapes the outcome of your performance as people are constantly looking for different experiences – not the same recipe rephrased with personal touches. The human factor is what matters here, way above data and research. What has your experience to offer to others? How can it motivate another human being to pursue a similar path or discover their true calling?

To achieve success in terms of communication skills presentation, these inspirational presentations have the following requirements:

• Focus on the audience (engage, consider their interests, and make them a part of your story)
• Putting ego aside
• Creative communication skills
• Storytelling skills
• Body language knowledge to apply the correct gestures to accompany your story
• Voice training
• Using powerful words

After discussing the different kinds of presentations we can come across at any stage of our lives, a group of presentation skills is standard in any type of presentation. See below what makes a good presentation and which skills you must count on to succeed as a presenter.

Punctuality

Punctuality is a crucial aspect of giving an effective presentation. Nothing says more about respect for your audience and the organization you represent than delivering the presentation on time . Arriving last minute puts pressure on the tech team behind audiovisuals, as they don’t have enough preparation to test microphones, stage lights, and projector settings, which can lead to a less powerful presentation Even when discussing presentations hosted in small rooms for a reduced audience, testing the equipment becomes essential for an effective presentation.

A solution for this is to arrive at least 30 minutes early. Ideally, one hour is a sweet spot since the AV crew has time to check the gear and requirements for your presentation. Another benefit of this, for example, in inspirational presentations, is measuring the previous presenter’s impact on the audience. This gives insights about how to resonate with the public, and their interest, and how to accommodate your presentation for maximum impact.

Body Language

Our bodies can make emotions transparent for others, even when we are unaware of such a fact. Proper training for body language skills reduces performance anxiety, giving the audience a sense of expertise about the presented topic. 

Give your presentation and the audience the respect they deserve by watching over these potential mistakes:

• Turning your back to the audience for extended periods : It’s okay to do so when introducing an important piece of information or explaining a graph, but it is considered rude to give your back to the audience constantly.
• Fidgeting : We are all nervous in the presence of strangers, even more, if we are the center of attention for that moment. Instead of playing with your hair or making weird hand gestures, take a deep breath to center yourself before the presentation and remember that everything you could do to prepare is already done. Trust your instincts and give your best.
• Intense eye contact : Have you watched a video where the presenter stared at the camera the entire time? That’s the feeling you transmit to spectators through intense eye contact. It’s a practice often used by politicians to persuade.
• Swearing : This is a no-brainer. Even when you see influencers swearing on camera or in podcasts or live presentations, it is considered an informal and lousy practice for business and academic situations. If you have a habit to break when it comes to this point, find the humor in these situations and replace your swear words with funny alternatives (if the presentation allows for it). 

Voice Tone plays a crucial role in delivering effective presentations and knowing how to give a good presentation. Your voice is a powerful tool for exposing your ideas and feelings . Your voice can articulate the message you are telling, briefing the audience if you feel excited about what you are sharing or, in contrast, if you feel the presentation is a burden you ought to complete.

Remember, passion is a primary ingredient in convincing people. Therefore, transmitting such passion with a vibrant voice may help gather potential business partners’ interest.  

But what if you feel sick prior to the presentation? If, by chance, your throat is sore minutes before setting foot on the stage, try this: when introducing yourself, mention that you are feeling a bit under the weather. This resonates with the audience to pay more attention to your efforts. In case you don’t feel comfortable about that, ask the organizers for a cup of tea, as it will settle your throat and relax your nerves.

Tech Skills

Believe it or not, people still feel challenged by technology these days. Maybe that’s the reason why presentation giants like Tony Robbins opt not to use PowerPoint presentations . The reality is that there are plenty of elements involved in a presentation that can go wrong from the tech side:

• A PDF not opening
• Saving your presentation in a too-recent PowerPoint version
• A computer not booting up
• Mac laptops and their never-ending compatibility nightmare
• Not knowing how to change between slides
• Not knowing how to use a laser pointer
• Internet not working
• Audio not working

We can come up with a pretty long list of potential tech pitfalls, and yet more than half of them fall in presenters not being knowledgeable about technology.

If computers aren’t your thing, let the organization know about this beforehand. There is always a crew member available to help presenters switch between slides or configure the presentation for streaming. This takes the pressure off your shoulders, allowing you to concentrate on the content to present. Remember, even Bill Gates can get a BSOD during a presentation .

Presentations, while valuable for conveying information and ideas, can be daunting for many individuals. Here are some common difficulties people encounter when giving presentations:

Public Speaking Anxiety

Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, affects a significant portion of the population. This anxiety can lead to nervousness, trembling, and forgetfulness during a presentation.

Lack of Confidence

Many presenters struggle with self-doubt, fearing that they may not be knowledgeable or skilled enough to engage their audience effectively.

Content Organization

Organizing information in a coherent and engaging manner can be challenging. Presenters often grapple with how to structure their content to make it easily digestible for the audience. Artificial Intelligence can help us significantly reduce the content arrangement time when you work with tools like our AI Presentation Maker (made for presenters by experts in presentation design). 

Audience Engagement

Keeping the audience’s attention and interest throughout the presentation can be difficult. Distractions, disengaged attendees, or lack of interaction can pose challenges.

Technical Issues

Technology glitches, such as malfunctioning equipment, incompatible file formats, or poor internet connectivity, can disrupt presentations and increase stress.

Time Management

Striking the right balance between providing enough information and staying within time limits is a common challenge. Going over or under the allotted time can affect the effectiveness of the presentation.

Handling Questions and Challenges

Responding to unexpected questions, criticism, or challenges from the audience can be difficult, especially when presenters are unprepared or lack confidence in their subject matter.

Visual Aids and Technology

Creating and effectively using visual aids like slides or multimedia can be a struggle for some presenters. Technical competence is essential in this aspect.

Language and Articulation

Poor language skills or unclear articulation can hinder effective communication. Presenters may worry about stumbling over words or failing to convey their message clearly.

Maintaining appropriate and confident body language can be challenging. Avoiding nervous habits, maintaining eye contact, and using gestures effectively requires practice.

Overcoming Impersonal Delivery

In virtual presentations, maintaining a personal connection with the audience can be difficult. The absence of face-to-face interaction can make it challenging to engage and read the audience.

Cultural and Diversity Awareness

Presenting to diverse audiences requires sensitivity to cultural differences and varying levels of familiarity with the topic.

In this section, we gathered some tips on how to improve presentation skills that can certainly make an impact if applied to your presentation skills. We believe these skills can be cultivated to transform into habits for your work routine.

Tip #1: Build a narrative

One memorable way to guarantee presentation success is by writing a story of all the points you desire to cover. This statement is based on the logic behind storytelling and its power to connect with people .

Don’t waste time memorizing slides or reading your presentation to the audience. It feels unnatural, and any question that diverts from the topic in discussion certainly puts you in jeopardy or, worse, exposes you as a fraud in the eyes of the audience. And before you ask, it is really evident when a presenter has a memorized speech. 

Build and rehearse the presentation as if telling a story to a group of interested people. Lower the language barrier by avoiding complex terms that maybe even you aren’t fully aware of their meaning. Consider the ramifications of that story, what it could lead to, and which are the opportunities to explore. Then, visualize yourself giving the presentation in a natural way.

Applying this technique makes the presentation feel like second nature to you. It broadens the spectrum in which you can show expertise over a topic or even build the basis for new interesting points of view about the project.

Tip #2: Don’t talk for more than 3 minutes per slide

It is a common practice of presenters to bombard the audience with facts and information whilst retaining the same slide on the screen. Why can this happen? It could be because the presenter condensed the talk into very few slides and preferred to talk. The reality is that your spectators won’t retain the information you are giving unless you give visual cues to help that process. 

Opt to prepare more slides and pace your speech to match the topics shown on each slide. Don’t spend more than 3 minutes per slide unless you have to introduce a complex piece of data. Use visual cues to direct the spectators about what you talk about, and summarize the principal concepts discussed at the end of each section.

Tip #3: Practice meditation daily

Anxiety is the number one enemy of professional presenters. It slowly builds without you being aware of your doubts and can hinder your performance in multiple ways: making you feel paralyzed, fidgeting, making you forget language skills or concepts, affecting your health, etc.

Meditation is an ancient practice taken from Buddhist teachings that train your mind to be here in the present. We often see the concepts of meditation and mindfulness as synonyms, whereas you should be aware that meditation is a practice that sets the blocks to reach a state of mindfulness. For presenters, being in the here and now is essential to retain focus, but meditation techniques also teach us to control our breathing and be in touch with our body signals when stress builds up. 

The customary practice of meditation has an impact on imagination and creativity but also helps to build patience – a skill much needed for connecting with your audience in instructional presentations.

Having the proper set of presentation skills can be quite subjective. It goes beyond presentation tips and deepens into how flexible we can be in our ability to communicate ideas.

Different presentations and different audiences shape the outcome of our efforts. Therefore, having a basic understanding of how to connect, raise awareness, and empathize with people can be key ingredients for your career as a presenter. A word of advice: success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes dedication and patience to build communication skills . Don’t condition your work to believe you will be ready “someday”; it’s best to practice and experience failure as part of the learning process.

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Inspired Together Teachers

Improve Student Presentations: Teach Them How to be Effective

March 22, 2019 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

In our experience, teachers are more likely to assign oral presentations than they are to teach students how to do presentations. We give students the task, and sometimes a rubric, and expected to give polished presentations. We tell them to use expression, but rarely teach them how to read with expression.

Unfortunately, the assign and present method rarely results in excellent presentations.

We say enough already!

We know students should learn to give effective presentations. Oral presentation skills are included in local, state and national standards. Almost all careers, and most jobs require some form of public speaking. Students can effectively demonstrate their learning through speaking, and if it is done well, they can help others learn.

Many teachers struggle to help students with presentations because they fear public speaking themselves. In some studies, fear of public speaking is the number one fear of the American public. In one study, 41 % of people listed public speaking as their number one fear and 19 percent listed death. We should take note when people are more afraid of public speaking than death!

We can eliminate the fear of public speaking if we teach students the skills for good speaking, give them opportunities to practice in low stress situations, and start by frequently practicing they are young. A high school or college speech class is extremely intimidating if students have had no formal instruction in speaking up until that time. To make matters worse, speech classes are seldom required, so many students don’t even get that training.

Where do students get an opportunity for frequent, low stakes practice in speaking? In the classroom.

Every teacher, not just language arts teachers, have an opportunity to help students become confident speakers. Students can improve their presentations skills in history, science, social studies or math in addition to language arts classes. Subjects such as the arts and languages come alive when students learn and use good presentation skills.

You can take back student presentations by teaching students effective presentation skills.

  before you begin, establish rules and expectations..

Emphasize that the goal of speaking assignments is practice to help students become effective speakers.

Help students to understand how having good oral presentations skills will be an asset in the future.

Encourage a growth mindset- if students are nervous, explain that they haven’t perfected the skill yet.

Teach students how to be a good audience and set the expectation that they will be polite. Teach them how to ask good questions of the presenter.

Teach students that their role is not just to create the content, but to practice the skills of effective speaking.

Determine an attention getting signal to use to call students back to you for further instruction.

Teach, model and practice the basics of effective speaking.

Project your voice.

Have student practice projecting their voice across the room without shouting. Try it with a whisper. Students will be amazed that they can whisper so loud that others can hear them at a distance. Practice reading a line or two with different volumes. Have students partner up and try speaking at different volumes from different distances. They want to be sure that everyone can hear them.

Practice standing with a confident stance.

Students should be comfortable, but not slouching. They should stand still and can move occasionally, but not sway back and forth. They can take a few steps or move across “the stage” occasionally, which adds interest.

Practice good eye contact.

Good eye contact helps speakers connect with the audience, which means they will be more engaged in your presentation. Students often miss this one. If they are nervous, they will often fail to make eye contact with others.

Teach students to look up and smile at the audience before they begin. This often puts all parties at ease.

Lack of eye contact also occurs when students read their papers or power points word-for-word. Good speakers often share the content with notes rather than reading from a script. Good speaking is more like talking than reading. If students must read, have them write “look up” at various points in the script. Alternatively, have students write highlights from their papers on note cards, choosing the most important or interesting parts.

Pay attention to speaking rate.

Rate is effectively taught by modeling. Try reading something very fast. It is difficult to keep up. Then read something slowly. It becomes boring. Have students practice reading a paragraph with a partner, alternating fast and slow until they come to a happy medium. Advanced students can learn to modulate rate for effect, for example slowing down to build suspense. This will avoid the dreaded monotone.

Teach students to articulate. 

In general, Americans can be sloppy speakers. Teach students to pronounce things carefully. Voice all of the letters, for example say running, rather than runnin.”  Look for other culprits of sloppy speech, “Ta” for “to” and “gonna” instead of going to. Watch out for mumbling.

Use a more formal tone than you might use in every day speech.

Teach students that there is a time and place for slang and sloppy speech, for example when you are with your friends or in informal situations. Public speaking is a time to use more formal pronunciations.We once heard a student presenting to the board of education and he opened by calling them “Dudes.” It was not well received. You don’t want to put off your audience by appearing unprofessional.

Teach students to use facial expressions to add interest. 

If students have a good command of vocal parts of speaking, teach them to add facial expressions, which will increase audience attention. Give students an opportunity to practice facial expressions. Ask students to show disgust, happiness, sadness, nervousness in their faces. Show accusing looks, hopeful looks and embarrassed looks. Students can make a note in their scripts to remind them to use a facial expression.

Teach students to use gestures. 

Using gestures appropriately will also help your audience maintain interest. Students may use their hands or some part of their body to add emphasis to something they say. If they choose to use a gesture, make sure it is a full gesture, done slowly and purposefully. Students often rush a gesture, throwing it away and eliminating effectiveness because it is done too quickly and not completely. Practice gestures by having students say “goodbye” and waving. Too little or gesturing too quickly, and it isn’t effective. Too long and it looks ridiculous.

Students often like to use gestures. If students want to add gestures, they should plan for them and practice them.

Have students write an attention getting opening.

Students want to get the audience’s attention right from the start. “This report is about the role of farmers in 15 th Century China ” does not inspire interest.  “Did you know that each and every one of you has something in common with 15 th Century farmers in China?”   Now we are listening.

Have students start with an intriguing question, an interesting fact or a surprising statement. Have them hint at something valuable they are going to share. Tell them to find a way to connect their topic to their audience.  A little time spent here can have a big pay off in terms of audience interest.

With time and practice, students will improve and gain valuable public speaking skills.

Many students have something to say and want to be heard. Others crave attention and relish being in the limelight. Teaching students the basics of speaking will help them to feel comfortable and confident with public speaking.

Developing good public speaking skills will serve them well in many situations in life, from communicating well in relationships to giving a wedding toast to making a presentation in their future careers.

We hope to banish boring speeches from our classrooms.

What about you?

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Presentation Strategies

Effective communication is essential in the classroom and in the real world. Good presentation skills, including public speaking and the design of visual materials, can be learned. Following the best practices outlined in the videos and resources below will help you become more effective at communicating your ideas in a professional way, while developing your own personal style.

Quick links:

Videos on Presenting

Videos on design principles, narrated presentations in powerpoint, best practices for effective presentations - video.

This video provides strategies for planning and delivering an oral presentation.

Creating and Presenting Your Poster - Video

This video gives tips on what to consider when planning the content, structure, and presentation of a poster.

PowerPoint Design Concept - White Space

White space is a basic design concept that will help clarify information in your PowerPoint presentations and other forms of visual content.

PowerPoint Design Concept - Visual Hierarchy

Visual hierarchy is an important design concept that will help you communicate your main message more effectively.

  Designing Effective Presentations - Fonts

Fonts can set the tone for your presentation but it is also important to understand how to make them as legible as possible while communicating your main message.

  Designing Effective Presentations - Color

Making thoughtful color choices in your presentation not only helps to set the appropriate feel or style for your presentation but can also help to improve the clarity of your message.

After reviewing the materials above about presentation strategies and design principles, practice those ideas by creating a narrated presentation in PowerPoint. The newer versions of PowerPoint allow you to record yourself giving the presentation (just your voice). The result adds audio objects for each slide, which makes it possible to redo a slide or two if you make mistakes. The PowerPoint file can then be exported to a movie file, complete with slide transistions and animations, to be easily reviewed or shared. This can serve as great practice for your presentation before showtime. 

Create a Narrated Presentation

The following link provides a helpful tutorial for both PC and Mac versions of PowerPoint: Recording a slide show with narrations and slide timings

Export a Video File

To export your slideshow as a MP4 file (or other video file) with your audio narrations, please review the following help page, which describes both the PC and Mac versions method: Save a presentation as a Movie file or MP4

NOTE : Not all versions of PowerPoint have the features mentioned above. Hopkins Affiliates have access to a Microsoft Office 365 license which will allow you to download the newest version of Office including PowerPoint. Please visit the following page for how to download Microsoft Office 365: Office 365 Communication Hub, Microsoft Office

• Effective Poster Presentation - Handout
• This PDF presents strategies to consider in determing poster content, structure, and graphic design. It includes tips on presentation logisitics

• Request a Consultation
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• Technical Support
• Course Design and Preparation
• Observation & Feedback

Teaching Resources

Improving Presentation Style

Resource overview.

Strategies for making your presentation style more effective in the classroom

Effective lecturers combine the talents of scholar, writer, producer, comedian, showman, and teacher in ways that contribute to student learning.”

Wilbert J. McKeachie, Teaching Tips

An effective teacher is an excellent communicator and therefore thinks about improving his or her presentation skills. One of the most important aspects of communicating is shaping both content and style to fit your audience. In the classroom, if you cannot communicate in a way that is both comprehensible and interesting to your students, their learning will be greatly reduced.

To strengthen your presentation skills, focus on improving your skills in these three areas:

Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

• Find out all you can about the room in which you will be presenting. Visit the room ahead of time to familiarize yourself with its size and layout, as well as the type of chalkboards, chalk, erasers, and multimedia available. In addition, obtain any necessary training on the multimedia.
• Use the classroom as a stage. Move around to engage and interact with your audience. Do not stand in one spot the entire time. Move with purpose; do not walk aimlessly.
• Prepare. Preparation is essential. All excellent teachers are well prepared for each class. Practice in the room if you can, especially if you are new to teaching. In addition, prepare yourself emotionally and psychologically by taking the time to organize your thoughts and to look forward to teaching before every class.
• Speak loudly and clearly. Project your voice and face your audience when you are speaking. Speak slightly louder than you do in a normal conversation. Use a microphone in a medium to large classroom. The class may include students with hearing problems. Moreover, a microphone will help ensure that students can hear you even when you turn to the chalkboard momentarily.
• Modulate the tone, pitch, and speed of your speech. Do not speak in a monotone. Vary the pitch and speed of your voice for emphasis and effect. Use appropriate pauses. Rather than using filler words such as “uh,” for example, simply pause before moving on to the next idea or point.
• Use gestures and facial expressions to help you explain, emphasize, and communicate the material. However, be careful not to develop distracting habits such as pacing or repeatedly adjusting your glasses or hair. To find out if you are unconsciously doing anything that may be distracting to your audience, have a colleague observe one of your classes or have your class videotaped. To schedule a videotaping and teaching consultation, call The Teaching Center at 935-6810.
• Develop a teaching persona. Decide how you want to be perceived and what mannerisms you want to have. For example, do you want to be quiet, humorous, formal, or informal? Whatever persona is right for you, aim to convey confidence and ease. Move with certainty and assuredness, and be careful not to seem pompous or intimidating.
• Show passion and enthusiasm for the topic. If you are not interested in the subject, you cannot expect your students to be interested, either. Point out the fascinating aspects of what they are learning.
• Do not read your notes or slides. Doing so will lower your energy level and lead your audience to feel less engaged.
• Interact with and pay attention to your audience. Make eye contact with the students, not with the wall or chalkboard. Build a rapport with the class. Make sure the class is with you (following and understanding what you are discussing). If they appear to be lost, take additional time to explain points and to ask and answer questions.
• Do not take yourself too seriously. Be able to laugh at yourself and your mistakes. Feel free to bring humor into the classroom, but direct it at yourself, rather than at your students’ questions and ideas.
• Keep track of the time. Do not start early or end late. The students often do not recall or listen to information presented after the class period is technically finished.

Effective Use of the Chalkboard and Visual-Aids

Using the Chalkboard

• Write legibly and big enough that your writing can seen in the back of the room.
• Think about the organization of the material on the board.
• Fill one board at a time, starting at the top of each board and writing down.
• Do not scrunch in words at the very bottom of the board or in the margins. The students in the back will not see the words at the bottom, and no one will see the words in the margins.
• Underline or mark major assumptions, conclusions, etc.
• Use color to emphasize points.Before the course starts, determine which colors are most visible in the back of the room.
• Erase a board only when you have run out of room.
• If you find a mistake on a previous board, do not erase it. Cross it out, then write the correction in, which is what the students must do.

Using Visual Aids, such as PowerPoint Slides

• Do not use visual aids unless they serve a clear and important purpose. Visuals should aid quick comprehension and support the main points.
• Book and check out the presentation equipment in advance.
• Talk to your audience and not to the screen.
• Use the visuals to enhance your presentation, not as a substitute for a verbal presentation.
• Use a pointer, if necessary.
• Coordinate the audio and the visual.
• Design your visuals with clarity and simplicity in mind.

Effective Design and Meaningful Organization of Content

Visual Design Suggestions

• Use single words or phrases.
• Organize the content visually.
• Choose a font that is easy to see. Choose a font that is simple, plain, and easy to read such as Times New Roman, Ariel, or Helvetica. Select a font size that is large enough to be seen at the back of the room. The minimal acceptable size is typically 24-point. Use both upper- and lower-case letters; all upper-case letters are difficult to read.
• Keep the design simple. Too many words, graphics, or different colors are distracting and cause students to miss the important points.
• Use short quotes, not long extracts, from documents.
• Assign a title for each visual. Doing so will help your audience organize and retain the information on each visual.
• Use summary lists.
• Limit the number of ideas on each visual. For example, limit the number of bullets on a page to approximately 4 to 6. Each bullet should be short, approximately one line. Do not crowd the visual with text; it will be too difficult to read.
• Use color for emphasis and organization. Color is useful, but needs to be used judiciously. The color should be used for emphasis or for distinguishing among data. Think about the color wheel: adjacent colors blend together and colors directly opposite each other are contrasting and provide better readability. Reds and oranges stand out, but are hard to continually focus on; therefore, use these colors only for emphasis. Greens, blues, and browns are easier to continually focus on, but do not grab a person’s attention.
• Design diagrams and tables that are simple and clear, with readily recognized symbols. Your audience must be able to read all data in your diagrams and tables. Often, this means that you will have to simplify a more complex or detailed table or diagram that has been prepared for a printed format.
• Use horizontal (landscape) layout, not vertical (portrait). Screens, video monitors, and computer monitors are shaped for a horizontal, not a vertical, format. In addition, a horizontal format is easier to project in rooms with low ceilings.

Content Organization Suggestions

• Plan the content. Think about the type of students in the class, the goals for the course and the current session, the type of material to be presented in the current session, and the type of media, if any, that you are going to use.
• Provide a structure. Each class session or presentation should have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
• List objectives or provide an outline at the beginning of each class session. Providing an outline helps students identify the most important points and follow the lecture or discussion more effectively.
• Organize course content with a theme or storyline. How do you want to arrange the material? How does each part of the material relate to what comes next.
• Remember that a typical student’s attention span is 15-20 minutes. Every 15-20 minutes, either change your teaching method or change activities. Use different teaching methods in one session to keep the students’ attention and to reach students who have different learning preferences. (See Teaching with Lectures .)
• Allow for pauses and “wait-time.” Wait-time is the pause after the instructor either asks a question or asks for questions. Students need time to think of a response to a question, or to think of a question to ask. Do not be afraid of silence. Most instructors wait 1-3 seconds for a response. However, increasing the wait-time to 5-10 seconds dramatically increases the number and quality of responses. (See Asking Questions to Improve Learning .)

Clark, Donald. “Making Presentations that Audiences Will Love.” PowerPoint Presentation. http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/templates/presentations.ppt .

—.“Monthly Speaking Tips.” LJL Seminars. http://www.ljlseminars.com/monthtip.htm .

“Common Visual Aids.” Faculty Development Committee. Honolulu Community College. http://letsgetengaged.wikispaces.com/file/view/using_visual_aids.pdf

“Creating Visual Aids That Really Work: Designing Effective Slides Using PowerPoint.” Effective Communications Group (ECG), Inc.  http://ecgcoaching.com/library/ps/powerpoint.php

Davis, Barbara Gross. “Delivering a Lecture.” Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 1993.

Edwards, Paul N. “How to Give an Academic Talk.” School of Information. University of Michigan. http://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/howtotalk.pdf .

McKeachie, Wilbert, et al. McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.

“Presentations.” Teaching and Learning Center. Eastern Kentucky University.

Sammons, Martha. “Students Assess Computer-Aided Classroom Presentations.” The Journal Online, May 1995. http://thejournal.com/articles/1995/05/01/students-assess-computeraided-classroom-presentations.aspx?sc_lang=en

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How to make a great presentation

Stressed about an upcoming presentation? These talks are full of helpful tips on how to get up in front of an audience and make a lasting impression.

The secret structure of great talks

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Making better powerpoint presentations.

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Baddeley and Hitch’s model of working memory.

Research about student preferences for powerpoint, resources for making better powerpoint presentations, bibliography.

We have all experienced the pain of a bad PowerPoint presentation. And even though we promise ourselves never to make the same mistakes, we can still fall prey to common design pitfalls.  The good news is that your PowerPoint presentation doesn’t have to be ordinary. By keeping in mind a few guidelines, your classroom presentations can stand above the crowd!

“It is easy to dismiss design – to relegate it to mere ornament, the prettifying of places and objects to disguise their banality. But that is a serious misunderstanding of what design is and why it matters.” Daniel Pink

One framework that can be useful when making design decisions about your PowerPoint slide design is Baddeley and Hitch’s model of working memory .

As illustrated in the diagram above, the Central Executive coordinates the work of three systems by organizing the information we hear, see, and store into working memory.

The Phonological Loop deals with any auditory information. Students in a classroom are potentially listening to a variety of things: the instructor, questions from their peers, sound effects or audio from the PowerPoint presentation, and their own “inner voice.”

The Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad deals with information we see. This involves such aspects as form, color, size, space between objects, and their movement. For students this would include: the size and color of fonts, the relationship between images and text on the screen, the motion path of text animation and slide transitions, as well as any hand gestures, facial expressions, or classroom demonstrations made by the instructor.

The Episodic Buffer integrates the information across these sensory domains and communicates with long-term memory. All of these elements are being deposited into a holding tank called the “episodic buffer.” This buffer has a limited capacity and can become “overloaded” thereby, setting limits on how much information students can take in at once.

Laura Edelman and Kathleen Harring from Muhlenberg College , Allentown, Pennsylvania have developed an approach to PowerPoint design using Baddeley and Hitch’s model. During the course of their work, they conducted a survey of students at the college asking what they liked and didn’t like about their professor’s PowerPoint presentations. They discovered the following:

Characteristics students don’t like about professors’ PowerPoint slides

• Too many words on a slide
• Movement (slide transitions or word animations)
• Templates with too many colors

Characteristics students like like about professors’ PowerPoint slides

• Graphs increase understanding of content
• Bulleted lists help them organize ideas
• PowerPoint can help to structure lectures
• Verbal explanations of pictures/graphs help more than written clarifications

According to Edelman and Harring, some conclusions from the research at Muhlenberg are that students learn more when:

• material is presented in short phrases rather than full paragraphs.
• the professor talks about the information on the slide rather than having students read it on their own.
• relevant pictures are used. Irrelevant pictures decrease learning compared to PowerPoint slides with no picture
• they take notes (if the professor is not talking). But if the professor is lecturing, note-taking and listening decreased learning.
• they are given the PowerPoint slides before the class.

Advice from Edelman and Harring on leveraging the working memory with PowerPoint:

• Leverage the working memory by dividing the information between the visual and auditory modality.  Doing this reduces the likelihood of one system becoming overloaded. For instance, spoken words with pictures are better than pictures with text, as integrating an image and narration takes less cognitive effort than integrating an image and text.
• Minimize the opportunity for distraction by removing any irrelevant material such as music, sound effects, animations, and background images.
• Use simple cues to direct learners to important points or content. Using text size, bolding, italics, or placing content in a highlighted or shaded text box is all that is required to convey the significance of key ideas in your presentation.
• Don’t put every word you intend to speak on your PowerPoint slide. Instead, keep information displayed in short chunks that are easily read and comprehended.
• One of the mostly widely accessed websites about PowerPoint design is Garr Reynolds’ blog, Presentation Zen . In his blog entry:  “ What is Good PowerPoint Design? ” Reynolds explains how to keep the slide design simple, yet not simplistic, and includes a few slide examples that he has ‘made-over’ to demonstrate how to improve its readability and effectiveness. He also includes sample slides from his own presentation about PowerPoint slide design.
• Another presentation guru, David Paradi, author of “ The Visual Slide Revolution: Transforming Overloaded Text Slides into Persuasive Presentations ” maintains a video podcast series called “ Think Outside the Slide ” where he also demonstrates PowerPoint slide makeovers. Examples on this site are typically from the corporate perspective, but the process by which content decisions are made is still relevant for higher education. Paradi has also developed a five step method, called KWICK , that can be used as a simple guide when designing PowerPoint presentations.
• In the video clip below, Comedian Don McMillan talks about some of the common misuses of PowerPoint in his routine called “Life After Death by PowerPoint.”

• This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education highlights a blog moderated by Microsoft’s Doug Thomas that compiles practical PowerPoint advice gathered from presentation masters like Seth Godin , Guy Kawasaki , and Garr Reynolds .

Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story , by Jerry Weissman, Prentice Hall, 2006

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery , by Garr Reynolds, New Riders Press, 2008

Solving the PowerPoint Predicament: using digital media for effective communication , by Tom Bunzel , Que, 2006

The Cognitive Style of Power Point , by Edward R. Tufte, Graphics Pr, 2003

The Visual Slide Revolution: Transforming Overloaded Text Slides into Persuasive Presentations , by Dave Paradi, Communications Skills Press, 2000

Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck: And How You Can Make Them Better , by Rick Altman, Harvest Books, 2007

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6 presentation skills and how to improve them

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What are presentation skills?

The importance of presentation skills, 6 presentation skills examples, how to improve presentation skills.

Tips for dealing with presentation anxiety

Learn how to captivate an audience with ease

Capturing an audience’s attention takes practice. 

Over time, great presenters learn how to organize their speeches and captivate an audience from start to finish. They spark curiosity, know how to read a room , and understand what their audience needs to walk away feeling like they learned something valuable.

Regardless of your profession, you most likely use presentation skills on a monthly or even weekly basis. Maybe you lead brainstorming sessions or host client calls. 

Developing effective presentation skills makes it easier to contribute ideas with confidence and show others you’re someone to trust. Although speaking in front of a crowd sometimes brings nerves and anxiety , it also sparks new opportunities.

Presentation skills are the qualities and abilities you need to communicate ideas effectively and deliver a compelling speech. They influence how you structure a presentation and how an audience receives it. Understanding body language , creating impactful visual aids, and projecting your voice all fall under this umbrella.

A great presentation depends on more than what you say. It’s about how you say it. Storytelling , stage presence, and voice projection all shape how well you express your ideas and connect with the audience. These skills do take practice, but they’re worth developing — especially if public speaking makes you nervous. 

Engaging a crowd isn’t easy. You may feel anxious to step in front of an audience and have all eyes and ears on you.

But feeling that anxiety doesn’t mean your ideas aren’t worth sharing. Whether you’re giving an inspiring speech or delivering a monthly recap at work, your audience is there to listen to you. Harness that nervous energy and turn it into progress.

Strong presentation skills make it easier to convey your thoughts to audiences of all sizes. They can help you tell a compelling story, convince people of a pitch , or teach a group something entirely new to them. And when it comes to the workplace, the strength of your presentation skills could play a part in getting a promotion or contributing to a new initiative.

To fully understand the impact these skills have on creating a successful presentation, it’s helpful to look at each one individually. Here are six valuable skills you can develop:

1. Active listening

Active listening is an excellent communication skill for any professional to hone. When you have strong active listening skills, you can listen to others effectively and observe their nonverbal cues . This helps you assess whether or not your audience members are engaged in and understand what you’re sharing. 

Great public speakers use active listening to assess the audience’s reactions and adjust their speech if they find it lacks impact. Signs like slouching, negative facial expressions, and roaming eye contact are all signs to watch out for when giving a presentation.

2. Body language

If you’re researching presentation skills, chances are you’ve already watched a few notable speeches like TED Talks or industry seminars. And one thing you probably noticed is that speakers can capture attention with their body language. 

A mixture of eye contact, hand gestures , and purposeful pacing makes a presentation more interesting and engaging. If you stand in one spot and don’t move your body, the audience might zone out.

3. Stage presence

A great stage presence looks different for everyone. A comedian might aim for more movement and excitement, and a conference speaker might focus their energy on the content of their speech. Although neither is better than the other, both understand their strengths and their audience’s needs. 

Developing a stage presence involves finding your own unique communication style . Lean into your strengths, whether that’s adding an injection of humor or asking questions to make it interactive . To give a great presentation, you might even incorporate relevant props or presentation slides.

4. Storytelling

According to Forbes, audiences typically pay attention for about 10 minutes before tuning out . But you can lengthen their attention span by offering a presentation that interests them for longer. Include a narrative they’ll want to listen to, and tell a story as you go along. 

Shaping your content to follow a clear narrative can spark your audience’s curiosity and entice them to pay careful attention. You can use anecdotes from your personal or professional life that take your audience along through relevant moments. If you’re pitching a product, you can start with a problem and lead your audience through the stages of how your product provides a solution.

5. Voice projection

Although this skill may be obvious, you need your audience to hear what you’re saying. This can be challenging if you’re naturally soft-spoken and struggle to project your voice.

Remember to straighten your posture and take deep breaths before speaking, which will help you speak louder and fill the room. If you’re talking into a microphone or participating in a virtual meeting, you can use your regular conversational voice, but you still want to sound confident and self-assured with a strong tone.

If you’re unsure whether everyone can hear you, you can always ask the audience at the beginning of your speech and wait for confirmation. That way, they won’t have to potentially interrupt you later.

Ensuring everyone can hear you also includes your speed and annunciation. It’s easy to speak quickly when nervous, but try to slow down and pronounce every word. Mumbling can make your presentation difficult to understand and pay attention to.

6. Verbal communication 

Although verbal communication involves your projection and tone, it also covers the language and pacing you use to get your point across. This includes where you choose to place pauses in your speech or the tone you use to emphasize important ideas.

If you’re giving a presentation on collaboration in the workplace , you might start your speech by saying, “There’s something every workplace needs to succeed: teamwork.” By placing emphasis on the word “ teamwork ,” you give your audience a hint on what ideas will follow.

To further connect with your audience through diction, pay careful attention to who you’re speaking to. The way you talk to your colleagues might be different from how you speak to a group of superiors, even if you’re discussing the same subject. You might use more humor and a conversational tone for the former and more serious, formal diction for the latter.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses when it comes to presenting. Maybe you’re confident in your use of body language, but your voice projection needs work. Maybe you’re a great storyteller in small group settings, but need to work on your stage presence in front of larger crowds. 

The first step to improving presentation skills is pinpointing your gaps and determining which qualities to build upon first. Here are four tips for enhancing your presentation skills:

1. Build self-confidence

Confident people know how to speak with authority and share their ideas. Although feeling good about your presentation skills is easier said than done, building confidence is key to helping your audience believe in what you’re saying. Try practicing positive self-talk and continuously researching your topic's ins and outs.

If you don’t feel confident on the inside, fake it until you make it. Stand up straight, project your voice, and try your best to appear engaged and excited. Chances are, the audience doesn’t know you’re unsure of your skills — and they don’t need to.

Another tip is to lean into your slideshow, if you’re using one. Create something colorful and interesting so the audience’s eyes fall there instead of on you. And when you feel proud of your slideshow, you’ll be more eager to share it with others, bringing more energy to your presentation.

2. Watch other presentations

Developing the soft skills necessary for a good presentation can be challenging without seeing them in action. Watch as many as possible to become more familiar with public speaking skills and what makes a great presentation. You could attend events with keynote speakers or view past speeches on similar topics online.

Take a close look at how those presenters use verbal communication and body language to engage their audiences. Grab a notebook and jot down what you enjoyed and your main takeaways. Try to recall the techniques they used to emphasize their main points, whether they used pauses effectively, had interesting visual aids, or told a fascinating story.

3. Get in front of a crowd

You don’t need a large auditorium to practice public speaking. There are dozens of other ways to feel confident and develop good presentation skills.

If you’re a natural comedian, consider joining a small stand-up comedy club. If you’re an avid writer, participate in a public poetry reading. Even music and acting can help you feel more comfortable in front of a crowd.

If you’d rather keep it professional, you can still work on your presentation skills in the office. Challenge yourself to participate at least once in every team meeting, or plan and present a project to become more comfortable vocalizing your ideas. You could also speak to your manager about opportunities that flex your public speaking abilities.

4. Overcome fear

Many people experience feelings of fear before presenting in front of an audience, whether those feelings appear as a few butterflies or more severe anxiety. Try grounding yourself to shift your focus to the present moment. If you’re stuck dwelling on previous experiences that didn’t go well, use those mistakes as learning experiences and focus on what you can improve to do better in the future.

Tips for dealing with presentation anxiety 

It’s normal to feel nervous when sharing your ideas. In fact, according to a report from the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, public speaking anxiety is prevalent in 15–30% of the general population .

Even though having a fear of public speaking is common, it doesn’t make it easier. You might feel overwhelmed, become stiff, and forget what you were going to say. But although the moment might scare you, there are ways to overcome the fear and put mind over matter.

Use these tactics to reduce your stress when you have to make a presentation:

1. Practice breathing techniques

If you experience anxiety often, you’re probably familiar with breathing techniques for stress relief . Incorporating these exercises into your daily routine can help you stop worrying and regulate anxious feelings. 

Before a big presentation, take a moment alone to practice breathing techniques, ground yourself, and reduce tension. It’s also a good idea to take breaths throughout the presentation to speak slower and calm yourself down .

2. Get organized

The more organized you are, the more prepared you’ll feel. Carefully outline all of the critical information you want to use in your presentation, including your main talking points and visual aids, so you don’t forget anything. Use bullet points and visuals on each slide to remind you of what you want to talk about, and create handheld notes to help you stay on track.

3. Embrace moments of silence

It’s okay to lose your train of thought. It happens to even the most experienced public speakers once in a while. If your mind goes blank, don’t panic. Take a moment to breathe, gather your thoughts, and refer to your notes to see where you left off. You can drink some water or make a quick joke to ease the silence or regain your footing. And it’s okay to say, “Give me a moment while I find my notes.” Chances are, people understand the position you’re in.

4. Practice makes progress

Before presenting, rehearse in front of friends and family members you trust. This gives you the chance to work out any weak spots in your speech and become comfortable communicating out loud. If you want to go the extra mile, ask your makeshift audience to ask a surprise question. This tests your on-the-spot thinking and will prove that you can keep cool when things come up.

Whether you’re new to public speaking or are a seasoned presenter, you’re bound to make a few slip-ups. It happens to everyone. The most important thing is that you try your best, brush things off, and work on improving your skills to do better in your next presentation.

Although your job may require a different level of public speaking than your favorite TED Talk , developing presentation skills is handy in any profession. You can use presentation skills in a wide range of tasks in the workplace, whether you’re sharing your ideas with colleagues, expressing concerns to higher-ups, or pitching strategies to potential clients.

Remember to use active listening to read the room and engage your audience with an interesting narrative. Don’t forget to step outside your comfort zone once in a while and put your skills to practice in front of a crowd. After facing your fears, you’ll feel confident enough to put presentation skills on your resume.

If you’re trying to build your skills and become a better employee overall, try a communications coach with BetterUp. 

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Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

The 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills

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Methods for Presenting Subject Matter

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The word educate comes from Latin, meaning "to bring up, to rise, and to nourish, to train." To educate is an active enterprise. In comparison, the word  teach comes from German, meaning  "show, declare, warn, persuade." To teach is a more passive activity. 

The difference between these words, educate and teach, has resulted in many different instructional strategies, some more active and some more passive. The teacher has the option to choose one in order to successfully deliver content.

In choosing an active or passive instructional strategy, the teacher must also consider for other factors such as subject matter, the resources available, the time allotted for the lesson, and the background knowledge of the students. What follows is a list of ten instructional strategies that can be used to deliver content regardless of grade level or subject matter.

Lectures are instructor-centered forms of instruction given to a whole class. Lectures come in many different forms, some more effective than others. The least effective form of lecture involves a teacher reading from notes or the text without differentiating for student needs. This makes learning a passive activity and students may quickly lose interest.

The lecture is the most used strategy. An article  in "Science Educator" titled "Brain Research: Implications to Diverse Learners" (2005) notes:

"Although lecturing continues to be the most widely employed method in classrooms across the country, research on the way we learn indicates that lecturing is not always very effective."

Some dynamic teachers, however, lecture in a more free-form manner by including students or providing demonstrations. Some skilled lecturers have the ability to engage students using humor or insightful information.

The lecture is often coined as "direct instruction" which can be can be made into a more active instructional strategy when it is part of a mini- lesson .

The lecture portion of the mini-lesson is designed in a sequence where the teacher first makes a connection to previous lessons. Then the teacher delivers the content using a demonstration or a think-aloud . The lecture part of the mini-lesson is revisited after students have an opportunity for hands-on practice when the teacher restates the content one more time. 

Socratic Seminar

In a whole group discussion , the instructor and the students share the focus of the lesson. Typically a teacher presents information through questions and answers, trying to ensure that all students are involved in learning. Keeping all students on task, however, may be difficult with large class sizes. Teachers should be aware that using an instructional strategy of whole-class discussions may result in passive engagement for some students who may not participate .

To increase engagement, whole-class discussions may take several different forms. The Socratic seminar is where an instructor asks open-ended questions allowing students to respond and build on each others thinking. According to education researcher Grant  Wiggins , the Socratic seminar leads to more active learning when,

"...it becomes the student’s opportunity and responsibility to develop habits and skills that are traditionally reserved for the teacher."

One modification to the Socratic Seminar is the instructional strategy known as the fishbowl. In the fishbowl, a (smaller) inner circle of students respond to questions while a (larger) outer circle of students observes. In the fishbowl, the instructor participates as a moderator only.

Jigsaws and Small Groups

There are other forms of small group discussion. The most basic example is when the teacher breaks the class up into small groups and provides them with talking points that they must discuss. The teacher then walks around the room, checking on the information being shared and ensuring participation by all within the group. The teacher may ask students questions to ensure that everyone's voice is heard.

The Jigsaw is one modification on small group discussion that asks each student to become an expert on a particular topic and then share that knowledge by moving from one group to another. Each student expert then "teaches" the content to the members of each group. All members are responsible to learn all content from one another.

This method of discussion would work well, for example, when students have read an informational text in science or social studies and are sharing information to prepare for questions posed by the instructor. 

Literature circles are another instructional strategy that capitalizes on active small group discussions. Students respond to what they have read in structured groups designed to develop independence, responsibility, and ownership. Literature circles can be organized around one book or around a theme using many different texts.

Role Play or Debate

Roleplay is an active instructional strategy that has students take on different roles in a specific context as they explore and learn about the topic at hand. In many ways, role-play is similar to improvisation where each student is confident enough to offer an interpretation of a character or an idea without the benefit of a script. One example could be asking students to participate in a luncheon that is set in a historical period (ex: a Roaring 20s "Great Gatsby" party). 

In a foreign language class, students might take on the role of different speakers and use dialogues to help learn the language . It is important that the teacher has a firm plan for including and assessing the students based on their role-playing as more than participation.

The use of debates in the classroom can be an active strategy that strengthens skills of persuasion, organization, public speaking, research, teamwork, etiquette, and cooperation. Even in a polarized classroom, student emotions and biases can be addressed in a debate that begins in research. Teachers can foster critical thinking skills by requiring students to provide evidence to support their claims before any debate.

Hands-on or Simulation

Hands-on learning allows students to participate in an organized activity best evidenced in stations or science experiments. The arts (music, art, drama) and physical education are those recognized disciplines that require hands-on instruction.

Simulations are also hands-on but are different than role-playing. Simulations ask students to use what they have learned and their own intellect to work through an authentic problem or activity. Such simulations might be offered, for example, in a civics class where students create a model legislature in order to create and pass legislation. Another example is having students participate in a stock market game. Regardless of the kind of activity, a post-simulation discussion is important for assessing student understanding.

Because these kinds of active instructional strategies are engaging, students are motivated to participate. The lessons do require extensive preparation and also require the teacher to make clear how each student will be assessed for their participation and then be flexible with the results.

Software Program(s)

Teachers can use a variety of educational software on different platforms to deliver digital content for student learning. The software might be installed as an application or a program that students access on the internet. Different software programs are selected by the teacher for their content ( Newsela ) or for the features that allow students to engage ( Quizlet ) with the material.

Longterm instruction, a quarter or semester, can be delivered over software platforms online such as Odysseyware or Merlot . These platforms are curated by educators or researchers who provide specific subject materials, assessment, and support materials.

Short term instruction, such as a lesson, can be used to engage students in learning content through interactive games ( Kahoot !) or more passive activities such as reading texts.

Many software programs can collect data on student performance which can be used by teachers to inform instruction in areas of weakness.  This instructional strategy requires that teacher vets the materials or learns the software processes of the program in order to best use the data that records student performance.

Presentation Through Multimedia

Multimedia methods of presentation are passive methods of delivering content and include slideshows (Powerpoint) or movies. When creating presentations, teachers should be aware of the need to keep notes concise while including interesting and relevant images. If done well, a presentation is a kind of lecture that can be interesting and effective for student learning. 

Teachers may want to follow a 10/20/30 rule which means there are no more than 10  slides , the presentation is under 20 minutes, and the font is no smaller than 30 points. Presenters need to be aware that too many words on a slide can be confusing to some students or that reading every word on the slide aloud can be boring for an audience that can already read the material.

Movies present their own set of problems and concerns but can be extremely effective when teaching certain subjects. Teachers should consider the pros and cons of using movies before using them in the classroom.

Independent Reading and Work

Some topics lend themselves well to individual classroom reading time. For example, if students are studying a short story, a teacher might have them read in class and then stop them after a certain time to ask questions and check for understanding. However, it is important that the teacher is aware of student reading levels to make sure that students do not fall behind. Different leveled texts on the same content may be necessary.

Another method some teachers use is to have students select their own reading based on a research topic or simply on their interests. When students make their own choices in reading, they are more actively engaged. On independent reading  selections, teachers may want to use more generic questions to assess student understanding such as:

• What did the author say?
• What did the author mean?
• What words are the most important?

Research work in any subject area falls into this instructional strategy. 

Student Presentation

The instructional strategy of using student presentations as a way to present content to the class as a whole can be a fun and engaging method of instruction. For example, teachers can divide up a chapter into topics and have the students "teach" the class by presenting their "expert" analysis. This is similar to the Jigsaw strategy used in small group work.

Another way to organize student presentations is to hand out topics to students or groups and have them present information on each topic as a short presentation. This not only helps students learn the material in a deeper manner but also provides them with practice in public speaking. While this instructional strategy is largely passive for the student audience, the student presenting is an active demonstrating a high level of understanding.

Should students choose to use media, they should also adhere to the same recommendations that teachers should use with Powerpoint (ex: a 10/20/30 rule) or for films.

Flipped Classroom

Student use of all manner of digital devices (smartphones, laptops, i-Pads, Kindles) that allow access to content brought the beginning of the Flipped Classroom. More than a switch of homework to classwork, this relatively new instructional strategy is where the teacher moves the more passive elements of learning such as watching a powerpoint or reading a chapter, etc.as an activity outside of the classroom, usually the day or night before. This design of the flipped classroom is where valuable class time is available for more active forms of learning.

In flipped classrooms, one goal would be to guide students to make decisions on how to learn better on their own rather than having the teacher deliver information directly.

One source of materials for the flipped classroom is Khan Academy, This site originally began with videos that explained math concepts using the motto "Our mission is to provide a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere."

Many students preparing for the SAT for college entry might be interested to know that if they are using Khan Academy, they are participating in a flipped classroom model.

• Whole Group Discussion Pros and Cons
• 6 Tips to Liven Up Your Lectures
• 10 Ways to Keep Your Class Interesting
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Lecturing
• Using Effective Instructional Strategies
• How Scaffolding Instruction Can Improve Comprehension
• 6 Teaching Strategies to Differentiate Instruction
• How to Design Lessons When the Student Can't Read
• Gradual Release of Responsibility Creates Independent Learners
• 5 Keys to Being a Successful Teacher
• Topics for a Lesson Plan Template
• How to Facilitate Learning and Critical Thinking
• Teaching Strategies to Promote Student Equity and Engagement
• Strategies for Teachers to Develop Positive Relationships With Students
• The Pros and Cons of Block Schedules
• How to Make Lesson Plans for Adult Students

• PRESENTATION SKILLS

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Presentation Skills:

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Presentation Skills

Presenting information clearly and effectively is a key skill in getting your message across. Today, presentation skills are required in almost every field, and most of us are required to give presentations on occasions. While some people take this in their stride, others find it much more challenging.

It is, however, possible to improve your presentation skills with a bit of work. This section of SkillsYouNeed is designed to help.

Many people feel terrified when asked to talk in public, especially to bigger groups. However, these fears can be reduced by good preparation, which will also lay the groundwork for making an effective presentation.

There are Different Types of Presentations, but They’re All Presentations

There are any number of occasions when you may be asked to speak in public or to a group of people. They include:

• Presenting or making a speech at a conference or event.
• Objecting to a planning proposal at a council meeting.
• Making a speech at a wedding.
• Proposing a vote of thanks to someone at a club or society.
• On behalf of a team, saying goodbye and presenting a gift to a colleague who is leaving.
• Seeking investment or a loan to help you set up a new business.

These can all be considered presentations.

They do not, however, all require the same approach. You would not, for example, use PowerPoint to thank a colleague who was leaving. It would be unusual (though it has been done) to use it in a speech at a wedding. However, a conference audience would be somewhat surprised NOT to see slides projected onto a screen.

It follows, therefore, that there is no single set of rules that apply to all presentations. There are, however, some things that every presentation opportunity has in common. These include:

You will present better if you have prepared effectively . This does NOT necessarily mean that you have written out your speech verbatim and rehearsed it until you know it off by heart—although that might work for some people. It does, however, mean that you have to be confident that you are saying the right thing, in the right way, to the right people.

You need to be clear about your audience and your message . Every presentation will be better if you have clearly considered the message that you want or need to convey, and how best to convey it to your audience. These two pieces of information drive your style, structure, content, and use of visual aids.

You must never overrun your allocated time .  In other words, don’t outstay your welcome. Almost every speech or presentation is better if it is shorter. Nobody minds going for coffee early or finishing before they expected to do so. Everybody minds being held up.

Generally speaking, your audience starts on your side. As a rule, your audience is there (more or less) voluntarily. They have chosen to listen to you, and they want to enjoy your presentation. The occasion is yours to lose.

An Important Point

There is one very important point to remember: if what you’re doing or saying is not working, do something else.

One of the worst feelings as a presenter is that you have lost your audience. You know that’s happened, but you continue to stumble through your remaining PowerPoint slides for the next 15 minutes, as your audience checks their phones and wishes it was coffee time. You think you have no choice, but that’s not actually true.

When you present, you are in charge of the room . The audience has effectively handed you control and is sitting back waiting for you to do something. You may have prepared a specific talk, but if you see that isn’t working, you can always change it. You are, after all, the expert.

You can, for example:

• Skip through some slides to a section that they may find more interesting;
• Ask your audience whether there is particular information that they were expecting that you are not providing;
• Suggest that everyone looks a bit sleepy, and maybe it would be better to start questions early, or have a discussion; or
• Ask the audience at the start of the presentation what they are expecting and what they want you to cover. That way, you can tailor the presentation to fit their expectations.

Just as when you are facilitating, you want to help your audience get the most out of your presentation. The best way to do that is to accept feedback—which may include smiles, nods of interest, or people getting their phones out.

Quick Guide to Effective Presentations

If you need to improve your presentation skills quickly, then a really good place to start is with our Top Tips for Effective Presentations .

This will give you some ‘quick wins’ that will help you improve your presentations. If you’re already an experienced presenter, this page should be a useful refresher, or even take your skills from good to great.

Our tips include general ideas about connecting with your audience, information about the importance of voice and body language, and detailed tips about preparing slide-shows.

The most important tip of all, however, is to remember that it's all about your audience.

Keep that in mind, and your presentation skills will almost instantly improve.

If you have more time to develop your presentation skills…

…then the Presentation Skills section of SkillsYouNeed is designed to help.

Our Presentation Skills section is split into two parts.

• The first gives you a step-by-step guide to putting together and delivering a professional and effective presentation .
• The second provides more detailed information about presenting and communicating in particular circumstances .

You can either use our step-by-step guide to walk you through the presentation preparation and delivery process, or you can focus on particular areas that are an issue for you.

Preparing for Your Presentation

The guide starts by explaining What is a Presentation?

We define a presentation as a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team. Effective presentations usually require careful thought and preparation—although this preparation need not take very long.

Preparation is the most important part of making a successful presentation.  Our page on Preparing For A Presentation explains what information you need before you can really start to plan your presentation and decide what you are going to say. The most important aspects include the objective of the presentation, the subject, and the audience.

Irrespective of whether the occasion is formal or informal, you should always aim to give a clear, well-structured delivery. To do so, you need to organise your presentation material . You can either do this in your head, or use a technique like mind-mapping to help you identify links and good flow.

By the time you come to write your presentation , you should know exactly what you want to say and the order in which you want to say it. You may want to use one of the standard presentation structures, such as ‘What, Why, How?’. You will also find it helpful to consider how to tell your story most effectively, and to use stories in your presentation to illustrate points. There is more about this in our page on writing your presentation .

You also need to decide on your presentation method . Presentations range from the formal to the informal. Your choice of presentation method will depend on many factors, including the audience, the venue, the facilities, and your own preferences.

Visual aids can add another dimension to your presentation, helping to hold your audience’s attention, and also act as a reminder of what you wanted to say. However, they need handling with care. Only use visual aids if they are necessary to maintain interest and assist comprehension . If visual aids are not used well, they can ruin a presentation.

See Working with Visual Aids to avoid falling into the trap of the dreaded ‘ Death by PowerPoint’ .

A particular case of visual aids is the use of data in a presentation.

There are times when using data in a presentation can really help you to tell the story better. It is, however, important not to blind your audience with statistics. You also need to remember that many people find numbers difficult to understand. Our page on Presenting Data gives some hints and tips about using data effectively in a presentation situation.

On the Day of the Presentation

There are a number of aspects to delivering your presentation on the day.

The practicalities of how you manage your presentation can make a significant difference to its success, and to your nerves! For example, turning up early means that you have will have a chance to see the room, and ensure that you can operate all the necessary equipment. There is more about how to cope, including managing sound systems, audio-visual equipment and lecterns in our page on Managing the Presentation Event .

Many people also feel very nervous before and during a presentation. This is entirely normal, and can even be helpful if you can channel it in the right way. There are some tried and tested strategies and techniques to manage your nerves so that you can concentrate on delivering an effective and engaging presentation.

See Coping with Presentation Nerves for some ideas that will help.

How you present yourself can also affect how your audience responds to your presentation.

You need to fit with your audience's expectations if they are not going to spend quite a large chunk of your presentation dealing with the differences between expectations and reality.

For more about aspects of self-presentation, see our page on Self-Presentation in Presentations .

You also need to consider how to manage your presentation notes .

Few people are able to give a presentation without notes. You will need to know your own abilities and decide how best to make the presentation. You might manage your talk by using full text, notes on cue cards, keywords on cue cards, or mind maps. There is more about this in our page on Managing your Presentation Notes .

After the presentation, you may be faced with a question-and-answer session. For many people, this is the worst part of the event.

Decide in advance how and when you wish to handle questions. Some speakers prefer questions to be raised as they arise during the presentation whilst others prefer to deal with questions at the end. At the start of your presentation, you should make clear your preferences to the audience. See our page on Dealing with Questions for more ideas about how to make the question session pleasant and productive, rather than something to dread.

Presenting Under Particular Circumstances

You may find that you need to give a presentation under certain circumstances, where your previous experience is less helpful.

Circumstances that may be new to you include:

• Giving a Speech , for example, at a wedding.

One particular special case is attending public consultation meetings.

Our pages on Attending Public Consultation Meetings , and Managing Public Consultation Meetings provide information to help whether you are a concerned member of the public, or responsible for organising a public meeting.

You may also find yourself required to organise or manage a press conference.

Although this may not strictly be what you would describe as a ‘presentation’, it is nonetheless an event at which you are required to present your organisation in a particular light.

Our page on Managing a Press Conference gives some ideas about how best to do that.

Finally, should you be unlucky enough to be involved in a serious crisis or disaster that affects your organisation, our page on Crisis Communications gives some ideas about how to manage press and public relations on these occasions.

Start with: What is a Presentation? Top Tips for Effective Presentations

See also: Personal Appearance Interpersonal Communication Skills

15 Essential Presentation Techniques for Winning Over Any Audience

• The Speaker Lab
• April 13, 2024

Table of Contents

Ever found yourself standing before an audience, your heart racing? That’s the moment when knowing effective presentation techniques can prove to be your unwavering ally. But what are presentation techniques? And what makes them so powerful? In this article, we’re going to answer those questions.

Before we can talk about presentation techniques, though, we first have to talk about good communication. The power of effective communication isn’t just in what you say. It’s how you say it; it’s in those deep breaths that steady nerves, and in maintaining eye contact. It’s about turning a room full of strangers into an engaged audience hanging onto your every word. When it comes to public speaking, real success comes from mastering non-verbal cues to punctuate our words and using visual aids not as crutches but as tools for engagement.

As you hone your communication skills, you will begin to form effective presentation techniques. Expect rough patches as you get the hang of things, but view them as mere footholds propelling you towards your ultimate triumph. Keep pushing forward.

Mastering Presentation Techniques for Impactful Delivery

Presentation techniques are more than just standing in front of a crowd and talking. They’re about making connections, telling stories that resonate, and leaving your audience with something to remember you by.

Elements of an Effective Presentation

For your presentation to resonate, ensure the visuals are straightforward and supportive, rather than distracting. Your message should be concise yet powerful enough to stick. And let’s not forget engagement; keeping your audience on their toes is key.

• Visuals: Keep them simple but impactful.
• Message: Make every word count.
• Engagement: Interact with your audience, ask questions, make them think.

We’ve all seen those slides crammed with text or charts. When you make your slides, don’t cram information, because nobody wants to squint at tiny fonts or decipher complex graphs while trying to listen to you speak. This resource suggests focusing on clarity and simplicity when designing slides—advice worth taking.

Strategies for Delivering a Successful Presentation

To deliver a knockout presentation, start strong. Grab attention from the get-go with an intriguing fact or story related directly back into the topic at hand. Maintain eye contact across the room so everyone feels included in the conversation. Finally, end on a memorable note, either with a call to action or insight gained during the time together. Leave them wanting more information and eager to learn about the subject matter discussed today.

• The opener: Hook your audience with a relevant fact or anecdote.
• Maintain connection: Eyes up, engage everyone around.
• Closing remarks : Last chance for impact–what’s your mic drop?

As author Lilly Walters once said, “The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives.” This quote reminds us that the true goal of any speech is the understanding achieved between the speaker and the listeners.

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Engaging Your Audience with Nonverbal Communication

As the name implies, nonverbal communication denotes all of the ways you communicate without using words. This includes eye contact, body language, and facial expressions. Although nonverbal communication might not be the first presentation technique that comes to mind, it’s nevertheless a very powerful tool to have in your arsenal. Let’s take a look.

The Power of Eye Contact, Body Language, and Facial Expressions

Making eye contact isn’t just about looking someone in the eye; it’s about forging a connection. Aim for brief moments of eye contact across different sections of your audience throughout your presentation. Establishing fleeting eye connections across diverse audience segments fosters a sense of trust and keeps them hooked, all while ensuring no one feels on edge.

Body language is similarly important. Stand tall with good posture; it exudes confidence even when you feel nervous. As you grow more confident, mix up standing still with moving around subtly. This dynamic shift holds attention better than being rooted to one spot or nervous pacing. Use your hands to gesture naturally as you speak—it adds emphasis and keeps things lively.

If there’s one thing people can spot from miles away, it’s insincerity. So let those facial expressions match your words. Smile when you share something amusing, and furrow your brow when diving into serious stuff. After all, it’s not just what you say but how visually engaged and passionate you appear while saying it that counts.

Tying these elements together helps you deliver impactful, memorable talks. When done right, folks will leave feeling more connected, understood, and fired up by your presentation, all thanks to your techniques.

Designing Compelling Presentation Materials

Knowing how to design engaging presentation materials is one technique you can’t do without. Far from mere embellishments, these implements are crafted to hammer your message home. Hence, it’s vital to select these aids with great care and discernment.

Tips for Creating Effective Slides

When it comes to crafting slides, think of each as a billboard advertisement for your idea. You want it clear, impactful, and memorable.

• Keep it simple : One idea per slide keeps confusion at bay and attention locked in.
• Use bullet points : Break down your points so your audience can track.
• Pick a font size : Generally speaking, bigger is better.
• Use color : Harness colors that pop without blinding anyone; contrast is key.
• Use images with purpose : A good picture or chart can help illustrate your point, but keep it relevant and don’t overdo it.

With a few helpful visuals, your presentation can go from good to great. For more on creating slides, check out this link here .

Handling Questions and Interactions Professionally

For some speakers, it’s not the presentation itself that makes them nervous—it’s the Q&A session that follows. This is the moment where you get to shine or stumble based on how well you handle those curveballs from your audience. If you want to round off your presentation well, you’re going to want to learn a few techniques for fielding these questions. Let’s look at a few ways of doing this.

Preparing for Audience Questions and How to Address Them Effectively

Below are six techniques that will help you address audience questions effectively.

• Listen Up : The first rule of thumb is to listen like it’s a superpower. When someone throws a question at you, don’t just hear them out—really listen. Demonstrating this level of attentiveness not only conveys your respect but also affords you a brief moment to collect your ideas.
• Stay Calm : You’ve got this. Even if a question catches you off guard, take a deep breath before diving into your answer. No one expects perfection, but showing confidence matters.
• Practice Beforehand : Before presentation day arrives, think about potential questions folks might ask and prep some responses in advance. Practice makes perfect, after all.
• Vary Your Techniques : Not every question needs an essay as an answer; sometimes short and sweet does the trick. Mix up how detailed or brief your answers are depending on what’s asked.
• Show You Care : If you ever get a question that leaves you stumped, say so honestly—but add that magical line: “Let me find out more and I’ll get back to you.” Then actually do it.
• Appreciate Audience Curiosity : Remember that the reason you audience is asking questions is because they’re interested. So no matter what questions you get, keep engaging with enthusiasm.

Go forth with confidence, knowing not only can these moments boost credibility—they make connections too. So next time when facing down those queries remember to listen hard, stay calm & always engage warmly. With these techniques under your belt, answering audience questions after your presentation will feel much less daunting.

Techniques for a Memorable and Effective Presentation

No matter what topic you cover in your presentation, you can easily add in a story, and more likely than not you can add a little humor too. Together, these two presentation techniques are perfect for making your speech memorable.

Incorporating Storytelling into Your Presentation

One great technique for making your presentation stick is telling stories. Stories have the power to touch people profoundly, especially when they depict relatable experiences. So, when you’re up there presenting, kick things off with a story that ties into your main message. It could be personal, something from history, or even an anecdote that gets your point across. Stories are not just fluff; they’re the glue of your presentation. They make complex ideas digestible and memorable.

Using Humor to Connect with the Audience

Another great way of engaging your audience is by using humor. But here’s the deal—use humor wisely. Keep it tasteful and tied closely to the content at hand so it enhances rather than detracts from your message.

• Pick universal themes everyone can relate to.
• Avoid anything potentially offensive.
• Tie jokes back to your key points to make them relevant.

If humor isn’t your thing, or you’re worried about your comedic timing, it’s perfectly okay to skip the jokes. Especially if you’re new to public speaking, humor can be hard to nail immediately. But as you grow and hone your presentation techniques, consider stretching yourself a bit. By starting small, you can practice using humor to connect with your audience. That is your goal, after all—to leave a positive, memorable impression on your audience.

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Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety

For some speakers, stepping in front of a crowd to speak causes immediate anxiety. But fear not! Conquering public speaking anxiety is entirely within your grasp.

Techniques to Manage Stage Fright and Boost Confidence

First off, feeling nervous before taking the stage is completely normal. Even Mark Twain admitted, “There are two types of speakers. Those who get nervous and those who are liars.” So take that flutter in your stomach as a sign you care deeply about delivering value to your audience. In addition, consider the following tips as you prepare to hit the stage.

• Breathe Deep: Before stepping up, take some deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Feel every muscle relax with each exhale.
• Mind Over Matter: Visualization is key. Picture yourself nailing that presentation, because if you can see it, you can achieve it.
• Keep It Simple: Stick to what you know best; this isn’t the time for surprises or untested waters.
• Pace Yourself: Speak slowly but surely—there’s no rush here.

Believe it or not, acting relaxed often leads to actually being relaxed. Remember when we said mind over matter? Well, it applies here big time. The power pose backstage might just be what turns those nerves into excitement.

So next time you feel stage fright coming on, fight back with these techniques. With these tricks up your sleeve, you’re more than ready. So go ahead, breathe deep, and step onto that stage. You’ve got this.

Using Different Presentation Methods to Engage Your Audience

While learning styles is “ little more than urban myth ,” presenting your material in a variety of ways is a great technique for engaging your audience. By switching it up, you increase your chances of explaining something in a way that clicks with individual audience members. This is especially helpful for more complex topics that might be hard to grasp.

There are three main ways of presenting your material to your audience: through visuals, audio, and hands-on activities.

• Visuals: Use slides packed with images, graphs, and bullet points.
• Audio: Tell stories, play audio clips or engage in discussions.
• Hands-on Activities: Include activities or demonstrations that allow audience members to participate physically.

Making sure everyone gets something from your presentation means considering these techniques when planning content. Not only can incorporating various methods increase audience engagement, but it can also elevate your presentation from decent to memorable.

Essential Tips for First-Time Presenters

Stepping onto the stage or logging into that webinar platform as a first-time presenter can feel nerve-wracking. But fear not! With these tips on how to dress appropriately, arrive early, and make your presentation shine, you’ll be ready to confidently nail that presentation.

Dress Appropriately

Your outfit is your armor. Choose something professional yet comfortable. Whether it’s in-person or online, dressing one notch above what you expect your audience to wear usually hits the sweet spot. Aim for solid colors that won’t distract your audience.

Arriving Early

If possible, arrive at the venue before your audience does. This gives you time to settle in, test any tech gear like microphones or projectors, and take those deep breaths. This extra time also lets you chat with early birds. By connecting with people before taking center stage, you can ease nerves significantly.

Making Presentation Time Count

You only have the audience’s attention for so long. Keep an eye on the clock as you present, but avoid rushing through content. It especially helps to pause after key points, letting information sink in. Your end goal? Leave you’re audience wanting more. You’ll know if you succeeded based on the number of questions you get during the Q&A.

So there you have it—the techniques you need to deliver an engaging presentation. By honing nonverbal communication, like eye contact and posture, you can captivate your audience with your energy. And visual aids? They’re not just ornamental; they help bolster your point and drive it home.

We also learned that tackling audience questions is not an art reserved for the eloquent few but a skill sharpened by preparation and presence. While it takes a little work to nail good storytelling and well-timed humor, the ultimate outcome is worth it.

So while standing before an audience may set your heart racing, know that arming yourself with knowledge and technique can transform not just your presentation, but you yourself. So don’t be afraid to try your hand at these skills; in doing so, you build your own confidence and become a better speaker in the process.

• Last Updated: April 11, 2024

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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Complete Guide for Effective Presentations, with Examples

July 9, 2018 - Dom Barnard

During a presentation you aim to look confident, enthusiastic and natural. You’ll need more than good words and content to achieve this – your delivery plays a significant part. In this article, we discuss various techniques that can be used to deliver an effective presentation.

Effective presentations

Think about if you were in the audience, what would:

• Get you to focus and listen
• Make you understand
• Activate your imagination
• Persuade you

Providing the audience with interesting information is not enough to achieve these aims – you need to ensure that the way you present is stimulating and engaging. If it’s not, you’ll lose the audience’s interest and they’ll stop listening.

Tips for an Effective Presentation

Professional public speakers spend hours creating and practicing presentations. These are the delivery techniques they consider:

Keep it simple

You shouldn’t overwhelm your audience with information – ensure that you’re clear, concise and that you get to the point so they can understand your message.

Have a maximum of  three main points  and state them at the beginning, before you explain them in more depth, and then state them at the end so the audience will at least remember these points.

If some of your content doesn’t contribute to your key message then cut it out. Also avoid using too many statistics and technical terminology.

Connect with your audience

One of the greatest difficulties when delivering a presentation is connecting with the audience. If you don’t  connect with them  it will seem as though you’re talking to an empty room.

Trying to make contact with the audience makes them feel like they’re part of the presentation which encourages them to listen and it shows that you want to speak to them.

Eye contact and smile

Avoiding eye contact is uncomfortable because it make you look insecure. When you  maintain eye contact  the audience feels like you’re speaking to them personally. If this is something you struggle with, try looking at people’s foreheads as it gives the impression of making eye contact.

Try to cover all sections of the audience and don’t move on to the next person too quickly as you will look nervous.

Smiling also helps with rapport and it reduces your nerves because you’ll feel less like you’re talking to group of faceless people. Make sure you don’t turn the lights down too much before your presentation so you can all clearly see each other.

Body language

Be aware of your body language and use it to connect:

• Keep your arms uncrossed so your  body language is more open .
• Match your facial expressions with what you’re saying.
• Avoid fidgeting and displaying nervous habits, such as, rocking on your feet.
• You may need to glance at the computer slide or a visual aid but make sure you predominantly face the audience.
• Emphasise points by using hand gestures but use them sparingly – too little and they’ll awkwardly sit at your side, too much and you’ll be distracting and look nervous.
• Vary your gestures so you don’t look robotic.
• Maintain a straight posture.
• Be aware of  cultural differences .

Move around

Avoid standing behind the lectern or computer because you need to reduce the distance and barriers between yourself and the audience.  Use movement  to increase the audience’s interest and make it easier to follow your presentation.

A common technique for incorporating movement into your presentation is to:

• Start your introduction by standing in the centre of the stage.
• For your first point you stand on the left side of the stage.
• You discuss your second point from the centre again.
• You stand on the right side of the stage for your third point.
• The conclusion occurs in the centre.

Watch 3 examples of good and bad movement while presenting

Example: Movement while presenting

Your movement at the front of the class and amongst the listeners can help with engagement. Think about which of these three speakers maintains the attention of their audience for longer, and what they are doing differently to each other.

Speak with the audience

You can conduct polls using your audience or ask questions to make them think and feel invested in your presentation. There are three different types of questions:

Direct questions require an answer: “What would you do in this situation?” These are mentally stimulating for the audience. You can pass a microphone around and let the audience come to your desired solution.

Rhetorical questions  do not require answers, they are often used to emphasises an idea or point: “Is the Pope catholic?

Loaded questions contain an unjustified assumption made to prompt the audience into providing a particular answer which you can then correct to support your point: You may ask “Why does your wonderful company have such a low incidence of mental health problems?” The audience will generally answer that they’re happy.

After receiving the answers you could then say “Actually it’s because people are still unwilling and too embarrassed to seek help for mental health issues at work etc.”

Be specific with your language

Make the audience feel as though you are speaking to each member individually by using “you” and “your.”

For example: asking “Do you want to lose weight without feeling hungry?” would be more effective than asking “Does anyone here want to lost weight without feeling hungry?” when delivering your presentation. You can also increase solidarity by using “we”, “us” etc – it makes the audience think “we’re in this together”.

Be flexible

Be prepared to adapt to the situation at the time, for example, if the audience seems bored you can omit details and go through the material faster, if they are confused then you will need to come up with more examples on the spot for clarification. This doesn’t mean that you weren’t prepared because you can’t predict everything.

Vocal variety

How you say something is just as is important as the content of your speech – arguably, more so.

For example, if an individual presented on a topic very enthusiastically the audience would probably enjoy this compared to someone who covered more points but mumbled into their notes.

• Adapt your voice  depending on what are you’re saying – if you want to highlight something then raise your voice or lower it for intensity. Communicate emotion by using your voice.
• Avoid speaking in monotone as you will look uninterested and the audience will lose interest.
• Take time to pronounce every word carefully.
• Raise your pitch when asking questions and lower it when you want to sound severe.
• Sound enthusiastic – the more you sound like you care about the topic, the more the audience will listen. Smiling and pace can help with this.
• Speak loudly and clearly – think about projecting your voice to the back of the room.
• Speak at a  pace that’s easy to follow . If you’re too fast or too slow it will be difficult for the audience to understand what you’re saying and it’s also frustrating. Subtly fasten the pace to show enthusiasm and slow down for emphasis, thoughtfulness or caution.

Prior to the presentation, ensure that you  prepare your vocal chords :

• You could read aloud a book that requires vocal variety, such as, a children’s book.
• Avoid dairy and eating or drinking anything too sugary beforehand as mucus can build-up leading to frequent throat clearing.
• Don’t drink anything too cold before you present as this can constrict your throat which affects vocal quality.
• Some people suggest a warm cup of tea beforehand to relax the throat.

Practice Presentation Skills

Improve your public speaking and presentation skills by practicing them in realistic environments, with automated feedback on performance. Learn More

Pause to breathe

When you’re anxious your breathing will become quick and shallow which will affect the control you have on your voice. This can consequently make you feel more nervous. You want to breathe steadily and deeply so before you start speaking take some deep breaths or implement controlled breathing.

Controlled breathing is a common technique that helps slow down your breathing to normal thus reducing your anxiety. If you think this may be useful practice with these steps:

• Sit down in an upright position as it easier for your lungs to fill with air
• Breathe in through your nose and into your abdomen for four seconds
• Hold this breathe for two seconds
• Breathe out through your nose for six seconds
• Wait a few seconds before inhaling and repeating the cycle

It takes practice to master this technique but once you get used to it you may want to implement it directly before your presentation.

Completely filling your lungs during a pause will ensure you reach a greater vocal range.

During the presentation delivery, if you notice that you’re speaking too quickly then pause and breathe. This won’t look strange – it will appear as though you’re giving thought to what you’re saying. You can also strategically plan some of your pauses, such as after questions and at the end of sections, because this will give you a chance to calm down and it will also give the audience an opportunity to think and reflect.

Pausing will also help you  avoid filler words , such as, “um” as well which can make you sound unsure.

• 10 Effective Ways to use Pauses in your Speech

Strong opening

The first five minutes are  vital to engage the audience  and get them listening to you. You could start with a story to highlight why your topic is significant.

For example, if the topic is on the benefits of pets on physical and psychological health, you could present a story or a study about an individual whose quality of life significantly improved after being given a dog. The audience is more likely to respond better to this and remember this story than a list of facts.

Example: Which presentation intro keeps you engaged?

Watch 5 different presentation introductions, from both virtual and in-person events. Notice how it can only take a few seconds to decide if you want to keep listening or switch off. For the good introductions, what about them keeps you engaged?

More experienced and confident public speakers use humour in their presentations. The audience will be incredibly engaged if you make them laugh but caution must be exercised when using humour because a joke can be misinterpreted and even offend the audience.

Only use jokes if you’re confident with this technique, it has been successful in the past and it’s suitable for the situation.

Stories and anecdotes

Use stories whenever you can and judge whether you can tell a story about yourself because the audience are even more interested in seeing the human side of you.

Consider telling a story about a mistake you made, for example, perhaps you froze up during an important presentation when you were 25, or maybe life wasn’t going well for you in the past – if relevant to your presentation’s aim. People will relate to this as we have all experienced mistakes and failures. The more the audience relates to you, the more likely they will remain engaged.

These stories can also be  told in a humorous way  if it makes you feel more comfortable and because you’re disclosing a personal story there is less chance of misinterpretation compared to telling a joke.

Anecdotes are especially valuable for your introduction and between different sections of the presentation because they engage the audience. Ensure that you plan the stories thoroughly beforehand and that they are not too long.

Focus on the audience’s needs

Even though your aim is to persuade the audience, they must also get something helpful from the presentation. Provide the audience with value by giving them useful information, tactics, tips etc. They’re more likely to warm to you and trust you if you’re sharing valuable information with them.

You could also highlight their pain point. For example, you might ask “Have you found it difficult to stick to a healthy diet?” The audience will now want to remain engaged because they want to know the solution and the opportunities that you’re offering.

Use visual aids

Visual aids are items of a visual manner, such as graphs, photographs, video clips etc used in addition to spoken information. Visual aids are chosen depending on their purpose, for example, you may want to:

• Summarise information.
• Reduce the amount of spoken words, for example, you may show a graph of your results rather than reading them out.
• Clarify and show examples.
• Create more of an impact. You must consider what type of impact you want to make beforehand – do you want the audience to be sad, happy, angry etc?
• Emphasise what you’re saying.
• Make a point memorable.
• Enhance your credibility.
• Engage the audience and maintain their interest.
• Make something easier for the audience to understand.

Some general tips for  using visual aids :

• Think about how can a visual aid can support your message. What do you want the audience to do?
• Ensure that your visual aid follows what you’re saying or this will confuse the audience.
• Avoid cluttering the image as it may look messy and unclear.
• Visual aids must be clear, concise and of a high quality.
• Keep the style consistent, such as, the same font, colours, positions etc
• Use graphs and charts to present data.
• The audience should not be trying to read and listen at the same time – use visual aids to highlight your points.
• One message per visual aid, for example, on a slide there should only be one key point.
• Use visual aids in moderation – they are additions meant to emphasise and support main points.
• Ensure that your presentation still works without your visual aids in case of technical problems.

10-20-30 slideshow rule

Slideshows are widely used for presentations because it’s easy to create attractive and professional presentations using them. Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slideshows should  follow a 10-20-30 rule :

• There should be a maximum of 10 slides – people rarely remember more than one concept afterwards so there’s no point overwhelming them with unnecessary information.
• The presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes as this will leave time for questions and discussion.
• The font size should be a minimum of 30pt because the audience reads faster than you talk so less information on the slides means that there is less chance of the audience being distracted.

If you want to give the audience more information you can provide them with partially completed handouts or give them the handouts after you’ve delivered the presentation.

Keep a drink nearby

Have something to drink when you’re on stage, preferably water at room temperature. This will help maintain your vocal quality and having a sip is a subtle way of introducing pauses.

Practice, practice, practice

If you are very familiar with the content of your presentation, your audience will perceive you as confident and you’ll be more persuasive.

• Don’t just read the presentation through – practice everything,  including your transitions  and using your visual aids.
• Stand up and speak it aloud, in an engaging manner, as though you were presenting to an audience.
• Ensure that you practice your body language and gesturing.
• Use VR to  practice in a realistic environment .
• Practice in front of others and get their feedback.
• Freely improvise so you’ll sound more natural on the day. Don’t learn your presentation verbatim because you will sound uninterested and if you lose focus then you may forget everything.
• Create cards to use as cues – one card should be used for one key idea. Write down brief notes or key words and ensure that the cards are physically connected so the order cannot be lost. Visual prompts can also be used as cues.

This video shows how you can practice presentations in virtual reality. See our  VR training courses .

Two courses where you can practice your presentations in interactive exercises:

• Essential Public Speaking
• How to Present over Video

Try these different presentation delivery methods to see which ones you prefer and which need to be improved. The most important factor is to feel comfortable during the presentation as the delivery is likely to be better.

Remember that the audience are generally on your side – they want you to do well so present with confidence.

Ideas and insights from Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

Powerful and Effective Presentation Skills: More in Demand Now Than Ever

When we talk with our L&D colleagues from around the globe, we often hear that presentation skills training is one of the top opportunities they’re looking to provide their learners. And this holds true whether their learners are individual contributors, people managers, or senior leaders. This is not surprising.

Effective communications skills are a powerful career activator, and most of us are called upon to communicate in some type of formal presentation mode at some point along the way.

For instance, you might be asked to brief management on market research results, walk your team through a new process, lay out the new budget, or explain a new product to a client or prospect. Or you may want to build support for a new idea, bring a new employee into the fold, or even just present your achievements to your manager during your performance review.

And now, with so many employees working from home or in hybrid mode, and business travel in decline, there’s a growing need to find new ways to make effective presentations when the audience may be fully virtual or a combination of in person and remote attendees.

Whether you’re making a standup presentation to a large live audience, or a sit-down one-on-one, whether you’re delivering your presentation face to face or virtually, solid presentation skills matter.

Even the most seasoned and accomplished presenters may need to fine-tune or update their skills. Expectations have changed over the last decade or so. Yesterday’s PowerPoint which primarily relied on bulleted points, broken up by the occasional clip-art image, won’t cut it with today’s audience.

The digital revolution has revolutionized the way people want to receive information. People expect presentations that are more visually interesting. They expect to see data, metrics that support assertions. And now, with so many previously in-person meetings occurring virtually, there’s an entirely new level of technical preparedness required.

The leadership development tools and the individual learning opportunities you’re providing should include presentation skills training that covers both the evergreen fundamentals and the up-to-date capabilities that can make or break a presentation.

So, just what should be included in solid presentation skills training? Here’s what I think.

The fundamentals will always apply When it comes to making a powerful and effective presentation, the fundamentals will always apply. You need to understand your objective. Is it strictly to convey information, so that your audience’s knowledge is increased? Is it to persuade your audience to take some action? Is it to convince people to support your idea? Once you understand what your objective is, you need to define your central message. There may be a lot of things you want to share with your audience during your presentation, but find – and stick with – the core, the most important point you want them to walk away with. And make sure that your message is clear and compelling.

You also need to tailor your presentation to your audience. Who are they and what might they be expecting? Say you’re giving a product pitch to a client. A technical team may be interested in a lot of nitty-gritty product detail. The business side will no doubt be more interested in what returns they can expect on their investment.

Another consideration is the setting: is this a formal presentation to a large audience with questions reserved for the end, or a presentation in a smaller setting where there’s the possibility for conversation throughout? Is your presentation virtual or in-person? To be delivered individually or as a group? What time of the day will you be speaking? Will there be others speaking before you and might that impact how your message will be received?

Once these fundamentals are established, you’re in building mode. What are the specific points you want to share that will help you best meet your objective and get across your core message? Now figure out how to convey those points in the clearest, most straightforward, and succinct way. This doesn’t mean that your presentation has to be a series of clipped bullet points. No one wants to sit through a presentation in which the presenter reads through what’s on the slide. You can get your points across using stories, fact, diagrams, videos, props, and other types of media.

Visual design matters While you don’t want to clutter up your presentation with too many visual elements that don’t serve your objective and can be distracting, using a variety of visual formats to convey your core message will make your presentation more memorable than slides filled with text. A couple of tips: avoid images that are cliched and overdone. Be careful not to mix up too many different types of images. If you’re using photos, stick with photos. If you’re using drawn images, keep the style consistent. When data are presented, stay consistent with colors and fonts from one type of chart to the next. Keep things clear and simple, using data to support key points without overwhelming your audience with too much information. And don’t assume that your audience is composed of statisticians (unless, of course, it is).

When presenting qualitative data, brief videos provide a way to engage your audience and create emotional connection and impact. Word clouds are another way to get qualitative data across.

Practice makes perfect You’ve pulled together a perfect presentation. But it likely won’t be perfect unless it’s well delivered. So don’t forget to practice your presentation ahead of time. Pro tip: record yourself as you practice out loud. This will force you to think through what you’re going to say for each element of your presentation. And watching your recording will help you identify your mistakes—such as fidgeting, using too many fillers (such as “umm,” or “like”), or speaking too fast.

A key element of your preparation should involve anticipating any technical difficulties. If you’ve embedded videos, make sure they work. If you’re presenting virtually, make sure that the lighting is good, and that your speaker and camera are working. Whether presenting in person or virtually, get there early enough to work out any technical glitches before your presentation is scheduled to begin. Few things are a bigger audience turn-off than sitting there watching the presenter struggle with the delivery mechanisms!

Finally, be kind to yourself. Despite thorough preparation and practice, sometimes, things go wrong, and you need to recover in the moment, adapt, and carry on. It’s unlikely that you’ll have caused any lasting damage and the important thing is to learn from your experience, so your next presentation is stronger.

How are you providing presentation skills training for your learners?

Manika Gandhi is Senior Learning Design Manager at Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. Email her at [email protected] .

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Teaching Effective Presentation Skills in English Language Arts Classrooms

March 27, 2023 //  by  Lindsay Ann //   Leave a Comment

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Presentation skills are a worry for most people . And, let’s face it… public speaking is a part of life (even if it’s just life in middle school or high school). 

In fact, according to a Gallup poll, 40% of Americans indicated public speaking as their biggest fear . Snakes came in first place at 51%. 

Now, I speak in front of a classroom full of teenagers five days a week, and my audience is arguably one of the toughest audiences out there.

While I wouldn’t want to be trapped in a room full of snakes (pythons in particular), I don’t mind the thought of presenting or delivering information in front of others. 

But based on how often I’ve seen students get up in front of the class in order to present a project, idea, or understanding, only to turn red, mumble through their slide decks, or freeze altogether, I’m betting many of my students would consider their chances with boa constrictors as a presentation looms.

Public speaking and presenting can be tough for anyone .

There are some days when I don’t even I don’t want to have to do it, but regardless of how we feel about it, it’s an integral part of postsecondary life and it’s important for our students to be able to do well and feel confident when speaking in small or large groups, whether they are participating in a discussion or sharing their ideas more formally.

Today we’re going to explore presentation skills , why they’re important , classroom activities that can make everyone feel less miserable, and how to support students who are struggling to overcome their public speaking anxiety. Let’s jump in! 

What are Presentation Skills?

First things first, let’s define what I mean by presentation skills.

To define it simply, presentation skills are the ability to effectively communicate a message to an audience. Speaking can be done in a variety of ways, such as through oral presentations, multimedia presentations (which are very popular with students, but more on that later!), and even written reports.

Presentation skills are not just defined by the clarity of the message, but also by the delivery .

Body language, vocal inflection and tone, audience engagement, and creativity are also important nonverbal characteristics and presentation skills. 

Why are Presentation Skills Important?

In today’s world, communication skills are more valuable than ever. No matter your students’ path in life, they will need to be able to effectively communicate with others.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of presentation skills, I think about boardroom presentations and closing big deals. Ya know the kind with big posters of arrows going up? 

This vision may be a by-product of my age and TV shows in the 80s and 90s, but our world is more connected than ever before, and we’re communicating more than ever in ways that weren’t even possible for my beloved 80s and 90s TV characters. 

Our students may never grow up to present in a boardroom, but they’ll likely need to communicate with their own child’s teacher, present at a city council meeting, share their findings with members of their HOA, or even go live on Instagram. We need to make sure our students are prepared for this reality. 

What are Some Examples of Presentation Skills?

Before I share some ideas on how to help your students improve their presentation skills, I want to take a moment to look at what good presentation skills look like. 

Here are some examples:

• Clear and concise messaging: A good presenter can take complex ideas and explain them in easy to understand, plain language.
• Engaging visuals: Strategic use of visuals is important when public speaking. A good presenter will keep their presentation clean and free from clutter (sorry to Mrs. Smith who had to endure my 7th grade PowerPoint presentations that used all of the transitions…I didn’t know what I was doing).
• Confident body language: Confident body language, including making eye contact, standing up straight, and using gestures to emphasize important points are tell tale signs of a good presenter.
• Effective use of tone and pace: Knowing how to vary one’s tone and pace when presenting is an essential presentation skill. A good presenter knows when to speed up to build excitement and how to use tone and pacing to emphasize important points.

How to Improve Presentation Skills

Now that we’ve looked at some examples of good presentation skills, let’s explore some tips and tricks to help your students improve their own presentation skills.

• Practice, practice, practice: The more your students practice presenting, the more comfortable and confident they will become. Build in public speaking to your lessons as often as possible. Even if it’s not a full-length presentation, students can practice this presentation skills by engaging in think, pair, shares , chalk talks, gallery walks, etc.
• Focus on the audience: Remind your students that their presentation is not about them, it’s about the audience. Encourage them to think about what the audience wants to hear and tailor their message accordingly. Passion projects and other activities that allow students choice and authentic engagement can help them focus on the audience rather than the task at hand.
• Use storytelling: People love stories, so storytelling is an essential presentation skill. Encourage your students to use storytelling in their presentations, and demonstrate this skill for them by infusing your own lessons with stories. This can be as simple as starting with a personal anecdote or using case studies to illustrate their points. Ted Talks make great mentor texts to show students how professional presenters use storytelling to connect to their audience.
• Manage anxiety: It’s natural to feel anxious when presenting, but there are things your students can do to manage their anxiety . Encourage them to take deep breaths, practice relaxation techniques, and visualize themselves giving a successful presentation. As students have more experience (and more success!) with public speaking and presenting, their anxiety will decrease. Focus on helping students practice coping skills and manage their anxiety while providing multiple (and fun) opportunities for them to work through their jitters.
• Use visuals: Multimedia presentations are a favorite for our Digital Natives. Students love to create and embed memes and gifs, videos, songs, and things you and I probably don’t even know exist into their presentations. Creating these things feels natural for most of our students, and visual aids are an important presentation skill, so encourage them to use their existing skills and get creative!
• Get feedback: Feedback is essential to improving presentation skills. Encourage your students to ask for feedback from their peers or even record themselves and watch it back to see where they can improve. As students are practicing their public speaking skills, have them use Flip to record themselves. Students can post their Flip on the classroom grid (that you have total control over) to provide feedback and encouraging words to their classmates. 

Public Speaking Exercises and Games

Okay, so we’re all in agreement that public speaking is tough but necessary and that presentation skills are important. So…how do we make it more fun and less…like a room full of snakes?

There are some really fun (like, legit fun, I know this because high schoolers told me they’re fun and after all, they’re the kings and queens of cool) exercises and games to help practice public speaking skills and shake off the jitters. 

Here are some to try:

• Impromptu speeches: Have your students pick a random topic and give a two-minute impromptu speech on it. This will help them practice thinking on their feet and organizing their thoughts quickly.
• Campfire story: You start a story. Something like, “Two friends are hiking in the woods when they lose track of the trail…” and each student takes turns adding to it. The last student must provide a satisfying ending to the story. To lessen student anxiety, this works in pairs and groups of three, too!
• Photo story: Show students a photo online (the New York Times Learning Network has a great section for this type of exercise) without any context. Students will share what they think the backstory is, who the people are, their dreams, their motivations, conflicts, and anything else that’ll tell a compelling story about them.
•   What grinds my gears: Have students take the spotlight to share about their biggest pet peeves. What really grinds their gears?
• Gush about a basic object: On the opposite end of the spectrum from sharing about what annoys them, have students pick a basic, everyday object they’re indifferent about. Something like a blender, pencil, a chair in the classroom. The challenge is they have to develop a speech to deliver in which they absolutely gush about that object. What makes it so great? This particular exercise really challenges students to use body language and voice to accomplish the task.
• Minute to Win It: Want to create a little friendly competition in your public speaking practice? Minute to Win It improv debates will up the ante for your students. The gist is this: Students are given one minute to plead their case in front of the class on a topic given to them only when the timer starts. The audience votes for the best case, so their arguments better be good .
• Commercial: Students can make a commercial for an object of their choosing. This allows them to be serious or playful, to bring in props and other visual aids, and to practice with body language and vocal inflection. This exercise works well for groups, which can really help ease student anxiety when speaking in front of the class.
• Balderdash: Students write made up words on slips of paper. Place the slips with the made up words in a bin for students to blindly grab from. Taking turns pulling a slip from the bin, students must on the fly create a definition for that word and share it with the class. 

Wrapping Up

I hope you’ve been inspired to bring some fun ways to practice important presentation and public speaking skills into your curriculum. The speaking and listening standards in the ELA curriculum present a unique challenge for us to prepare students for life after high school while still honoring that public speaking is difficult (and downright terrifying for some). We know our students can do difficult things, and we can help them do so with confidence! 

About Lindsay Ann

Lindsay has been teaching high school English in the burbs of Chicago for 19 years. She is passionate about helping English teachers find balance in their lives and teaching practice through practical feedback strategies and student-led learning strategies. She also geeks out about literary analysis, inquiry-based learning, and classroom technology integration. When Lindsay is not teaching, she enjoys playing with her two kids, running, and getting lost in a good book.

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• Presentation Hacks

7 Presentation Tips for Teachers

• By: Kelly Allison

Teachers are essentially professional presenters. Talking to a group of students, parents and other teachers is all a presentation. This means teachers give presentations constantly. These presentation tips are geared towards this hard-working group of professionals.

Giving this many presentations can cause speakers to become burnt out. This tips will help teachers perform better in front of their variety of audiences.

1) Give Lots of Thought to Your Visual Aids

Visual aids have a research-backed ability to decrease learning time, improve comprehension, and increase retention. They’re critical for teachers. Don’t simply add visuals as a quick after-thought. Be thoughtful about the ways movie clips , infographics , and even GIFs can enhance the content. Keep in mind that entertainment value is just as important as a visual aid’s ability to support your argument. Students who are entertained will also retain your lessons.

2) Don’t Read from the Slides

One of the biggest presentation mistakes teachers make is reading directly from the slides. Not only is this incredibly boring for anyone to sit through (child or adult) but it’s an ineffective way to teach. Do what you can to keep your slide content to a minimum. Let the visual do most of the legwork rather than the text. Research shows an audience learns 79% more from textless visuals.

3) Tell a Story

Storytelling is one of many presentation tips used by speakers across all industries. Telling a story with your content will make your lesson more compelling. It’s a whole lot easier for your students to remember details from a story. Any set of data has a killer story to tell, it’s just a matter of finding it. If you’re struggling to come up with narratives, then recruit a presentation mentor to help you get the wheels turning.

4) Simplify Your Topics

It’s easy to share a ton of details about a topic that you know everything about. It’s hard for your audience to understand it all. Edit your lessons down to one main idea per slide. Supporting points can be broken out across additional slides. Don’t worry about high slide counts. Worry about how easy your topic is for your audience to understand.

5) Keep Telling Them What They’re Learning

All of our presentation tips revolve around our method : Tell your audience what you are going to say, say it, then tell them what you just said. This works well on student audiences. Introducing, delivering and reiterating a topic helps solidify it in the minds of any audience. This effective tip is found in nearly all high-quality presentations.

6) Include Plenty of Interaction

No one wants to be talked at for any significant long time. Especially not students who are forced to stay seated for hours at a time. Don’t speak straight through your presentation without a little engagement. Use questions, role-playing and small group discussions to get students involved. This will make it easier for you to hold their attention. Presentation tips on audience engagement create excitement and interest in your deck.

7) Show Your Personality

Set aside formality in favor of a more casual approach. Conversational speech will make you an effective teacher. Take time to get to know your students and their parents. Avoid using formal language that will make you appear distant. Crack a bad joke or two to make you more relatable and show some personality.

Want even more ways to elevate your teaching skills this year? Then check out our Catapult training to propel yourself to the next level of the presentation game.

Kelly Allison

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Teaching and Presentation Skills

Tools for teaching navigation.

Facilitation Skills : The art of group facilitation

Teaching and Presentation Skills : Keep these techniques in mind

Keep these five techniques in mind when developing or polishing your outreach skills.

Variety of Teaching Methods and Strategies

Create Effective Presentations

Use audiovisuals, teach outdoors, evaluate yourself and others, use a variety of teaching methods and strategies.

We each learn differently based on our learning style, multiple intelligences and past knowledge and experience. We learn best when we experience a teaching approach that matches our unique learning profile. For this reason, educators need to use a variety of teaching strategies to assure that they are meeting the needs of their learners (audiences).

A Continuum of Teaching Methods

Explanation of Teaching Continuum  (pdf, 5 pp., 145 KB)

Photo courtesy of the Rock River Coalition, WI

A presentation is a spoken communication made in a prepared and formal way. You can give a presentation to one person or hundreds of people or thousands. The skills required can be learned and are very much the same regardless of the size of the group. Water management professionals are often called upon to give a wide variety of presentations. You may be asked to:

• Give a progress report to your supervisor.
• Demonstrate to a group of contractors how to install a BMP.
• Speak to a civic group on how to reduce NPS pollution.
• Show your commissioners how county money is used to leverage more money.
• Pique the interest of local farmers in renting your no-till drill.
• Conduct a workshop for 40 educators.
• Persuade legislators to support an increase in cost-share monies.
• Explain a new procedure to employees.
• Teach a group of scouts how to do water quality monitoring.
• Deliver a keynote speech at an annual meeting.
• Give a dedication speech for your new outdoor education area.

With such diversity, a broad range of skills is needed. Developing great speaking abilities is not unlike learning a new sport. Every sport has basic skills that you have to master individually as well as combined together in a game. Basketball players, for example, have to learn to dribble and pass the ball, shoot foul shots and lay-ups, grab rebounds and defend the opponent. While they may excel in some skills, a certain level of expertise is needed in all areas to have an overall successful game. In addition, ballplayers need to integrate their skills with others to work as a whole, i.e., as a team.

Learning to become an effective speaker is similar. In the beginning it can be just as frustrating as learning to properly dribble or throw a basketball. However, after learning a few basic skills, and, most importantly, practicing them, things usually improve. But to really learn to present well takes constant practice and mastery of the basic skills and the ability to weave them together as a whole, i.e., into a presentation.

Where to Start

Goals and Objectives

How to Present Your Content to Make the Most Sense

Effective Questioning Strategies

The “How and When” of Handling Audience Questions

Getting Ready and Making Room Arrangements: The Final Steps

Audiovisuals include any teaching tool used to focus attention, emphasize, clarify and reinforce key points. Visuals, in particular, are important presentation tools because humans are visual creatures – we process visual information (pictures, graphs, etc.) 60,000 times faster than text and retain it up to five times longer.

Well-planned and well-executed audiovisuals can do many things for the audience:

• Capture attention and focus attention
• Reinforce (but not repeat verbatim) the verbal message
• Clarify information
• Accelerate learning
• Increase retention

and for the presenter:

• Help organize the presentation
• Increase presenter credibility
• Help manage time and help maintain control
• Help keep presenter/audience on the same track

General Tips for Planning Successful Audiovisuals

Advantages, disadvantages, and tips for common types of audiovisuals (pdf)

Water resource professionals provide outreach activities and programs for both youth and adults in outdoor settings. These include, for example, pond clinics, field days, water festivals, teacher workshops, camp programs, land lab activities as well as Earth Day, Arbor Day and other special events. Outdoor experiences serve as a powerful vehicle for first-hand learning and a means for helping youth and adult learners make connections that are personal and relevant. Whether learning best practices for pond management and soil erosion or the effects of water quality on organisms found in a stream, learners can become more engaged and successful through the use of hands-on experiences in the outdoors.

While the principles of good education serve equally well inside and outside, several strategies for outdoor learning can make these experiences more rewarding for both the learner and the leader. The following guidelines can help you as you explore the outdoors with learners young and old.

Preparing the Activity or Program

Preparing the Learners

Doing the Activity or Program

Following the Activity or Program

Becoming an effective presenter or teacher is a process, not an event. It takes many years of practice, focusing on one skill and then another and another, building your repertoire of presentation techniques, your style and your confidence. The best way to improve is through self-evaluation and comments by friends, colleagues and experts.

Strategies to Help Improve Your Skills

Additional Resource

A Guide for Growing Volunteer Monitoring Programs  directs program coordinators to resources for building successful programs. See the USA Volunteer Water Quality Network website, and especially:

• Tools for Effective Outreach
• From the Trenches – Tips and Tools for Better Presentations

Adapted with permission from Soil and Water Conservation District Outreach: A Handbook for Program Development, Implementation and Evaluation . Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Soil and Water Conservation, 2003.

More in this Section

• Teaching Skills: a continuum
• Teaching Skills: where to start
• Teaching Skills: goals and objectives
• Teaching Skills: effective questioning strategies
• Teaching Skills: audience questions
• Teaching Skills: final steps
• Teaching Skills: presenting content
• Teaching Skills: content organization
• Teaching Skills: audience retention
• Teaching Skills: the introduction
• Teaching Skills: things to avoid
• Teaching Skills: make presentation interesting
• Teaching Skills: increasing learning
• Teaching Skills: checking understanding
• Teaching Skills: powerful closing
• Teaching Skills: alert the audience
• Teaching Skills: tips for closings
• Teaching Skills: audiovisuals
• Teaching Skills: prepare activity
• Teaching Skills: prepare the learner
• Teaching Skills: doing the activity
• Teaching Skills: following the activity
• Teaching Skills: evaluate yourself

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Effective Presentation Techniques – The Top 10

We have condensed all of the presentation techniques down to the most effective. Here are the Top 10 effective presentation techniques.

1. Use visual aids

Using pictures in your presentations instead of words can double the chances of meeting your objectives.

2. Keep it short and sweet

There is an old adage that said – “No one ever complained of a presentation being too short.” Nothing kills a presentation more than going on too long.

There are some college professors who will penalise a short presentation (most lecturers see no problem in droning on) , but for most people a shorter presentation is better. Keep your presentation to under 22 minutes if you can.

3. Use the rule of three

A simple technique is that people tend to only remember three things. Work out what the three messages that you want your audience to take away and structure your presentation around them. Use a maximum of three points on a slide.

4. Rehearse

Practice makes for perfect performance. Many experts say that rehearsal is the biggest single thing that you can do to improve your performance. Perform your presentation out loud at least four times. One of these should be in front of a real scary audience. Family, friends or colleagues. Even the dog is better than nothing.

5. Tell stories

All presentations are a type of theatre. Tell stories and anecdotes to help illustrate points. It all helps to make your presentation more effective and memorable.

6. Lose the bullet points – don’t put your speaker notes up on the screen

Bullet points are the kiss of death for most presentations. Most people use bullet points as a form of speaker notes. To make your presentation more effective put your speaker notes in your notes and not up on the screen.

7. Video yourself

Set up a video camera and video yourself presenting. You will see all sorts of mistakes that you are making, from how you are standing, if you are jangling keys, to how well your presentation is structured.

8 . Know what slide is coming next

You should always know when presenting which slide is coming up next. It sounds very powerful when you say “On the next slide [Click] you will see…”, rather than than a period of confusion when the next slide appears.

9. Have a back-up plan

Murphy’s law normally applies during a presentation. Technology not working, power cuts, projector blowing a bulb, spilling coffee on your front, not enough power leads, no loudspeakers, presentation displays strangely on the laptop – all of these are things that have happened in presentations that I have given.

Have a back-up plan. Take with you the following items – a printed out set of slides – (you can hold these up to the audience if you need to), a CD or data stick of your presentation, a laptop with your slides on it. Just in case it goes wrong.

Guess what? When you have back-ups – you seldom need to use them.

10. Check out the presentation room

Arrive early and check out the presentation room. If you can make sure that you see your slides loaded onto the PC and working on the screen. Work out where you will need to stand.

Do you agree or disagree with any of these effective presentation techniques? Have you have any experiences like this? Add it in to the comments box below.

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thanxxx alott for the informationn they r very usful…

They are truly powerful which everyone should apply to make his/her presentation a complete success.

Thank you! Really interesting and important material.

thank you for the top 10 effective presentation techniques

Simple yet very powerful

One thing to add to point 6 Indeed, speaker notes should not be on the slides. Nothing is more boring when sombebody reads exactly what is on the slides, I’d better take a copy home and read it in quietness then.

well….i thought i wouldn’t be lucky but im just da luckiest person in the world who know these different presentation techniques…. but well done i will use these tips while preparing my presentation for accounting… thank you … Nice day…

thts really an amazing to have these presentation techniques.i’ll do my best to follow it while delivering my presentation.

i shall teach these techniques to my students when insha Allah i will be an instructor of spoken English.

Great! Anything on stage fright?

A speaker should keep an eye contact with all the people in the room while giving the presentation .

Rest the tips are useful .Thank u

i think all the technique are excellent

Its really helpful.

Thanks & Regards Shiva.

this is corny

very interesting for me, when you prepare a presentation

According to me you have missed the most vital thing “Know your audience”

Nothing has been said about the element of interaction. It’s clear that a presentation is being made, but, if the audience is engaged, there might be greater attention to the entire presentation.

This is just my take, views may vary.

I am a facilitator in community forestry.these points are powerful materials. However I would like if you can explain more about the number 6. What to use instead of bullets. I have in my mind that slides are the guide of my presentation so I have to use bullets?. On the other side, could you please send me a short presentation prepared with these techiniques and observe the application. at least, one slide I can to observe how is a slide well prepared.

Thanks a million from Colombia

Thank for this 10 points!

I have been training and I feel these are the 10 most important points as well

I find these techniques quite useful, I have to do a presentation on Vending Machines to my head teacher – and you made very strong and strategic points. I’m only in Year 7…

This is highly informative and without doubt, very effective

very good and effective…use this techniques to have a successful presention

I was just making a presentation & I have come to know that my presentation is simply boring & killing. Any way, very effective & informative points.

Life changing, thank you.

I am going to be facilitating a parenting course in a few weeks and loved the idea of of the rule of three to present my message.

tanks fot the info is so important to my life

thankx 2 you for providing me such an informative material. . .

but u forget to mention about dressing of a presenter and can u plzzzzzzzzzzz send me a slide which is one of d perfect one’s. . .

thanks alot……… you khnow i will try to do all these tips in my presentations….

[…] a site which has the top ten effective presentation techniques and they make sense to […]

Like mpz I also think there should be a section/point on knowing your audience.

Roughly (and shortly) speaking there are three styles of learning that each might influence an otherwise excellent presentation: Visual, auditory and sensitive.

The visual learners prefer imagery (Seeing is believing) and requires few words to every slide. Use images, diagrams, tables and such.

The auditory prefers verbal explanations and responses. Encourage questions during the presentation and be prepared to go outside the presentation if it is appropriate. Watch your tone, pitch and volume of voice. Don’t drone 😉

The sensitive learners needs to be connected to you. Use brief statements and demonstrations immediately followed by Q&A. Don’t focus on logic and external elements. Share personal values and experiences. Show empathy and understanding.

Just a short remark 😉

Thanks a lot. Its really very helpful for update and improving my life.

these are realy good tips for presentation.i think there should be some more easy tips which can make our presentation more effective.

It is really nice and helpful

Thank you, it was really helpful, I used to put bullets in my slides, now not anymore, thanks again!

thank u.. that’s really powerful

Guess this is really useful..as we say nothing is perfect but this can go to a great extent forming base, helping individual to build further on these lines!!

i hope my presentation would go well

Thanks a lot, really helpful!

Very good points the 10 ones; also Know the subject, know your audience, be confident when you present your concise presentation which might be effective if you add spice to it (related stories / jockes…) and wake up calls (sudden questions at randomly picked up person from the audience), and for better memorisation, make your objectives clear at beggining and summarise the essential points at the end(using primacy and recency effects at work)… I mostly liked the Murphy’s law, the worst sure happens to the one who does not have a back up plan. Thanks a million… From Ethiopia

Brilliant trigger points. How can I overcome shyness in students who have the Knowledge but can’t present? It is so frustrating.

thanks to you, i won my pitch for the new coca cola commercials they are releasing over here in the states! i make that about $4.5 million U.S i owe you for these tips:)!

Congratulations for your tips on effective teaching presentation! However , how can a teacher in a remote area of Burundi or Malawi get access to some of the materials you have earlier mentioned such as CD, Laptop,… Fine ! May you please suggest what may replace those HITechs that are not available to most of Third World School? May God bless you! Nayingunge from Burundi.

thank you, i believe that with practice i will get better.

thanks to providing perfect informatiom about presentation techniques ,they are really so usefull while preparing any kind of ppt or presentation,its everything

Experience… Great

Very nice Techniq Great Jobs

very well instructions

thanks ..tomorrow is my presentation I’ll apply all the points.IT REALLY BOOST ME UP!!!!!! thanks again

good presentation advice

AWESOME ADVICE & IT REALY WORKS

thank you, i believe that with practice i will get best of the best.

thanks for the information, now i know how to make a good presentation ..

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR KNOWLEDGE!!!GODBLESS YOU AND YOUR LOVE ONES:)

thank you for the information ,its really helpful.

wow they r really helpfulx

thank you from Saudi Arabia

very awesome that is

thanks it was very useful to me

yes….. very nice because i fully unaware about these techniques …. bye the way i am MBA student ….therefor it is very usefull for me….

Great advice. Thanks

Thanks… Good Tips.

Its was great list of advice about presentation. Thanks.

It’s really useful to have these 10 points when doing presentations. I’m a teacher and this will help me to present things well.

Thanks a lot

Regards Nimal

this has been really helpful 4 me i mean this step is very good it help me out at my presentation and i got all mos 90% on my presentation. i think more people should take time reading this 10 tip

THNKS MUCH 4 BRIEF SUMMARY ON PRESENTATION TECHNIQUE,MAY U INCLUDE ATLEAST DRESSING CODE

thanks for the info regarding presentation techniques,,,it help me out for my presentation some day.

thank u alot realy it is an important material!

Thank yo verry much for all the4 informtions which i enjoyed-am practicing..However at one point where you state that “Keep your presentation to under 22 minutes if you can.” As a technical trainer in my organisation(a tire industry in India)where I have a 5 day sessions (9.00-5.30 p.m)this 22 mts. concept is hard to follow. But inadvertently I don’t dwell on a single topic/concept more than 20 mts, Is it O.K. Thangarajan.P.K.

its really nice for understanding

nice presentation skills

This is just brilliant

This is good stuff. I was a trainer in Zimbabwe so to the gentleman from Burundi I would say that you don’t need fancy aids to make an effective presentation. Pre-prepare a series of flip chart pages with your main points on and use a separate blank flip chart for points made by your audience. Also on visual aids I find that so often every slide looks the same – same font, background, company logo in the corner and so on. For the bits you want them to remember, change the slide completely so it stands out.

gostei muito das técnicas

I LIKE THE THECNIQUES,THANK YOU

Nice techniques……..

thanksfor thes points

This was very helpful… not only for our Philosophy class, but for all college courses. All 10 recommendations were very good. However, the 2 that seemed the most useful of all were to (1) video record yourself to find out how you look… and (2) have a back-up plan ready.

Hey, Hatts off to you man, they are very useful for a layman going for his / her first presentation.

wonderfull stuff!!!

these tips maked me to know more about presentation

tanks .it is very useful in my life

Thanks for the advice… 🙂

this website is amazing thanks so much xx

Ya , friend ….. My Father also likes Powrpoint preaentations & doing commentary …… He & I both likes this two tasks ….. & he is expert explaining ppt presentation in public .. I too wanted to become like him & the tips u had given r the same as what my father always follows ……… So , Thanks

its good 4 me

thank you very much this was very helpful

Thanks a lot for wonderful ideas. I do hope it will be very helpful in my upcoming presentation. May God bless you!

I’ll try to do this for my report on Monday. Thank you.

When using beamer or slides please also look from audience side! As the outside sun might blind them.

dont be over confident be confident

Highly appreciated your tips on business presentation.they will be of my great help in my agribusiness forum next week. Regards

rely great!

Really useful tips, looking forward to have these kinds of tips in future.

Superb info… Tqz

very helpful and valuable points

Very useful info….

these are very informative tips.any perhaps very effective ones

Thanks , very useful

tell stories really helped

The rule of three is something which Id like to try. I would do presentations using bullets as keys — just learned that it’s not advisable to do it.

Thank you very much it has greatly helped.Blessed all the content is useful and with this i hope to get better

Wonderful, l suggest you need to talk like a thought leader as well.

I’m so grateful for this opportunity of visiting this site. I find them so interesting, all the points outlined in this writing. I so much like the self-videoing part of it. This gives you the clear picture of how bad or good your presentation style is. And also gives you the chance to know if your recent pattern is better than the former or not.

From Nigeria

All the points are valid, but particularly like point # 5 which talks about stories. Stories bring life and authenticity to your presentation. Great job!

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• Presenting techniques

Presenting is a craft that requires a thoughtful approach. There’s a lot of stuff to include in the good presentation. From quality visuals to a compelling speech, everything matters. Doing a presentation on your own may be quite a challenge especially if it’s your first time experience with the presentations. What can really help though, are the effective presentation techniques. In essence, they are the blueprint for your presentation, that helps you to hit all the right spots. Let’s look into some of those techniques.

Presentation Methods

Before you start thinking of a technique, let’s first understand the presentation methods and how they relate to the audience and the content of your presentation. Among the different presentation methods, the main ones are formal and formal. Their difference is mainly in the style of your delivery and the data presentation methods. The formal presentation is best suited for the business meetings or college level, scientific presentations. The informal methods of presentation can best be used during the smaller meetings with your team to discuss business subjects or, for example, at a Ted-like speech event.

Method 1: Keeping Everything Simple

This is a rather basic technique. Just strip your presentation of all the unnecessary information, leaving only the core statements that you want to address. Simplicity not only helps your audience to understand your points better but even more, this data presentation method lowers the risk of making a mistake, forgetting — and saves you and your audience quite a lot of time! There are different definitions of simplicity — sometimes just a few words are enough, while in other cases several bullet points on the slide may be sufficient. Choose what suits your topic best.

Method 2: Good Start 

This method of presentation is all about attention-grabbing. Starting your presentation with a powerful statement, unusual fact or an interesting question will make the audience engage in your presentation instantly. Another great way to start is a joke, though humor can be quite a landmine, especially when you’re presenting in front of strangers, and you are not sure whether your joke would be fun or actually offensive.  So, try to think of something neutral, yet funny.

Method 3: Use  Visuals in your Presentation

Visuals are a must for any presentation and are able not only to support your speech but also to tell and contribute to the stuff you’re telling about. The pictures, graphs, infographics, and even short videos especially when done by presentation design services are what truly make the presentation, and help you to connect with your audience. A carefully selected visual connects both with your speech and the slide content, making your presentation methods work in complete harmony. What is more, visuals can serve as a great way to help you recall your speech in case you suddenly forgot some of it during the presentation.

Method 4:   Rehearse

Don’t rush to tell your presentation just once you’ve made it. Instead, try to first rehearse your presentation in front of a mirror. This presentation technique allows you to spot the mistakes and downfalls in your speech and visual part and improve powerpoint presentation . What is more, it can also make you more confident, as with each time you rehearse you’ll memorize your stuff better and better. Bonus points for starting rehearsing from the random spots in your presentation — using this presentation technique will allow you to become completely familiar with your information.

Method 5:   10/20/30 Presentation Rule

While it may not be applied to all of the presentations, the ones that you are usually dealing with can really benefit from it. 10 20 30 rule is about the time and size of your presentation: 

• Your presentation should have no more than 10 slides
• The time needed for the presentation should be no more than 20 minutes
• The font you are using for presentation text (if there is any on slides) is no less than 30 point

Method 6:  Storytelling

Telling a story is a powerful presentation technique for keeping the audience interested. In general, people get bored from being fed just straight-up facts and numbers for a long time. However, an interesting story, connected to the subject of your presentation gives that personal touch to it, engaging the audience into what you are talking about. What is more, a good story in the context of the presentation will actually resonate with the audience, causing more approval to you as an expert.

• Tell a personal  story .
• Create suspense.
• Bring characters to life.
• Build up to S.T.A.R moment.

Method 7:   Presentate with your Voice

Speech is the most common method of presentation . When you are presenting, it’s important not only WHAT you say, but also HOW do you say it. Creating a proper voice for presentations is actually one of the things you need rehearsal for. Your goal is to sound confident and interested in the subject you are telling about. What is more, it is important to not make unnecessary pauses and avoid the “ummm”, “oh” and other similar stuff that slows down your presentation and may put off the audience.

Method 8:   Know your Audience

Make sure that the data presentation methods you are using make your data  relevant to your audience. The research of your audience is needed to craft a relatable story, as well as to understand what approach in presenting you may want to take. After you’ve done the research, you can just tell the audience what it wants and expects to hear. Such an approach would result in the satisfied and interested audience enjoying your presentation. And in this case your presentation would surely and up being a huge success!

Method 9:   Back up plan

Even though you may plan everything in advance, something can always go wrong. The strange ability of the hardware to malfunction right in the middle of your presentation is probably one of the most known presentation-related memes. So, plan at least some of the bad scenarios. For example, have a printed set of slides with you during your presentation. Check everything right before you’ll start presenting. A good idea also is to have your script written out so that in case you have completely forgotten some of its parts, you can easily and quickly look into it and goon with the presentation.

Method 10:   Relax

This one is not only a presentation technique , but a great life technique as well. Actually, the most common reason for the mistakes during presentations are the nerves and fear a lot of people feel while presenting. It’s absolutely normal to be a little worried about the presentation, but you have to instill confidence in your knowledge and expertise with the subject among the audience, and it’s hard to do if you feel fear. Try to reason with yourself — you have rehearsed, prepared great visuals, learned about the audience and even have a plan B in case the situation gets worse. There’s nothing to worry about — you have all the right presentation techniques !

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