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Developing Study Skills for Success

Developing study skills for success presentation, premium google slides theme and powerpoint template.

Do you want to help your students develop study skills? Skills that will lead them to success! This presentation template offers you the possibility to talk about study techniques or practices, such as connecting with dots, summarizing the content and other tips that you consider important. The great variety of resources and structures, such as diagrams or tables, will help you to present your information in a clear way. Studying has never been so easy thanks to this template!

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• LEARNING SKILLS

Study Skills

Search SkillsYouNeed:

Learning Skills:

• A - Z List of Learning Skills
• What is Learning?
• Learning Approaches
• Learning Styles
• 8 Types of Learning Styles
• Understanding Your Preferences to Aid Learning
• Lifelong Learning
• Decisions to Make Before Applying to University
• Top Tips for Surviving Student Life
• Living Online: Education and Learning
• 8 Ways to Embrace Technology-Based Learning Approaches
• Critical Thinking Skills
• Critical Thinking and Fake News
• Understanding and Addressing Conspiracy Theories
• Critical Analysis
• Top Tips for Study
• Staying Motivated When Studying
• Student Budgeting and Economic Skills
• Getting Organised for Study

Finding Time to Study

• Sources of Information
• Assessing Internet Information
• Using Apps to Support Study

What is Theory?

Styles of Writing

Effective Reading

• Critical Reading
• Note-Taking from Reading
• Note-Taking for Verbal Exchanges

Planning an Essay

• How to Write an Essay
• The Do’s and Don’ts of Essay Writing
• How to Write a Report

Academic Referencing

Assignment Finishing Touches

• Reflecting on Marked Work
• 6 Skills You Learn in School That You Use in Real Life
• Top 10 Tips on How to Study While Working
• Exam Skills

Get the SkillsYouNeed Study Skills eBook

Part of the Skills You Need Guide for Students .

• Writing a Dissertation or Thesis
• Research Methods
• Teaching, Coaching, Mentoring and Counselling
• Employability Skills for Graduates

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What are Study Skills?

Study skills are the skills you need to enable you to study and learn efficiently – they are an important set of transferable life skills.

Our pages provide generic study skills advice – appropriate to learners across all disciplines and in different life circumstances: full and part-time students, those returning to education later in life, those engaged in professional development and anybody who wants to learn how to learn effectively. 

Key points about study skills:

You will develop your own personal approach to study and learning in a way that meets your own individual needs. As you develop your study skills you will discover what works for you, and what doesn’t.

Study skills are not subject specific - they are generic and can be used when studying any area. You will, of course, need to understand the concepts, theories and ideas surrounding your specific subject area. To get the most out of your studies, however, you’ll want to develop your study skills.

You need to practise and develop your study skills.   This will increase your awareness of how you study and you’ll become more confident.  Once mastered, study skills will be beneficial throughout your life.

Study skills are not just for students.   Study skills are transferable - you will take them with you beyond your education into new contexts. For example, organisational skills, time management, prioritising, learning how to analyse, problem solving, and the self-discipline that is required to remain motivated.  Study skills relate closely to the type of skills that employers look for.  (See Transferable Skills and Employability Skills for more.)

At SkillsYouNeed we provide quality content on many life skills – and many of these are relevant to studying.

You’ll find two types of study skills pages – pages that directly relate to skills you need for study (such as How to Write an Essay ) and pages that are more general life skills but which are also important to studying (like Active Listening ).

Our Study Skills Pages Include:

Getting Organised to Study

Getting organised is an important first step to effective study.  Our page covers the basic organisation skills you need to consider – fundamentals such as where and when to study and the importance of developing a network of contacts who can help you when you need it.

This page covers some of the basic principles of time management – with reference to study. If you manage your time badly then you will be less productive, which can lead to stress and anxiety. This page will help you by outlining the importance of a personal study timetable and how to set goals and prioritise your time.

Sources of Information for Study

Learn what is meant by, and the importance of, primary, secondary and tertiary documents and how you may source such information in a library or online.

By understanding different writing styles you can put what you read into perspective. This page covers the main writing styles that you are likely to come across, including academic, journal, and journalistic styles.

When studying, it is likely that you will need to read a lot of information – and you will wish to use this time effectively as possible by developing your reading skills. Discover ways that you can engage with your reading, form links, understand opinions and put ideas and research into perspective. In short, develop your reading skills.

Critical Reading and Reading Strategies

This page explains what is meant by critical reading and critical thinking – skills which are fundamental to true learning, personal development and advancement. The page also covers how to develop a personal reading strategy and use SQ3R to help you manage your reading.

Note-Taking

Learning to take notes effectively is not only important to study but also in many other situations, at work and in your personal life.  Develop your note-taking skills with our pages: Note-Taking for Verbal Exchanges and Note-Taking for Reading .

It pays to carefully think about and plan an essay or other piece of written work before you start writing.  This page provides you with a framework for planning which will help ensure your work is relevant, well-constructed and produced efficiently.

Essay Writing

Learn about the processes involved in writing an essay, or other piece of assessed work.  Avoid common mistakes and follow best practice to help ensure that the work you produce is of a high quality.

How to Write a Dissertation or Thesis

Working on a dissertation, thesis or other research project can be the most challenging part of study. Our guide offers practical advice and explains how to work on each part of a research document, including:

• How to Write a Research Proposal
• Ethical Issues in Research
• Researching and Writing a Literature Review
• Writing your Methodology
• Writing up your Results and Discussion

Learning how to reference correctly is vital if you are a student. This page not only covers why you should reference, and what may happen if you don’t, but also includes some detailed guidelines on how to reference different types of materials.

As a learner you will be required to engage with theory, but exactly what is a theory?  A theory is an attempt to provide understanding - theories attempt to answer the question, 'why?' and therefore satisfy our curiosity.  Learn more about theories and how they are usually developed.

Before you submit your assignment for school, university or work, run through a series of final checks.  Avoid potentially embarrassing or costly mistakes and increase the credibility of your work.

Reflecting On Marked Work

This page, for students, encourages you to engage in the feedback you receive from a marker when your work is returned.  Don’t just look at the bottom line, the mark, but understand the comments and feedback and learn from any mistakes.

Revision Skills

Revising for examinations can be a real challenge for many people. Learn and practice some key skills to make your revision time as productive and effective as possible, leaving you better prepared for exams and tests.

Further Reading from Skills You Need

The Skills You Need Guide for Students

Develop the skills you need to make the most of your time as a student.

Our eBooks are ideal for students at all stages of education, school, college and university. They are full of easy-to-follow practical information that will help you to learn more effectively and get better grades.

Other Areas Related to Study

Writing Skills

The writing skills section of SkillsYouNeed includes many other pages that we hope you’ll find useful.

Our pages: Spelling , Grammar and Punctuation for example can help with assignment writing.  You may also find information on our pages: Gender Neutral Writing and Clichés to Avoid useful.

Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills are the skills we use every day to interact with others and many are relevant to effective study.

For example see:  Listening Skills , Problem Solving and Decision Making , Questioning and Types of Questions , Verbal Communication and Effective Speaking .

Personal Skills

Our Personal Skills section covers areas of personal development . 

Useful pages for study include:  Building Confidence and Self-Esteem , Tips for Dealing with Stress , Relaxation Techniques , and Self-Motivation .

Start with: Getting Organised to Study

See also: Employability Skills for Graduates How to Systemize Your Study Develop Your Online Learning Skills and Get More from Your Online Classes

Ready Set Study

How to Study Powerpoint Slides: Effective Techniques and Tips

PowerPoint slides serve as an essential tool for presenting and understanding complex topics. With a plethora of information contained within them, it’s crucial to approach studying these slides in a methodical and efficient manner. By mastering the techniques on how to study PowerPoint slides, learners can enhance retention, comprehension, and ultimately, their academic performance.

One significant aspect of studying PowerPoint slides is finding the right methods for assimilating information. Adopting a combination of active learning techniques, note-taking strategies, and consistent reviewing is key to maximizing the benefits of using PowerPoint slides. Moreover, learners should be mindful of their study environment, striking a balance between the workload and time allocation for more effective learning.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways -How to Study PowerPoint Slides

• Implementing efficient study techniques enhances learning from PowerPoint slides
• Utilizing a mix of note-taking strategies and active learning fosters better comprehension
• Finding the ideal study environment and balancing workload contribute to overall academic success.

Importance of Proper Studying Habits

Developing proper studying habits is essential for anyone who wants to succeed academically. Effective study habits help students keep up with coursework, retain information, and perform well on exams. It’s crucial to find a study technique that works best for each individual.

One key aspect of effective studying is setting specific goals for study sessions. This helps students stay focused and make the most of their time. To achieve this, experts recommend studying at the same time each day to create a consistent routine. This consistency allows the brain to establish a study pattern, making it easier to retain information.

Additionally, it is essential to focus on assignments or materials that are the most difficult first . Tackling challenging topics early on when the mind is fresh helps students better understand them. Afterward, reviewing notes can solidify the newly acquired knowledge. Another useful technique is to keep a record of study sessions , which allows students to track their progress and refine their study habits over time.

Some effective strategies to consider when mastering slide-based content like PowerPoint presentations include:

• Previewing the entire presentation before diving into the details
• Taking notes while going through the slides
• Summarizing each slide in one or two sentences
• Creating flashcards for key concepts in the presentation
• Repeatedly reviewing the material over time.

Establishing a dedicated study environment can also play a significant role in improving study habits. Eliminate distractions and create a comfortable, quiet space where you can fully focus on your study materials.

In conclusion, proper studying habits are crucial for academic success. By setting specific goals, sticking to a consistent routine, prioritizing difficult materials, and creating an ideal study environment, students can develop effective study techniques that will help them excel in their courses.

Choosing the Correct Environment

When it comes to studying PowerPoint slides, creating the right environment can significantly impact your success. Several factors contribute to a productive study space that allows you to remain focused and efficiently absorb the information on the slides.

Factors Influencing a Good Study Environment

Quietness: A quiet study area helps minimize distractions and allows you to concentrate better. Choose a location with minimal noise levels, such as a library or a dedicated study room.

Comfort: While studying, it’s essential to be comfortable, but not too relaxed that you become sleepy. Ensure that your chair provides adequate support and adjust the desk height to prevent strain and discomfort.

Lighting: Proper lighting is crucial for effective learning. Choose a space with ample natural light or equip your study area with lamps that illuminate the room without causing a glare on your computer screen.

Organization: Keep your study area free of clutter and maintain a clean workspace. This helps create a sense of calmness and keeps your focus on the task at hand.

Accessibility: Ensure that all the necessary resources, such as textbooks, notes, and your computer, are within reach to prevent distractions or interruptions caused by searching for materials while studying.

Temperature & Ventilation: A well-ventilated space with a comfortable temperature is essential for maintaining focus and concentration. Avoid rooms that are too hot or cold, as these conditions can make it difficult to remain attentive.

By considering these factors, you can create a conducive environment that maximizes your ability to effectively study PowerPoint slides and retain the information presented.

Understanding PowerPoint Slides

Recognizing key points.

When studying PowerPoint slides, it is crucial to identify the key points and organize them in a structured manner. Look for patterns in the organization of the slides, such as the use of bullet points, numbered lists, or bolded text. These elements often highlight important information. In addition, pay attention to headings and subheadings, as they can help you understand the main topics being discussed.

Interpreting Graphics and Charts

PowerPoint slides often include graphics and charts to convey complex data or concepts. It is important to interpret these visual elements accurately. To do this, read the titles, labels, and legends carefully. Additionally, observe any trends or patterns in the data displayed, such as increases, decreases, or fluctuations over time.

When studying charts and graphics, try to summarize the main idea or conclusion drawn from the data. This will help you to better comprehend the material and retain the information. Overall, being able to recognize key points and interpret graphics and charts is essential for effectively studying PowerPoint slides.

How to study lecture slides?

In order to effectively study lecture slides in English, it is crucial to employ certain strategies. Firstly, the student should allocate sufficient time to thoroughly review the slides, taking note of key points and concepts.

Additionally, it is advisable to create organized summaries or outlines of the material to enhance comprehension and retention.

Furthermore, active engagement with the content can be achieved by posing questions and seeking answers within the slides, or by discussing the material with classmates.

Another useful technique is to supplement the slides with additional resources, such as textbooks, articles, or online materials that provide further explanations or examples.

Finally, regular review sessions should be scheduled to reinforce the understanding of the lecture slides, ensuring the information is retained in the long term.

By adopting these effective study methods, individuals can enhance their grasp of lecture slides in English and improve their overall academic performance.

Note-Taking Strategies

Summarizing information.

One effective note-taking strategy for studying PowerPoint slides is summarizing the information presented on each slide. This helps break down complex concepts into more accessible, bite-sized pieces. Start by identifying the main idea or topic of each slide, and then write a brief summary in your own words. This not only helps you better understand the material but also improves recall later on.

When summarizing, feel free to use:

• Bullet points to list the key points or concepts.
• Italics or bold text to emphasize important terms or ideas.
• Short sentences, focusing on the essence of each slide.

Visualizing with Diagrams

Another useful approach to enhance your understanding of PowerPoint slides is visualizing the content using diagrams. Visual aids, such as mind maps, flowcharts, and Venn diagrams, can help you see the relationships among different concepts or topics.

To create a diagram, consider the following steps:

• Identify the central idea or theme of the section.
• Determine the subtopics or related concepts.
• Organize the information hierarchically or chronologically.
• Use shapes, colors, and lines to distinguish different elements and connections.

By incorporating these note-taking strategies, you can significantly improve your ability to study and comprehend PowerPoint slides. Remember, the key to effective learning is engaging with the material, so find what works best for you and adapt your approach accordingly.

Active Learning Techniques

Self-quizzing.

One effective method to study PowerPoint slides is through self-quizzing. This technique involves creating questions based on the content of the slides to test your understanding of the material. Transform key points and concepts on each slide into questions and try to answer them without referring back to the slides. Once you have completed the quiz, check your answers and review any slides where your understanding was incorrect or incomplete. This process not only helps to reinforce the material but also enhances your critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Explaining Concepts Out Loud

Another powerful active learning technique is explaining concepts out loud. By narrating the information from the PowerPoint slides, you can better internalize and process the subject matter. Start by summarizing the general idea of a slide, and then delve into specific details, examples, or applications of that concept. This process of verbalizing the content allows you to identify any gaps in your knowledge and can provide valuable feedback on your comprehension. Remember to engage with the material actively by asking questions, making connections, and offering examples. In doing so, you can develop a deeper understanding of the topic and enhance your retention of the information.

Consistent Reviewing

Arranging regular study sessions.

One effective approach to studying PowerPoint slides is to arrange regular study sessions. By dedicating consistent periods, students can enhance their learning experience over time. Some suggested strategies for arranging consistent study sessions include:

• Scheduling study sessions at the same time every day
• Setting specific goals for each study session
• Focusing on the most challenging materials first
• Reviewing notes before starting a study session

These practices help ensure that students have ample time to absorb and understand the contents of PowerPoint presentations.

Revising Notes Regularly

Revising notes taken during class or from PowerPoint presentations is an important part of the learning process. Regular note revision can help students in the following ways:

• Reinforces key concepts and ideas
• Allows for identification and correction of errors or inaccuracies
• Assists in noticing patterns and relationships between topics
• Facilitates memory retention and recall of information

Students should aim to revise their notes regularly, preferably after each study session. This practice enables them to become more familiar with the material, better understand their strengths and weaknesses, and improve their overall learning experience.

By combining regular study sessions and consistent note revision, students can effectively study and retain knowledge from PowerPoint presentations. Integrating these strategies into their study routines will lead to a more successful academic experience.

Balancing Time and Workload

Dividing work into manageable parts.

It is important to break down large PowerPoint presentations into smaller, more manageable sections. This technique, sometimes called “chunking”, helps to prevent information overload and allows for a more focused approach to studying. To do this, identify the main topics within the PowerPoint and separate them into logical chunks. Next, create a study schedule allocating a dedicated time slot to work on each section individually. This way, the entire PowerPoint can be systematically tackled without feeling overwhelmed.

Setting Achievable Goals

Setting specific, achievable goals during the study process can help to maintain motivation and foster a sense of accomplishment. When studying PowerPoint slides, these goals can be related to the understanding of key concepts or completion of certain sections. Here are some tips to set achievable goals:

• Define your objectives clearly: Identify the main concepts, themes, or knowledge that you intend to acquire from the PowerPoint.
• Be realistic: Set goals that are challenging, yet achievable within the given timeframe and resources.
• Track your progress: Regularly assess your progress against the goals set and adjust as necessary.
• Stay flexible: Be prepared to revise your goals should circumstances change, or new information emerges that alters your understanding of the topic.

By dividing work into manageable parts and setting achievable goals, the process of studying PowerPoint slides can become more efficient and enjoyable, ultimately leading to a higher understanding of the material.

How to memorize lecture slides?

In order to memorize lecture slides in English, one should utilize effective techniques and strategies. These methods can assist individuals in retaining important information from educational presentations.

A beneficial approach involves actively engaging with the material by taking thorough notes while listening attentively to the lecturer.

Additionally, creating visual aids, such as concept maps or diagrams, can aid in memorization and comprehension. Besides, breaking the lecture slides into smaller, manageable chunks can enhance retention capacity.

It is also advantageous to review the slides repeatedly, preferably in spaced intervals, to reinforce information in one’s memory. Moreover, practicing active recall by mentally retrieving the key points from the lecture slides can solidify understanding.

Lastly, seeking clarification or additional resources from professors or classmates can contribute to a comprehensive grasp of the lecture content. By utilizing these helpful techniques, individuals can effectively memorize lecture slides in English.

In conclusion, studying PowerPoint slides effectively requires a strategic approach and the implementation of various techniques. One such technique involves pre-studying PowerPoints to familiarize yourself with the material and better understand the structure of the presentation.

To get the most out of your study sessions, consider the following tips, presented in a clear and knowledgeable manner:

• Organize your slides : Keep your slides well-organized with clear titles, headings, and topics. This will help you navigate through the content with ease and ensure you don’t miss any important information.
• Take notes : Jot down key points and insights while studying the slides. These notes can serve as a quick reference guide for later study sessions and help reinforce your understanding of the material.
• Test your knowledge : After going through the slides, test yourself on the information provided. Quiz yourself on key points, concepts, and examples to solidify your understanding and identify areas that may require further attention.
• Practice active learning : Engage with the content by asking questions, creating summaries, and discussing the material with others. Active learning aids in the retention of information and cultivates a deeper understanding of the material.

Lastly, using these study techniques with confidence, persistence, and patience will lead to a better comprehension of PowerPoint slides and ultimately, greater academic success.

Study Skills for Academic Success

• Test-Taking
• Presentation Tips
• Time Management
• Note-Taking
• Stress Management
• Online Learning
• Online Workshops
• Learning Styles
• Learning Languages
• Get Help: Tutoring Locations and Hours

• MS Office How to Use PowerPoint
• WikiHow to Use PowerPoint Basics

Steps to Creating Your Presentation

1. Select your Topic - Something you care about, not just something easy

• If you're bored, your audience will be too

2. Decide the General Purpose of your presentation- There can only be one

3. Research & Support your topic- Use Critical Thinking to find valid sources

• Remember, your reputation will be linked to your sources

4. Plan your Outline

• Keep your time limit in mind; too much or too little can sink you

5. Create Visuals - Make sure they enhance your message not distract from it

• See PowerPoint section

6. Practice your presentation- Make sure to do this with the visuals

• Do you know how to use all the technology properly? Does the sound work? Do you need to switch back-and-forth?

7. Think about your Whole Message - Make sure to think about the non-verbal message and the verbal one

• Eye-contact, gesturing, vocal tone, movement, dress, posture, etc.

8. Leave time to Revise - No one likes their first draft, so give time to improve

• Seek outside input and feedback

9. Practice - Do this in as close to the Presentation setting as you can

• Standing, with the visuals, dressed, out loud
• Only practice your presentation silently in your head and sitting down, if you plan to present it to your audience that way

10. Enjoy - This is your time to give people your message

• The more practice and control you have over your presentation, the less nerves you will have
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• Next: Math >>
• Last Updated: Mar 26, 2024 11:15 AM
• URL: https://guides.frederick.edu/studyskills

Frederick Community College prohibits discrimination against any person on the basis of age, ancestry, citizenship status, color, creed, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, genetic information, marital status, mental or physical disability, national origin, race, religious affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status in its activities, admissions, educational programs, and employment.

• Student Support Services
• Subject Guides

Essential Study Skills

• Introduction to Time Management
• Getting Things Done
• Creating a Weekly Schedule
• Creating a Semester Plan
• Planning an Assignment
• Creating a Task List
• Putting it all together
• Additional Resources
• Coping With Stress
• Changing Your Perception of Stress
• Problem Solving To Manage Stress
• Reading with Purpose
• Taking Notes in Class
• Deciding What To Study
• Knowing How to Study
• Memorizing and Understanding Concepts
• Taking Tests & Exams
• Creating and Preparing For a Presentation
• Presentation Anxiety
• Delivering Presentations
• Exploring Career Options
• Identifying Areas of Interest
• Knowing Yourself
• Exploring the Labour Market
• Researching College Programs
• Setting Goals
• Tackling Problems
• Bouncing Back
• Sleep Matters
• Sleep Habits
• Sleep Strategies
• Meeting with Your Group
• Agreeing on Expectations
• Dealing With Problems
• Study in Groups

Presentation Skills

Many people find presentations intimidating, but they are a common requirement of college courses. This unit will explain how to develop an effective presentation, how to tame your presentation anxiety, and how deliver your presentation well.

• Know your subject matter. Solid content is essential for a good presentation, so make sure you’ve done your research.
• Have all of your materials organized. Your presentation will go much smoother if your notes and visual aids are easy for you to use.
• Avoid the lecture. Use visual aids, questions and activities to engage your audience.
• Be aware of your non-verbal communication. Stand straight, make eye contact with your audience, and smile. Avoid distracting behaviours, like chewing gum or fidgeting.
• PRACTICE! Be sure to go through your full presentation several times before giving it to your class. Do it on your own and with an audience.
• Practice relaxing. Practicing will make it easier to manage your natural anxiety during your presentation.
• Prepare short speaking notes. Try to write only the keywords or key points on cue cards so that you won’t be tempted to read.
• Take your time. Speaking slowly will help you avoid excessive verbal fillers (“ummm” or “ahhhh”).

Study Tools

• The Structure of Oral Presentations - PDF
• Preparing for Oral Presentations - PDF
• Something's gone wrong in my presentation - PDF
• Presentation Rehearsal Checklist - PDF
• << Previous: Additional Resources
• Next: Creating and Preparing For a Presentation >>
• Last Updated: Oct 16, 2023 1:33 PM
• URL: https://algonquincollege.libguides.com/studyskills

• 301 Academic Skills Centre
• Study skills online

Presentation skills

Techniques to develop your skills and confidence as a presenter.

Overcoming presentation worries

Standing up in front of other people and sharing your ideas can be a stressful experience, but also extremely rewarding intellectually.

In formal presentations, you make both the strength of your knowledge and any gaps in it immediately and publicly visible.

This is risky and rewarding because it means you are both teaching others and learning from them. That is, you are doing what education is all about.

In addition, the way you communicate and how you present yourself will influence the response of the audience, and that can make you feel self-conscious.

But, by learning more about the best strategies and techniques for formal presentations in academic settings, you can make the most of this valuable learning environment.

301 Recommends:

Our workshop on Planning and Delivering Presentations examines what makes a presentation effective, and what things to consider when preparing for delivery. You will learn a planning technique which will lead to clear and concise delivery, so you can go into your presentations feeling confident and well-prepared. The workshop will also provide you with tips on getting your message across.

This short  Study Skills Hacks video  offers tips and suggestions on preparing for a presentation and getting it right on the day.

Planning your presentation

Three main focus points.

The more you plan your presentation, the more confidence you will have in the information you are delivering. You need to consider three things throughout this process: topic, time limit, and audience.

1. Your topic

Your topic is what your presentation should be about.

This seems obvious, but unless you keep a clear idea of the message you are trying to convey, it's easy to go off on a tangent. You will then lose the clarity of your presentation.

2. Your time limit

Again, this seems obvious, but you will be kept to time and you need to prepare for this.

If you're asked to deliver a short presentation, keep this in mind as you do your background research, to avoid doing unnecessary amounts of reading. You only have a certain amount of time you can spend on your preparation, so make sure you use your time wisely.

3. Your audience

Your audience is key to how you deliver your presentation.

You need to consider what they already know, what they need to know, and the type of language that is appropriate for your delivery.

Unlike a written piece of work, an audience only gets one chance to engage with the content of a presentation.

With this in mind, your presentation should follow a very simple structure of reinforcement:

• Tell your audience what you are going to tell them.
• Tell them again what you told them.

This may sound repetitive, but that's exactly what you want: to repeat the key points so that they are clear to your audience and provide a take-home message.

Having a clear structure not only helps your audience to follow your presentation but helps you to keep track of what it is you are trying to explain.

301 Recommends: Horizontal Planning

Use the  Horizontal Planning Template (google doc)  to organise your presentation. Start from the middle with roughly three main points, before moving out to complete a plan for your introduction and conclusion.

Starting in the middle is essential as it will allow you to pin down the main areas of your message, before moving on to identify how to introduce these main points to your audience and summarise them again at the end.

Individual presentations

Spoken reports detailing your work can take place in a range of settings: the small group classroom, in a one-to-one tutorial, in the workplace or at an academic conference. 

Presentations take different forms, from a read-out mini-lecture to an improvised explanation or elaboration of a series of key points, a question-and-answer session, an audience-activity workshop, or a blend of all of these.

An individual presentation can feel intense as you take centre stage. However, the advantage of this is that you have complete control over your preparation (see below), content and timing.

If you are finding the prospect of a solo presentation in front of an audience stressful, there are a number of strategies you can use to build confidence and overcome the nerves:

• Think about how to organise your presentation. Are you planning to present using the slides as a prompt (in which case be sure to look up from the screen to engage your audience)? Or are you planning to use notes or flash cards? Flash cards can be a great way to give yourself some key prompts and something to do with your hands. 
• If you are finding it difficult to engage with your audience directly, try focusing on a point at the back of the room. This will encourage you to look up and present to the room, while avoiding the pressure of direct eye contact.
• Think about your physical presence. There is evidence that standing tall can help to increase confidence and can make the audience perceive the speaker as more confident. 

Group presentations

Group presentations share many of the demands of the individual format, but collaboration brings its own benefits and challenges. Strength in numbers can provide a sense of comradeship and relieve individual pressure. But working together means you need to find ways to share the burden of work equally and incorporate the efforts and skills of each group member.

The additional pressures of a group presentation can be particularly significant when a presentation forms part of university coursework.

Like any form of group work, group presentations rely on sharing responsibility and developing strategies to manage group disagreements or imbalances. Remember to take time to understand one another's strengths and areas of confidence so that tasks and responsibilities can be divided up in a way that makes the most of individual skills and abilities. 

And just like an individual presentation, making sure you find the time to practice and rehearse the presentation together as a group can be decisive to its success on the day. Consider the following points and build them into your rehearsal time:

• What order are you presenting in?
• Who is taking over from whom? Can you stand in a logical order to cut down on transition times?
• Who is advancing the slides, or are you taking it in turns?
• Who is managing time and how are you going to warn group members to speed up?
• Don't forget to build in time for transitions between presenters!

Read more about group work and collaboration here .

Presenting online

Whilst the fundamentals of good in-person presenting remain true when presenting online, there are some important considerations that are unique to presenting remotely.  Read tips on online presentations here.

Preparation

Most importantly, for all kinds of presentations, allow time to practice! Make sure you think about how you are going to deliver your presentation and make it engaging.

This is especially important if you are presenting in a group, as transitions can be costly time-wise if unrehearsed. Make sure you have time to revise and edit your presentation, with enough time to rehearse the final edit too.

Make sure you have your ending prepared! Do not simply stop, think about how you will signal to your audience that you are done and ready for questions (if appropriate).

Finally, make sure that you are as comfortable as possible on the day. Plan out what you are going to wear the night before, arrive early to check equipment, and have a bottle of water with you.

The majority of your confidence will come from having a well-researched, structured and practised presentation, so don't worry, take a deep breath, and you will now be ready to go!

Once you have delivered your presentation, seek feedback from your peers or tutors, to help you develop your skills further. Think reflectively about the whole presentation process, as you continue to build this skill.

Learn more about how to use feedback here.

• Preparation is key! You need to consider your topic, time limit, and audience. If you are working as a group, be organised in allocating how this preparation will be done.
• A strong structure will help your presentation to flow. Signpost and wrap up for your audience, make it easy for them to follow, and easy for yourself too.
• Practise! Think about what you are going to say, time how long it takes you to say it. Make sure you are fully comfortable and confident before you need to present. If you are presenting as a group, decide who will say what, and practice transitions.
• Think about yourself as the presenter: plan what you'll wear, take some water with you
• Build-in contingency plans: know where you can cut things out or add bits in to keep to time, and plan how you will deal with difficult questions.

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English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC)- Language Resources  

Digital Learning- Guidance for creating accessible content .

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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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Effective Study Skills

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Study Skills

Oct 15, 2014

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Study Skills. Penncrest High School. Do you know how to study?. Ask yourself:. Do you repeat what you’re trying to remember to yourself over and over? Do you waste time when studying (you have just finished reading and have no idea what you just read)?

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Study Skills PenncrestHigh School

Do you know how to study?

Ask yourself: Do you repeat what you’re trying to remember to yourself over and over? Do you waste time when studying (you have just finished reading and have no idea what you just read)? Do you have trouble getting ready to study? Do you have a good place to study? Do you complete ALL of your homework EVERY day? Do you know your learning style? Do you know what to do when you do not understand?

If you answered “yes”… • ….to ANY of those questions, then you are in the right place • We can help you get off to a good start as a brand-new ninth grader at Penncrest High School!

How can you be successful in school?

Success in school is due to • Time Management • Motivation • Good study habits

It takes effort! • YOU must be willing to set aside time to study and do homework. • You will need to sacrifice at times. • BUT, you can actually spend less time studying if you do the right things. • We have ideas and tools to help you!

“You cannot teach a man or woman anything; you can only help them to find it within themselves.” Galileo • “Just as eating against one’s will is injurious to one’s health, so study without a liking for it spoils the memory, and it retains nothing it takes in.” Leonardo Da Vinci

What are study skills?

Study Skills • Study skills, or study strategies, are approaches to learning. • Critical to success in school • Essential for acquiring good grades • Useful for learning throughout life • Study skills include an array of skills: • Organizing • Taking in new information • Retaining information • Handling assessments

Top Ten Study Skills For High School Students

1. Manage Your Time Wisely • Get used to keeping track of your time in high school, and it will pay off for you in college and/or your career path. • Managing your free time is just as important as managing your “busy” time. • Long-term planning • Many people fail tests or exams because they start their preparation too late rather than because they lack the ability. • The most important thought to remember is, “Organize early; prepare regularly.”

2. Organize! • Priorities can be divided into the following: • Urgent—must be done now • Important—must be done soon • Unimportant—must be done eventually • Keep a weekly or monthly planner, or use a journal. • Make “to do” lists. • Use your iPad or cell phone calendar to keep track of assignments and important dates and events. • Relying on “just remembering” can be difficult when your obligations and assignments start to pile up.

3. Identify How You Learn • Find out what works for you— • Are you a flashcard student? • Are you a student who needs to write things down many times to learn and remember? • Are you a student who likes to hear material out loud? • Experiment with new strategies • But, hold on to tried and true strategies that have worked for you in the past.

Ask: Is There a Better Way to Study? • Start reading/studying for 10-15 minutes. • Then, build on that once you become comfortable, studying for at least one hour at a time. • Work hard, but be realistic. • Stop if you can no longer concentrate or remember. • Take breaks when studying. • Some (perhaps many) people cram for tests by studying into the wee hours the night before. • Take an honest look at your study habits. • Repeated short sessions of studying are more effective than a six-hour cram session the night before a test.

5. Catch Some “Zzzs” • Do not stay up until 4:00 a.m. studying for a test! • It won’t work now, and it won’t work in college. • Sleep has been scientifically documented to be a significant factor on your GPA as well as how well you perform on other tasks.

6. Attend Class and Pay Attention7. Ask Questions • Do not be afraid to ask your teachers for help! • Teachers are not here to scare you; they are valuable resources. • Other students in the class can be great sources of information and support also (plus, they can become friends).

8. Form Study Groups • Studying with other students and working on assignments together can be helpful. • You can clarify points you may not understand and help others by explaining the part they find difficult. • Teaching others will help you better understand the information also.

9. Sharpen Those Writing Skills • Learn the “fine art” of the essay. • Take notes in class. • Do not try to write everything your teacher says, but be sure to highlight the important points. • Consider comparing notes with other students to review parts of the lesson you found difficult or you missed. • Both essay writing and note taking are important skills to master for college and career tasks.

10. Set Up a Study Area • If you always work in one place, your brain will begin to switch into “study mode” as soon as you sit down. • Where you study can determine how much you concentrate. • Make sure the place is comfortable, but not too comfortable. • You want to try to study in the same type of situation in which you will be testing (sitting at a desk or table versus lying across the bed). • Set up your workplace to ensure that the materials you need are always on hand. • Do not interrupt your studying to retrieve something that should have already been there. • Ensure space for books and notebooks as well as a place for memory aids and other materials.

What about music?

It CAN help you learn! Educational psychologists have found that music with a rhythm of 60 beats per minute actually helps you learn! But, most modern music has a rhythm of 100-140 beats per minute, which lowers your brain’s ability to retain information. Classical music has the correct rhythm!

Types of Study Skills

Memorization • The process of committing something to memory • Deliberately storing information in memory for later recall • “Recall by rote” • Reading over notes or a textbook and re-writing notes

PQRST Method • Question: The student formulates questions to be answered. • Summary: The student summarizes the topic, bringing an understanding into the process. • Preview: The student looks at the topic to be learned by glancing over the major headings or the points in the syllabus. • Read: The student reads through the related material, focusing on the information that best relates to the questions formulated earlier. • Test: The student answers the questions drafted earlier.

Flash Cards Summary Summary methods vary, but most involve condensing the large amount of information into shorter notes. Often these notes are then condensed further into key facts. • Flash Cards are visual cues on cards. • Being discrete and separate, they have the advantage of allowing students to re-order them, pick a selection to read over, or choose randomly for self-testing.

Visual Imagery • Some learners have a visual learning style and will benefit greatly from taking information from their studies, which are often heavily verbal, and using visual techniques to help retain it in memory. • Diagrams can be used to bring all the information together and aid the recall of information learned very quickly. Pictures can then be transferred to flash cards that are very effective last-minute revision tools rather than rereading any written material. • Use graphic organizers to help organize and remember information.

Acronyms and Mnemonics Mnemonic Acrostics Acrosticsare phrases or poems in which the first letter of each word or line functions as a cue to help you recall the words that you are trying to remember. For example, “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” is used to remember the order of operations in math (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication/Division, Addition/Subtraction). • Amnemonic is a method of organizing and memorizing information. • Some use a simple phrase or fact as a trigger for a longer list of information. • For example, the Great Lakes can be recalled by the word HOMES (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior).

Traffic Light System • Green: topics to be studied first—important and also simple • Red: lowest priority—complex and not vital • A traffic lights system is a simple way of identifying the importance of information, highlighting or underlining information in colors. • This process reminds students to start with the things which will provide the quickest benefit, while “red” topics are only dealt with if time allows. • Amber: topics to be studied next—important but time-consuming

Remember— Effective studying is an active process. It requires effective time management, which in turn may reduce your actual time spent studying. Effective studying can produce a sense of understanding, happiness, and mastery. By learning to study in an effective way you not only earn good grades, but you will also please yourself, parents, and teachers. You also do not miss out on your social life. It is a win-win situation.

Good luck, and welcome to PHS!

References: Campusexplorer.com Coedu.usf.edu Examiner.com HowtoStudy.com TestTakingTips.com Wikipedia.org

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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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Business Presentations, Presentation Approaches, Presentation Skills Filed under Education

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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).

Partner Center

Presentation skills

You may be asked to lead a seminar either on your own or with other students. This enables you to develop and demonstrate a wider range of skills. Some people express themselves better orally than in writing. This is also good practice for giving talks either at work or for life more generally.

Remember the audience

The most important aspect of making a presentation is to consider the needs of the audience. If you simply read or repeat information ‘off by heart’ your presentation will probably sound very flat and dull to the audience. There is also a greater risk that you will lose your place in your talk.

If you are a natural entertainer, then use these skills in your presentation. However, bear in mind the purpose of the presentation and how it will be assessed. Make sure you cover the essential information and that this comes across very clearly to the audience.

Prepare for the presentation

• Write out your main argument or conclusion, just as you would for a writing activity.
• Write out the main points as headings and bullet points on a series of index cards or on a sheet of paper. These will prompt your memory if you lose your place.
• Visit the room and try out the technology. This will increase your confidence on the day.
• Time yourself making the presentation. Cut it back if it is too long.
• Have a clear and opening and closing line that refers directly to the main issue.

Use visual aids

• If you use PowerPoint or similar software, avoid gimmicks such as jingles, animation, or sound effects that either distract attention or slow down the presentation. If you ‘fly in’ text, make sure you use the same method throughout the presentation.
• Use only a few lines of text in large print or a simple diagram for each slide. Remember, your visual aids are there to reinforce what you are saying.
• Keep it simple. Use technology as a tool where it helps, rather than for the sake of it.
• Arrive first.
• Arrive early enough to check the equipment and seating are as you want them.
• Have water to hand.
• Act confident no matter how you are feeling.
• Do not make apologies for things you haven’t done. Act as if everything is as it should be.
• Make eye contact with the audience.

Speed pacing

Many presentations, even those by professionals, may go wrong because people try to cover too much information in the time available. They then try and gabble their way through a set of bullet points at top speed even though people cannot take in what is being said.

Cut out unnecessary information - and even information you think is valuable if it does not fit into the time allowed. You must be able to deliver the whole presentation at a speed slower than your normal talking speech. This is necessary so that people can take in what you are saying and jot down some notes.

Talk more slowly than you feel is necessary. Take a moment or two to breathe between each point.

Leave time for questions

Even if the time available to you is brief, leave a few minutes for people to ask questions. This will indicate that you are confident about your material.

Prepare an ‘additional point’ to use up the time in case there are no questions.

For further information please see Chapter 10 of The Study Skills Handbook by Stella Cottrell.

Six important things to remember when you are giving a presentation

• Introduce yourself by name.
• Bring back-up visual aids in case your PowerPoint presentation fails.
• Slow down when you are speaking.
• Ask for questions from the audience at the conclusion of the presentation.

Group Presentations

• Appoint a group co-ordinator and plan a timetable together.
• Choose your subject together, and then support one another throughout the work.
• Narrow your subject down to a manageable size.
• Decide who is to speak, and allocate topic and time to each speaker.
• Rehearse together and get the timing right.
• Organise how you are going to answer questions between you.
• Allow a strong personality to make all the decisions.
• Allow any individual to opt out of responsibility to the group.
• Choose a topic which is too complex for the time available.
• Forget to introduce everyone at the start of the presentation.
• Make recommendations which are unrealistic, technically or financially.
• Over-run the time you've been allocated.
• Guess at an answer you don't know.

Using PowerPoint

• Check that you have booked all the equipment you need well before your talk.
• Plan what you want the audience to see and don't crowd the screen.
• Use an appropriate font such as Arial, at least 22 point in size.
• Use a good colour contrast for background and image, and project it to check.
• Give handouts with details, which wouldn't be clear on the screen.
• Rehearse with all your visual material and the equipment you will be using.
• Always have backup in case of disaster.
• Show paragraphs or long sentences on the screen.
• Use fussy and distracting backgrounds.
• Overdo punctuation: very little is needed in a visual aid.
• Use over-complicated diagrams, which the audience won't be able to see clearly.
• Use unnecessary and distracting movement on the screen.
• Watch the computer screen instead of the audience.
• Assume that you can use the equipment without trying it out.

For further information please see Chapter 3 and 5 of Presentation Skills for Students by Joan Van Emden and Lucinda Becker.

• Open access
• Published: 26 March 2024

Core and cluster or head to toe?: a comparison of two types of curricula for teaching physical examination skills to preclinical medical students

• LilyAnne Jewett 2 ,
• Samuel Clarke 2 ,
• Erin Griffin 1 &
• Aaron Danielson 2  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  337 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

185 Accesses

Metrics details

Despite the central importance of physical examination (PE) skills to patient evaluation, early trainees struggle with its correct application and interpretation. This struggle may reflect the instructional strategies of PE courses which have largely ignored the clinical reasoning necessary to accurately apply these skills. The “core + cluster” (C + C) is a recent approach to teaching PE to clerkship-level medical students that combines a basic ‘core’ exam with ‘cluster’ based on the student’s hypothesis about their patient’s clinical presentation. Our institution developed a novel C + C curriculum to teach PE to preclinical students. We aimed to assess the impact of this new curriculum on students’ clinical skills and course evaluations in comparison to the traditional “head-to-toe” approach we’d used previously.

This was a retrospective study comparing two consecutive medical school cohorts exposed to the new (C + C) and prior (HTT) curricula respectively. We studied two complete cohorts of first-year medical students at our institution who matriculated in 2014 and 2015. The 2014 cohort received PE training via an HTT approach. The 2015 cohort received PE training via a C + C approach. Outcomes included performance scores on a statewide clinical performance exam (CPX) and student course evaluations.

We found no statistically significant difference in mean CPX scores between the two cohorts. However, student course ratings were significantly higher in the C + C cohort and students rated the C + C format as highly useful in clinical encounters.

Conclusions

The C + C curriculum appears to be as effective a method of teaching PE to preclinical students as the HTT approach and is better received by students. We believe that this approach more appropriately reflects the way PE is used in clinical encounters and may help students with diagnostic hypothesis generation.

Peer Review reports

The physical examination (PE) is an essential component of most clinical encounters. Despite its centrality to helping clinicians form clinical hypotheses about patients’ clinical presentations, several studies have demonstrated a persistent lack of PE proficiency amongst undergraduate and graduate-level trainees [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. This has resulted in renewed focus on how PE is being taught to preclinical medical students [ 7 ].

Historically, medical schools have taught PE using approaches that teach the PE as a comprehensive list of maneuvers to be performed by rote [ 8 ]. These approaches typically ignore the clinical reasoning that guides PE in clinical practice, layering it on after students master the psychomotor skills of PE. This has the potential disadvantage of teaching an overly detailed and undirected PE that is unwieldy in clinical practice. Clinicians do not perform comprehensive and undirected PE, but rather use it to gather data to support or refute clinical hypotheses based on their patients’ presentations. This lack of clinical context in teaching PE skills may actually hinder students’ effective application of PE in clinical settings, forcing them to “unlearn” what they have been taught.

Recently, Gowda et al. described a “core + clusters” (C + C) method as an alternate instructional design for teaching PE [ 9 ]. This approach was developed for clerkship-level students and describes a ‘core’ exam of 37 maneuvers that a clinician might typically perform on a patient requiring admission to the hospital. “Clusters” of related PE maneuvers can be added to the core exam depending on the clinician’s hypotheses about the patient’s clinical presentation (e.g., incorporating neurologic exam maneuvers for a patient with acute dizziness). This approach views clinical reasoning as a fundamental component of PE application.

In 2015, we developed and implemented a modified C + C curriculum for teaching PE to preclinical first-year medical students in our medical school, transitioning away from an HTT approach. We developed a novel “core” examination checklist for preclinical students which describes the PE maneuvers they might be expected to perform in a routine office visit. In similar fashion to the approach described by Gowda et al., we developed clusters of related PE maneuvers to augment our simplified core exam based on a patient’s chief complaint. Our goal was to develop a curriculum that would incorporate basic elements of hypothesis generation using PE and which could be understood by preclinical medical students. In June 2015, we piloted our curriculum with a small ( n  = 6) group of first-year medical students in an accelerated 3-year track within our medical school and found that the C + C curriculum was well-received and effective in preparing them for an end-of-course PE skills assessment as well as precepted patient encounters which are a part of our medical school’s curriculum. In August 2015 we implemented the curriculum for the entire first-year class, and it has been the introductory PE curriculum in use since that time.

To date, no studies have objectively assessed the effectiveness of the C + C approach in comparison to an HTT approach [ 7 ]. We aimed to objectively assess our new curriculum by comparing the performance of a cohort of first-year medical students exposed to the C + C curriculum to a cohort from the previous year who received the HTT curriculum. As our primary outcome, we chose overall performance scores on a statewide clinical performance examination (CPX). The CPX is a standardized test of PE and patient interviewing skills taken by medical students from 10 schools throughout California at the start of their fourth year of medical school. The development of the CPX and validity evidence supporting the exam have been previously described [ 10 , 11 ]. We chose performance on the CPX sub-scores (history taking, physical examination, patient satisfaction, patient education, and patient interaction), and end-of-course evaluation scores as our secondary outcomes. We hypothesized that students exposed to our novel curriculum would demonstrate higher mean overall scores on the CPX and chose a priori a difference of greater than 10% as evidence of a potentially meaningful difference.

Study design

We conducted a retrospective cohort study comparing two classes of medical students at our institution; the class that matriculated in 2014 and which learned PE using the HTT method, and the class that matriculated in 2015 and which learned PE using the C + C method. This change in course format was the only major curriculum change that occurred during this time period at our institution, and we limited our analysis to these cohorts in order to avoid confounding from curriculum changes which may have occurred in the years prior to or subsequent to the intervention.

Study setting

We conducted our investigation at UC Davis School of Medicine, a publicly funded medical school in Northern California. All participants were matriculated students participating in coursework at our main campus at the time of the research activity.

Curriculum development/description of exposure

We drew upon multiple conceptual frameworks in designing our novel curriculum. Using the analogy of PE as a type of procedural learning, we incorporated Fitts and Posner’s theory of motor acquisition, Dreyfus’s model of skills acquisition, and Ericsson’s theory of deliberate practice to guide elements of the curriculum [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Learners were given an explicit framework of rules to follow and to guide decision-making around PE, and classroom time incorporated clinical cases and discussion as well as observed practice and directed feedback. Students were provided with three to four examples of complaints which each particular cluster exam would be indicated (e.g., cardiac and pulmonary exam for a patient with chest pain and cough). Gowda’s C + C approach provided a compelling and intuitive structure for approaching PE, but we recognized that it would need to be simplified and adapted to preclinical learners who would first be exposed to clinical medicine during an ambulatory care preceptorship.

Derivation of novel core examination checklist

Gowda’s original core examination checklist was developed for clerkship-level students on an inpatient medicine rotation. We required a checklist that would fit the practice environment that our first-year students enter: the outpatient visit evaluating a well patient. This modified core examination would serve as a basic template for PE that could serve as the scaffold for our course.

We used a modified Delphi approach to address this challenge. Faculty from multiple specialties within our institution (Family Practice, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Psychiatry) were sent a prompt of a well-patient visit. Participants were asked to list the examination maneuvers that a first-year medical student should be expected to perform on such a patient. All maneuvers were binned by percentage of rater agreement into low (0–33%), moderate (34–66%) or high (67–100%) categories. All high-agreement items were included on the checklist.

We then conducted a focus group with core faculty from our longitudinal clinical skills course. They were instructed to add back any maneuvers with low- or moderate-agreement that they deemed essential for a well patient exam. Once consensus was reached, the checklist was finalized.

Our initial round generated 47 maneuvers, of which five generated high rater agreement: palpation for lymphadenopathy of the head and neck, cardiac auscultation, pulmonary auscultation, abdominal inspection, and abdominal palpation. Through the consensus of the focus groups, 10 items were added to the 5 items with highest agreement: general appearance, inspection of the eyes, inspection of the oropharynx, palpation of the lower extremities for edema, palpation of dorsalis pedis and posterior tibial pulses, forearm extension and flexion against resistance, hip flexion against resistance, and gait. A comparison of our novel core exam for preclinical students and the original core exam described by Gowda et al. is shown in Table  1 .

Cluster exams and course format

We developed cluster exams using a combination of organ systems and anatomic regions: pulmonary, cardiac, abdominal, neurologic, HEENT (head, eyes, ears, nose and throat), and male and female genitourinary exams. These cluster examination checklists were developed from prior organ system and body area checklists we used in our HTT curriculum. All checklists were reviewed by a multidisciplinary group of faculty with experience teaching physical examination to pre-clinical medical students. Due to their complexity, the head and neck and neurologic checklists were reviewed and revised with input from Otolaryngology and Neurology faculty, respectively. These checklists were not intended to be all encompassing, but rather to teach basic, essential maneuvers to novices. More advanced maneuvers could then be layered on during the second-year PE course.

The course was taught over nine sessions, each 3 h in length. Each session framed the use of PE within a clinical case and included discussion of the rationale for specific PE maneuvers based on the patient’s complaint. Students were taught three symptom-based indications for each cluster exam which they were required to know for the course. Session time was then devoted to learning the micro skills relevant to the PE maneuvers covered in the session, and to peer-to-peer practice of PE skills with facilitator feedback. At each session students were given a period of time to practice the skills they had been taught. Each practice case started with a clinical vignette and required the students to choose the clusters indicated based on the complaint (Fig.  1 ). The students would then practice integrating these cluster examinations with the core exam. The C + C curriculum included an introductory session devoted to the core examination and was three hours longer in total than the previous HTT curriculum.

Novice decision making for core + cluster based on patient complaint

Participants

This study included all students from the matriculating classes of 2014 ( n  = 99) and 2015 ( n  = 104).

We included participants using an intention-to-treat principle, meaning that any students who extended their training or otherwise deviated from the standard curriculum track were included with the cohort they matriculated with. The pilot group of students from the accelerated 3-year track within our medical school were excluded from the study cohort.

Data sources/measurement

We compared our two cohorts of students on the following pre-matriculation variables: undergraduate total and science grade point average (GPA) and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) total score and sub-scores (biology, physical sciences and verbal). Post-intervention, we compared the summative end-of-course exam score and United States Medical Licensing Exam Step 1 to assess for differences between the two cohorts.

We examined the following primary and secondary outcomes: total score on the California CPX (taken in the 4th year of medical school), CPX sub-scores (history taking, physical examination, patient satisfaction, patient education, and patient interaction), and end-of-course evaluation scores. The CPX consists of multiple standardized patient encounters and was developed by the California Consortium for the Assessment of Clinical Competence (CCACC), which our institution has been a member of since 2003. The exam is administered at each CCACC institution taken by every student at the start of their fourth year of medical school. At our institution, at the time these cohorts participated in the exam, students received a passing grade if their Overall Performance score is no less than 1.5 standard deviations (SD) below the mean, their subscores for History Taking, Physical Exam and Patient Education and Counseling were no less than 1.5 SD below the mean, and their subscore for Patient-Physician interaction was no less than 1.0 SD below the mean.

Study size was limited to the classes that matriculated at UC Davis in 2014 ( n  = 99) and 2015 ( n  = 104).

Statistical methods

We assessed differences using Chi-Square tests for categorical variables and independent two-tailed t-tests ( p  <.05) for continuous variables. We conducted a series of linear regression models to test: (a) whether performance in the course (regardless of curriculum) was associated with Step 1 or CPX performance (b) whether there was a cohort effect corresponding to the curriculum type the students were exposed to and (c) whether end-of-course evaluation scores were different between the two cohorts.

Student performance

There were no statistical differences in baseline performance metrics between the two cohorts (Table  2 ). For the primary outcome of total performance on the CPX exam there was no statistical difference between the cohorts (Table  3 ). Differences in several secondary outcomes reached statistical significance. Course performance was slightly lower in the cohort exposed to the C + C curriculum (16.7 versus 17.1 for HTT cohort, P  <.05; Table  2 ). CPX History scores were higher for the cohort exposed to the C + C curriculum (74.3 versus 72.3 for the HTT cohort, t = 2.5, P  <.05). CPX Patient Satisfaction scores were higher for the cohort exposed to the HTT curriculum (90.6 versus 84.5 for the C + C cohort, t=-3.89 P  <.05). USMLE Step 1 scores were not different between the cohorts. In unadjusted linear regression models, curriculum type was not a predictor of total CPX score. Curriculum type was a predictor of CPX History and Patient satisfaction sub-scores. However, the proportion of variance attributable to the curriculum type was minimal (R [ 2 ] of 0.03 for CPX History and 0.07 for CPX Patient satisfaction). There were no additional associations between curriculum type and CPX performance. There was no difference in CPX Physical Exam subscores between the cohorts and curriculum type was not a predictor of CPX Physical Exam subscore.

Course evaluations

See Tables  3 and 4 for course evaluation data. At the end of the novel C + C curriculum, students reported a high degree of confidence in performing the exam and rated the C + C method as useful in their clinical encounters (Table  4 ). The C + C curriculum was associated with higher ratings on all formal course evaluation questions (Table  3 , P  <.05 for all questions).

This is the first study to directly assess the efficacy of a novel core + clusters curriculum designed for preclinical medical students. We demonstrated that this C + C curriculum is as effective at teaching PE to preclinical students as the prior HTT method, though not superior in regard to performance on the CPX. Given the length of time between participants’ exposure to the curriculum and our selected outcome measures, this null finding may be due to washout of the training effect as well as the influence of confounders we were unable to measure. Nonetheless, the C + C curriculum was well-received by students, and we believe it warrants consideration as a teaching approach.

As described by Gowda et al., perhaps the greatest value of the C + C approach is the emphasis it places on diagnostic decision-making to guide the physical examination. Students are taught to consider a patient’s clinical presentation, and to apply appropriate cluster exams in order help them answer clinical questions (e.g., why is this patient short of breath?). This process stands in distinction to the traditional HTT approach, which treats PE as an undirected examination. As medical schools increasingly incorporate clinical experiences into the pre-clerkship years [ 15 ], an approach to teaching PE that accurately reflects the way it is used in clinical practice is essential.

While our novel PE curriculum was not shown to improve CPX performance, end-of-course evaluations showed higher student satisfaction compared to the HTT approach. In addition to increased overall satisfaction with the course, students expressed increased satisfaction with the new curriculum’s learning environment, opportunities for self-assessment, and opportunities for self-directed learning as compared to the HTT curriculum. Furthermore, the C + C curriculum cohort rated their comfort with performing the core exam (mean 4.75/5, n  = 79), their satisfaction with the physical exam portion of the curriculum (mean 4.44/5, n  = 79), and the core exam’s helpfulness in their early clinical experiences highly (mean rating 4.56/5, n  = 79) (Table  4 ).

Given that this method emphasizes a focused exam in contrast to the HTT method’s comprehensive exam, some may claim that this approach allows for students to miss potentially significant physical exam findings [ 16 ]. While plausible, prior studies have suggested that graduating medical students’ poor physical exam performance lies primarily in application of physical exam skills, rather than in performance of a comprehensive exam [ 3 ]. These findings suggest that improvement in medical student physical exam skill may require a renewed focus on exam application rather than performance alone. Furthermore, it has been shown that experienced physicians rarely perform a comprehensive head-to-toe examination in clinical practice [ 5 ]. While the HTT exam is thorough, it is not a realistic or efficient use of time for most practicing physicians. The C + C approach aims to improve these deficits by teaching physical exam maneuvers in conjunction with consideration for PE application in various clinical scenarios. We believe that this approach better simulates a genuine clinical encounter and could potentially lead to a more focused and efficient patient interaction.

Our study is not without important limitations. We developed and conducted our intervention at our own institution, and with considerable support from our school of medicine. While there were no other major structural changes to the school of medicine curriculum between our control and intervention classes, there may have been changes in the training environment that we were unaware of and were unable to control for. Finally, we sought to measure the impact of this curriculum using an objective and well-validated measure of clinical ability: the CPX exam. While this outcome has the advantage of being psychometrically robust, the long interval of time between intervention and testing (over two years) makes washout of the teaching effect a likely possibility.

In this single center cohort study, the C + C curriculum was equally effective to, and received superior learner satisfaction scores over the traditional HTT approach. The C + C approach is an important option for those looking for an alternative method for teaching PE skills.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the University of California at Davis School of Medicine but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy act, and so are not publicly available. Data are however available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of the University of California at Davis School of Medicine. Please contact Erin Griffin at [email protected] to request access to the data from this study.

Abbreviations

Physical Exam

Core and Cluster

Head to Toe

Clinical Performance Exam

Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat

Grade Point Average

Medical College Admission Test

California Consortium for the Assessment of Clinical Competence

Standard Deviation

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Prior Presentation : This study was presented at the Directors of Clinical Skills Courses (DOCS) annual meeting on November 8, 2019 (Phoenix, AZ).

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LJ assisted in the study design and drafting of the manuscript. SC contributed to designing the curriculum, the study design, data interpretation and drafting the manuscript. EG contributed to the study design, completed data analysis, assisted with interpretation of the data. AD designed the curriculum design, contributed to the study design, assisted with interpretation of the data and drafting the manuscript.

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Jewett, L., Clarke, S., Griffin, E. et al. Core and cluster or head to toe?: a comparison of two types of curricula for teaching physical examination skills to preclinical medical students. BMC Med Educ 24 , 337 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05191-x

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Received : 02 September 2023

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05191-x

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