Presentation Coaching
"Fear of performing doesn't go away. It shouldn't go away. It's rocket fuel. It can blow up your ship or launch you to space. It's all in where you put it."--Lin Manuel Miranda
The more anxious you feel, the less creative you are and the less able you are to think in a structured, organized way. Under pressure, your mind ceases to "play" with ideas and look for unexpected combinations. Fear causes your thinking to contract into known territory and you play it "safe," creating a presentation very similar to the message of your sources.
Fear, however, also gives you energy. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to turn that energy into useful fuel. Thoughts follow moods--anxiety produces anxious thoughts--so working and practicing in advance of your presentation gives you a chance to try, fail, and experiment with a different approach that works for you rather than becoming a "zombie" who repeats exactly what is on your slides. Use the fear as a motivation to prepare well!
Fear, however, also gives you energy. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to turn that energy into useful fuel. Thoughts follow moods--anxiety produces anxious thoughts--so working and practicing in advance of your presentation gives you a chance to try, fail, and experiment with a different approach that works for you rather than becoming a "zombie" who repeats exactly what is on your slides. Use the fear as a motivation to prepare well!
Communication Examples
Elements to strengthen your presentation using helpful visuals:
- Use Bullet Points: Instead of full sentences, use bullet points to deliver the key ideas on your slides. When using bullet points, make sure not to put too much information on a slide.
- Build Bullet Text Points: When using bullet points, build them one by one on the slide using the simple Appear animation effect.
- Use Visuals Instead of Text: When possible, look for ways to use a visual, such as a graph, diagram or photograph, to illustrate the point you are making instead of slide after slide of text.
- Use the Proper Chart: Charts – graphs and tables – can be a great way to present information if they are used properly.
- Practice, Practice, Practice: All of the good speakers you have ever seen have practiced the art of presenting many times. Practice with your computer and projection equipment if possible to get a feel for it. Practice everything you plan to say but do not memorize.
The Content of Your Message
- Clearly state the purpose and goal of your presentation: Decide what the audience should know or do at the end of the presentation.
- Use a consistent structure: By creating an outline first, you ensure that the content of your presentation is solid before you concern yourself with the visual elements.
Demonstrating Critical Thinking
Displaying Creative Innovation!
- Avoid Movement of Slide Elements: While moving text or graphics around the slide may look like fun, it is very distracting to the audience.
- Select Colors that Have High Contrast: When you are designing your slide look, pick colors that have high contrast so that the text and graphics can be easily seen when shown.
- Pick Fonts that are Large Enough: You should usually not use a font below 24 point size, with the preference being 28 to 32 point size. For titles or headings, use 36 to 44 point size fonts.
Displaying Confidence: Be Yourself and Be Brave About It!
- Presentation days should be friendly events for the simple reason that every member of the student audience is expected to take a turn at some point; it is in everyone's interest to keep the atmosphere positive and encouraging.
- Make your gestures slow and deliberate; avoid rapid movements.
- Cultivate a deeper voice and clearer pronunciation than in casual speech.
- Avoid hypocrisy and posturing. Rather than putting up a false front, share what you find interesting about a topic by giving the best possible explanation in your own words rather than stumbling over a poorly-understood "expert" text.
- Appear in control of the presentation by knowing your limits; if you feel insecure or anxious because you are not amazingly well-informed about every possible audience question, organize and refer to your list of sources.
Classmate Presentation Responses
Checklist for Presentations
SPARK is an opportunity to exercise your talents to the very edge of your present abilities in order to grow and change.
Presenting information to an audience to educate, entertain, or persuade can make use of a wide variety of digital tools, but the general expectations remain the same. The elements we invite you to consider and reflect on each day--collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation, and confidence--form the framework of the feedback and assessment for presentations.
Students are invited to assess themselves. Think about where your presentation skills are located on the chart today, and chart a course to navigate to where you want to be. In order to make your decisions easier, there are no letter grades or number ratings on the presentation checklist, only descriptions of actions or internal feelings.
Presenting information to an audience to educate, entertain, or persuade can make use of a wide variety of digital tools, but the general expectations remain the same. The elements we invite you to consider and reflect on each day--collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation, and confidence--form the framework of the feedback and assessment for presentations.
Students are invited to assess themselves. Think about where your presentation skills are located on the chart today, and chart a course to navigate to where you want to be. In order to make your decisions easier, there are no letter grades or number ratings on the presentation checklist, only descriptions of actions or internal feelings.