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Practice Your Presentation

Tags

^21st Century Skills MS/HS/College Strategy

Skills

Expressive Language Working Memory Social Awareness Verbal Memory

Practice Your Presentation

If your student is uncomfortable with public speaking or doesn't realize the importance of practice

How To Apply It!

  1. The delivery of your presentation can be just as important as the content, so be sure to get plenty of practice taking into consideration the key elements of effective public speaking.
  2. First, be sure you have created an effective presentation with purpose and supporting details.
  3. Practice a lot. Plan to practice out loud many times so you are entirely comfortable with the flow and what you will be saying.
  4. Practice in a similar setting. If you will be standing during your presentation, practice it standing. If you will be using visuals, practice with those visuals. If you will be on stage, try to practice there. While it might feel funny, practice out loud, since that is what you will need to do. Being comfortable with the sound of your own voice is key.
  5. Practice as if you were speaking to a friend. The best presentations are those that personally connect with the audience. Rather than envisioning a room full of students, pretend you are telling your presentation to your best friend. Use similar language, tone and enthusiasm.
  6. Use gestures and movement. Gestures help you emphasize key points and keep your audience engaged. Movement enables you to connect with people sitting in different parts of the room. Movement is also a good way to calm your nerves if you are feeling anxious. Keep in mind that too much gesturing and movement can be distracting.
  7. Use a timer. Most teachers give a time range for a presentation, so it is always best to practice with a timer. Be aware of your half way mark or other key timing points. This can help you during the actual presentation so you know if you need to speed up a little to finish or slow down because you might be going a little fast.
  8. Practice in front of an audience. Use your audience for multiple purposes, including to get comfortable and also to affirm if they understood the purpose. Did you provide sufficient supporting details to convince or explain? Was there a part that is unclear? While it might be uncomfortable taking feedback and you don't need to incorporate everyone's advice, feedback will help to improve your final presentation.

Why It Works (the Science Of Learning)!

Effective communication is a learned skill. Once you have created an effective presentation, it is critical to practice it until you are comfortable presenting the information in front of an audience. Keep in mind that your audience will absorb information depending on how you say it. Once you've put in the hard work of creating an effective presentation, you will want to be sure your listeners are engaged, understand, and remember.