Why It Matters?

There may be times throughout your professional or academic career when you need to present ideas to others. Effective presentations allow you to share ideas, inspire, and influence your audience. Developing your presentation skills will help you connect better with others and convey your message more effectively. 

How Can I Deliver a Great Presentation?

Here are practices to consider for effective presentations:

1. Create your outline - Start with why your presentation matters. Explain the vision and context of your topic. Begin with your key insight or conclusion, then explain how you arrived there. Think of organizing your information like puzzle pieces and arranging them to gradually reveal the big picture. Another option is to begin with a captivating story to create an emotional or relatable experience for the audience
2. Create your deck or poster - Your ideas should be simple and understandable, and slides/poster should support, not distract from, your presentation. Your title slide should be used to set the scene. A title like “Unlocking your Best Semester Yet: Study Techniques that Work” tells a story. Prepare a guide your audience can take with them outlining key takeaways and additional resources if applicable. 
3. Prepare for your Presentation - Start with a “table read,” where you read your presentation aloud 5-10 times as if in front of an audience. Then rehearse without notes. If you get stuck, review your notes and practice this until you can rehearse without referencing your notes. Camera practice using your phone is great for critiquing and improving your presentation skills. Refer to vocal fundamentals for further insights.
4. Presentation Tips - 
   1. Make sure you do not read off of your slides/poster. Use them to support your points with minimal text and helpful visuals. 
   2. Engage individuals by making eye contact with one person per thought or sentence and vary your eye contact throughout the room. Avoid looking down to maintain confidence and connection.
   3. Utilize the 6 vocal fundamentals when speaking to ensure optimal engagement 
   4. Move with purpose and intent. Some general rules - use movement to your left to illustrate the future and the right to illustrate the past. Start from the right and move left to sequence numbers or show growth. This is common practice because we read from left to right. When you are facing the audience, this movement makes sense to them.

When Should I Apply These Strategies?

Any time you are required to present ideas in front of a group of people, these strategies will be helpful for you to engage your audience and convey your message with confidence and clarity.

Action: Start with small tasks. After you create your deck/poster, focus on your rehearsal methodology. Once you have mastered the preparation process, you can move on to practice one or more tips.