05 Mar How to Ace your Class Presentation

Public speaking can be extremely daunting, especially if you are a shy and quiet person; the thought of sweat rolling down your face and stumbling your words can be unbearable, and this usually causes many people to avoid public talking altogether. Most people will reluctantly present, but will still find it extremely uncomfortable. Unfortunately, public speaking only becomes easier with experience, which means you may come across some uncomfortable moments along the way. There are plenty of people who work as a professional Motivational Speaker or regularly do public talks in front of large groups; you can typically find their talks on youtube, so if you want to get some extra tips and tricks for public speaking, then it may be worth watching.

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 Write a Script 

Writing a script can prevent you from stumbling your words, or creating awkward silences; you don’t always need to be looking at your script when speaking, but it is good as a guide in case you find yourself getting flustered. When you write a script, you will most likely remember key parts of what you need to talk about, this will help your talk go much smoother. If you have a PowerPoint presentation to go alongside your script, this is a good way for you to focus on the slides and the presentation whilst you talk – here are some tips to create professional-looking PowerPoints. It’s important to keep rehearsing your script, as it will help you to remember key parts; if you’re not comfortable with presenting in front of family, then why not practice presenting by yourself? 

Do Plenty of Research 

If you are doing a presentation for your class, then plenty of research is vital; if you’re talking about a certain topic, then not having a lot of information to present can be pretty embarrassing and can cause you to finish quicker than expected. If you are not keen on doing lots of talking, make sure to put plenty of information on the PowerPoint presentation; the good thing about this is that the audience will be more focused on reading the presentation slides than looking at you.

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Focus on Your Friends 

When you are standing up to do a presentation in front of a class, there will most likely be the odd few that will try and ruin your presentation by laughing at you and making you lose focus; it is important to block out these people whilst you are presenting, as they could ruin your chance for a good grade. If your classmates are watching, make sure to focus on them, as they will be there to give you a friendly thumbs up and an encouraging smile – just be sure not to get the giggles. Ultimately, you need to put it into perspective; getting the presentation wrong and stumbling your words is not a serious situation, and won’t cause any consequences – so relax, have fun and just try your best.