How to Give a Short Class Presentation Competently
by Kendra Harrell
Speak loudly but do not yell.
Speak slowly and clearly.
Smile, maintain good posture, and make eye contact with audience.
Be succinct: keep your presentation simple but make your words count.
Be engaging. How can your audience be interested in your presentation if you aren’t?
Vary your tone, don’t “read” your script; even if you are actually reading it, it doesn’t
have to sound that way.
If you mention a foreign word, put it on a slide – some people will not really understand
a new word without seeing it too.
Likewise, if you come across a word you are unfamiliar with, look up the pronunciation
or ask a professor/teacher/sage before you make a fool of yourself. Another solution
would be to replace the difficult word with a synonym. (Example: change “prevalent” to
Do not turn your back on your audience; it is extremely rude. ESPECIALLY do not go to
the computer where your slides are loaded, stay there, and read from the computer
without ever looking at your audience.
Dress professionally when giving your presentation – like you would for a job interview.
(Examples of what not to wear include shorts, flip-flops, a black bra under a white shirt,
DO NOT put your entire script in the slides.
DO NOT read your slides as you present.
Use slides for what they are: visual aids. Include pictures, make them aesthetic. Use
them to highlight ideas, words, or concepts.
Don’t use fancy transitions and effects, they will only make your slideshow look cheesy
and will draw away from your presentation.
Spell-check your slides, but have someone else look them over, too. “Route” and “root”
are both spelled correctly, but they are not interchangeable in context.
Store your presentation on a flash drive in “PowerPoint Show” format so you can click &
go; this will keep you from having to navigate to “Slideshow” and click “Begin from
Save your PowerPoint in legacy (compatible with older versions) format – you can’t be
sure what version your presenting computer will have.
Email yourself a copy of the presentation if possible, in case there is a problem with your
flash drive, the USB port, or other technical difficulties.
Use standard fonts. Your computer might have Zappywigserif44, but your presenting
machine likely won’t.
If technical difficulties are irresolvable, be prepared to give your presentation sans
slideshow. Your slides are not your presentation, just a background to it.
Don’t inject too much opinion into your presentation unless the project directs you to
specifically do so. You are a reporter; be impartial.
In conjunction with the above, do not fear-monger or seek to sensationalize simply to
get attention. Stay in the realm of mainstream sanity. You must maintain credibility in
the eyes of your audience.
Conclude your presentation so that your audience knows it’s over, don’t just trail off or
get to the last slide and say “that’s it.”
If you have a verbal tic (“um,” “like,” “so, yeah,” “uh,” etc.) practice is especially
Try to pace your breathing in rehearsal so that you do not speed up, run out of breath,
panic, and get flustered.
Rehearsal is not optional prep – and you must do it in front of real people. Get your
parents on Skype, call friends over for a movie night and surprise them with a
presentation on Surrealism during the intermission, whatever it takes. Rehearse twice
Use observations from rehearsal to eliminate awkward phrasing, awkward pauses, and
to mark your script exactly where you need to change slides.
Make sure to time your rehearsals so that you will stay within/meet your time limit.
As an audience member
Do not heckle, comment, or raise your hand during the presentation. Questions should
come at the end.
Stay in your seat. The middle of someone else’s presentation is not the right time for a
If you are late to class, wait outside or in the doorway until the presenter is done, then