instructors can improve any presentation by

The Ultimate Guide to Effective Teacher Presentations: Strategies & Tips

Dianne Adlawan

Teachers, by nature, are considered professional presenters. Their main responsibility is to talk in front of their students to relay educational knowledge, sharpen their minds and skills, and even serve as a second guide alongside their parents. They also speak in front of parents, co-teachers, and school administrators. This just means that preparing for a presentation is already not new to them.

Still, teachers can become so comfortable with their presentation routine that their techniques turn into autopilot. The result of a repetitive task can become tiring and not challenging anymore which may result in students losing interest or attention span in the process.

The tips featured in this article are dedicated to these hard-working professionals. This will help them prepare and perform a better presentation in front of any type of audience.

Why You Should Prepare for a Presentation

• Preparation helps you build to structure your thoughts to create a well-organized presentation. By taking the time to prepare, you can decide what information is most important, plan the flow of the presentation, and make sure that everything is connected and easy to follow.
• Second, it allows you to think ahead of the questions that your audience might ask. Especially if you’re giving a presentation to a group of various audiences, who are curious about the topic at hand. By preparing in advance, you’ll be able to answer any questions they may have, which will not only increase their understanding but also boost your credibility as a teacher.
• Lastly, preparation helps you make the most of your time. Advanced preparation ahead of the presentation can ensure that you’re not wasting time trying to organize your thoughts at the last minute.

Effects of an Organized and Well-Planned Presentation

An audience engages with a speaker who knows their words and poses a confident attitude. While the projector may display clear and concise slides, the presenter is the main ingredient to every presentation.

For teachers, a well-planned lesson presentation helps the teacher maintain the attention and interest of their students, which is crucial for effective learning. Additionally, being organized and prepared will help teachers convey their ideas more effectively and it will help the teacher to feel more confident, which also impacts their teaching and in turn can help to build trust and rapport with their students.

Possible Outcomes of An Unprepared Presentation

Let’s suppose you haven’t allocated enough time to plan and prepare for an important presentation. What could be the potential outcomes?

• Increased Stress and Anxiety: Lack of preparation can lead to increased anxiety and stress, which can not only hinder your ability to deliver a convincing presentation but also hurt your mental health and work balance. It can cause a “mental block,” causing you to lose focus and concentration during your delivery.
• Poor Presentation Delivery: Without proper preparation, your presentation can appear scattered and disjointed. This can lead to an incoherent message that fails to convince your audience.
• Diminished credibility: Delivering an unprepared presentation can harm your reputation as a professional. It can portray you as disorganized and unreliable which could lead your colleagues or students to question your competence and reliability.

Effective Visual and Content Organization Tips

Consider this as the first stage towards an effective teacher presentation. Before moving on to improving your verbal communication cues, let’s enhance first your presentation visuals and content.

Visual Tips

1. add powerpoint animations and different media.

Establishing an attractive slideshow is one of the keys to a successful presentation. This will put a good impression on your audience that you’re prepared just by seeing how well-designed your presentation is. Of course, images add to slideshow attraction, but consider adding another forms of media such as GIFs and videos, as well as animations! Microsoft PowerPoint has a lot of fun & captivating features that you may not be aware of. Check out this example of an easy yet appealing Slide Zoom trick in PowerPoint that you can add to your presentation to wow your audience.

@classpoint.io Did someone say FREE??? Yes, we did. Here are free websites to help you upgrade your next PowerPoint presentation! 😎 #powerpoint #presentation #design #studytok #edutok #tutorial #tipsandtricks #ai ♬ original sound – r & m <33

Read Next: Make Your Presentations POP With This PowerPoint Animation Template

2. Use Readable Font Styles

Make sure to use the best font style that makes your presentation look sleek, readable, and won’t strain your audience’s eyes while reading. We all want to use a fancy font, trust me, I get it. But most of the time, simplicity is beauty, especially if you’re presenting a professional-looking slideshow. Font styles such as Poppins, Tahoma, Verdana, Montserrat, and Helvetica are great examples of font styles that screams simple yet professional to look at.

On the other hand, font styles such as Bradley Hand, Comic Sans, and Chiller are not ideal choices as they are not meant to captivate your audience’s eyes. And another tip is to stick to two or three fonts only!

3. Use Relevant Graphics

Selecting graphics for designing your presentation depends on your audience and the goals you aim to achieve with the presentation. For example, if you are presenting in front of students and your goal is to keep them engaged, motivated, and actively participating, then you might consider incorporating charts, tables, and relevant shapes into your design.

It’s important to remember that your presentation design should align with the theme of your topic.

Free Websites to Upgrade your Presentation Graphics:

• Craiyon. com
• The Noun Project

4. Use Audience Engagement tools to Activate Learning

Want the quickest solution to an engaged audience? Well, it’s audience interactive activities! Adding interactive activities to your presentation can help keep your audience engaged and interested. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use ClassPoint, an audience engagement tool added right into PowerPoint presentations.

With ClassPoint, you no longer need to worry about strategies to keep your students engaged, as this tool transforms PowerPoint into a teacher presentation tool with a teacher toolbelt and student quizzes , polls, and games that make presentations more fun & engaging.

By combining ClassPoint with your presentation techniques, you can focus solely on setting up your lesson content in PowerPoint and allow ClassPoint to handle the rest for achieving a learning-activated presentation lesson .

🔍 Learn more about ClassPoint, the teacher add-in for better lessons & student engagement 👍

5. Use a Laser Pointer

Help focus your audience attention by using a laser pointer!

With the help of a laser pointer device, teachers are able to attract the attention of their audiences and concentrate on essential points in their presentations. Highlighting these main ideas and terms assists the speaker in organizing their speech, preventing distraction, and increasing retention of the information presented.

You can use a physical laser pointer & clicker, or with the addition of ClassPoint into PowerPoint, presenters can easily turn their cursor into a laser or a spotlight . This can make it even easier for students to follow along and is a convenient tool for creating a more captivating teacher presentation.

Secret tip: if you write on your slide with the laser, it will leave disappearing ink! 🪄

Content Tips

1. research and fact-check your presentation.

As educators, it is crucial to equip ourselves with reliable and accurate information before presenting to our students. We have a responsibility to not only educate them but to also mold them into critical thinkers who are equipped with factual knowledge. Without thorough fact-checking, we risk disseminating misinformation and hindering their intellectual growth.

To avoid such situations, we must prioritize research and fact-checking before presenting any information. Conducting research helps us not only in finding accurate information but also in ensuring that the sources we use are reliable and credible. Moreover, taking the time to fact-check demonstrates our commitment to providing students with high-quality education and the desire to create a safe and accurate learning environment.

2. Be Prepared to Anticipate Questions during the Presentation

It is important to be well-prepared for a presentation especially anticipating and addressing questions. This applies particularly to a teacher presentation, as educators face varied expectations and questions. Adequate preparation allows you to organize ideas and justifications, and it can deepen understanding, boost confidence, and improve adaptability. Addressing questions, makes your audiences feel heard and appreciated. This will result in comprehensive presentations, enhanced confidence, improved information flow, and an atmosphere of respect and understanding.

A great & visual way you can elaborate, or explain your material in new ways, is by using ClassPoint’s whiteboard tools added to PowerPoint. ClassPoint’s added toolbar presents teachers with unlimited whiteboard slides they can open whenever they need, and user-friendly yet comprehensive pen tools with available shapes, and text boxes. Plus you can also use ClassPoint’s quick poll or other question types to assess students’ understanding with hard data & insights.

Addressing questions well makes your audience or students feel heard & appreciated leading to improved learning, enhanced confidence, and a respectful, safe learning environment.

3. Provide an Outline Structure of your Content

When you are preparing your presentation, it is best to first create an effective outline structure that will guide your presentation flow and help you focus on the main learning objective. But what you may not be doing, is offering that outline structure to your students, but you should!

Providing students with a clear understanding of what this lesson is about, the structure of the lesson, and what they will be able to take away from it is important. By doing so, you can help students stay focused and follow along with the material. Additionally, you are setting expectations and ensuring that everyone is on the same page, which can help promote student autonomy. So, include an outline at the start of your presentation lesson.

Step-by-Step Strategies for a Successful Presentation

Before presentation, know your audience, your students, or observers.

Once you have completed your deck, you may want to add a guide script and any additional notes with important points you don’t want to forget or you want to highlight in your presentation to impress your students .

Practice your presentation delivery/lesson

Practice delivering your presentation give you a chance to fine-tune your content and get your facts down. This will help you become more comfortable with the material and identify areas that need improvement. You can practice in front of a mirror, record yourself and watch it back, or even rehearse with a colleague or friend. When practicing, pay attention to your posture, tone of voice, and pacing. By doing so, you’ll be able to deliver a confident and engaging presentation that will captivate your audience.

Use a friendly tone of voice and pace

Adjust your tone to match your message, and avoid speaking too quickly so that your audience will get the chance to absorb the information you’re sharing. By being mindful of these aspects, you will capture your audience’s attention and leave them feeling informed and inspired.

Use engaging body language

Body language is essential for engaging your audience during a presentation. Stand up straight, make eye contact, and use hand gestures to emphasize important points. You can also move around the classroom to keep your students’ attention. By using engaging body language, you’ll be able to convey your message more effectively and keep your students interested throughout the presentation. You’ve got this!

During Presentation

Create an icebreaker.

Having an icebreaker is a warm-up for your students’ brains, allowing you to focus and engage with the material being presented. It also helps break down any barriers or tension between the presenter and the audience, making for a more relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Additionally, an icebreaker provides an opportunity for the presenter to showcase their creativity and personality, adding an extra level of excitement and engagement to the presentation.

Good thing that ClassPoint has numerous features to help you perform an entertaining and unforgettable icebreaker. Here are some examples that you can use during an icebreaker.

• Quick Poll : Quick Poll allows you to create interactive polls right inside your presentation. When used as an icebreaker, it can engage the audience, initiate discussions, and provide valuable insights that help tailor the content to participants’ preferences.
• Word Cloud: Presenters can ask thought-provoking questions related to the topic or general interest. Using Word Cloud, the audiences can answer through their mobile which can be instantly seen as collective responses, with the most frequently mentioned words appearing larger.
• Short Answer : In short answer, you can challenge your audiences’ thought process in a short-form writing activity with no options to get from to test their ability to understand.
• Image Upload : Using single image, audiences can interpret what they feel like, or their mood using only the photos in their gallery or surroundings. A creative yet fun way for an icebreaker!

Speak clearly

Effective communication is crucial when presenting important information to students. Speaking clearly helps ensure that students understand the concepts being taught and follow instructions effectively. As a teacher, it’s important to focus on clear speech to promote effective communication and help your students comprehend the material being presented.

Pay attention to your audience’s attention

Since distractions are aplenty, attention spans are dwindling, it’s important for presenters to captivate their audience’s attention right from the beginning. For teachers, when speaking in front of your class, you should not only focus on the content of your presentation but also on your students’ attention.

To ensure that your students won’t start drifting away or zoning out, start with a compelling opening that immediately grabs their attention. Use vivid storytelling, examples, or demonstrations to engage your students and drive home your message. Don’t forget the power of humor, and never be afraid to be yourself – authentic, passionate, and confident.

Add Personality: share short relatable stories

“A great personality makes everyone feel energized; just like a flower’s fragrance that freshens ups the complete surrounding.” 29 Personality Quotes to Achieve Greatness

As to what is stated in the quote, having a positive and vibrant personality affects the overall mood of your surrounding, it can capture the audience’s attention and maintain their interest throughout the presentation. While the ultimate goal is to deliver a presentation rich with new learnings and knowledge, adding humor can do no harm to lift up the mood in the room. You might want to start by segueing a short story that your students can relate to and make interactions by encouraging them to share a story too or ask questions.

Post-Presentation Reflection

Take the comments by heart.

Receiving feedback from your students is a great way for evaluating the efficacy of a teacher presentation. This can help you identify areas where you can improve and tailor your teaching tactics to better suit the needs of your students. Listening to your students’ feedback can also promote a feeling of cooperation and enable them to become more actively involved in the learning experience. So, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback and take it to heart in order to continually improve your presentations.

Experienced educators understand that they are perpetually crafting their skills, and feedback from their audience brings an opportunity for professional advancement. In addition, accepting audience feedback illustrates esteem and worth for the students’ views. It promotes a feeling of cooperation and enables students to become more actively involved in the learning experience.

Preparing for a presentation is essential for teachers to deliver engaging and impactful content to their students. By structuring thoughts, anticipating questions, and preparing ahead, teachers can achieve a well-organized presentation that will enhance the students’ understanding and leave them feeling confident.

By following our strategies and tips teachers can achieve successful lessons using PowerPoint presentations. And, with the help of an advanced educational technology tool like ClassPoint, teachers can create dynamic and memorable presentations that their students will enjoy and actively participate in.

Try out ClassPoint today and experience a whole teacher presentation in PowerPoint! ✨

About Dianne Adlawan

Try classpoint for free.

All-in-one teaching and student engagement in PowerPoint.

Supercharge your PowerPoint. Start today.

500,000+ people like you use ClassPoint to boost student engagement in PowerPoint presentations.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Chapter 6 Instructor Guide: Preparing for a Presentation

Instructor guide.

Note: The instructor guide provides ideas for how to engage with the chapter. It can be adapted to an instructor’s pedagogical context, and is intended only to suggest approaches. There are myriad ways to deliver content depending on student level, delivery mode, and time allotted to a given topic, and users are encouraged to be creative in any way that suits their style and needs. Learners may also use the instructor guide as a tool for a self-guided experience.

Learning Goals

• List the key factors required to prepare an effective presentation
• Identify steps used to create a presentation
• Plan to deliver an effective presentation with confidence

Summary of the Chapter

This chapter describes in-depth some practical and essential aspects for creating and delivering effective presentations. Some critical elements, such as preparation and practice, make it easier to execute. These alone will not be adequate for a decent presentation; a good amount of energy and physical and mental rest are also required. This chapter offers suggestions like creating flashcards with information about the presentation in bullet points to help remember the talking points while practicing. Because the audience is not physically present if the presentation is virtual, various additional details must be managed. The chapter also discusses some points for an effective virtual presentation.  

Considerations for Lesson Planning

Sessions devoted to effective presentations can be a compilation of activities. When introducing strategies for building and delivering presentations, it can be useful to watch examples of effective and ineffective presentations, and to discuss which elements affect the presentations watched. It can helpful, also, to invite guest speakers for various course-specific topics and then ask students to reflect upon their experiences with each speaker. Importantly, learners need to recognize that there is not one specific way to deliver a successful presentation — focusing on clarity, delivery, and the rhetorical situation (Chapter 1) guides learners towards strong presentation skills.

Practice! Practice! Practice! It’s important to give learners opportunities to experiment with different presentation elements and delivery styles. Consider, also, offering content related to reducing nervousness, deep breathing, and the physiology of stage fright.

Assessment Strategies

Presentations can be assessed by focusing on different components of the whole. For example, consider assessing for delivery (i.e., clarity of speaking, pacing, eye contact, body language, etc.) separate from the content that is delivered where the instructor would be focused on the research and actual information the learner is delivering. In many cases, students become especially nervous when speaking in public, so reducing the “weight” of a delivery score within the whole grade of the presentation can serve to alleviate some worries.

Other elements to assess can include slide design (if slides are used), organization of the content, use of citations and references, etc.

Additional Resources

Algonquin College Library, How to Create an Effective Presentation , (Jan. 20, 2016). [Online Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXYxManvI8E . [Accessed Nov. 12, 2021].

Algonquin College Library, How to Deliver an Effective Presentation , (Jan. 20, 2016). [Online Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4y1OO9rppA . [Accessed Nov. 12, 2021].

L. Atwood, C. Westin. Business Presentation Skills: Speaking and Presentation Skills for Business. BCCampus. E-book. [Accessed January 1, 2022].

G. Lay, “Standing Ovation”, [nd], Noun Project [online]. https://thenounproject.com/icon/standing-ovation-969109/

M. Shwantes, “9 Helpful Tips to Calm Your Nerves Before Speaking,” 2017, https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/9-simple-tricks-to-overcome-your-fear-of-speaking.html [Accessed January 1, 2022].

Tech Adapt: Emerging Technologies and Canadian Professional Contexts Copyright © 2022 by Victoria M. Abboud is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

• Request a Consultation
• Workshops and Virtual Conversations
• Technical Support
• Course Design and Preparation
• Observation & Feedback

Teaching Resources

Improving Presentation Style

Resource overview.

Strategies for making your presentation style more effective in the classroom

Effective lecturers combine the talents of scholar, writer, producer, comedian, showman, and teacher in ways that contribute to student learning.”

Wilbert J. McKeachie, Teaching Tips

An effective teacher is an excellent communicator and therefore thinks about improving his or her presentation skills. One of the most important aspects of communicating is shaping both content and style to fit your audience. In the classroom, if you cannot communicate in a way that is both comprehensible and interesting to your students, their learning will be greatly reduced.

To strengthen your presentation skills, focus on improving your skills in these three areas:

Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

• Find out all you can about the room in which you will be presenting. Visit the room ahead of time to familiarize yourself with its size and layout, as well as the type of chalkboards, chalk, erasers, and multimedia available. In addition, obtain any necessary training on the multimedia.
• Use the classroom as a stage. Move around to engage and interact with your audience. Do not stand in one spot the entire time. Move with purpose; do not walk aimlessly.
• Prepare. Preparation is essential. All excellent teachers are well prepared for each class. Practice in the room if you can, especially if you are new to teaching. In addition, prepare yourself emotionally and psychologically by taking the time to organize your thoughts and to look forward to teaching before every class.
• Speak loudly and clearly. Project your voice and face your audience when you are speaking. Speak slightly louder than you do in a normal conversation. Use a microphone in a medium to large classroom. The class may include students with hearing problems. Moreover, a microphone will help ensure that students can hear you even when you turn to the chalkboard momentarily.
• Modulate the tone, pitch, and speed of your speech. Do not speak in a monotone. Vary the pitch and speed of your voice for emphasis and effect. Use appropriate pauses. Rather than using filler words such as “uh,” for example, simply pause before moving on to the next idea or point.
• Use gestures and facial expressions to help you explain, emphasize, and communicate the material. However, be careful not to develop distracting habits such as pacing or repeatedly adjusting your glasses or hair. To find out if you are unconsciously doing anything that may be distracting to your audience, have a colleague observe one of your classes or have your class videotaped. To schedule a videotaping and teaching consultation, call The Teaching Center at 935-6810.
• Develop a teaching persona. Decide how you want to be perceived and what mannerisms you want to have. For example, do you want to be quiet, humorous, formal, or informal? Whatever persona is right for you, aim to convey confidence and ease. Move with certainty and assuredness, and be careful not to seem pompous or intimidating.
• Show passion and enthusiasm for the topic. If you are not interested in the subject, you cannot expect your students to be interested, either. Point out the fascinating aspects of what they are learning.
• Do not read your notes or slides. Doing so will lower your energy level and lead your audience to feel less engaged.
• Interact with and pay attention to your audience. Make eye contact with the students, not with the wall or chalkboard. Build a rapport with the class. Make sure the class is with you (following and understanding what you are discussing). If they appear to be lost, take additional time to explain points and to ask and answer questions.
• Do not take yourself too seriously. Be able to laugh at yourself and your mistakes. Feel free to bring humor into the classroom, but direct it at yourself, rather than at your students’ questions and ideas.
• Keep track of the time. Do not start early or end late. The students often do not recall or listen to information presented after the class period is technically finished.

Effective Use of the Chalkboard and Visual-Aids

Using the Chalkboard

• Write legibly and big enough that your writing can seen in the back of the room.
• Think about the organization of the material on the board.
• Fill one board at a time, starting at the top of each board and writing down.
• Do not scrunch in words at the very bottom of the board or in the margins. The students in the back will not see the words at the bottom, and no one will see the words in the margins.
• Underline or mark major assumptions, conclusions, etc.
• Use color to emphasize points.Before the course starts, determine which colors are most visible in the back of the room.
• Erase a board only when you have run out of room.
• If you find a mistake on a previous board, do not erase it. Cross it out, then write the correction in, which is what the students must do.

Using Visual Aids, such as PowerPoint Slides

• Do not use visual aids unless they serve a clear and important purpose. Visuals should aid quick comprehension and support the main points.
• Book and check out the presentation equipment in advance.
• Talk to your audience and not to the screen.
• Use the visuals to enhance your presentation, not as a substitute for a verbal presentation.
• Use a pointer, if necessary.
• Coordinate the audio and the visual.
• Design your visuals with clarity and simplicity in mind.

Effective Design and Meaningful Organization of Content

Visual Design Suggestions

• Use single words or phrases.
• Organize the content visually.
• Choose a font that is easy to see. Choose a font that is simple, plain, and easy to read such as Times New Roman, Ariel, or Helvetica. Select a font size that is large enough to be seen at the back of the room. The minimal acceptable size is typically 24-point. Use both upper- and lower-case letters; all upper-case letters are difficult to read.
• Keep the design simple. Too many words, graphics, or different colors are distracting and cause students to miss the important points.
• Use short quotes, not long extracts, from documents.
• Assign a title for each visual. Doing so will help your audience organize and retain the information on each visual.
• Use summary lists.
• Limit the number of ideas on each visual. For example, limit the number of bullets on a page to approximately 4 to 6. Each bullet should be short, approximately one line. Do not crowd the visual with text; it will be too difficult to read.
• Use color for emphasis and organization. Color is useful, but needs to be used judiciously. The color should be used for emphasis or for distinguishing among data. Think about the color wheel: adjacent colors blend together and colors directly opposite each other are contrasting and provide better readability. Reds and oranges stand out, but are hard to continually focus on; therefore, use these colors only for emphasis. Greens, blues, and browns are easier to continually focus on, but do not grab a person’s attention.
• Design diagrams and tables that are simple and clear, with readily recognized symbols. Your audience must be able to read all data in your diagrams and tables. Often, this means that you will have to simplify a more complex or detailed table or diagram that has been prepared for a printed format.
• Use horizontal (landscape) layout, not vertical (portrait). Screens, video monitors, and computer monitors are shaped for a horizontal, not a vertical, format. In addition, a horizontal format is easier to project in rooms with low ceilings.

Content Organization Suggestions

• Plan the content. Think about the type of students in the class, the goals for the course and the current session, the type of material to be presented in the current session, and the type of media, if any, that you are going to use.
• Provide a structure. Each class session or presentation should have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
• List objectives or provide an outline at the beginning of each class session. Providing an outline helps students identify the most important points and follow the lecture or discussion more effectively.
• Organize course content with a theme or storyline. How do you want to arrange the material? How does each part of the material relate to what comes next.
• Remember that a typical student’s attention span is 15-20 minutes. Every 15-20 minutes, either change your teaching method or change activities. Use different teaching methods in one session to keep the students’ attention and to reach students who have different learning preferences. (See Teaching with Lectures .)
• Allow for pauses and “wait-time.” Wait-time is the pause after the instructor either asks a question or asks for questions. Students need time to think of a response to a question, or to think of a question to ask. Do not be afraid of silence. Most instructors wait 1-3 seconds for a response. However, increasing the wait-time to 5-10 seconds dramatically increases the number and quality of responses. (See Asking Questions to Improve Learning .)

Clark, Donald. “Making Presentations that Audiences Will Love.” PowerPoint Presentation. http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/templates/presentations.ppt .

—.“Monthly Speaking Tips.” LJL Seminars. http://www.ljlseminars.com/monthtip.htm .

“Common Visual Aids.” Faculty Development Committee. Honolulu Community College. http://letsgetengaged.wikispaces.com/file/view/using_visual_aids.pdf

“Creating Visual Aids That Really Work: Designing Effective Slides Using PowerPoint.” Effective Communications Group (ECG), Inc.  http://ecgcoaching.com/library/ps/powerpoint.php

Davis, Barbara Gross. “Delivering a Lecture.” Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 1993.

Edwards, Paul N. “How to Give an Academic Talk.” School of Information. University of Michigan. http://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/howtotalk.pdf .

McKeachie, Wilbert, et al. McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.

“Presentations.” Teaching and Learning Center. Eastern Kentucky University.

Sammons, Martha. “Students Assess Computer-Aided Classroom Presentations.” The Journal Online, May 1995. http://thejournal.com/articles/1995/05/01/students-assess-computeraided-classroom-presentations.aspx?sc_lang=en

Have suggestions?

If you have suggestions of resources we might add to these pages, please contact us:

[email protected] (314) 935-6810 Mon - Fri, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Student Presentations and Strategies for Audience Engagement

Guides & tips.

WR 111, WR 112, WR 120, and WR 151 all require oral presentations for students and value these opportunities for students to speak to their peers. However, instructors sometimes struggle to sustain engagement on the part of the rest of the class during presentations. The following list provides some strategies to motivate audience members to be active listeners, to maintain a supportive and interactive classroom environment, and to help all students benefit from the time spent on presentations.

Guide to Oral/Signed Communication in Writing Classrooms

Setting Up Interactive Presentations

The choices instructors make when assigning presentations and establishing seating arrangements and other classroom logistics can go a long way toward helping all students pay attention to and benefit from presentations.

• Seating and Classroom Logistics Consider a U-shaped seating arrangement (semi-circle) or a circle; the presenter can see all members of the audience, and audience members cannot “hide” the way they might in rows. In some cases, presenters might speak from their chair within the circle, rather than standing (though of course slides/technology also must be considered).
• Pair or Group Presentations In WR 111 and WR 112, group presentations are the norm; students engage in different, often deeper, ways with the content of their presentation when they must come to a consensus with their group about how to present it. While pair or group presentations are not always appropriate in WR 120 or WR 151, a series of six group presentations, for example, takes up significantly fewer class days and slows down the class rhythm less than eighteen individual presentations would.
• Even if students typically take notes on laptops or other electronic devices, setting a standard expectation that devices must be put away during presentations helps the audience focus on the presenters. Paper raters’ sheets may be provided for the presentations, or students can be encouraged to take notes in notebooks, but setting aside their devices shows a level of respect to the presenters.
• Before presentations begin (perhaps when discussing class participation early in the semester), consider making explicit the assumptions about being a supportive and attentive audience member.
• Specify “Audience Responsibilities” on the assignment sheet for all oral presentations. Some instructors go one step further and keep track of audience members who ask questions or offer comments after presentations; you may then give students points for these comments, on their own presentation grade or class participation grade, or you may count these as extra labor opportunities, if applicable to your grading contract.

Facilitating Peer Review of Presentations

Including peer feedback after presentations ensures that students see their classmates (not just their instructor!) as their main audience, facilitates student participation and active listening, and helps students learn from their peers’ presentations. This kind of feedback has been standard practice in ELL contexts for years and is also applicable to mainstream classes.

• Instruct the audience to take notes on the presentation.
• Have the presenter end their presentation by talking about some of the challenges they faced while preparing for and executing the presentation (this required reflection should be clearly conveyed in advance in the assignment sheet for the presentation). The presenter provides information about what they felt went well as well as their thoughts on where they could improve in the future.
• Students respond to the presenter’s comments, identify one element of the presentation that was particularly strong, helpful, or effective, and provide suggestions and specific points on which the presenter can improve in terms of content and/or delivery.

Here’s  an example  of a peer feedback form used after some oral presentations; feel free to use or adapt for your own classes and specific kinds of presentations. An additional model for peer evaluation of presentations comes from the Mount Holyoke Speaking, Arguing, and Writing Program , with a similar feedback form for audience members to complete.

Continuing the Conversation After Presentations

• In-Class Writing Especially in WR 111 or WR 112, instructors may ask students to write in class based on a question, point, or quote that arose in a peer’s oral presentation. You may want to ask the presenter to generate a question for the class to write on, or you may want to create a question yourself on the basis of the presentation, perhaps extending one of the presenter’s points to another text that has previously been discussed, etc.
• Discussion Board Contributions Whether you use the Blackboard discussion board, Jamboard, Padlet, or another tool, instructors may ask students to engage with the content of a peer’s oral presentations on the class discussion board. Students may be asked to make one comment and to raise one question that arose after listening to their peer’s presentation, and regular contributions to the discussion board may be part of the graded work in the course and/or the course contract.

Published on: 31 May 2021 , 10 mins to read

Becoming a great trainer: How to improve your presentation skills

In-person seminars and workshops, move aside. With the rise of remote work, and the digital transformation it has ushered, online presentations, webinars, and web conferences are becoming more and more of a norm. For trainers, this means it’s time to learn how to improve presentation skills.

No matter how much technology changes things, creating a successful training experience still relies on the human aspect. To be able to lead great instructor-led online learning sessions, whether it’s a webinar for employees or a sales demo for clients, you need to know how to be a good presenter.

But for many people, speaking in public is hard. And speaking in public via a Zoom screen is… surprisingly still hard. Is presenting a talent you simply weren’t born with?

Short answer: No . Like with every other skill, being a good presenter can absolutely be taught. If you’re looking for ways to improve presentation skills, read on.

In this article, we’ll cover everything from the most common challenges of online presentations and presentation tips that will keep your audience hooked, to all the practical things you need to consider beforehand.

The challenges of online presentations

As everyone quickly realized during the pandemic, online presentations come with their own set of challenges. Without the element of the instructor’s physical presence in the same room with learners, it can be really hard to keep the levels of engagement from dropping.

For learners, long Zoom lectures where the presenter just goes through slide after slide without asking for their questions or participation is a passive experience . For presenters, it can feel like they’re talking to the void — especially if people have their cameras turned off. It’s a lose-lose situation.

Precisely because physical presence is absent, communication and active participation in online presentations are key in order to make the experience a conducive one to learning. But if the presenter is not familiar enough with the format or with delivering presentations in general, this can be hard to pull off.

Building your presentation skills

So how to improve your presentation skills if you don’t have experience with online presentations? Here are some things you can do:

Take courses

You know you’re great at your job. (If you weren’t, you probably wouldn’t be giving lectures and teaching others about it.) But being great at any given profession and teaching it are two very different skills.

So if you’re stressing out over how to be a good presenter, you can start by taking a relevant course. For example, this TalentLibrary™ course will show you the importance of presentation in selling a product or service and guide you through the art of storytelling.

Attend online presentations

To be a great novelist, you need to read a lot of books in your genre. To improve presentation skills, you need to watch other presenters. Joining webinars and online sessions, even in different subject matters than your niche, will give you a precious perspective.

Being on the side of the audience , you can notice things that bother you and make sure to avoid them when the time comes. Or you can identify the things you liked and incorporate them into your own presentation.

Do practice runs — on camera

Preparing your material and doing a couple of practice runs are always expected before every presentation. And when your presentation is an online one, you should really add the camera into the mix. For one, it will give you the chance to test your equipment and ensure your setup works for you (more on that below).

But also recording yourself and then watching the recording will allow you to see what your learners see .

• Are you going through your slides too fast or too slow?
• Is your intonation monotonous or are you talking naturally?
• Should you speak louder?

Unless you see yourself on camera, there really is no way to answer those questions or adjust accordingly.

How to deliver an engaging online presentation

Part of any good presentation is how well you speak in front of an audience. But in an online presentation, there are several other ways you can leverage the technology at hand to create engagement. These presentation tips below will help you get started:

Let your personality shine through

Make a pun. Offer an extra tidbit of information you find intriguing. Insert a personal anecdote. Neither your learners nor your prospective clients want to listen to you read a manual out loud with slides in the background. You don’t have to turn into a comedian, if that’s not your thing, but adding a personal touch is a great way to get people to pay attention to what you’re saying.

Also, if your company brand allows it, it could be a good idea to give your webinar or training session a catchy name. This will convince attendees they’re probably not in for a boring time!

Encourage audience interaction

Having a Q&A session at the end of your webinar is great — but not enough. To keep your audience engaged so that they’re more than just passive listeners, encourage questions and conversation throughout. For example, whenever you finish a part of your presentation, pause and ask if there are questions. People aren’t willing to speak up? Pose questions yourself to get the ball rolling.

If you’re presenting through a video conferencing software like Zoom, you should use the chat feature . State from the beginning that people are welcome to ask questions or share their opinions and every now and then pause your presentation to address their comments.

Most video conferencing software nowadays has the option to divide participants into smaller rooms , where they can have more targeted conversations. Break them into groups of 3-4 people and provide one or two discussion subjects as starting points. You can cruise between the different groups to check everything is working. Then after 15-20 minutes or so you can bring everyone back for a broader conversation based on what was discussed in groups.

Keep your slides visually appealing and informative

There are two types of people: those who treat slides like pages of a book, loading them with a ton of text, and those who opt for almost blank slides with lists of bullet points. Neither of these types is going to keep an audience at the edge of its seat.

Since you’ll be probably sharing your screen for the most part of the presentation, you need your slides to be visually pleasant. Use interesting or funny images to illustrate a point. Highlight specific information with your pointer as you go along. If possible, add animation . And don’t stay in one slide for too long: about 2 minutes per slide should be your goal.

Extra tip: If you can’t find good visuals for a part of your presentation and you want to ensure your audience will pay attention, switch the camera back to your face. It will be like including a mini talking-head video in between slides.

Use unexpected multimedia elements

No matter how to-the-point and engaging you make them, slides alone are not going to cut it. As we’ve already seen, it’s a webinar best practice to engage your audience with questions often. A fresh way to do this is with an online poll.

Software solutions allow you to run real-time polls where you can ask people’s opinions about a subject and have their responses showcased on your shared screen. This will make your audience more likely to participate and pay attention — even if they’re too shy to talk in front of everyone.

You can also include short videos (no more than 1-2 minutes) or sound clips that are relevant to your subject matter, to offer some visual and auditory variety.

Don’t forget to hit “record”

Offering the recording (and the transcript) of your webinar afterward to anyone who’s missed it or wants to rewatch is considered a webinar best practice. But it can also be a bit tricky: if it’s live, you probably need to ask the permission of everyone present before recording.

Alternatively, you can make a pre-recorded version of your presentation without the audience, and share it with those who didn’t attend.

Before you start the presentation

So by now you have your “improve presentation skills game plan” down to pat. Time to focus on the small, technical details that can nevertheless have a big impact on your online session:

Find the right angle for your camera

How much of your background do you want to show? Which angle makes your face look better? (We all feel our face looks weird on camera, hence the tip on doing practice runs mentioned earlier.)

Spend some time figuring out how to position your laptop so that the camera angle works for you.

Check your lighting

Depending on what time you’re giving your presentation, natural light may not be available or it may change fast. It’s better to have a reliable light source, like a LED ring light mounted on top of your laptop.

Get a good microphone

Sure, you can use your laptop’s own microphone. But if you’re recording the session, it’s better to use a boom or lapel microphone to ensure your sound is crisp.

Familiarize yourself with the software you’re using

If you’re not very familiar with the video conferencing software you’ll be using for your presentation, it’s crucial to do a couple of test runs with friends or co-workers. You need to be able to divide people in break rooms fast and bring them back without any confusion. You also need to know how to give co-host rights to a member of the audience in case they need to share their screen to present something.

Join the event earlier

This goes without saying, but be there a good 10-15 minutes before your event starts. That way, you’ll have the necessary time to calibrate your camera and sound without anyone noticing — and be there to welcome any early arrivals. Just like you would do in a real-life classroom.

Improving your presentation skills is a marathon, not a sprint

Ultimately, a good presentation is one where participants leave having gained new knowledge. So, your role as a presenter is to keep them engaged and make learning stick. That’s why it’s important to collect feedback and learn how to improve yourself over time. And as technology changes, so will the tools you will have at your disposal to better achieve your goals.

Save time, frustration and money with TalentLMS, the most-affordable and user-friendly learning management system on the market. Try it for free for as long as you want and discover why our customers consistently give us 4.5 stars (out of 5!)

Try for free!

| Tags: eLearning Videos , Soft Skills Development

Christina Pavlou - Former Content Marketing Manager

Christina, ex-Content Marketing Manager at Epignosis, focuses on L&D, diversity, and enhancing workplace well-being. Learn how to improve your work environment. More by Christina!

You may also like

8 Tips To Produce Microlearning Videos For eLearning

5 reasons leadership training should be for all employees

How to master eLearning video storytelling

Popular articles, training evaluation methods: a comprehensive guide to techniques & tools.

1 month ago by Elena Koumparaki, 23 mins to read

The definitive guide to new employee orientation

2 years ago by Christina Pavlou, 17 mins to read

Would you take a pay cut to keep working remotely? 62% say no.

2 years ago by Athena Marousis, 17 mins to read

The top 26 most used online employee training tools

2 years ago by Christina Pavlou, 11 mins to read

Training Objectives: 5 Tips To Set Realistic Goals For Your Training

1 month ago by Aris Apostolopoulos, 9 mins to read

We love social, let’s connect!

Start your elearning portal in 30 seconds.

Get started it's free!

TalentLMS is free to use for as long as you want! You can always upgrade to a paid plan to get much more!

Rely on quality and security best practices

• Integrations
• Mobile apps
• Why TalentLMS
• Get TalentLMS free
• TalentLibrary
• TalentCraft
• Course providers
• Research by TalentLMS
• Blended learning
• What is an LMS?
• Our customers
• Training Excellence Awards
• Customer success

Discover Epignosis software

• Help center
• Terms of Service

• Business Skills
• Learning Strategy

How to Improve your Training Presentation Skills

on 25 Jan 2021

When executed well, even training presentations can be entertaining, engaging, have the audience rapt and motivate learners to perform better after it's over.

But, while 10% of people excel when giving presentations, a similar number have an extreme fear of them, experience panic attacks, anxiety and even melt-down.

Where do you stand on this spectrum? And how can you improve your own presentation skills? We have some simple steps to follow to help improve your presentation skills.

1. Identify the purpose of your training presentation

What are you trying to achieve? For example, are you trying to increase awareness, communicating a change in legislation, explaining real world experiences, or motivating the audience to change their working practices? How will you quantify success ?

2. Identify your target audience

Who is your intended audience? What level are they at? What prior knowledge might they have ( what do they already know ), etc?

3. Define your call to action

Always try to end your presentation on a high. Your audience may find this part the most memorable. State your learning objectives at the start of your presentation. Motivate the audience to reflect on what they've learnt, apply it to their own job or act on your message in some way.

4. Split your presentation into 3 parts

Planning and preparation, delivery and the big ending. This makes it more manageable enabling you to focus on each area.

5. Create a script

What exactly will you say and how will you say it ? How much should you say? (Saying too much will bore your audience.) Should you ad-lib? Will you need a slideshow? How can you make sure you cover all the points but still come across as genuine? Have a crib-sheet with the key points.

If you are video conferencing, having two screens will help, as you can see your presentation on one screen and use the second for your script to respond to any feedback. 

5. Choose an appropriate delivery mechanism

What's the best way of communicating with your audience? What's likely to appeal to them? How can you engage them ? Should you have break-out groups, audience participation, voting, a Q&A, a demonstration, etc?

Delivery mechanisms

Always ensure that your internal or external venue has all the facilities you need.

• Face-to-face at your office
• Face-to-face at an external venue
• Instructor-led e-learning
• Microlearning
• Informal (i.e. video conferencing)

7. Practise, practise and practise

Practise really does makes perfect. Rehearse your presentation with your colleagues . Or if it is not commercially sensitive why not try it with family or friends?

The more comfortable you are with what you're saying and how you deliver it, the better it will be.

8. Use positive body language

Use positive body language, including making eye contact with different people around the room, using open - rather than defensive - gestures, and avoiding any distracting mannerisms (such as jangling coins or keys).

If your presentation is via video conferencing make sure your lighting is good and use background blurring if you feel that your setting could be distracting.

9. Channel your adrenaline positively

Adrenaline affects people in different ways - some presenters dance around the room, some race through the script to the end, while others are rooted to the spot, devoid of all emotion.

Remember that all these responses are completely natural - prepare mentally like an actor who's about to go on stage.

10. Have a backup

If you're using technology, have a backup in case of equipment failure. Don't get flummoxed by a poor WiFi connection, and let all your preparations go to waste.

Remember that if you are video conferencing it is important that the learners have a good WiFi connection too!

Looking for more compliance insights?

If you'd like to stay up to date with best practices , industry insights and key trends across regulatory compliance, digital learning, EdTech and RegTech news subscribe to Skillcast Compliance Bulletin .

To help you navigate the compliance landscape we have collated searchable glossaries of key terms and definitions across complex topics including GDPR , Equality , Financial Crime and SMCR . We also track the biggest compliance fines , explaining what drives them and how to avoid them.

You can follow our ongoing YouGov research into compliance issues, attitudes and risk perceptions in the UK workplace through our Compliance Insights blogs .

Last but not least, we have 60+ free compliance training aids , including assessments, best practice guides, checklists, desk-aids, eBooks, games, handouts, posters, training presentations and even e-learning modules!

If you've any questions or concerns about compliance or e-learning, please get in touch.

We are happy to help!

Compliance Bulletin

Our monthly email provides best practices, expert opinions, industry insights, news and key trends in regulatory compliance training, digital learning, EdTech and RegTech.

Related Articles

• Risk Management

12 Ways to Protect Your Online Reputation

A digital presence can bring significant benefits to your firm, but it also brings risks. We have 12 tips to protect...

Continue reading

• Product News & Events
• Gamification

Skillcast at World of Learning 2023

Skillcast exhibited at World of Learning and hosted a seminar presenting a success story in collaboration with Dr....

• Health and Safety

Working from Home Compliance & Training Roadmap

Working from home can present specific compliance challenges. Our 3-step training roadmap will help you to get your...

• Presentation Skills

7 Tools to Improve Your Presentation Skills

Search SkillsYouNeed:

Rhubarb The blog at SkillsYouNeed

• Rhubarb Front Page -guidelines for contributors-
• Essential Strategies to Boost Your Public Speaking Confidence
• What is a Pitch Deck and Why Do You Need One?
• Enhancing Creativity: A Guide to Harnessing Mid-Journey Prompts for Image Creation
• Strategic Planning for Conference Success - A Step-by-Step Guide for Teams
• Effective Presentation Skills for Professionals
• Presentation Skills: Using AI To Help You Thrive in Your Presentations
• Mastering Soft Skills to Deliver Impactful Presentations
• How to Present Statistics and Analytics in an Effective Manner?
• Five Reasons Why Singing Lessons Will Be a Game Changer for Your Public Speaking Efforts
• Captivating Presentations: Techniques to Engage and Retain Your Audience
• How Can AI Help in Creating Winning Presentations?
• How to Dress to Impress During an Important Presentation
• How to Present Effectively to your Colleagues
• How to Become a Better Public Speaker
• How You Can Improve Your Video Editing Skills
• What is Your Story? How to Identify Your Story from Raw Data
• Why Public Speaking and Communication Are So Important to Your Career
• Preparing for Oral Presentations
• Learn Better Presentation Skills with TED Talks
• How to Get People to Actually Listen to What You’re Saying
• Can Presentation Science Improve Your Presentation?
• 7 Public Speaking Tips For Introverts
• Psychological Secrets for Effective Presentations

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and start improving your life in just 5 minutes a day.

You'll get our 5 free 'One Minute Life Skills' and our weekly newsletter.

We'll never share your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Deathly afraid of speaking in front of a crowd? Or maybe you just want to hone your presentation skills?

No matter your current skill level, perfecting your presentation skills is an ongoing process that can always be improved. From refining your delivery to engaging your audience, these skills are invaluable whether you're a student, a professional, or a seasoned speaker.

And while there's no shortcut to mastering public speaking, there are a wealth of tools available to help you on your journey.

Let’s cut to the chase: here are some essential tools that you can use to elevate your presentation skills !

1. Remote Clicker

There's nothing quite as momentum-breaking and inefficient as having to walk to your laptop while delivering a presentation to change slides. Or worse - having to tell someone "Next slide, please" after each slide, and then potentially encountering an odd dance of human error when the slides aren't what you're expecting.

If you want to do away with all that trouble, there's one handy tool that can help you out.

A remote clicker is a useful tool that enables you to control the pace of your slideshow presentation. If the conference room or venue you're presenting in doesn't have one, bring your own wireless remote control for personal use. Many Bluetooth remote clickers can work across and connect with multiple devices. These can be found in online retailers.

Besides controlling slideshow slides, these clickers also stop and start videos and help facilitate the Q&A segment of your presentation—which can make your presentation smoother overall.

2. Presentation Software

When it comes to creating memorable and appealing slides, having the right software can make a world of difference.

Fortunately, there are many software options available that are capable of helping you craft creative and appealing slides. Microsoft PowerPoint is the industry standard when it comes to presentation software, offering a wide range of tools and templates to create professional-looking slides. Prezi is another well-known slideshow maker known for its unique zooming and panning effects, allowing users to create dynamic and interactive slideshows that can captivate an audience.

Another good slideshow maker is Google Slides . This integral part of the Google Suites offers similar features to that of PowerPoint, but it also embraces a collaborative spirit by enabling multiple users to work on a presentation at once.

3. Projector

When delivering a presentation in a large venue, you'll want everyone to be able to see it—no matter where they are in the room.

To accomplish this, you'll need to have a projector on hand that's capable of delivering large, high-resolution, and quality projections. The right projector helps convey your message without any notable drawbacks.

With a wide variety of this equipment in the market, consider factors such as brightness, resolution, and connectivity options before getting hold of one. Brightness is often measured by Lumens, and higher ones provide brighter presentations, which is especially good for presentations held outdoors.

Higher-res projectors provide clearer images for bigger screens.

And lastly, you'll want to get a projector that can connect to a wide variety of office devices—HDMI and VGA ports typically do the trick.

4. Adapters

To connect your laptop or presenting device to a projector, you will most definitely need adapters to bridge any compatibility gaps.

Adapters come in various types, such as HDMI, VGA, or USB-C, depending on the ports available on your devices and the inputs supported by the projector. These adapters enable seamless connectivity and ensure that your slides are actually shown on the screen—no errors or anything of that sort.

Of course, if you have a specific laptop or device on hand, it's important to check for compatibility between your devices and the projector to avoid any connectivity issues.

Additionally, you may consider wireless connectivity options that eliminate the need for physical adapters, such as Bluetooth. While more expensive, a wireless projector provides added convenience during your presentations—helping save time and reducing effort on set-up.

5. Voice Amplifier

While you can train yourself to project your voice louder, this won't always be effective in larger venues or with audience members farther away from the stage.

One way to fix this issue is by getting a voice amplifier. A voice amplifier is—as the name suggests—a portable device that amplifies your voice. This enables clarity and loudness, ensuring that everyone in the room can hear your message without straining.

As a start, seek out compact and lightweight voice amplifiers like here with practical designs. The ones that can allow you to adjust volume settings and wear a headset or put on a clip-on microphone are ideal. The difference of having a voice amplifier accompany you during speeches is like night and day. So if you want to confidently deliver your presentation with improved clarity and engagement, definitely consider getting one.

6. Portable Timer

Keeping track of time during a presentation is crucial to ensure that each of your sections is smooth and everything is wrapped up by the end of your allotted timeslot.

And while our phones have timers, it's not exactly a good look to hold or silence your phone during presentations. Instead, consider propping up a portable timer in a good vantage point from the stage to help you manage your presentation time effectively.

The best part about timers is that they're fairly discreet. You won't need anyone to come up to you mid-presentation to tell you you only have five minutes left, which can be distracting your audience.

By using a portable timer, you can maintain control over your presentation's timing, stay on schedule, and deliver a polished and professional talk .

7. External Speakers

While your voice amplifier is good for your vocal clarity, external speakers help you play out the audio playback or multimedia segments in your presentation.

When selecting external speakers for your presentation setup, consider their sound quality, compatibility, and portability.

If the venue is small, you can do away with a portable boom box connected to your laptop or playback device.

For larger venues, a more complicated sound system may be necessary—but these are usually provided by the venue providers, so don't hesitate to ask and figure out whether they have the right cables to connect to your personal devices.

Continue to: Top Tips for Effective Presentations Preparing for a Presentation

See also: How to Improve Your Presentation Skills How to Present Effectively to your Colleagues How to Improve your Public Speaking Skills

• Our Mission

4 Tips to Improve Slide Show Lessons

Carefully designed slides can help students stay focused and allow teachers to deliver more complicated lessons.

Done right, a slide show can be an extremely valuable part of any teacher’s tool kit. Through careful, precise design, they allow teachers to smoothly deliver lessons, as well as easily scaffold the activities for students. Done poorly, they can be a disorganized and distracting barrier that diminishes carefully constructed lessons.

Start by asking yourself these questions about all of the content on your website: “Is it taking up too much space?” “Will my students benefit from it?” and “Can it go somewhere else?” By considering these questions and being judicious with your content, you will see an improvement in the clarity of your presentations and the focus of your students.

I’ve found that these changes minimize distractions and maximize the impact of your presentations.

Slide Show Improvement Tips

1. Use animations to layer information. Animations should be used in a targeted, meaningful way. By animating a text box to appear, you can not only scaffold your activity but also choose when to show students extra steps or clues that might provide extra help.

For example, in my classes I like to give my students discussion activities. By animating different textboxes, I can help guide students in their conversations, introduce a new view they haven’t thought about, or get them to switch their discussion completely. Similarly, if you suspect you will need extra-challenging activities for some students, you can animate the activities to appear when and if you need them; this can help you deal with those students who finish five minutes before anyone else and keep you from having to improvise.

Animations help guide students’ focus by adding new information as it is needed rather than overloading them with it all at once. However, be careful not to animate things that do not need it, like a title or any other information you want visible straightaway.

2. Use easy-to-read fonts. Also consider the font you use. As a rule, you should aim to use a font that is clear and familiar to your students. Unusual fonts may look appealing or match the theme of your lesson, but for students they can be extremely difficult to read. Fonts should also be an appropriate size for all students in your classroom, especially those at the back. I have found that using between 24- and 32-point font sizes allows me to fit all the information I need, while having no complaints from back-tablers.

Unless you have established clear color codes (like green for easy, yellow for challenging, and red for difficult questions), refrain from using a spectrum of different colors in your fonts or your slides in general. Pick no more than three colors for your slide—more can range from looking messy to being downright confusing. I often prefer to choose just one color—for example, purple. I make my backgrounds a very light tone of that color and the font a very dark one, and this keeps my presentations simple while also allowing me some creative freedom when it comes to color-coding. If I want my students to discuss, I use blue; if I want them to self-assess, I use purple, and if I want them working independently, I use green. My students are used to these patterns and work better because of them.

3. Design using a grid. Maintaining consistency in your slide layout is very important. It helps students’ eyes stay comfortable because they do not have to hunt for the next piece of information.

It can be difficult to maintain consistency from slide to slide. A handy way to get started is to use a grid to align the different parts of your slide, where each box contains a different piece of media (whether text, a graph, or an image). By aligning content like this and by distributing it evenly across the slide, we appeal to the natural urge to see patterns, which has a calming effect on students as they digest the information. PowerPoint makes it very easy to use a grid: In the search bar, just type in “grid,” and the settings will appear.

4. Give students a visual timescale. A useful tool you can add to your slide shows is a timescale of the lesson. Timescales help guide students, showing them where the lesson is going and how they are going to get there. If you’ve ever taught a class where students seem restless and unable to focus, this might help them stay focused until the end of the lesson.

There are two main ways that I employ timescales in my classroom. The first is by numbering my activities throughout the lesson: 1/5, 2/5, etc. This works best when there are only a few big tasks that students will be expected to complete in the lesson. They are simply a visual reminder for students that there is a plan to the lesson.

A second technique is to have a more visual timeline at the bottom of your slide. I have tried using an orange circle for each activity in the lesson. As we progress, these turn green as a constant reminder to students that they are achieving something by moving through the work; this could be incentivized by giving students a reward if they complete the lesson. Timescales are easy to employ, and you might just find that they help students stay focused longer in your lessons.

These are tweaks that any teacher can employ to help make presentations more powerful and purposeful as a teaching tool. By keeping your slides neatly aligned, you will help your students feel more comfortable digesting important information. By cutting unwanted distractions, you will help students focus and stay more engaged in the lesson.

• Visit the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
• Apply to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
• Give to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Search Form

• Presentation Style

One of the best ways an instructor can engage their students is by modifying their presentation style. Classes don't have to be lecture heavy and monotonous and it can be helpful for students to mix up your presentation strategy to keep things fresh and keep students interested (Bain 2004). Here we have included some ways to consider adjusting your presentation style.

Prepare.  Of course, it's great to practice your lectures beforehand so you don't have to rely on reading off notes or slides. However, practicing your delivery can also be helpful. Play around with different gestures, facial expressions, and emphasis of words to change up your physical presence and speech patterns to keep students engaged (Gross Davis 1993). If your course is primarily online, consider having recorded videos posted on Canvas. Pre-recorded videos allow you to have multiple takes and include editing to make your presentation feel more dynamic. Preparation for in-person or online courses will also help with the stress before teaching.

Consider the verbal and non-verbal.  If possible, familiarize yourself with the classroom in which you will be teaching before the semester. The room can act as your stage, so it's helpful to feel confident in the space as well as the material. This will make you seem more relaxed so you can present material that fits your personality, helping avoid rigidity and unclear or monotonous speech. If your class is online, you can have the flexibility of having different backgrounds and settings based on where you decide to record. This too can help you create a dynamic video that keeps your students interested.

Keep your audience in mind.  Be sure to make eye contact, not just to show students you are paying attention to them, but to see how students are absorbing the information you are delivering (McKeachie 2005). Are people drifting off or seeming distracted? Do they look confused or overwhelmed? Keeping your audience in mind will allow you to present information according to their needs in ways that are difficult to cover during preparation.

Timing is key.  Be sure that your information is paced well with necessary breaks or pauses built into the lecture itself. This will help keep students more engaged during class, but it will help you run on time since students often don't pay as close of attention before or after the official class time. Consider creating a timeline for your classes to help provide structure and keep you on track.

Visual aids should be a friend, but not a crutch.  PowerPoints, whiteboards, images, and videos can all be helpful learning tools for your class. However, be careful to prepare before class, so they don't become a crutch for you to remember the information. Students are there for your instruction, relying too heavily on visual aids can lessen their interest as they feel they could have gotten this information on their own time (Sammons 1995).

Questions.  Before class, come up with some clear, direct questions that you can ask the class. Questions help break up your lecture and to engage students in their own learning. When designing classes, keep in mind the learning objectives for that specific material in addition to the overarching course goals. Consider asking one question at a time if you plan on continuing to lecture afterward to help keep focus. If the lecture section is complete, consider having students ask each other questions related to the material. For an online course, questions are particularly helpful for discussion boards or collaborative discussion formats like a shared Google Doc or Box folder. Other ideas for facilitating group discussions can be found on the Knute Broady Collection's Active Learning page .

For more ideas,  Washington University in St. Louis' effective lecture video  can be a helpful resource.

Bain, Ken. (2004). "What the Best College Teachers Do." Harvard University Press.

Gross Davis, Barbara (1993). "Delivering a Lecture." Tools for Teaching.

McKeachie, Wilbert, et al. (2005). "McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers." Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 12.

Sammons, Martha. (1995). " Students Assess Computer-Aided Classroom Presentations. "  The Journal Online.

• Student Engagement

Knute Broady Collection

• Active Learning
• Classroom Assessment
• Course Design
• Inclusive Teaching
• Large Enrollment Courses
• Student Participation
• Fresh Voices on Student Engagement
• Additional Materials
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

• Effective Teaching Strategies

Helping Students Find Their Voices: Four Corners of the Classroom

• October 10, 2011
• Lora Helvie-Mason Ed.D

Do you find that students often struggle to put together effective oral presentations? To help students, try this activity as a way to provide feedback before the big speaking day. The four-corners activity can foster confidence in students while informing them about effective non-verbal/verbal delivery, audience needs, and how to craft effective speaking notes.

Using the four corners of the classroom, each student delivers his or her presentation to a small group, receives individual feedback, and then rotates within that group from speaker to audience member. This activity is ideal for a full class period (50 minutes) and requires only a timer.

Here’s how to structure the four corners:

Preparation: You will want to schedule this activity at least a week before the presentation is due. Ask students to bring all of their speaking materials with them: rough draft outlines, final outlines, references, and speaking notes. It is okay if students have not fully completed their speech—they will still get something out of this activity. In fact, if a student tells me they don’t have speaking materials, I insist they participate using whatever materials they have. I begin setting up the classroom about 10 minutes before class begins. Desks should be moved to the four corners of your classroom. The desks should be facing the corner in a semi-circle. The speaker will stand with their backs to the corner and face a mini-audience of approximately five desks (depends on class size).

Activity: Next, divide the students into four groups (a group for each corner). I purposefully put students who may not know one another well, who can learn from one another, or who have similar issues, together in a group. The students will deliver their presentation to their mini-audience. Four speeches occur simultaneously. In a typical classroom, the mini-audience will have no trouble hearing their speaker. The teacher will move around the room, with the timer, and provide feedback. I generally stop each round of speeches at five minutes (which reflects my speaking assignments). At the end of the first round of speeches, allow a few minutes for the group to critique and offer suggestions for the speaker. Then, each group elects another member to speak and the process continues until all group members speak.

The instructor: The instructor moves around the room; stopping to listen in on each of the four groups and offer feedback. It is an easy way to hear where the class may struggle and learn what areas need improved for future instruction, too!

The audience: Depending on how structured you want the activity, you can give the audience a list of criteria to look for or even assign each student to a specific role. For example, one student can watch for non-verbal issues, one can critique the introduction and conclusion, and another can examine oral references. If you prefer something less structured, simply ask the students to provide general comments and feedback.

Results: Typically, students are actively involved, engaged, and excited for the “four corners” day. It is an activity that fosters peer-to-peer interaction and is a good way for students to practice in a non-threatening format. The instructor can provide targeted, individualized feedback on oral presentations before the big day. Best of all, this activity provides students with the chance to orally present their speech with a live audience. They can see where the gaps are, if their speaking notes are helpful, and what to change before presentation day.

Lora Helvie-Mason, EdD is an assistant professor of communication studies at Southern University at New Orleans.

Stay Updated with Faculty Focus!

Get exclusive access to programs, reports, podcast episodes, articles, and more!

• Opens in a new tab

Welcome Back

Username or Email

Remember Me

Already a subscriber? log in here.

• View your wishlist
• Share on Facebook
• Share on LinkedIn

5 Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills

“You need to enjoy doing what you’re doing, and if you don’t, it reads. Something in you needs to stand behind what you say or the audience will turn off.” - Adam Lazarus, public speaking expert

The latest free Knowledge Hub webinar featured public speaking expert and SCS instructor Adam Lazarus , who shared valuable insight into how anyone can begin to improve their presentation and communication skills. 

Lazarus kicked off the webinar by asking participants to picture someone who they think of as an excellent communicator and then share or make a note for themselves about what makes that person great at communication.

“It’s very important to articulate for yourself what you think is great so that you have a measure for yourself of what you want to emulate,” he explained. 

“I’m going to take a guess and say somebody picked Obama. And I’m going to also say, I’m sorry, you cannot be the next Obama. You can only be the next you. I’m not interested in who you choose, but why you choose who you choose. So you can take those qualities and figure out how you present them.”

Lazarus then asked participants what stands in the way of excellent communication and questioned how many people feel nervous speaking publicly, whether in one-on-one interviews or speaking in front of a boardroom full of people. 

“It’s considered the number one fear amongst human beings, even above death, according to The Book of Lists,” he said.

“Now I hope it’s not your case that you feel like you’d rather be dead than communicating,” he added.  “And I don’t say that to diminish the experience of feeling really bad and uncomfortable, anxious, sweaty and tired – all the things that happen…but the good news is that public speaking and communication is a skill that can be learned.”

Lazarus went on to share his approach to effective public speaking and communications, which includes, five main aspects: 

• Pleasure: “You need to enjoy doing what you’re doing, and if you don’t it reads. Something in you needs to stand behind what you say or the audience will turn off,” Lazarus explains. “Often what happens because we’re nervous, is we diminish our own enthusiasm towards what we say. We can’t begin there.”
• Complicité (or connection) : Lazarus says that despite advice some people may have received to look above the audience instead of directly at them to alleviate nerves, it’s actually important to do the opposite. “We need to look at the audience and read what’s happening back.” When you’re paying attention to your audience and their feedback, you can adjust to keep them engaged.
• Authenticity: You are who you are and you cannot be anyone but who you are. You are dynamic in front of somebody in your life, whether it’s your partner, your dog, or your friends, where you light up and sound like you care. And what we want to do is pull that person up in front of the room, appropriately.”
• Mistakes or failure . “I promise you, you are going to make mistakes,” Lazarus said. But he explains the important thing is not to get hung up on mistakes or convince yourself the audience has been greatly upset by a fumble you might make during a presentation.
• "Today I was good, tomorrow I hope to go on. Today I was bad, tomorrow I hope to go on.” Inspired by a saying from a teacher Lazarus studied under, the quote refers to the idea of communication improvement being a lifelong process. Lazarus says we don’t need to limit working on these skills to when we have a formal presentation or communication to prepare. We can take everyday communication as an opportunity to practice and improve our skills. He says: “We’re always working at communicating, getting our message across, being impactful, and dynamic.”

See the full webinar recording, including a follow-up question and answer session, below.

Visit our Workplace Communications page for more information about our courses related to communications and presentations.

Sign up with us to receive the latest news about our courses and programs, speaker series, course bundles and more.

Continue Scrolling to Next Article

• U of T Home
• Current Instructors
• Policies and Guidelines
• Help and Information
• Blueprint Career Services
• Organizational and Corporate Training
• U of T Community
• PSE Preparedness
• Knowledge Hub
• Financial Aid
• Biomanufacturing
• Micro Courses and Micro-Credentials
• Microsoft Canada Skills Program
• Passing the CFA® Exams
• Passing the Canadian Securities Course®
• Professional Edge Program
• SCS Boot Camps
• SCS XR Courses
• Skill Builder Courses
• Health, Environment, and Science
• Life and Leisure
• Philosophy and Law
• University Lecture Series
• Visual Art and Architecture
• Business Analysis
• Entrepreneurship
• Human Resources
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Process Improvement
• Project Management
• Test Preparation
• Career Development
• Workplace Communications
• Creative Non-Fiction
• Escritura Creativa en Español
• Literary Fiction
• Multi-genre
• Poetry and Songwriting
• Popular Fiction
• Stage and Screenwriting
• U of T Summer Writing School
• Writing for Children
• Public Health
• Human Services and Social Work
• Medical Sciences
• Mindfulness
• Continuous Professional Development
• International Pharmacy Graduate Program
• Building Science and Architecture
• Engineering and Applied Science
• Environment and Sustainability
• Information Management
• Information Technology (IT)
• Property & Facilities Management
• Arabic Translation
• Spanish Translation
• Portuguese Translation
• Japanese Translation
• French Translation
• Chinese Translation
• Korean Translation
• Business English for International Professionals
• Learning Design
• Multimedia Journalism
• Communications
• Public Relations
• Partnerships with Associations and Certifying Bodies
• U of T Partnerships
• English Language Program
• Educational Credential Assessment
• Leadership Team
• Academic Leadership
• Teach with us
• Instructor Awards and Recognition
• Instructor Biographies
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commitments
• Our History
• Media Inquiries
• Curious U Blog

• Find Flashcards
• Why It Works
• Tutors & resellers
• Content partnerships
• Teachers & professors
• Employee training

Brainscape's Knowledge Genome TM

Entrance exams, professional certifications.

• Foreign Languages
• Medical & Nursing

Humanities & Social Studies

Mathematics, health & fitness, business & finance, technology & engineering, food & beverage, random knowledge, see full index, chapter 6: classroom instruction flashcards preview, instructor 1 > chapter 6: classroom instruction > flashcards.

Which characteristic of an effective public speaker involves use of relevant examples, storytelling, and metaphors?

Good development of ideas

Instructors can improve presentations by:

making a video recording and reviewing it for distracting actions

An oral presentation generally consists of three parts referred to as the:

introduction, body, and summary

Which method of sequencing information begins with information that students are familiar with before introducing unfamiliar material?

Known-to-unknown

Why do instructors use transitions to keep students’ attention between portions of the lesson?

Continuity and consistency

Which step of the four-step method of instruction introduces the lesson?

Preparation

Which step of the four-step method of instruction has the instructor follow an orderly, sequential outline to deliver the lesson content?

Presentation

Which step of the four-step method of instruction has the instructor provide opportunities for students to learn through a variety of activities?

Application

Which instructional method is MOST effective for providing facts, rules, and regulations?

Illustrated lectures

Which instructional method is an effective way to teach manipulative skills and mechanical functions?

Demonstrations

Which instructional method allows instructors to talk to the overall group and invite the group to reply?

Leading class discussions

The development of psychomotor skills typically occurs in _____ phases.

Which structured exercise reviews and discusses detailed accounts of past events for students to analyze and synthesize possible answers to the problem?

Case studies

Which structured exercise involves students acting out the role of a character in a scenario to prepare for situations they may encounter while fulfilling their job duties?

Role playing

Which structured exercise permits students to experience a situation, make decisions, and see the results of their decisions without the negative consequences that can occur at an actual emergency?

Simulations

Which type of learning requires that each student successfully master the learning objectives or outcomes of the lesson or course before progressing to a new one?

Competency-based

An advantage of the competency-based approach to teaching is:

students are prepared to advance to more complex knowledge or skills

Which teaching strategy is the most prevalent approach to teaching in the fire and emergency services?

Instructor-led training

Which teaching strategy requires instructors to be very organized and disciplined in order to maintain a high level of student satisfaction and performance with the reduction of a formal structure?

Blended or hybrid learning

Which teaching strategy minimizes the interaction between a student and an instructor?

Computer simulation

What is the art of clearly and concisely explaining information in ways that an anticipated audience can understand?

Effective speakers organize their material so that:

their audience is never lost during the presentation

Which characteristic of effective speakers involves keeping appropriate eye contact with audience members?

Good delivery skills

Which major element of good vocal characteristics of an effective speaker involves clearly emphasizing each syllable, accent, and pause?

Enunciation

Instructors can improve any presentation by:

getting plenty of rest the night before a presentation

Which part of an instructor’s oral presentation is to get the attention of the students?

Which part of an instructor’s oral presentation is to present the information in a logical sequence?

Which part of an instructor’s oral presentation is to review the objective of the presentation?

Which method of sequencing information in a presentation begins by teaching the basic knowledge or skill, then introducing more difficult knowledge as the lesson progresses?

Simple-to-complex

Which method of sequencing information in a presentation teaches students in a sequential order for each skill?

Step-by-step

Educational research recommends that instructors evaluate student’s understanding:

during the lesson

Which of the following is a purpose of transitions when giving presentations?

Preview what will happen next

What are two types of transitions speech communication professionals teach?

Verbal and nonverbal

The steps for the four-step method of instruction include _____, presentation, application, and evaluation

preparation

Which step of the four-step method of instruction can be combined with the application step so students can participate in activities that require them to safely demonstrate skills?

During which step of the four-step method of instruction does the instructor provide opportunities for students to learn through a variety of activities?

Which step of the four-step method of instruction typically uses written and oral tests to assess cognitive learning?

Which instructional teaching method does an instructor use to explain a topic with the help of audiovisual aids?

Giving an illustrated lecture

Which instructional teaching method does an instructor use to teach physical principles?

Providing demonstration

Which instructional teaching method allows for interaction between the instructor and the students?

Which common category of the whole group discussion format intends to have students gain knowledge from other group members or develop new ideas?

Which type of group discussions have the main advantage that students express their ideas and opinions more openly with their peers than when an instructor is present?

Both large and small group discussions require that instructors demonstrate _____ to ensure that students achieve course goals.

Which discussion technique is used to generate as many ideas as possible while operating under the principle that there are no bad ideas?

Brainstorming

Which skill enables the instructor to evaluate prepared questions so questions can be improved, if needed?

Knowing how to create effective questions of their own

Which question type doesn’t necessarily have one correct answer and often does not call for a spoken response?

How should an instructor respond when a student answer is only partially correct?

Positively reinforce the correct portion, then redirect the question back to the student or ask another student to complete the answer

An instructor can respond to students’ questions that may be complex, illogical, or off topic by:

deferring the questions that are beyond the scope of the lesson

During which phase of the development of psychomotor skills does the instructor provide a great deal of influence while demonstrating as much patience as possible to encourage the student?

During which phase of the development of psychomotor skills does the instructor serve more as an evaluator and a coach than a teacher?

Associative

During which phase of the development of psychomotor skills does the instructor become the coach and is there to help students refine their efforts?

A case study involves analyzing and examining facts through:

discussion and problem-solving exercises

Which type of structured exercise involves students acting out the role of a character in a scenario to prepare for situations they may encounter while fulfilling their duties?

A simulation may include elements of:

computer-based training

Which type of structured exercise provides students with experiences to inspect, use, test, and evaluate equipment or processes?

Field and laboratory experiences

Which type of learning involves instructors teaching specific criteria that students must meet during testing?

Learning objectives are written to establish the _____ for competency by identifying and clearly describing the learning outcome (behavior).

What would be an advantage of the competency approach to teaching?

Students are prepared to advance to more complex knowledge or skills

Which teaching strategy splits some of the responsibilities among more than one instructor?

Multiple instructors

Which teaching strategy helps make abstract concepts more relatable to students?

Explain and illustrate with examples, stories, analogies, and metaphors

Which teaching strategy do instructors use to help students to recognize the importance of key points through emphasis and repetition?

Reinforcing learning

Which teaching strategy combines traditional (face-to-face) and online teaching methods?

Blended or hybrid

Which teaching strategy leads to an increased depth of knowledge and understanding of the material versus the traditional method?

Student-centered learning

Which teaching strategy has students read and study the material at home prior to coming to class?

Flipping the classroom

Computer based training (CBT) may be used in a more structured format to provide:

distance learning

Which teaching strategy holds students solely responsible for achieving course objectives determined by the instructor or chosen by the student?

Self-directed learning

Which teaching strategy has instructors pull from a variety of resources to better meet the learning needs of each student?

Individualized instruction

Decks in Instructor 1 Class (10):

• Chapter 1: The Instructor As A Professional
• Chapter 2: Principles Of Learning
• Chapter 3: Instructional Planning
• Chapter 4: Instructional Materials And Equipment
• Chapter 5: Learning Environment
• Chapter 6: Classroom Instruction
• Chapter 7: Student Interaction
• Chapter 8: Skills Based Training Beyond The Classroom
• Chapter 9: Testing And Evaluation
• Chapter 10: Records, Reports, And Scheduling
• Corporate Training
• Teachers & Schools
• Android App
• Help Center
• Law Education
• All Subjects A-Z
• All Certified Classes
• Earn Money!