oral presentation about a country

Country Presentations

This is an oral presentation assignment for second or third-year university speaking classes of 20 - 40 students. It is especially appropriate for students in International Studies or International Culture Departments. Students choose a country to research and give a presentation to the class as a whole. They prepare a handout with an outline of their talk beforehand, and make copies for the class. They usually include a map of the country on the handout. Since students often choose countries they have some previous contact with, they are sometimes able to bring in souvenirs, articles of clothing, photographs, etc., as visual aids. Samples of national foods such as candies and cheese are encouraged!

After a ten or fifteen-minute talk, the presenters give the class a short (5 - 10 questions, usually true/false or multiple choice) quiz which they have written themselves, on the main points of their talk. Finally, they divide the class into small groups for two or three discussion questions.

One presentation, including the talk, quiz, and discussion, usually takes about 45 minutes. The total time required for all the presentations can be varied by making it an individual, pair, or group assignment and by controlling the time allowed for the small group discussion. I usually do one presentation a day, leaving the remaining forty-five minutes of the 90-minute class period for other work. These presentations go well with "cross-cultural communication" - based speaking textbooks.

Second Semester Presentations

Your presentation will include:, your grade will be based on:.

Oral presentation - My Favorite Country

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• 1. BRAZIL MY FAVORITE COUNTRY:
• 4. ¡THANK YOU!

Teach with Holly Rachel

a primary teaching blog

How to Teach a Country Research Project

February 17, 2022 By Holly Rachel

I love teaching a research project on a country. They are so much fun and students gain so much from studying them in your social studies curriculum. I have found that students find them fascinating and love learning interesting facts and recognising the similarities and differences between the country they are learning about and their own way of life.

What is a country research project?

In simple terms, as part of social studies, students create a report on a country by researching facts about it. Their country report could be a wide range of presentation mediums such as a written project, an oral presentation, a poster, worksheets, a performance or even a video, you can be as creative as you like! Student can use a range of methods to research their chosen country. This could be through books, the internet, interviews or from teaching presentations and information sheets.

Why are country research projects important?

It is so important that we teach students about different cultures to their own and to accept and respect differences, as well as to look for the similarities between us all. This is especially important in the interconnected world we live in today.

There are so many benefits to teaching a research project on a country. These include:

-Gaining knowledge about new places and different culture

-Sparking curiosity and a love of learning

-Understanding and accepting differences

-Recognising that even though cultures may have differences, we all share similarities

-Gaining a deeper understanding of their own culture as they learn about others

-Because they are so much fun!

How to do a country research project

A research project on a country may be part of your curriculum, or you may teach the project as part of a whole school cultural week. Alternatively you could set the project as homework for your class. It’s also a great idea to use the project to support learning across other subject areas. For example, students could use the knowledge they gain from their country study and use it in their writing, such as a story setting or an information text. Students could recreate art from the country or develop map skills.

What to include in a country research project

This is the fun part! You may wish your students to lead their own research and report on the areas that interested them, or you may wish to give some guidance. Some great ideas for your research project on a country could include:

Identify the particular country on a map of the word. Where is it located? What continent is the country in? What is the capital city? You could look for physical geographical features such as mountains and rivers. Does the country border any seas? What are the neighbouring countries?

Research the country’s flag. What does the flag tell us about the country? What is the population? What sort of climate does the country have? Students could use graphic organizers to help them record the information they find.

Food is such a great way to learn about a country. It really tells us a lot about the sort of flora and fauna that can be found the country. It can also tell us a lot about the climate of the country. Is it common to preserve food in a particular way? For example through pickling or using spices? Why might this be?

This is such an important skill. As we become more globally connected, learning an additional language is such a valuable skill. You could start with some key phrases and greetings.  Maybe choose certain activities where you could speak in language, such as greeting each other first thing in the morning, or asking. ‘How are you?’ after lunch.

Sight seeing

Learn about the iconic landmarks of the country. When, how and why where they built? What do they tell us about the country and the people who live there?

Recreate art from the country. This could be a study of a particular artist or art movement. Students could recreate a particular painting. What does the painting capture? What can we learn from it? Or perhaps use a painting from the country as inspiration for students’ own work, this could even span different subjects. Create a bulletin board of the students’ own work!

Teach students songs from the country. This is also a great way to learn a language. Listening to and singing songs can really help students gain a valuable insight into the culture.

Sweden Country Study

If you’d like to get started with a country research project, check out my FREE Sweden country study when you subscribe to my email list. These are perfect for your Social Studies 2nd Grade curriculum.

Included is a PowerPoint presentation with 10 slides packed full of information to teach your students all about Sweden. Slides include a map of Sweden, the Swedish flag, basic Swedish phrases, Swedish foods, Swedish landmarks, the Northern Lights and Dala horses, a traditional Swedish craft. That’s right, I have done all the research for you, so it is NO-PREP and ready to go!

Teach the topics as part of your social studies weekly lesson. Alternatively, allow students to complete the project at their own pace or assign out as homework.

Along with PowerPoint slide is an associated social studies worksheet for 2nd Grade students to complete with the information they have learned from the slide show. So this means no trawling the internet finding a worksheet to match a PowerPoint and spending hours making your own. It is all done for you!

Not only that, the activities are differentiated on two levels to support a range of ability levels in your class.

Do you spend hours prepping work for early finishers? Well, I’ve got you covered with a wordsearch all about Sweden!

Also include are summary activities about the project. This includes a worksheet for students to record their favorite facts and a postcard template. Students imagine they have visited Sweden and write postcard home about their travels!

Finally it comes with a super cute cover sheet so your students can make their own booklet with the worksheets. Did I mention this is all FREE? Grab your FREE Sweden Country Study today!

If you’d like to check out my other country studies, I have a whole range of countries available:

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Browse Course Material

Course info.

• Prof. Richard Nielsen

Departments

• Political Science

As Taught In

• International Relations

Learning Resource Types

Introduction to international relations, oral presentation.

The ability to deliver brief oral presentations is an important skill in a wide variety of careers in both the public and private sectors. In 17.41 recitation, you will be delivering an oral presentation on the subject you have chosen to address in your long policy memo.

In practice, your audience is your recitation section. However, it’s best to pitch the presentation to the audience you have chosen to address in your memo.

You will have 5 minutes to deliver your oral presentation, followed by roughly 5 minutes of answering questions from your classmates and TA. You may choose to use slides to accompany your presentation, though they are not required.

You may choose how to organize your presentation, but one possible approach is to adopt a similar framework to the one you use in your memo. For example, if you use the “Summary—Background—Analysis—Recommendation” format in your memo, you could organize your presentation along the following lines:

• An anecdote, an image, or a statistic can all be effective “hooks.”
• Provide a summary of the possible policies that could be used to address the challenge and which one you recommend. Preview what your remarks will address in the remainder of the presentation. (30 seconds)
• Give background on the history and context of the policy challenge you have identified. (30-60 seconds)
• Spend most of your time on the analysis of the pros and cons of different policy approaches to the challenge through the lens of course concepts. (~3 minutes)
• Conclude by giving your recommendation for what approach your audience should use to address the challenge*. (30 seconds)*

After you deliver your presentation, your classmates and TA will have 2–3 minutes to ask you questions on the subject of your presentation. All students are expected to listen attentively to their classmates’ presentations and ask them thoughtful questions during the Q&A. This means you are still expected to attend recitation the week that you are not scheduled to present. Please arrive on time so as to avoid interrupting the first presenter.

The oral presentation will be evaluated in three areas:

• Content (50%): The ideas in the presentation are logically coherent and creative. The policy challenge and potential solutions are analyzed through the lens of course concepts. Possible critiques of the recommended solution are addressed.
• Organization (30%): The presentation is clearly structured and addresses all of the key points of the memo. (i.e. The policy challenge is described, a range of potential solutions are analyzed, and one of those solutions is recommended.)
• Delivery (20%): The student manages time well within the limited time constraints. The student speaks clearly and professionally. The student fields questions directly and effectively (even if they don’t know all of the answers).

Tips for Success

Practice delivering your presentation out loud at least twice in advance. If possible, practice it in front of someone else, like a friend, classmate, or roommate. Use a timer to ensure that you are staying within the time limit and that you are allocating your time appropriately among the different sections of your presentation. (You will be surprised how quickly 5 minutes go by!)

Make sure you are comfortable using the necessary technology, including being able to share any slides (if applicable) without mishaps.

Your TA will arrange the exact schedule, trying to accommodate your preferences.

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9 Tips for High-Impact Presentations Across Cultures

Samuel had done it quite a few times before. He boarded a plane, headed halfway across the world from his corporation’s headquarters in New York City to deliver yet another presentation to a foreign audience. His expertise in his decade-long role as a business analyst at a large, worldwide corporation made him the perfect candidate to present sales leaders with the latest information on increasing sales efforts across cultures. As usual, Samuel used his long flight to reminisce about his past successes and shortcomings as a foreign presenter.

He remembered his first presentation in Hong Kong. Cross-cultural communication went well because of his meticulous planning, but he failed to send written copies of the sales tactics he would be presenting, which would have helped prepare his audience for the upcoming presentation and give them more time to prepare questions beforehand.

In Hong Kong, business people typically prefer presentations and proposals to begin in general terms before transitioning into the narrow details. Samuel’s presentation, although applicable for the audience, would have been more effective if he would have begun with more general terms, especially because once again he didn’t send his audience a formal or informal outline of his presentation beforehand.

Different Countries, Different Approaches

Samuel also reflected on his recent trip to Iraq. Before the trip, he spent weeks planning an in-depth sales-tactics presentation geared to sales leaders. Samuel’s company had recently purchased the latest video software, so he planned a cutting-edge interactive presentation for his audience in Baghdad. The audience appreciated his personal anecdotes and personable introduction, but he seemed to lose them at the end when he distributed a folder full of statistics, graphs and sales figures.

Studies have shown that people in present-day Iraq tend to appreciate more listening than reading when viewing a presentation. Strong images and relevant stories will resonate with them more than reading the latest statistics. Samuel’s interactive presentation went over well, but his conclusion, which involved the audience reviewing statistics placed before them on a handout, didn’t hold their attention as well as it could have. He watched his audience lose interest before his eyes, and he made a note to avoid handouts in any future presentation in Baghdad.

Samuel also remembered how the same handouts were highly effective in Japan, where he did a very similar presentation on the same sales tactics a month earlier. In Japanese culture, detailed written materials are appreciated, and audience members typically enjoy any kind of supporting documentation to supplement a presentation.

Gauging How to Speak to a Foreign Audience

Even the most experienced presenters face unique challenges when presenting information to audiences across cultures. It’s been said that great international speakers aren’t born. They’re made through:

• Practice and a desire to fine-tune their public-speaking skills.
• Culturally appropriate levels of confidence and passion
• Introspection, self-awareness, and sincerity.

In short, they know how to properly engage with their foreign audience.

Much can go awry during a cross-cultural presentation if you fail to plan appropriately. You must tailor your presentation to your audience, and, in order to do so, it takes a great deal of prep work. You can’t simply work with a translator or neglect meticulous research and planning before your presentation.

Avoiding Problematic Barriers

If your goal is to deliver impactful cross-cultural presentations, it’s best to consider your presentations from all angles and learn from the advice of past successful presenters. Part of your success will depend on your ability to recognize and avoid barriers to effective intercultural communication, such as:

• Language differences . Language barriers will likely play a role in your execution of a successful presentation to a foreign audience. You may work with an interpreter, but confusion may arise due to slang, dialects, or accents. Furthermore, words don’t always translate perfectly from one language to the other. The same word in one language may have different meanings when translated into different languages.
• Level of context . Low-context cultures, such as Germany, Switzerland and the United States, expect verbal messages to be explicit and direct.

High-context cultures, such as Japan and Brazil, expect less emphasis on words themselves. A “maybe” or even a “yes” may actually mean no, especially in Japan, where an outright “no” or refusal can seem rude and too blunt. People in high-context cultures place more importance on nonverbal elements of communication, such as tone of voice, eye movements, and facial expressions.

• Body language . People in one culture may take offense if you stand too close to them or too far away. For example, a Norwegian executive may feel uncomfortable and crowded if someone invades their personal space, which in their culture is a distance of up to three meters. In Saudi Arabia, the personal space requirement is much lower, and even complete strangers typically stand very close to one another to speak.

Eye contact is also a potential barrier. Those from Continental Europe, for example, are known to make more eye contact than those from Britain and the United States. Another consideration is facial expressions, such as smiling. French and Russians tend to smile less than other cultures, which can make them appear cold or unfriendly.

• Value of time . People from different cultures place different values on time. In some cultures, such as Latin America, for example, there’s less emphasis on punctuality than there is in Switzerland. In Mexico, you’d be expected to finish a conversation with a colleague, even if it made you late to a business meeting.
• Control of feelings and emotions . Certain cultures are more comfortable showing their emotions. In France and Italy, most people are fine with displaying their emotions outwardly, while people in Japan and the United Kingdom tend to keep tight control of their emotions in public. An excited speaker in Italy may speak loudly and emphatically, while those tactics may embarrass a Japanese listener.

Once you consider the possible barriers to effective communication, you should consider the best strategies for learning how to speak in front of a foreign audience.

Tips for Cross-Cultural Presentations

Presenting across cultures always requires adequate planning. Years of experience presenting to audiences in the Middle East won’t prepare you to deliver an effective presentation in China. If you’re communicating your tenth presentation on the latest sales software, but it’s your first time speaking to diverse audiences, it’s imperative that you tailor your approach to best suit your new audience.

The following tips for presenting cross-culturally will help you deliver a seamless, effective exposition.

1. Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone

You know that what is effective in one culture may not be effective in another, which is why it’s important to consider intercultural awareness as you prepare for your foreign presentation. Intercultural awareness is two-fold. It involves standing back from your own viewpoint and acknowledging your own cultural beliefs, as well as considering those of the other culture.

There are many factors that contribute to an effective presentation across cultures, but it’s important to begin by understanding your own cultural beliefs and recognizing you may need to step outside of your comfort zone as you prepare for your presentation. Once you’re aware of the similarities and differences, it becomes easier to plan an effective presentation across cultures.

For example, if you’re Japanese and preparing to present to a Portuguese audience, you may want to consider adding more personality to your presentation. It may be out of your comfort zone to show some emotion during your presentation or share a very personal story, but it will likely go over well in front of your Portuguese audience because they tend to appreciate creative, highly engaging presentations.

2. Decide If You’re Going to Use a Script

Using a script may be helpful when presenting to an international audience because it can direct you to stay focused on the precise language of your foreign presentation, especially if you’re presenting in a language other than your first.

If you’re not completely comfortable in the language, consider distributing a handout so readers can understand your message with certainty. Usually, speakers are advised to avoid reading from a script or from a screen, but in some cases — especially where a possible language barrier exists — it may be effective to offer your audience another way to comprehend the material.

There are many ways to use a script without boring your audience, such as:

• Knowing the material well . If you decide to read from a script or allow the audience to follow along using a handout or screen, don’t neglect to skim over the material as you prepare. You’re the expert, and you should exude an appropriate level of confidence as well as have the knowledge to answer possible questions about the material.

You may work with a professional writer or translator as you prepare for your presentation, but that doesn’t mean you can skip any steps in the research and preparation phase. Simply reading from your script won’t be effective. You must know the material, maintain eye contact and intonation that’s appropriate for your audience, and be prepared to answer questions.

• Personalizing your message . Using a script doesn’t have to equate to a boring, dry presentation. Eliminate any words that don’t sound like you. Inject personal stories where it makes sense to do so. Many speakers have no trouble injecting a personal touch to the beginning of their scripted speech, but then they fail to maintain their personality throughout it. Instead of sliding into a script after the introduction, aim to add your personality from the beginning to the end.
• Learning to emphasize appropriately . A monotone presentation read from a script is a sure way to bore your audience, regardless of their cultural backgrounds. The vocal variety will add dimension to your speech, especially if you’re following a script.

If you’re reading in a language other than your native language, be sure to study proper pronunciation and listen to other speakers enunciate in that language. Become aware of your own vocal patterns, so you can vary your volume, pitch, and tone in a way that’s appropriate for your target audience.

It may be beneficial to label your script, so you know when to effectively take a breath, pause to allow your audience time to process information, or stop to ask a question. You can also underline words you should emphasize as you’re reading. You can appropriately emphasize by changing your pitch or inflection, varying your pace, increasing your volume or altering your rhythm.

• Treating your script as an extended conversation . Instead of talking to your audience, aim to talk with  them. When you’re reading from a script, it can seem like your presentation is forced, rigid, and lacking any personality. Using culturally-appropriate gestures, eye contact, and language, you can take your audience on a journey with you through your script, instead of simply reading to them.

3. Know What to Expect from Your Audience

Regardless of where you’re presenting, you will feed off of your audience’s energy or how you’re perceiving their reactions to your presentation. If they’re frowning back at you or don’t participate when you ask a question, it can negatively affect your confidence, and your entire presentation could suffer. It’s important to know what to expect from your audience in the context of the given culture. Audiences around the world outwardly respond to presentations in different ways, so it’s helpful if you’re aware of what to expect before you begin.

For example, if you’re presenting in Japan, the audience will likely nod their heads slightly up and down to show concentration and approval — and they may even slightly close their eyes. Rest assured you aren’t putting them to sleep; they’re showing you that they’re with you. At the same time, a Japanese audience will not likely interrupt you to ask questions or provide comments, even if you prompt them to do so.

As a general rule, applause is a universal sign of approval after you finish a presentation. However, there are other signs to look for as well, depending on where you are. In parts of Austria and Germany, if you’re presenting around a table, your audience may knock on the table to show their approval when you’ve finished. You may hear whistles of approval if you’ve done especially well in the United States, but whistling signifies disapproval in some European countries. It’s also wise to be aware that no one receives standing ovations in Australia.

4. Learn About the Local Culture

If you’re presenting to a homogenous foreign audience — meaning everyone is from the same cultural background — you should consider studying the local culture before your presentation. The following are excellent resources for discovering cultural norms and important local information:

• Recent books and travel guides . Without a clear understanding of the audience’s culture, you’re taking a risk that your presentation won’t be effective. Access resources available to you, such as recently published literature about the culture, travel guides, and websites directed to foreign travelers.
• Local news . Be aware of news and current events. You should also be able to access local news by finding the most popular domains online for the geographic region or speaking with someone who can direct you to a trustworthy local news source. Connect with someone in your organization who is familiar with the culture in which you’ll be presenting and ask for their input. Beyond the local culture, consider hot topics within the organization itself, as company culture can be equally as important as local culture.
• The CIA Factbook . While not specifically about culture, the Factbook provides information about 267 world entities, touching on topics of people, history, government, communications, transportation, and more.
• Aperian ® . An industry-leading cultural intelligence resource, Aperian offers in-depth information on more than 95 nations around the world. It provides a section on how to give a presentation in each of the 95 nations. The resource offers extensive research, interviews with experts, and guidance for conducting business successfully across cultural boundaries. The GlobeSmart ® Profile helps bridge the gaps with other cultures and colleagues.

5. Pace Yourself Appropriately

You should tailor your pace and progression to your audience’s expectations to experience positive results when delivering an intercultural presentation. Never rush through a presentation, but be aware different cultures have different preferences for receiving information.

Be mindful of language barriers as you’re presenting as well. If you’re speaking in a non-native language, slower speech will help your audience better comprehend your words. If you’re speaking in your native language, but your audience is listening in their non-native language, it’s also wise to talk slower to increase comprehension. Always give your audience time to process information that may be new to them.

Expectations are always changing, but historically there are guidelines to follow when it comes to how certain cultures prefer to process information. Although this may be changing over time, it’s safe to assume Asians prefer to more details when compared to Americans and Canadians, where audiences tend to appreciate a faster pace.

6. Modify Your Nonverbal Communication

The way you communicate nonverbally to a foreign audience is equally as important as the words you choose to use. Here are a few tips for appropriately modifying your nonverbal communication during a cross-cultural presentation:

• Be conscious of your hand gestures . A “thumbs up” is a positive signal in the United States, but it has negative connotations in the Middle East, Australia, and Greece. Similarly, gesticulating doesn’t always translate across cultures. It can add personality to a presentation in the United States, but it can be seen as rude and distracting in Japan.
• Be aware of eye contact expectations . A certain level of eye contact is important in all presentations, but the expectation is different depending on the audience’s culture. For example, Canadians, Germans, and Americans expect more eye contact than Hispanic and Japanese audiences do.
• Use an appropriate level of animation . Your body movements and facial expressions can either emphasize your presentation or undercut it. Perceptions of facial expressions vary across cultures, so a basic understanding of what’s considered appropriate in a specific setting will help you adequately prepare for your presentation. For instance, East Asians and Western Caucasians perceive happy and angry expressions differently, so it’s important to be aware of your own facial expressions.

7. Be Careful When Selecting Visuals

Your graphics should be free of any culturally inappropriate images. It’s also important to consider color because it can carry different symbolic meanings from culture to culture. For example, red is a high-energy color used as a warning or to elicit feelings of excitement, passion, or even anger in Western cultures, but it’s used as a color of mourning in South Africa. Similarly, red represents good fortune in China but can mean anger in Japan. Another example is yellow, which is the color of mourning in Myanmar (Burma), but it signifies happiness and prosperity in the Middle East.

Besides color, be sure your visual aids make appropriate use of words and symbols for the culture in which you’re presenting. For example, Asian cultures tend to prefer pictures, numbers, and symbols whereas Europeans typically favor text with logical bullet points.

8. Be Cautious in Your Use of Humor

Only use humor when you’re certain it’s appropriate. Jokes will not likely translate well between cultures. If you’re not sure if a joke will go over well, avoid it. In many cases, your attempt at humor will be lost in translation, or worse. It could be taken offensively.

Here are a few reminders when it comes to humor in a cross-cultural presentation:

• Be aware that technology can pose challenges in relation to humor . Using humor across cultures is difficult, but using humor virtually and cross-culturally is even more problematic. If you’re using cameras in a face-to-face situation, you can immediately see your audience’s reaction to your attempt at humor. If you’re giving a virtual presentation and can’t see your audience, your feedback will be limited, so it’s important to know beforehand whether your attempt at humor will be well received.
• Carefully review all graphics and texts . If you’re utilizing handouts, slides, or any media that contains written text, be sure it’s carefully reviewed for cultural appropriateness. There should be no culturally offensive reference, nor should there be any words or phrases that are lost — or become offensive — in translation. For example, the word “fanny” means different things in the United States — one’s rear end — and Britain — a female’s private parts.
• Consider the style of humor . The capacity to laugh at things is universal, but everyone is different when it comes to what they think is actually funny. There are more gray areas where culture is involved, as well. For example, irony is usually well understood in British culture, but it’s not as understood in direct-speaking cultures such as Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.

Sarcasm typically goes over well in Israel and India, but it can be offensive in Latin America. Making fun of oneself is often considered humorous in the West, but may cause Asians to feel uncomfortable and empathetic. Similarly, physical humor — like slipping on a banana peel — will likely go over well in Italy or France, but not in Malaysia.

9. Utilize the Best Resources

The easy part of preparing a presentation across cultures is gathering content for the topic itself. After all, you’re the expert and you were chosen to deliver a presentation based on your knowledge and experiences. The difficult part of preparing a cross-cultural presentation is ensuring you convey that content in a culturally appropriate manner that will resonate with your audience.

Aperian, an industry-leading online cultural intelligence resource, offers advice on giving presentations for over 95 countries – among 50 other business topics.

Access the free trial of Aperian to explore on your own!

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Ideas for an Oral Presentation for a Foreign Language Class on the History of a Country

• Eric W. Vogt
• Categories : Teaching tips for foreign language instructors
• Tags : Teaching english speaking students a second language

Take it Beyond the Timelines! The Next Lesson Plan

History is more than timelines and short bios, so the student who is assigned or volunteers to cover the history of a country in the four-part case study presentation should be encouraged to answer the following questions as a first step in preparing his or her oral presentation. Younger students may need the teacher to rephrase some of these questions, add or delete some. Depending on the country, some of these questions may not apply, so I have provided an over abundance of questions sufficient to allow a student to prepare a presentation of about 2-3 minutes:

1. Who were the country’s first or original inhabitants? Was there only one original group, tribe, race, etc.?

2. What language(s) did this group or these groups speak?

3. When and by whom were they conquered/settled (for instance, in the case of Iberia, this would involved a chain of civilizations from prehistory through the late Middle Ages; for Latin American countries this is a gold mine – pardon the pun – for students to explore)

4. When did the modern nation form? Who were its political leaders?

5. Did the modern country result from a war of independence or other sort of revolution or did it evolve smoothly from previous forms of government?

6. What is the form of government today – e.g., constitutional (representative democracy), dictatorship (left or right?), monarchy, etc…

7. Who is its leader? How long has he/she been in power? How did he/she come to power?

8. What are the political parties and what do they stand for or claim to stand for?

9. What is the population of the country?

10. Is the country ethnically, racially, linguistically homogenous or diverse?

11. What is its GNP (students can learn how to say this term in the language they are studying and will feel quite proud of themselves for learning it).

12. At the close of the history presentation, this student should introduce the next one, who will talk about the economy, by simply stating what the most important product or source of revenue is for the country. If this is not possible (major industrialized nations have economies too diversified to be able to name just one or two), he or she should simply introduce the next student as the one who will talk about the country’s economy.

After doing sufficient research to answer these questions, in the target language, the next task is to add enough language to string them together in a brief narrative to be presented, like all the others, with no more notes than can fit on the front and back of a 3X5 index card.

Of course, the student should be encouraged to practice the oral delivery several times, incorporating any props (not too many). They should be encouraged strongly to keep any PowerPoint or other technologically based props to a bare minimum. The whole point of oral presentations is to be oral, not electronic!

• Author’s more than 20 years experience teaching and translating Spanish.

This post is part of the series: Lesson Plans for Intermediate Foreign Language Classes

This series of four articles shows how to use national data of different kinds to move students from the textbook to using their second language to find, assemble and present meaningful information – in short, to begin to master their second language.

• Group Project Idea for a Foreign Language Class: Geography of a Country
• Oral Presentation Idea for Intermediate Foreign Language Students: History of a Country
• How to Study the Economics of a Country: Intermediate Spanish Lesson Plan
• Lesson Plans for Intermediate Foreign Language Students: Arts & Culture of a Country

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• Speaking exams
• Typical speaking tasks

Oral presentation

Giving an oral presentation as part of a speaking exam can be quite scary, but we're here to help you. Watch two students giving presentations and then read the tips carefully. Which tips do they follow? Which ones don’t they follow?

Instructions

Watch the video of two students doing an oral presentation as part of a speaking exam. Then read the tips below.

Melissa: Hi, everyone! Today I would like to talk about how to become the most popular teen in school.

Firstly, I think getting good academic results is the first factor to make you become popular since, having a good academic result, your teacher will award you in front of your schoolmates. Then, your schoolmates will know who you are and maybe they would like to get to know you because they want to learn something good from you.

Secondly, I think participating in school clubs and student unions can help to make you become popular, since after participating in these school clubs or student union, people will know who you are and it can help you to make friends all around the school, no matter senior forms or junior forms.

In conclusion, I think to become the most popular teen in school we need to have good academic results and also participate in school clubs and student union. Thank you!

Kelvin: Good evening, everyone! So, today I want to talk about whether the sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.

As we all know, cigarettes are not good for our health, not only oneself but also other people around. Moreover, many people die of lung cancer every year because of smoking cigarettes.

But, should the government make it illegal? I don’t think so, because Hong Kong is a place where people can enjoy lots of freedom and if the government banned the sale of cigarettes, many people would disagree with this and stand up to fight for their freedom.

Moreover, Hong Kong is a free market. If there's such a huge government intervention, I think it’s not good for Hong Kong’s economy.

So, if the government wants people to stop smoking cigarettes, what should it do? I think the government can use other administrative ways to do so, for example education and increasing the tax on cigarettes. Also, the government can ban the smokers smoking in public areas. So, this is the end of my presentation. Thank you.

It’s not easy to give a good oral presentation but these tips will help you. Here are our top tips for oral presentations.

• Use the planning time to prepare what you’re going to say. 
• If you are allowed to have a note card, write short notes in point form.
• Use more formal language.
• Use short, simple sentences to express your ideas clearly.
• Pause from time to time and don’t speak too quickly. This allows the listener to understand your ideas. Include a short pause after each idea.
• Speak clearly and at the right volume.
• Have your notes ready in case you forget anything.
• Practise your presentation. If possible record yourself and listen to your presentation. If you can’t record yourself, ask a friend to listen to you. Does your friend understand you?
• Make your opinions very clear. Use expressions to give your opinion .
• Look at the people who are listening to you.
• Write out the whole presentation and learn every word by heart. 
• Write out the whole presentation and read it aloud.
• Use very informal language.
• Only look at your note card. It’s important to look up at your listeners when you are speaking.

Useful language for presentations

Explain what your presentation is about at the beginning:

I’m going to talk about ... I’d like to talk about ... The main focus of this presentation is ...

Use these expressions to order your ideas:

First of all, ... Firstly, ... Then, ... Secondly, ... Next, ... Finally, ... Lastly, ... To sum up, ... In conclusion, ...

Use these expressions to add more ideas from the same point of view:

In addition, ... What’s more, ... Also, ... Added to this, ...

To introduce the opposite point of view you can use these words and expressions:

However, ... On the other hand, ... Then again, ...

Example presentation topics

• Violent computer games should be banned.
• The sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.
• Homework should be limited to just two nights a week.
• Should school students be required to wear a school uniform?
• How to become the most popular teen in school.
• Dogs should be banned from cities.

Check your language: ordering - parts of a presentation

Check your understanding: grouping - useful phrases, worksheets and downloads.

Do you think these tips will help you in your next speaking exam? Remember to tell us how well you do in future speaking exams!  

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How to Structure your Presentation, with Examples

August 3, 2018 - Dom Barnard

For many people the thought of delivering a presentation is a daunting task and brings about a  great deal of nerves . However, if you take some time to understand how effective presentations are structured and then apply this structure to your own presentation, you’ll appear much more confident and relaxed.

Here is our complete guide for structuring your presentation, with examples at the end of the article to demonstrate these points.

Why is structuring a presentation so important?

If you’ve ever sat through a great presentation, you’ll have left feeling either inspired or informed on a given topic. This isn’t because the speaker was the most knowledgeable or motivating person in the world. Instead, it’s because they know how to structure presentations – they have crafted their message in a logical and simple way that has allowed the audience can keep up with them and take away key messages.

Research has supported this, with studies showing that audiences retain structured information  40% more accurately  than unstructured information.

In fact, not only is structuring a presentation important for the benefit of the audience’s understanding, it’s also important for you as the speaker. A good structure helps you remain calm, stay on topic, and avoid any awkward silences.

What will affect your presentation structure?

Generally speaking, there is a natural flow that any decent presentation will follow which we will go into shortly. However, you should be aware that all presentation structures will be different in their own unique way and this will be due to a number of factors, including:

• Whether you need to deliver any demonstrations
• How  knowledgeable the audience  already is on the given subject
• How much interaction you want from the audience
• Any time constraints there are for your talk
• What setting you are in
• Your ability to use any kinds of visual assistance

Before choosing the presentation’s structure answer these questions first:

• What is your presentation’s aim?
• Who are the audience?
• What are the main points your audience should remember afterwards?

When reading the points below, think critically about what things may cause your presentation structure to be slightly different. You can add in certain elements and add more focus to certain moments if that works better for your speech.

What is the typical presentation structure?

This is the usual flow of a presentation, which covers all the vital sections and is a good starting point for yours. It allows your audience to easily follow along and sets out a solid structure you can add your content to.

1. Greet the audience and introduce yourself

Before you start delivering your talk, introduce yourself to the audience and clarify who you are and your relevant expertise. This does not need to be long or incredibly detailed, but will help build an immediate relationship between you and the audience. It gives you the chance to briefly clarify your expertise and why you are worth listening to. This will help establish your ethos so the audience will trust you more and think you’re credible.

Read our tips on  How to Start a Presentation Effectively

2. Introduction

In the introduction you need to explain the subject and purpose of your presentation whilst gaining the audience’s interest and confidence. It’s sometimes helpful to think of your introduction as funnel-shaped to help filter down your topic:

• Introduce your general topic
• Explain your topic area
• State the issues/challenges in this area you will be exploring
• State your presentation’s purpose – this is the basis of your presentation so ensure that you provide a statement explaining how the topic will be treated, for example, “I will argue that…” or maybe you will “compare”, “analyse”, “evaluate”, “describe” etc.
• Provide a statement of what you’re hoping the outcome of the presentation will be, for example, “I’m hoping this will be provide you with…”
• Show a preview of the organisation of your presentation

In this section also explain:

• The length of the talk.
• Signal whether you want audience interaction – some presenters prefer the audience to ask questions throughout whereas others allocate a specific section for this.
• If it applies, inform the audience whether to take notes or whether you will be providing handouts.

The way you structure your introduction can depend on the amount of time you have been given to present: a  sales pitch  may consist of a quick presentation so you may begin with your conclusion and then provide the evidence. Conversely, a speaker presenting their idea for change in the world would be better suited to start with the evidence and then conclude what this means for the audience.

Keep in mind that the main aim of the introduction is to grab the audience’s attention and connect with them.

3. The main body of your talk

The main body of your talk needs to meet the promises you made in the introduction. Depending on the nature of your presentation, clearly segment the different topics you will be discussing, and then work your way through them one at a time – it’s important for everything to be organised logically for the audience to fully understand. There are many different ways to organise your main points, such as, by priority, theme, chronologically etc.

• Main points should be addressed one by one with supporting evidence and examples.
• Before moving on to the next point you should provide a mini-summary.
• Links should be clearly stated between ideas and you must make it clear when you’re moving onto the next point.
• Allow time for people to take relevant notes and stick to the topics you have prepared beforehand rather than straying too far off topic.

When planning your presentation write a list of main points you want to make and ask yourself “What I am telling the audience? What should they understand from this?” refining your answers this way will help you produce clear messages.

4. Conclusion

In presentations the conclusion is frequently underdeveloped and lacks purpose which is a shame as it’s the best place to reinforce your messages. Typically, your presentation has a specific goal – that could be to convert a number of the audience members into customers, lead to a certain number of enquiries to make people knowledgeable on specific key points, or to motivate them towards a shared goal.

Regardless of what that goal is, be sure to summarise your main points and their implications. This clarifies the overall purpose of your talk and reinforces your reason for being there.

Follow these steps:

• Signal that it’s nearly the end of your presentation, for example, “As we wrap up/as we wind down the talk…”
• Restate the topic and purpose of your presentation – “In this speech I wanted to compare…”
• Summarise the main points, including their implications and conclusions
• Indicate what is next/a call to action/a thought-provoking takeaway
• Move on to the last section

5. Thank the audience and invite questions

Conclude your talk by thanking the audience for their time and invite them to  ask any questions  they may have. As mentioned earlier, personal circumstances will affect the structure of your presentation.

Many presenters prefer to make the Q&A session the key part of their talk and try to speed through the main body of the presentation. This is totally fine, but it is still best to focus on delivering some sort of initial presentation to set the tone and topics for discussion in the Q&A.

Other common presentation structures

The above was a description of a basic presentation, here are some more specific presentation layouts:

Demonstration

Use the demonstration structure when you have something useful to show. This is usually used when you want to show how a product works. Steve Jobs frequently used this technique in his presentations.

• Explain why the product is valuable.
• Describe why the product is necessary.
• Explain what problems it can solve for the audience.
• Demonstrate the product  to support what you’ve been saying.
• Make suggestions of other things it can do to make the audience curious.

Problem-solution

This structure is particularly useful in persuading the audience.

• Briefly frame the issue.
• Go into the issue in detail showing why it ‘s such a problem. Use logos and pathos for this – the logical and emotional appeals.
• Provide the solution and explain why this would also help the audience.
• Call to action – something you want the audience to do which is straightforward and pertinent to the solution.

Storytelling

As well as incorporating  stories in your presentation , you can organise your whole presentation as a story. There are lots of different type of story structures you can use – a popular choice is the monomyth – the hero’s journey. In a monomyth, a hero goes on a difficult journey or takes on a challenge – they move from the familiar into the unknown. After facing obstacles and ultimately succeeding the hero returns home, transformed and with newfound wisdom.

Storytelling for Business Success  webinar , where well-know storyteller Javier Bernad shares strategies for crafting compelling narratives.

Another popular choice for using a story to structure your presentation is in media ras (in the middle of thing). In this type of story you launch right into the action by providing a snippet/teaser of what’s happening and then you start explaining the events that led to that event. This is engaging because you’re starting your story at the most exciting part which will make the audience curious – they’ll want to know how you got there.

• Great storytelling: Examples from Alibaba Founder, Jack Ma

Remaining method

The remaining method structure is good for situations where you’re presenting your perspective on a controversial topic which has split people’s opinions.

• Go into the issue in detail showing why it’s such a problem – use logos and pathos.
• Rebut your opponents’ solutions  – explain why their solutions could be useful because the audience will see this as fair and will therefore think you’re trustworthy, and then explain why you think these solutions are not valid.
• After you’ve presented all the alternatives provide your solution, the remaining solution. This is very persuasive because it looks like the winning idea, especially with the audience believing that you’re fair and trustworthy.

Transitions

When delivering presentations it’s important for your words and ideas to flow so your audience can understand how everything links together and why it’s all relevant. This can be done  using speech transitions  which are words and phrases that allow you to smoothly move from one point to another so that your speech flows and your presentation is unified.

Transitions can be one word, a phrase or a full sentence – there are many different forms, here are some examples:

Moving from the introduction to the first point

Signify to the audience that you will now begin discussing the first main point:

• Now that you’re aware of the overview, let’s begin with…
• First, let’s begin with…
• I will first cover…
• My first point covers…
• To get started, let’s look at…

Shifting between similar points

Move from one point to a similar one:

• In the same way…
• Likewise…
• Equally…
• This is similar to…
• Similarly…

Internal summaries

Internal summarising consists of summarising before moving on to the next point. You must inform the audience:

• What part of the presentation you covered – “In the first part of this speech we’ve covered…”
• What the key points were – “Precisely how…”
• How this links in with the overall presentation – “So that’s the context…”
• What you’re moving on to – “Now I’d like to move on to the second part of presentation which looks at…”

Physical movement

You can move your body and your standing location when you transition to another point. The audience find it easier to follow your presentation and movement will increase their interest.

A common technique for incorporating movement into your presentation is to:

• Start your introduction by standing in the centre of the stage.
• For your first point you stand on the left side of the stage.
• You discuss your second point from the centre again.
• You stand on the right side of the stage for your third point.
• The conclusion occurs in the centre.

Key slides for your presentation

Slides are a useful tool for most presentations: they can greatly assist in the delivery of your message and help the audience follow along with what you are saying. Key slides include:

• An intro slide outlining your ideas
• A  summary slide  with core points to remember
• High quality image slides to supplement what you are saying

There are some presenters who choose not to use slides at all, though this is more of a rarity. Slides can be a powerful tool if used properly, but the problem is that many fail to do just that. Here are some golden rules to follow when using slides in a presentation:

• Don’t over fill them  – your slides are there to assist your speech, rather than be the focal point. They should have as little information as possible, to avoid distracting people from your talk.
• A picture says a thousand words  – instead of filling a slide with text, instead, focus on one or two images or diagrams to help support and explain the point you are discussing at that time.
• Make them readable  – depending on the size of your audience, some may not be able to see small text or images, so make everything large enough to fill the space.
• Don’t rush through slides  – give the audience enough time to digest each slide.

Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slideshows should follow a  10-20-30 rule :

• There should be a maximum of 10 slides – people rarely remember more than one concept afterwards so there’s no point overwhelming them with unnecessary information.
• The presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes as this will leave time for questions and discussion.
• The font size should be a minimum of 30pt because the audience reads faster than you talk so less information on the slides means that there is less chance of the audience being distracted.

Here are some additional resources for slide design:

• 7 design tips for effective, beautiful PowerPoint presentations
• 11 design tips for beautiful presentations
• 10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea

Group Presentations

Group presentations are structured in the same way as presentations with one speaker but usually require more rehearsal and practices.  Clean transitioning between speakers  is very important in producing a presentation that flows well. One way of doing this consists of:

• Briefly recap on what you covered in your section: “So that was a brief introduction on what health anxiety is and how it can affect somebody”
• Introduce the next speaker in the team and explain what they will discuss: “Now Elnaz will talk about the prevalence of health anxiety.”
• Then end by looking at the next speaker, gesturing towards them and saying their name: “Elnaz”.
• The next speaker should acknowledge this with a quick: “Thank you Joe.”

From this example you can see how the different sections of the presentations link which makes it easier for the audience to follow and remain engaged.

Example of great presentation structure and delivery

Having examples of great presentations will help inspire your own structures, here are a few such examples, each unique and inspiring in their own way.

How Google Works – by Eric Schmidt

This presentation by ex-Google CEO  Eric Schmidt  demonstrates some of the most important lessons he and his team have learnt with regards to working with some of the most talented individuals they hired. The simplistic yet cohesive style of all of the slides is something to be appreciated. They are relatively straightforward, yet add power and clarity to the narrative of the presentation.

Start with why – by Simon Sinek

Since being released in 2009, this presentation has been viewed almost four million times all around the world. The message itself is very powerful, however, it’s not an idea that hasn’t been heard before. What makes this presentation so powerful is the simple message he is getting across, and the straightforward and understandable manner in which he delivers it. Also note that he doesn’t use any slides, just a whiteboard where he creates a simple diagram of his opinion.

The Wisdom of a Third Grade Dropout – by Rick Rigsby

Here’s an example of a presentation given by a relatively unknown individual looking to inspire the next generation of graduates. Rick’s presentation is unique in many ways compared to the two above. Notably, he uses no visual prompts and includes a great deal of humour.

However, what is similar is the structure he uses. He first introduces his message that the wisest man he knew was a third-grade dropout. He then proceeds to deliver his main body of argument, and in the end, concludes with his message. This powerful speech keeps the viewer engaged throughout, through a mixture of heart-warming sentiment, powerful life advice and engaging humour.

As you can see from the examples above, and as it has been expressed throughout, a great presentation structure means analysing the core message of your presentation. Decide on a key message you want to impart the audience with, and then craft an engaging way of delivering it.

By preparing a solid structure, and  practising your talk  beforehand, you can walk into the presentation with confidence and deliver a meaningful message to an interested audience.

It’s important for a presentation to be well-structured so it can have the most impact on your audience. An unstructured presentation can be difficult to follow and even frustrating to listen to. The heart of your speech are your main points supported by evidence and your transitions should assist the movement between points and clarify how everything is linked.

Research suggests that the audience remember the first and last things you say so your introduction and conclusion are vital for reinforcing your points. Essentially, ensure you spend the time structuring your presentation and addressing all of the sections.

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Presentations: Oral Presentations

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Oral Presentations Purpose

An Oral Research Presentation is meant to showcase your research findings. A successful oral research presentation should: communicate the importance of your research; clearly state your findings and the analysis of those findings; prompt discussion between researcher and audience.  Below you will find information on how to create and give a successful oral presentation.  

Creating an Effective Presentation

Who has a harder job the speaker? Or, the audience?

Most people think speaker has the hardest job during an oral presentation, because they are having to stand up in a room full of people and give a presentation. However, if the speaker is not engaging and if the material is way outside of the audiences knowledge level, the audience can have a difficult job as well. Below you will find some tips on how to be an effective presenter and how to engage with your audience.

Organization of a Presentation  

Introduction/Beginning

How are you going to begin?  How are you going to get the attention of your audience? You need to take the time and think about how you are going to get started!

Here are some ways you could start:

• Ask the audience a question
• make a statement
• show them something

No matter how you start your presentation it needs to relate to your research and capture the audiences attention.  

Preview what you are going to discuss .  Audiences do not like to be manipulated or tricked. Tell the audience exactly what you are going to discuss, this will help them follow along.  *Do not say you are going to cover three points and then try to cover 8 points.

At the end of your introduction, the audience should feel like they know exactly what you are going to  discuss and exactly how you are going to get there.  

Body/Middle

Conclusion/End

Delivery and Communication

Eye Contact

Making eye contact is a great way to engage with your audience.  Eye contact should be no longer than 2-3 seconds per person.  Eye contact for much longer than that can begin to make the audience member feel uncomfortable.

Smiling lets attendees know you are happy to be there and that you are excited to talk with them about your project.

We all know that body language says a lot, so here are some things you should remember when giving your presentation.

• Stand with both feet on the floor, not with one foot crossed over the other. 
• Do not stand with your hands in your pockets, or with your arms crossed.
• Stand tall with confidence and own your space (remember you are the expert).  

Abbreviated Notes

Having a written set of notes or key points that you want to address can help prevent you from reading the poster. 

Speak Clearly

Sometimes when we get nervous we begin to talk fast and blur our words.  It is important that you make sure every word is distinct and clear. A great way to practice your speech is to say tongue twisters. 

Ten tiny tots tottered toward the shore

Literally literary. Literally literary.  Literally literary.

Sally soon saw that she should sew some sheets.

Avoid Fillers

Occasionally we pick up fillers that we are not aware of, such as um, like, well, etc. One way to get rid of fillers is to have a friend listen to your speech and every time you say a "filler" have that friend tap you on the arm or say your name.  This will bring the filler to light, then you can practice avoiding that filler.

Manage Anxiety

Many people get nervous when they are about to speak to a crowd of people.  Below are ways that you can manage your anxiety levels. 

• Practice, Practice, Practice - the more prepared you are the less nervous you will be.
• Recognize that anxiety is just a big shot of adrenalin.
• Take deep breaths before your presentation to calm you down. 

Components of an Oral Research Presentation

Introduction

The introduction section of your oral presentation should consist of 3 main parts.  

Part 1: Existing facts

In order to give audience members the "full picture", you first need to provide them with information about past research.  What facts already exist? What is already known about your research area?

Part 2: Shortcomings

Once you have highlighted past research and existing facts. You now need to address what is left to be known, or what shortcomings exist within the current information.  This should set the groundwork for your experiment.  Keep in mind, how does your research fill these gaps or help address these questions? 

Part 3: Purpose or Hypothesis

After you have addressed past/current research and have identified shortcomings/gaps, it is now time to address your research.  During this portion of the introduction you need to tell viewers why you are conducting your research experiement/study, and what you hope to accomplish by doing so. 

In this section you should share with your audience how you went about collecting and analyzing your data

Should include:

• Participants: Who or what was in the study?
• Materials/ measurements: what did you measure?
• Procedures: How did you do the study?
• Data-analysis: What analysis were conducted? 

This section contains FACTS – with no opinion, commentary or interpretation. Graphs, charts and images can be used to display data in a clear and organized way.  

Keep in mind when making figures:

• Make sure axis, treatments, and data sets are clearly labeled
• Strive for simplicity, especially in figure titles. 
• Know when to use what kind of graph
• Be careful with colors.

Interpretation and commentary takes place here. This section should give a clear summary of your findings. 

You should:

• Address the positive and negative aspects of you research
• Discuss how and if your research question was answered. 
• Highlight the novel and important findings
• Speculate on what could be occurring in your system 

Future Research

• State your goals
• Include information about why you believe research should go in the direction you are proposing
• Discuss briefly how you plan to implement the research goals, if you chose to do so.  

Why include References?

• It allows viewers to locate the material that you used, and can help viewers expand their knowledge of your research topic.  
• Indicates that you have conducted a thorough review of the literature and conducted your research from an informed perspective.
• Guards you against intellectual theft.  Ideas are considered intellectual property failure to cite someone's ideas can have serious consequences. 

Acknowledgements

This section is used to thank the people, programs and funding agencies that allowed you to perform your research.

Questions 

Allow for about 2-3 minutes at the end of your presentation for questions. 

It is important to be prepared. 

• Know why you conducted the study
• Be prepared to answer questions about why you chose a specific methodology

If you DO NOT know the answer to a question

Visual Aids

PowerPoints and other visual aids can be used to support what you are presenting about.

Power Point Slides and other visual aids can help support your presentation, however there are some things you should consider: 

• Do not overdo it . One big mistake that presenters make is they have  a slide for every single item they want to say. One way you can avoid this is by writing your presentation in Word first, instead of making a Power Point Presentation. By doing this you can type exactly what you want to say, and once your presentation is complete, you can create Power Point slides that help support your presentation. ​

Formula for number of visual aids : Length of presentation divided by 2 plus 1

example: 12 minute presentation should have no more than 7 slides.

• Does it add interest? 
• Does it prove? 
• Does it clarify?
• Do not read the text . Most people can read, and if they have the option of reading material themselves versus listen to you read it, they are going to read it themselves and then your voice becomes an annoyance. Also, when you are reading the text you are probably not engaging with the audience. 
• No more than 4-6 lines on a slide and no more than 4-6 words in a line.
• People should be able to read your slide in 6 seconds.
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120 Presentation Topic Ideas Help You Hook Your Audience

Updated: January 15, 2024

Published: August 09, 2023

Cooking is easy. The puzzle is figuring out what to eat. As soon as you know that, you can get started. The same holds for presentations. The sooner you can whip up a good, informative, and catchy topic, the easier the rest of the process becomes.

Pick a good topic that resonates with you and your audience to set a strong foundation. But select the wrong topic, and it becomes difficult to connect with your audience, find mutual interests, or hold their attention.

So, let’s learn how to develop thought-provoking and relevant topics for your presentations. You’ll also find some best practices to make your presentation memorable.

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Table of Contents

How to Choose a Great Presentation Topic in 5 Steps

120 presentation topic ideas, 5 presentation tips.

4. Choose an appropriate presentation style.

There are many ways to present a topic. Your personality, the topic at hand, and your audience’s personas will help you determine which style would best fit you and your audience.

Select a presentation style that will communicate the main idea clearly and have a lasting impact on your audience.

For instance, explore a freeform style presenter by Sir Ken Robinson.

5. Engage with your audience.

Work on your presentation skills to make a strong connection with your audience, get through to them and leave a mark.

Think of the presenter as the link between the topic and the audience. A strong or a weak presenter can make a difference between a presentation being a thriving success or a boring failure.

Hone your skills by engaging and interacting with your audience. Make them feel like a part of the presentation and not just spectators. 70% of marketers have found presentations with interactive content to be more effective than those without.

Here are a few ways you can make your presentation interactive:

• Start your speech with uncommon questions to your audience. Involve them from the get-go, like ask to raise their hands if X.
• Make eye contact to build credibility and show confidence. Don’t stare at your slides or notes. Smile occasionally and talk to the audience directly.
• Have an active and confident body language. Don’t stand in the same place the entire time. Move around the stage.
• Don’t be monotonous. Speak as you would to a colleague — with enthusiasm.
• Ask close-ended questions in between to keep the audience engaged without losing time. Address them using their names to keep things interesting.
• Share personal experiences and stories that your audience will find fascinating and relatable.
• Practice thoroughly before you present so you’re fluent with the material and delivery.
• Energy and excitement can be quite contagious. Make sure you exude enough to spread some to your audience.

Feeling Inspired Yet?

Now you have all the right ingredients for choosing amazing topics and a hundred ideas to drive inspiration from. So, go ahead and start cooking presentations that will blow your audience away.

Don’t forget to choose a super-relevant topic and add meaty information. Do it with excitement to make it enjoyable for you and your audience. Best of luck!

Don't forget to share this post!

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La presentación oral: 13 Ways to Teach it for AP Spanish Success

When my students first began giving oral presentations in my AP Spanish Language and Culture course, they had trouble for three reasons:

1. They had little knowledge of cultural practices in Spanish-speaking countries.

2. They struggled to finish within the two-minute limit.

3. Their presentations were completely disorganized.

In this blog post, I will explain how I addressed each issue so that my students were able to master the oral presentation section of the AP Spanish exam. Keep reading and get my F-R-E-E culture project on Spanish-speaking countries and famous hispanohablantes. Below are my best tips on how to teach la presentación oral.

1. STUDENT RESEARCH

Neither the teacher nor the students can predict what cultural practice will be mentioned in the presentational speaking section of the AP exam. Hence, the anxiety. However, just as those who live in Seattle must always have a raincoat within reach, students of AP Spanish must come equipped with knowledge of many traditions practiced in Spain and Latin America. Hence, the culture presentation. The more customs they are familiar with, the more likely it is that they will be able to answer the question with confidence. In order to fill their cultural knowledge bank, I assign a project.

At the beginning of the course, I hand out instructions for a culture project. Students must do a Google search to find cultural practices or traditions of a Spanish-speaking country. They can either choose from articles in the textbook or find their own. If they select a tradition not in the text, I must approve their choices.

I hand out and explain the instructions, so students know the requirements.

THE PRESENTATION MUST:

• Have a visual component.
• Be five minutes long.
• Include comprehension questions for the class.
• Include a quiz for the class.
• Include an additional two-minute oral presentation comparing the cultural practice with one in their own country.

While the student talks, the observers take notes. Whenever students give presentations, I also include a graded, listening component for the observers so no one is sitting idly; students are always practicing their Spanish language skills, either speaking or listening. In this case, the students must evaluate la presentación oral according to the rubric, and answer comprehension questions in the student-created quiz.

After the presentations, the observers ask the presenter questions about his or her speech, then take the quiz.

Want more details? Click the following link to access the culture project I use: LA PRESENTACIÓN ORAL CULTURE PROJECT . These instructions are for Triángulo aprobado, but you can use them with Vista Higher Learning or any other textbook or test-practice booklet. Just replace the titles where appropriate.

2. TELL STUDENTS THE LEARNING GOAL

When I was a new teacher, I would anxiously sit down to grade a project and then feel my disappointed heart sink to my toes as I read each submission. How did the students miss the target by so great a distance? Because I had assumed they knew what I expected. Surely they knew they needed to include what to me were obvious elements. But they didn’t.

Students need to know exactly what is required of them. With that goal in mind, I tell them, at the beginning, what the learning objectives are. Then I give them the rubric with even more details. Below is the learning goal I give my students for the presentación oral comparing the grading system in the U.S. to that of a Spanish-speaking country:

Given a rubric of the oral presentation, vocabulary of comparisons, a PowerPoint on the Oral Presentation, and information on grading systems, students will do a two-minute oral presentation comparing the grading system of one Spanish-speaking country to the grading system in the United States.

HERE IS ANOTHER LEARNING GOAL:

Given information on Cartagena and Macchu Picchu, students will do an oral presentation comparing an American tourist attraction to Machu Picchu or Cartagena.

These topics were in the cultural texts of our AP Spanish test-prep booklet.

3. STUDENTS PRACTICE VOCABULARY FOR COMPARISONS AND FOR THE WRITTEN TEXT

Before students attempt to discuss the differences and similarities of various cultures, they need to have the vocabulary to do so; they need to know how to make comparisons in Spanish, and they need to know the vocabulary specific to the given topic.

I hand out a list of words and phrases students need in order to make comparisons and also vocabulary of challenging words from the text we will be reading.

The words don’t automatically become part of the students’ working vocabulary just because I handed them the list of words. They need to practice the vocabulary, to see the words in context, and to let them percolate in their brains (recognition phase). Then they draw a representation of the words, write the definition, and use them in context themselves (productive).

Below is part of the list of comparisons I give my Spanish students.

Vocabulario para la comparación

• Por un lado                                     On the one hand
• Por otro lado                                  On the other hand
• En comparación con                    In comparison with
• Si se compara…con                      If one compares…with
• Es cada vez más                            It’s more and more
• Es cada vez menos                       It’s less and less
• Mientras que X…                          While X…
• Se parece a…                                 It is similar to
• Se diferencia en                            It differs in that
• Mejor / peor queue                        Better / worse than
• Aunque…                                      Although / even though
• A la inversa                                   Conversely
• De manera different                   Differently
• Sin embargo                                 However

For example, I might say the following: Escojan dos palabras del vocabulario en la página 112. Hagan los cuadros y escriban una oración para cada palabra.

Students draw a square with four boxes. Sometimes, instead of writing sentences in the last box, I tell them to write synonyms in Spanish. Below is the demonstration I show them before instructing them to practice with the vocabulary.

4. LA PRESENTACIÓN ORAL: LAS INSTRUCCIONES

LEARNING TARGET: Students will plan and produce spoken presentational communications.

After students practice the vocabulary, we read the instructions and the exam description together, in Spanish, so they understand the requirements:

• They will have four minutes to read the topic and prepare their presentation.
• They will have two minutes to record their presentation.
• They will need to use the formal register.
• They will be comparing cultural characteristics / practices, traditions of the community in which they live with those of a Spanish-speaking country or Spanish-speaking communities with which they are familiar.
• They can use any of the following examples: information they have read, heard, or seen, or personal experiences or observations.

5. STUDENTS MUST ORGANIZE THEIR ORAL PRESENTATION

It is essential that students learn to organize their presentations, or they will not succeed on the exam. Organizing helps them think better and it also helps them stay within the time constraints.

In order to organize their speech, they must:

• Begin with a thesis statement that answers the question.
• Include words of the question in their thesis statement.
• Include developing paragraphs and a conclusion.
• Use a graphic organizer to prepare: I show students how to use a Venn Diagram and also a T graphic. On one side, students put the differences, on the other side, the similarities.

6. RUBRIC FOR PRESENTATIONAL SPEAKING

I read the College Board rubric for AP Spanish Presentational Speaking with the students so they know how they will be evaluated.

7. SHOW THE POWERPOINT

Then, I show my PowerPoint, which repeats the instructions (once isn’t enough) and gives more details of what is required. Below are a few examples of what students learn when watching the PowerPoint.

STUDENTS MUST:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the culture of a Spanish-speaking country.
• Speak fluidly.
• Provide details of the culture.
• Make themselves understood, speak with varied vocabulary and idiomatic expressions.
• Speak with good pronunciation.
• Correct themselves as they are speaking when they make mistakes.
• Commit few grammatical errors
• Read the question thoroughly.
• Use pausing or transition words to give them time to think such as, “así que, pues, entonces, además…”

The PowerPoint also shows several example introductions and thesis statements for a given cultural comparison including reasons number one and two. It also shows model text for developing paragraphs and a conclusion.

8. STUDENTS EVALUATE USING THE RUBRIC OR A CHECKLIST

After showing the PowerPoint, I give students a checklist of the required elements. After they read the model presentation, I check for understanding by asking students what the requirements are for a good presentation.

Then, students evaluate the model presentation according to the rubric or checklist using the college board grading system: They give an exam score of 1-5. (My checklist was created using the AP Spanish rubric for presentational speaking.)

An easy way to give students an idea of what a grade of 5 looks like is to have them listen to past exams and guess the score. Students hear presentations of scores ranging from 1 to 5. They then evaluate the presentation using a checklist. Once they guess, I show them what the real score was.

9. SELF-CORRECTING

I train students how to correct themselves during the presentation to improve fluidity and help them sound more like a native speaker. For example, I teach the vocabulary they will need when they misspeak, such as, “Es decir, mejor dicho, o sea, digo”.

10. READ THE CULTURAL NOTE

I read the cultural note in the textbook, test-practice booklet, or text I have provided. For example, I say: Lee la “Cápsula cultural: En las terrazas de Cuzco se puede cultivar más que hortalizas” en la página 111 en Triángulo aprobado.

Then I read the question. For example: Comparaciones: Compara la atracción turística de Machu Picchu con un sitio de tu país o comunidad.

11. SOLICIT DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES USING THE GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

I solicit “semejanzas y diferencias”. I write in students’ answers on a transparency (Boy am I old), smart board or whiteboard. Students take notes in their graphic organizer.

12. STUDENTS PRACTICE WITH A PARTNER

Working with a partner greatly decreases student anxiety and makes the task more fun. Also, students have the advantage of a peer tutor.

The first time students work on the oral presentation, I give them a full ten minutes to prepare. The more proficient they become in organizing their comparisons, the less time I give them. The last few months before the AP Spanish exam, students listen to the audio prompts which only allow four minutes to prepare.

13. STUDENTS PRESENT WITH PARTNERS AND EVALUATE EACH OTHER

Students now give their oral presentations using Google Voice, Audacity, or online using the publisher’s site. I time them for two minutes using a stopwatch.

One student at a time gives the presentation while the partner evaluates using the checklist. Students turn in the checklist.

I ask for two volunteers to present before the class for extra points. The entire class grades them according to the checklist.

14. BE EFFICIENT WITH TIME

Did I say 13 ways? Here is #14.

Time is always beating me with a whip as I prepare my students to pass the test. Therefore, I must find ways to use my time efficiently. A great way to save time is to work on two sections of the AP exam simultaneously. I instruct half the class to work on the oral presentation and the other half to work on the simulated conversation for the current AP Spanish theme, for example: Contemporary Life, or Global Challenges. Half the students are doing practice tests for presentational speaking while the other half works on interpersonal speaking. For example:

• Half the class does Conversación simulada p. 117 on Audacity or the Learning Site.
• The other half of the class does oral presentation on Google Voice or the Learning Site.
• Then they switch.
• The Spanish teacher times the oral presentation for two minutes. Remember to tell the test takers to say their name and let a few seconds pass first and to say who they are when using Google Voice.

If you would rather not do all the work yourself, you can use the Oral Presentation PowerPoint and Activities for AP Spanish Language and Culture to help students master la presentación oral portion of the AP Spanish exam. This valuable resource includes everything I have mentioned in this post.

These resources can be used with Triángulo aprobado Spanish Language books or Vista Higher Learning booklets or any AP Spanish Test-prep books. Google Slides digital versions are available, too.

The 28-slide Presentación Oral PowerPoint for AP Spanish includes the following:

• Instructions on how to do a cultural oral presentation for AP Spanish
• Required elements of an oral presentation
• A sample cultural question taken from Triángulo aprobado
• Two sample graphic organizers for the “presentación oral”
• Instructions on how to write the “oración de tesis” and how to organize the “presentación oral”
• A sample cultural oral presentation with the components labeled
• Expressions for self-correction
• Expressions for pausing and transition
• 24 words and expressions useful for making comparisons
• Four possible introductions
• Three possible “oraciones de tesis”
• Two sample developing paragraphs
• A sample conclusion
• Instructions for writing the conclusion

The printables include the following:

• a checklist for self-correction or partner correction
• a lesson plan for the oral presentation following the EDI format: the learning objective, attention-getter, tension, explain/model/demonstrate, checking for understanding, guided practice, closure, independent practice/homework, and items needed to present the lesson
• a graphic organizer
• a handout of vocabulary for making comparisons
• the password to open the PowerPoint YOU WILL NEED MICROSOFT OFFICE 2002 in order to access the password-protected PowerPoint.

This PowerPoint and Activities is included in the following bundle: A P SPANISH POWERPOINTS

How do AP Spanish students record their  simulated conversations  and  oral presentations ?

So many of you have asked me what my students use to record their presentations. I will tell you what I used and also what other teachers use, so you have many options. BELOW ARE WAYS STUDENTS CAN RECORD:  

• Google Voice (What I used)
• Vocaroo  Online Voice Recorder (It’s free and I’ve heard great things about it.)
• Flip  (Used to be FlipGrid.)
• Schoology, Canvas, or any LMS (Learning Management System) your school is using.
• Audacity (I have used this as well.)
• Vista Higher Learning SuperSite
• Student Phones (Voice Memo or Recording App)
• Google MP3 in Google Classroom

READY-MADE LESSON PLANS THAT DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU

If you don’t want to write the lesson plans yourself, use the ready-made lesson plans below. They do everything for you! And you can have confidence in them since all my students passed the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam except one during the five years I taught AP Spanish.

AP Spanish Lesson Plans and Curriculum for Tríangulo apro bado

AP Spanish Lesson Plans and Curriculum for Vista Higher Learning

Would you like more free resources for AP Spanish? And more tips on how to teach it? Click on the links below.

F-R-E-E Lesson on the Argumentative Essay for Presentational Writing (Previously called the Persuasive Essay)

Simple Tips on How to Teach the AP Spanish Email Reply for Interpersonal Writing

How to Teach the Argumentative Essay

Why I Teac h AP Spanish the Way I Do

What do I Teach After the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam?

I hope this post has given you some ideas to help your students master la presentación oral section of the AP Spanish exam. If you found this post helpful, send the link to a friend!

If you’d like to get more tips and f-r-e-e resources in your email, subscribe to my newsletter. Just click this link and scroll to the bottom to subscribe: Best PowerPoints for Spanish and French by Angie Torre. You’ll also get a F-R-E-E 122-slide PowerPoint on Spanish verbs and infinitives.

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I taught world language for 31 years and have created countless resources for Spanish and French during that time.  I am a top seller on Teachers Pay Teachers and for the past 11 years I have devoted my time and energy to helping teachers save time, avoid burn-out, and bring their students to proficiency in the target language through the use of my proven resources. During the five years that I taught AP Spanish, all but one of my students (primarily non-native speakers) passed the AP exam most with fours and fives.

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How to prepare and deliver an effective oral presentation

• Related content
• Peer review
• Lucia Hartigan , registrar 1 ,
• Fionnuala Mone , fellow in maternal fetal medicine 1 ,
• Mary Higgins , consultant obstetrician 2
• 1 National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
• 2 National Maternity Hospital, Dublin; Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medicine and Medical Sciences, University College Dublin
• luciahartigan{at}hotmail.com

The success of an oral presentation lies in the speaker’s ability to transmit information to the audience. Lucia Hartigan and colleagues describe what they have learnt about delivering an effective scientific oral presentation from their own experiences, and their mistakes

The objective of an oral presentation is to portray large amounts of often complex information in a clear, bite sized fashion. Although some of the success lies in the content, the rest lies in the speaker’s skills in transmitting the information to the audience. 1

Preparation

It is important to be as well prepared as possible. Look at the venue in person, and find out the time allowed for your presentation and for questions, and the size of the audience and their backgrounds, which will allow the presentation to be pitched at the appropriate level.

See what the ambience and temperature are like and check that the format of your presentation is compatible with the available computer. This is particularly important when embedding videos. Before you begin, look at the video on stand-by and make sure the lights are dimmed and the speakers are functioning.

For visual aids, Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Mac Keynote programmes are usual, although Prezi is increasing in popularity. Save the presentation on a USB stick, with email or cloud storage backup to avoid last minute disasters.

When preparing the presentation, start with an opening slide containing the title of the study, your name, and the date. Begin by addressing and thanking the audience and the organisation that has invited you to speak. Typically, the format includes background, study aims, methodology, results, strengths and weaknesses of the study, and conclusions.

If the study takes a lecturing format, consider including “any questions?” on a slide before you conclude, which will allow the audience to remember the take home messages. Ideally, the audience should remember three of the main points from the presentation. 2

Have a maximum of four short points per slide. If you can display something as a diagram, video, or a graph, use this instead of text and talk around it.

Animation is available in both Microsoft PowerPoint and the Apple Mac Keynote programme, and its use in presentations has been demonstrated to assist in the retention and recall of facts. 3 Do not overuse it, though, as it could make you appear unprofessional. If you show a video or diagram don’t just sit back—use a laser pointer to explain what is happening.

Rehearse your presentation in front of at least one person. Request feedback and amend accordingly. If possible, practise in the venue itself so things will not be unfamiliar on the day. If you appear comfortable, the audience will feel comfortable. Ask colleagues and seniors what questions they would ask and prepare responses to these questions.

It is important to dress appropriately, stand up straight, and project your voice towards the back of the room. Practise using a microphone, or any other presentation aids, in advance. If you don’t have your own presenting style, think of the style of inspirational scientific speakers you have seen and imitate it.

Try to present slides at the rate of around one slide a minute. If you talk too much, you will lose your audience’s attention. The slides or videos should be an adjunct to your presentation, so do not hide behind them, and be proud of the work you are presenting. You should avoid reading the wording on the slides, but instead talk around the content on them.

Maintain eye contact with the audience and remember to smile and pause after each comment, giving your nerves time to settle. Speak slowly and concisely, highlighting key points.

Do not assume that the audience is completely familiar with the topic you are passionate about, but don’t patronise them either. Use every presentation as an opportunity to teach, even your seniors. The information you are presenting may be new to them, but it is always important to know your audience’s background. You can then ensure you do not patronise world experts.

To maintain the audience’s attention, vary the tone and inflection of your voice. If appropriate, use humour, though you should run any comments or jokes past others beforehand and make sure they are culturally appropriate. Check every now and again that the audience is following and offer them the opportunity to ask questions.

Finishing up is the most important part, as this is when you send your take home message with the audience. Slow down, even though time is important at this stage. Conclude with the three key points from the study and leave the slide up for a further few seconds. Do not ramble on. Give the audience a chance to digest the presentation. Conclude by acknowledging those who assisted you in the study, and thank the audience and organisation. If you are presenting in North America, it is usual practice to conclude with an image of the team. If you wish to show references, insert a text box on the appropriate slide with the primary author, year, and paper, although this is not always required.

Answering questions can often feel like the most daunting part, but don’t look upon this as negative. Assume that the audience has listened and is interested in your research. Listen carefully, and if you are unsure about what someone is saying, ask for the question to be rephrased. Thank the audience member for asking the question and keep responses brief and concise. If you are unsure of the answer you can say that the questioner has raised an interesting point that you will have to investigate further. Have someone in the audience who will write down the questions for you, and remember that this is effectively free peer review.

Be proud of your achievements and try to do justice to the work that you and the rest of your group have done. You deserve to be up on that stage, so show off what you have achieved.

Competing interests: We have read and understood the BMJ Group policy on declaration of interests and declare the following interests: None.

• ↵ Rovira A, Auger C, Naidich TP. How to prepare an oral presentation and a conference. Radiologica 2013 ; 55 (suppl 1): 2 -7S. OpenUrl
• ↵ Bourne PE. Ten simple rules for making good oral presentations. PLos Comput Biol 2007 ; 3 : e77 . OpenUrl PubMed
• ↵ Naqvi SH, Mobasher F, Afzal MA, Umair M, Kohli AN, Bukhari MH. Effectiveness of teaching methods in a medical institute: perceptions of medical students to teaching aids. J Pak Med Assoc 2013 ; 63 : 859 -64. OpenUrl

Spanish Oral Presentation Guide for Beginners

by TruFluency | Featured Spanish Blog , Learn Spanish , Spanish Presentation

The moment to show off your Spanish skills is here, and we’ll teach you how to wow your audience, coworkers, boss, or clients. The way you introduce and close your presentation can have a positive or negative effect on your audience. So, it’s normal that you get nervous about speaking in front of a crowd and communicating your ideas effectively.

Practicing oral presentations in Spanish helps you focus on pronunciation and clarity while broadening your academic, job, and business opportunities . However, what may be even more valuable is that it gives you the chance to take risks, gain confidence, and exercise persuasion in a foreign language.

If you have a presentation soon, and want to blow everyone’s mind, here is your guide to giving oral presentations in Spanish for beginners.

5 Engaging Presentation Openings

The first part of our Spanish oral presentation guide is to help you find the most engaging ways to open your speech.

1. Start with a Reflexive or Engaging Question

For example:

¿Sabían ustedes que la entonación de nuestra voz no es sonido sino emoción? (Did you know that the intonation of our voice is not sound but emotion?)

Starting with a question allows you to keep your audience attentive throughout your message.

2. Tell an Anecdote

55% of our communication stems from non-verbal language ; everything our audience reads through our expressions, mannerisms, tone, etc., while 38% of our communication is vocal and 7% is words.

Hence, the importance of telling a story at the beginning of your presentation, so your audience connects with what you are going to deliver. We are all natural communicators.

At first, you may feel shy about opening yourself to the world, but believe it or not: your story counts, your story inspires, and even more than you think.

3. Utilize Objects

Generate interest with an object that’s relevant to your message. For instance, you can follow a similar script to this one:

Esta cartera que hoy acompaña mi atuendo tiene un significado muy especial. Esta cartera ha sido elaborada, tejida y pensada por gente que cree en sus sueños. ¡Qué gusto estar el día de hoy aquí hablando con emprendedores que creen en construir!

(This purse that matches my outfit today has a very special meaning to me. This purse has been sewn, knitted, and created by people that believe in their dreams. What a pleasure to be here today talking with entrepreneurs that believe in building things!)

Utilizing resources as elements of your speech will help your public to relate and feel part of your speech. Everything has a meaning and a representation. Remember that your public will forget what you said but will always remember how you made them feel. So, make them feel welcome!

4. Statistics

Using statistical data will help give your statement a significant rational weight. Remember that statistics aren’t read, they’re interpreted. This forces you to describe exhaustive research about a topic.

This isn’t about boring your audience with numbers, it’s about using statistics as a tool to make people reflect on your message. An example of an introduction in Spanish with statistics is:

¿Sabían ustedes que el 80% de los consumidores que adquieren sus productos en línea confían más en las recomendaciones de sus amigos o familiares que de las propias empresas?

(Did you know that 80% of consumers that buy your products online trust more in the recommendations of their friends and family than on the ones of companies?)

5. Who are you?

Greet your audience. This is fundamental to bond with them. Say your name, who you are, what your topic is and why it is important to pay attention to you. Let’s put it into practice with this example:

Hoy me encuentro feliz de estar con ustedes compartiendo lo que sé. Mi nombre es Liam Jones, soy periodista y locutor de radio, y hoy quiero que aprendas a utilizar tu voz para hacerte escuchar.

(Today I am very happy to be with you sharing what I know. My name is Liam Jones. I am a journalist and radio host, and I want you to learn to use your voice to make yourself heard.)

Respect your essence, know yourself and regularly practice the above types of introduction.

Verbal and Non-Verbal Presentation Tips

The next part of our Spanish oral presentation guide is divided into verbal and non-verbal language.

Non-Verbal Language Tips

Your gestures can emphasize, substitute or contradict what you express with words.

Use open gestures, like moving your hands, stretching your arms and legs, and opening your shoulders. Additionally, avoid having objects in your way between your body and the audience, such as folders, books, and tables. Your face should be visible all the time.

Choose gestures that ease people’s understanding of your speech. For example, pointing in a direction.

Avoid fidgeting out of nervousness. For instance, touching your hair or glasses.

Distribute your gaze amongst your audience, so everybody feels included. You can divide your audience into different quadrants. Let’s say, four, and choose a person of each quadrant to “talk to”.

Volume and Intonation

Mentally “take measurements” of the room, so the volume you choose to use is enough for both people in the front row and in the back to hear you. Also, avoid monotonous intonation. Highlight with your voice the keywords of your speech.

Rhythm and Pronunciation

Slow down when you need to separate ideas, this reflects confidence and helps you recover people’s attention. Pronunciation should be clear , so be careful with mumbling sounds.

Nobody has the right to tell you how to dress, but it’s recommendable that your attire matches both your personality and the context of your presentation.

Verbal Language Tips

Order and structure.

A presentation that has order and structure is easy to follow, understand, and remember.

Organize your speech in parts. For example: importance, data, chronology, interesting bullet points, zoom in, and zoom out.

Use discourse markers; words that organize and connect ideas. Some examples are:

To Start Interventions El objetivo de esta exposición es… / Hablaré en primer lugar de… / Para comenzar… (The objective of this presentation is… / Firstly, I’ll speak about… / For starters…)

To Introduce Comments or Examples Por ejemplo… / Como es el caso de… / Recordemos, en ese sentido, que… (For example… / As is the case with… / Let’s remember, in this sense, that…)

To Structure the Discourse En primer lugar… / En segundo lugar… / Por un lado,…por otro lado… / Finalmente… (In first place… /In second place… /On the one hand…on the other hand… /Finally…)

To Resume the Subject Volviendo a lo que hemos visto al principio… / Como decía… / Señalaba que… (Going back to what we’ve seen at the beginning… /Like I was saying… / I was pointing out that…)

To Establish Logical Relationships Consecuentemente… / Eso nos demuestra que… / Deducimos, entonces… (Consequently… / That shows us that… / We deduce, then…)

To Conclude Tratemos, finalmente, el último aspecto… / En resumen,… / Para terminar… / En conclusión… (Let’s address, finally, the last aspect… / In summary… / Lastly… / In conclusion…)

You should adapt it to your audience’s knowledge, formality level, and the purpose of your presentation.

Sentences should be short and simple. Avoid the overuse of muletillas (catch phrases).

Oral Presentation Conclusions in Spanish

When you’re giving a presentation in Spanish, do not miss the chance to leave a good impression. The final part of a speech is what we remember the most. So, use it to deliver a message or briefly summarize what you want to convey. You can create a compelling conclusion with a phrase, rhetorical question, quote, or call-to-action.

En conclusión, cualquiera puede padecer de un problema de salud mental. (In conclusion, anyone can have a mental health problem.)

Si las personas más brillantes pueden padecer problemas de salud mental, ¿por qué nosotros no? (If the most brilliant people can have mental health issues, why can’t we?)

La mente es como un paracaídas, si no se abre, no sirve para nada. Muchas gracias, público oyente, por haber abierto su mente a escucharme en esta exposición. (The mind is like a parachute, if it isn’t opened, it doesn’t work. Thank you very much, listening public, for having opened your minds to listen to me in this presentation.)

Ready to be confident in your next Spanish oral presentation?

The key to giving a memorable oral presentation in Spanish is to be original, creative, and do something that’s unusual but true to your essence. Thus, you’ll make the difference.

If after reading our Spanish oral presentation guide, you think you still need help to prepare yourself for your Spanish presentation, count on our top-notch team of Spanish fluency coaches . So, don’t let fear of success hold you back, and book with one of our coaches.

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