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6 presentation skills and how to improve them

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What are presentation skills?

The importance of presentation skills, 6 presentation skills examples, how to improve presentation skills.

Tips for dealing with presentation anxiety

Learn how to captivate an audience with ease

Capturing an audience’s attention takes practice. 

Over time, great presenters learn how to organize their speeches and captivate an audience from start to finish. They spark curiosity, know how to read a room , and understand what their audience needs to walk away feeling like they learned something valuable.

Regardless of your profession, you most likely use presentation skills on a monthly or even weekly basis. Maybe you lead brainstorming sessions or host client calls. 

Developing effective presentation skills makes it easier to contribute ideas with confidence and show others you’re someone to trust. Although speaking in front of a crowd sometimes brings nerves and anxiety , it also sparks new opportunities.

Presentation skills are the qualities and abilities you need to communicate ideas effectively and deliver a compelling speech. They influence how you structure a presentation and how an audience receives it. Understanding body language , creating impactful visual aids, and projecting your voice all fall under this umbrella.

A great presentation depends on more than what you say. It’s about how you say it. Storytelling , stage presence, and voice projection all shape how well you express your ideas and connect with the audience. These skills do take practice, but they’re worth developing — especially if public speaking makes you nervous. 

Engaging a crowd isn’t easy. You may feel anxious to step in front of an audience and have all eyes and ears on you.

But feeling that anxiety doesn’t mean your ideas aren’t worth sharing. Whether you’re giving an inspiring speech or delivering a monthly recap at work, your audience is there to listen to you. Harness that nervous energy and turn it into progress.

Strong presentation skills make it easier to convey your thoughts to audiences of all sizes. They can help you tell a compelling story, convince people of a pitch , or teach a group something entirely new to them. And when it comes to the workplace, the strength of your presentation skills could play a part in getting a promotion or contributing to a new initiative.

To fully understand the impact these skills have on creating a successful presentation, it’s helpful to look at each one individually. Here are six valuable skills you can develop:

1. Active listening

Active listening is an excellent communication skill for any professional to hone. When you have strong active listening skills, you can listen to others effectively and observe their nonverbal cues . This helps you assess whether or not your audience members are engaged in and understand what you’re sharing. 

Great public speakers use active listening to assess the audience’s reactions and adjust their speech if they find it lacks impact. Signs like slouching, negative facial expressions, and roaming eye contact are all signs to watch out for when giving a presentation.

2. Body language

If you’re researching presentation skills, chances are you’ve already watched a few notable speeches like TED Talks or industry seminars. And one thing you probably noticed is that speakers can capture attention with their body language. 

A mixture of eye contact, hand gestures , and purposeful pacing makes a presentation more interesting and engaging. If you stand in one spot and don’t move your body, the audience might zone out.

3. Stage presence

A great stage presence looks different for everyone. A comedian might aim for more movement and excitement, and a conference speaker might focus their energy on the content of their speech. Although neither is better than the other, both understand their strengths and their audience’s needs. 

Developing a stage presence involves finding your own unique communication style . Lean into your strengths, whether that’s adding an injection of humor or asking questions to make it interactive . To give a great presentation, you might even incorporate relevant props or presentation slides.

4. Storytelling

According to Forbes, audiences typically pay attention for about 10 minutes before tuning out . But you can lengthen their attention span by offering a presentation that interests them for longer. Include a narrative they’ll want to listen to, and tell a story as you go along. 

Shaping your content to follow a clear narrative can spark your audience’s curiosity and entice them to pay careful attention. You can use anecdotes from your personal or professional life that take your audience along through relevant moments. If you’re pitching a product, you can start with a problem and lead your audience through the stages of how your product provides a solution.

5. Voice projection

Although this skill may be obvious, you need your audience to hear what you’re saying. This can be challenging if you’re naturally soft-spoken and struggle to project your voice.

Remember to straighten your posture and take deep breaths before speaking, which will help you speak louder and fill the room. If you’re talking into a microphone or participating in a virtual meeting, you can use your regular conversational voice, but you still want to sound confident and self-assured with a strong tone.

If you’re unsure whether everyone can hear you, you can always ask the audience at the beginning of your speech and wait for confirmation. That way, they won’t have to potentially interrupt you later.

Ensuring everyone can hear you also includes your speed and annunciation. It’s easy to speak quickly when nervous, but try to slow down and pronounce every word. Mumbling can make your presentation difficult to understand and pay attention to.

6. Verbal communication 

Although verbal communication involves your projection and tone, it also covers the language and pacing you use to get your point across. This includes where you choose to place pauses in your speech or the tone you use to emphasize important ideas.

If you’re giving a presentation on collaboration in the workplace , you might start your speech by saying, “There’s something every workplace needs to succeed: teamwork.” By placing emphasis on the word “ teamwork ,” you give your audience a hint on what ideas will follow.

To further connect with your audience through diction, pay careful attention to who you’re speaking to. The way you talk to your colleagues might be different from how you speak to a group of superiors, even if you’re discussing the same subject. You might use more humor and a conversational tone for the former and more serious, formal diction for the latter.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses when it comes to presenting. Maybe you’re confident in your use of body language, but your voice projection needs work. Maybe you’re a great storyteller in small group settings, but need to work on your stage presence in front of larger crowds. 

The first step to improving presentation skills is pinpointing your gaps and determining which qualities to build upon first. Here are four tips for enhancing your presentation skills:

1. Build self-confidence

Confident people know how to speak with authority and share their ideas. Although feeling good about your presentation skills is easier said than done, building confidence is key to helping your audience believe in what you’re saying. Try practicing positive self-talk and continuously researching your topic's ins and outs.

If you don’t feel confident on the inside, fake it until you make it. Stand up straight, project your voice, and try your best to appear engaged and excited. Chances are, the audience doesn’t know you’re unsure of your skills — and they don’t need to.

Another tip is to lean into your slideshow, if you’re using one. Create something colorful and interesting so the audience’s eyes fall there instead of on you. And when you feel proud of your slideshow, you’ll be more eager to share it with others, bringing more energy to your presentation.

2. Watch other presentations

Developing the soft skills necessary for a good presentation can be challenging without seeing them in action. Watch as many as possible to become more familiar with public speaking skills and what makes a great presentation. You could attend events with keynote speakers or view past speeches on similar topics online.

Take a close look at how those presenters use verbal communication and body language to engage their audiences. Grab a notebook and jot down what you enjoyed and your main takeaways. Try to recall the techniques they used to emphasize their main points, whether they used pauses effectively, had interesting visual aids, or told a fascinating story.

3. Get in front of a crowd

You don’t need a large auditorium to practice public speaking. There are dozens of other ways to feel confident and develop good presentation skills.

If you’re a natural comedian, consider joining a small stand-up comedy club. If you’re an avid writer, participate in a public poetry reading. Even music and acting can help you feel more comfortable in front of a crowd.

If you’d rather keep it professional, you can still work on your presentation skills in the office. Challenge yourself to participate at least once in every team meeting, or plan and present a project to become more comfortable vocalizing your ideas. You could also speak to your manager about opportunities that flex your public speaking abilities.

4. Overcome fear

Many people experience feelings of fear before presenting in front of an audience, whether those feelings appear as a few butterflies or more severe anxiety. Try grounding yourself to shift your focus to the present moment. If you’re stuck dwelling on previous experiences that didn’t go well, use those mistakes as learning experiences and focus on what you can improve to do better in the future.

Tips for dealing with presentation anxiety 

It’s normal to feel nervous when sharing your ideas. In fact, according to a report from the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, public speaking anxiety is prevalent in 15–30% of the general population .

Even though having a fear of public speaking is common, it doesn’t make it easier. You might feel overwhelmed, become stiff, and forget what you were going to say. But although the moment might scare you, there are ways to overcome the fear and put mind over matter.

Use these tactics to reduce your stress when you have to make a presentation:

1. Practice breathing techniques

If you experience anxiety often, you’re probably familiar with breathing techniques for stress relief . Incorporating these exercises into your daily routine can help you stop worrying and regulate anxious feelings. 

Before a big presentation, take a moment alone to practice breathing techniques, ground yourself, and reduce tension. It’s also a good idea to take breaths throughout the presentation to speak slower and calm yourself down .

2. Get organized

The more organized you are, the more prepared you’ll feel. Carefully outline all of the critical information you want to use in your presentation, including your main talking points and visual aids, so you don’t forget anything. Use bullet points and visuals on each slide to remind you of what you want to talk about, and create handheld notes to help you stay on track.

3. Embrace moments of silence

It’s okay to lose your train of thought. It happens to even the most experienced public speakers once in a while. If your mind goes blank, don’t panic. Take a moment to breathe, gather your thoughts, and refer to your notes to see where you left off. You can drink some water or make a quick joke to ease the silence or regain your footing. And it’s okay to say, “Give me a moment while I find my notes.” Chances are, people understand the position you’re in.

4. Practice makes progress

Before presenting, rehearse in front of friends and family members you trust. This gives you the chance to work out any weak spots in your speech and become comfortable communicating out loud. If you want to go the extra mile, ask your makeshift audience to ask a surprise question. This tests your on-the-spot thinking and will prove that you can keep cool when things come up.

Whether you’re new to public speaking or are a seasoned presenter, you’re bound to make a few slip-ups. It happens to everyone. The most important thing is that you try your best, brush things off, and work on improving your skills to do better in your next presentation.

Although your job may require a different level of public speaking than your favorite TED Talk , developing presentation skills is handy in any profession. You can use presentation skills in a wide range of tasks in the workplace, whether you’re sharing your ideas with colleagues, expressing concerns to higher-ups, or pitching strategies to potential clients.

Remember to use active listening to read the room and engage your audience with an interesting narrative. Don’t forget to step outside your comfort zone once in a while and put your skills to practice in front of a crowd. After facing your fears, you’ll feel confident enough to put presentation skills on your resume.

If you’re trying to build your skills and become a better employee overall, try a communications coach with BetterUp. 

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Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

The 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills

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How to Use Oral Presentations to Help English Language Learners Succeed

Please try again

Excerpted from “ The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox: Hundreds of Practical Ideas to Support Your Students ,” by Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski, with permission from the authors.

Having the confidence to speak in front of others is challenging for most people. For English Language Learners, this anxiety can be heightened because they are also speaking in a new language. We’ve found several benefits to incorporating opportunities for students to present to their peers in a positive and safe classroom environment. It helps them focus on pronunciation and clarity and also boosts their confidence. This type of practice is useful since students will surely have to make presentations in other classes, in college, and/or in their future jobs. However, what may be even more valuable is giving students the chance to take these risks in a collaborative, supportive environment.

Presentations also offer students the opportunity to become the teacher—something we welcome and they enjoy! They can further provide valuable listening practice for the rest of the class, especially when students are given a task to focus their listening.

Research confirms that in order for ELLs to acquire English they must engage in oral language practice and be given the opportunity to use language in meaningful ways for social and academic purposes (Williams & Roberts, 2011). Teaching students to design effective oral presentations has also been found to support thinking development as “the quality of presentation actually improves the quality of thought, and vice versa” (Živković, 2014, p. 474). Additionally, t he Common Core Speaking and Listening Standards specifically focus on oral presentations. These standards call for students to make effective and well-organized presentations and to use technology to enhance understanding of them.

GUIDELINES AND APPLICATION

Oral presentations can take many different forms in the ELL classroom—ranging from students briefly presenting their learning in small groups to creating a multi-slide presentation for the whole class. In this section, we give some general guidelines for oral presentations with ELLs. We then share ideas for helping students develop their presentation skills and describe specific ways we scaffold both short and long oral presentations.

We keep the following guidelines in mind when incorporating oral presentations into ELL instruction:

Length —We have students develop and deliver short presentations (usually 2-4 minutes) on a regular basis so they can practice their presentation skills with smaller, less overwhelming tasks. These presentations are often to another student or a small group. Once or twice a semester, students do a longer presentation (usually 5-8 minutes), many times with a partner or in a small group.

Novelty —Mixing up how students present (in small groups, in pairs, individually) and what they use to present (a poster, a paper placed under the document camera, props, a slide presentation, etc.) can increase engagement for students and the teacher!

Whole Class Processing -- We want to avoid students “tuning out” during oral presentations. Not only can it be frustrating for the speakers, but students also miss out on valuable listening practice. During oral presentations, and in any activity, we want to maximize the probability that all students are thinking and learning all the time. Jim Peterson and Ted Appel, administrators with whom we’ve worked closely, call this “whole class processing” (Ferlazzo, 2011, August 16) and it is also known as active participation. All students can be encouraged to actively participate in oral presentations by being given a listening task-- taking notes on a graphic organizer, providing written feedback to the speaker, using a checklist to evaluate presenters, etc.

Language Support —It is critical to provide ELLs, especially at the lower levels of English proficiency, with language support for oral presentations. In other words, thinking about what vocabulary, language features and organizational structures they may need, and then providing students with scaffolding, like speaking frames and graphic organizers. Oral presentations can also provide an opportunity for students to practice their summarizing skills. When students are presenting information on a topic they have researched, we remind them to summarize using their own words and to give credit when using someone else’s words.

Technology Support —It can’t be assumed that students have experience using technology tools in presentations. We find it most helpful using simple tools that are easy for students to learn (like Powerpoint without all the “bells and whistles” or Google Slides). We also emphasize to students that digital media should be used to help the audience understand what they are saying and not just to make a presentation flashy or pretty. We also share with our students what is known as “The Picture Superiority Effect”-- a body of research showing that people are better able to learn and recall information presented as pictures as opposed to just being presented with words (Kagan, 2013).

Groups -- Giving ELLs the opportunity to work and present in small groups is helpful in several ways. Presenting as a group (as opposed to by yourself) can help students feel less anxious. It also offers language-building opportunities as students communicate to develop and practice their presentations. Creating new knowledge as a group promotes collaboration and language acquisition--an ideal equation for a successful ELL classroom!

Teacher feedback/student evaluation --The focus of oral presentations with ELL students should be on the practice and skills they are gaining, not on the grade or “score” they are earning. Teachers can give out a simple rubric before students create their presentations. Then students can keep these expectations in mind as they develop and practice their presentations. The teacher, or classmates, can then use the rubric to offer feedback to the speaker. We also often ask students to reflect on their own presentation and complete the rubric as a form of self-assessment. Figure 30.1 – “Presentation Peer Evaluation Rubric” , developed by talented student teacher Kevin Inlay (who is now a teacher in his own classroom), is a simple rubric we used to improve group presentations in our ELL World History class.

Teaching Presentation Skills

We use the following two lesson ideas to explicitly teach how to develop effective presentation skills:

LESSON ONE: Speaking and Listening Do’s and Don’ts

We help our students understand and practice general presentation skills through an activity we call Speaking and Listening “Do’s and Don’ts.” We usually spread this lesson out among two class periods.

We first ask students to create a simple T-chart by folding a piece of paper in half and labeling one side “Do” and the other side “Don’t.” We then post Figure 30.2 “Speaking Do’s and Don’ts” on the document camera and display the first statement (the rest we cover with a blank sheet of paper).

We read the first statement, “Make eye contact with the audience,” and ask students if this is something they want to do when they are giving a presentation or if it is something they don’t want to do. Students write the statement where they think it belongs--under the “Do” column or “Don’t” Column. Students then share their answer with a partner and discuss why they put it in that column. After calling on a few pairs to share with the class, we move down the list repeating the same process of categorizing each statement as a “Do” or a “Don’t.” Students write it on their chart and discuss why it should be placed there.

After categorizing the statements for speaking, we give students Figure 30.3 “Listening Do’s and Don’ts .” We tell students to work in pairs to categorize the statements as something they do or something they don’t want to do when listening to a student presentation. This time, we ask students to make a quick poster with the headings “Do’s” and “Don’ts” for Listening. Under each heading students must list the corresponding statements--the teacher can circulate to check for accuracy. Students are asked to talk about why each statement belongs in each category and should be prepared to share their reasoning with the class. Students must also choose one “do” statement and one “don’t” statement to illustrate on their poster. Students can present their posters in small groups or with the whole class. This serves as a great opportunity to apply the speaking and listening “do’s” they just reviewed and heightens their awareness of the “don’ts!”

A fun twist, that also serves as a good review on a subsequent day, is to ask groups of students to pick two or three “do’s” and “don’ts” from both Speaking and Listening to act out in front of the class.

LESSON TWO Slide Presentations Concept Attainment

We periodically ask students to make slide presentations using PowerPoint or Google Slides to give them practice with developing visual aids (see the Home Culture activity later in this section). We show students how to make better slides, along with giving students the language support they may need in the form of an outline or sentence starters. An easy and effective way to do this is through Concept Attainment.

Concept Attainment involves the teacher identifying both "good" and "bad" examples of the intended learning objective. In this case, we use a PowerPoint containing three “good” slides and three “bad” ones (see them at The Best Resources For Teaching Students The Difference Between A Good and a Bad Slide ).

We start by showing students the first example of a “good” or “yes” slide (containing very little text and two images) and saying, “This is a yes.” However, we don’t explain why it is a “yes.” Then we show a “bad” or “no” example of a slide (containing multiple images randomly placed with a very “busy background”), saying, “This is a no” without explaining why. Students are then asked to think about them, and share with a partner why they think one is a "yes" and one is a "no."

At this point, we make a quick chart on a large sheet of paper (students can make individual charts on a piece of paper) and ask students to list the good and bad qualities they have observed so far. For example, under the “Good/Yes” column it might say “Has less words and the background is simple” and under the “Bad/No” column “Has too many pictures and the background is distracting.”

We then show the second “yes” example (containing one image with a short amount of text in a clear font) and the “no” example (containing way too much text and using a less clear font style). Students repeat the “think-pair-share” process and then the class again discusses what students are noticing about the “yes” and “no” examples. Then they add these observations to their chart.

Students repeat the whole process a final time with the third examples. The third “yes” example slide contains one image, minimal text and one bullet point. The third “no” example, on the other hand, contains multiple bullet points.

To reinforce this lesson at a later date, the teacher could show students more examples, or students could look for more “yes” and “no” examples online. They could continue to add more qualities of good and bad slides to their chart. See the Technology Connections section for links to good and bad PowerPoint examples, including the PowerPoint we use for this Concept Attainment lesson.

You can learn more about other presentations that support public speaking, such as home culture presentations, speed dating, talking points, top 5 and PechaKucha Book talks in our book, “ The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox: Hundreds of Practical Ideas to Support Your Students .”

Larry Ferlazzo has taught English Language Learners, mainstream and International Baccalaureate students at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento for 15 years. He has authored eight books on education, hosts a popular blog for educators, and  writes a weekly teacher advice column for Education Week Teacher .  He was a community organizer for 19 years prior to becoming a high school teacher.

Katie Hull Sypnieski has worked with English Language Learners at the secondary level for over 20 years.  She currently teaches middle school ELA and ELD at Rosa Parks K-8 School in Sacramento, California. She is a teaching consultant with the Area 3 Writing Project at the University of California, Davis and has leads professional development for teachers of ELLs. She is co-author (with Larry Ferlazzo) of The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide and Navigating the Common Core with English Language Learners .

Tips for Online Students , Tips for Students

Presentation Tips For Students – Show And Tell Like A Pro!

Updated: July 15, 2022

Published: May 4, 2020

Giving a presentation to fellow classmates can be a bit daunting, especially if you are new to oral and visual presenting. But with the right PowerPoint tips, public speaking skills, and plenty of practice, you can present like a pro at your upcoming presentation. Here, we’ve laid out the best college presentation tips for students. And once you have one successful presentation, you’ll get better each time!

The Best Presentation Tips for Students

1. arrive early and be technically prepared.

Get to the room early and make sure you leave plenty of time for technical set up and technical difficulties. Have several backup drives (including an online version if possible) so that you are prepared for anything!

2. Know More

Be educated on more than just what you are sharing. That way, you can add points, speak candidly and confidently, and be prepared to answer any audience or teacher questions.

3. Share Your Passion With Your Audience

Connect with your audience by showing that you are passionate about your topic. Do this with the right tone, eye contact, and enthusiasm in your speech.

Photo by  Austin Distel  on  Unsplash

4. pace yourself.

When student presenters are nervous, they tend to speed up their speech. This can be a problem, however, because your speed may be distracting, hard to understand, and you may run under your time.

5. Rehearse Thoroughly

Don’t just practice, rehearse your college presentation. Rehearse the entire delivery, including standing up, using gestures, and going through the slides.

6. Show Your Personality

You don’t need to be professional to the point of stiffness during your college presentation . Don’t be afraid to show your personality while presenting. It will make your presentation more interesting, and you will seem more approachable and confident.

7. Improvise

You can’t be 100% certain what will happen during your presentation. If things aren’t exactly as you expected, don’t be afraid to improvise and run off script.

8. Pump Yourself Up

Get yourself excited and full of energy before your college presentation! Your mood sets the tone for your presentation, and if you get excited right before, you will likely carry that throughout and you’ll make your audience excited about your topic as well.

9. Remember To Pause

Pausing not only only prevents filler words and helps you recollect your thoughts, it can also be a powerful indicator of importance within your presentation.

10. Create “Um” Alternatives

Try hard not to use filler words as they make you look unprofessional and uncertain. The best alternatives to “um” “like” and “so” are taking a breath or a silent pause to collect your thoughts.

11. Using Your Hands

Using your hands makes your college presentation more interesting and helps to get your points across. Point at the slide, use common hand gestures, or mimic a motion.

12. Eye Contact

Eye contact is one of the most important presentation tips for students . Many students are nervous, so they look at their notes or their feet. It is important that you show your confidence and engage your audience by making eye contact. The more presentations you give, the more eye contact will feel natural.

13. The Right Tone

The best public speakers vary their tone and pitch throughout their presentation. Try to change it up, and choose the right tone for your message.

Preparing an Effective College Presentation

1. open strong.

Grab your fellow students’ attention by starting strong with a powerful quote, intriguing scenario, or prompt for internal dialogue.

2. Start With A Mind Map

Mind mapping is literally creating a map of the contents of your college presentation. It is a visual representation and flow of your topics and can help you see the big picture, along with smaller details.

Photo by  Teemu Paananen  on  Unsplash

3. edit yourself.

Some students make the mistake of including too much information in their college presentations. Instead of putting all of the information in there, choose the most important or relevant points, and elaborate on the spot if you feel it’s necessary.

4. Tell A Story

People love stories — they capture interest in ways that figures and facts cannot. Make your presentation relatable by including a story, or presenting in a story format.

5. The Power Of Humor

Using humor in your college presentation is one of the best presentation tips for students. Laughter will relax both you and the audience, and make your presentation more interesting

PowerPoint Tips for Students

1. use key phrases.

Choose a few key phrases that remain throughout your PowerPoint presentation. These should be phrases that really illustrate your point, and items that your audience will remember afterwards.

2. Limit Number Of Slides

Having too many slides will cause you to feel you need to rush through them to finish on time. Instead, include key points on a slide and take the time to talk about them. Try to think about including one slide per one minute of speech.

3. Plan Slide Layouts

Take some time to plan out how information will be displayed on your PowerPoint. Titles should be at the top, and bullets underneath. You may want to add title slides if you are changing to a new topic.

Photo by  NeONBRAND  on  Unsplash

4. the right fonts.

Choose an easy-to-read font that isn’t stylized. Sans serif fonts tend to be easier to read when they are large. Try to stick to only two different fonts as well to keep the presentation clean.

5. Choosing Colors And Images

When it comes to colors, use contrasting ones: light on dark or dark on light. Try to choose a few main colors to use throughout the presentation. Choose quality images, and make sure to provide the source for the images.

6. Use Beautiful Visual Aids

Keep your presentation interesting and your audience awake by adding visual aids to your PowerPoint. Add captivating photos, data representations, or infographics to illustrate your information.

7. Don’t Read Straight From Your Notes

When you read straight from your notes, your tone tends to remain monotonous, you don’t leave much room for eye contact. Try looking up often, or memorizing portions of your presentation.

8. Avoid Too Much Text

PowerPoint was made for images and bullets, not for your entire speech to be written in paragraph form. Too much text can lose your adiences’ interest and understanding.

9. Try A Theme

Choosing the right theme is one of those presentation tips for students that is often overlooked. When you find the right theme, you keep your college presentation looking interesting, professional, and relevant.

10. Be Careful With Transitions And Animations

Animations and transitions can add a lot to your presentation, but don’t add to many or it will end up being distracting.

Public Speaking Tips for Students

1. choose your topic wisely.

If you are able to pick your topic, try to pick something that interests you and something that you want to learn about. Your interest will come through your speech.

2. Visit The Room Beforehand

If your presentation is being held somewhere outside of class, try to visit the location beforehand to prep your mind and calm your nerves.

3. Practice Makes Perfect

Practice, practice, practice! The only way you will feel fully confident is by practicing many times, both on your own and in front of others.

Photo by  Product School  on  Unsplash

4. talk to someone about anxiety.

If you feel anxious about your college presentation, tell someone. It could be a friend, family member, your teacher, or a counselor. They will be able to help you with some strategies that will work best for you.

5. Remind Yourself Of Your Audience

Remember, you are presenting to your peers! They all likely have to make a presentation too at some point, and so have been or will be in the same boat. Remembering that your audience is on your side will help you stay cool and collected.

6. Observe Other Speakers

Look at famous leaders, or just other students who typically do well presenting. Notice what they are doing and how you can adapt your performance in those ways.

7. Remind Yourself Of Your Message

If you can come up with a central message, or goal, of your college presentation, you can remind yourself of it throughout your speech and let it guide you.

8. Don’t Apologize

If you make a mistake, don’t apologize. It is likely that no one even noticed! If you do feel you need to point out your own mistake, simply say it and keep moving on with your presentation. No need to be embarrassed, it happens even to the best presenters!

When you smile, you appear warm and inviting as a speaker. You will also relax yourself with your own smile.

The Bottom Line

It can be nerve racking presenting as a college student, but if you use our presentation tips for students, preparing and presenting your college presentation will be a breeze!

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21 Tips and Strategies Supporting Learners’ Oral Presentations

Design & assign.

There are many options to consider when assigning an oral presentation. As you answer the following questions, reflect on your own commitment to continue using traditional oral presentations for evaluation.

Determine Oral Presentation Type

If you answered “No” to at least half of the questions, you may want to consider the following alternative formats that mitigate some of the specific anxieties your ELLs experience with oral presentations. While the default may be the traditional individual or group presentation of concepts in front of the whole class, there are a number of alternatives that may serve the same purpose.

Consider the different types of presentations and the steps that you can do to help your learners succeed.

Types of Oral Presentations

Short oral talks in a group

Usually a short oral talk in a group is informal with little time to prepare for this type of speech. Learners  share their thoughts or opinions about a specific topic. This type of talk follows a structure with a brief introductory statement, 2-3 ideas and a concluding statement.  These brief oral talks can help students develop confidence because they are presenting to a small group rather than the whole class. They do not have to create and coordinate visuals with their talk and the talk is short. There still needs to be substance to the talk, so participants should be given advance warning that they will be asked to speak on a particular topic.  One advantage is that several students in the class can be presenting simultaneously; however, as a result, in-process marking is not possible.

Formal oral presentations in front of class

Formal oral presentations in front of the class usually require individual students to make a longer presentation, supported with effective visual aids. Adequate time has been given for the presenter to prepare the topic. This type of presentation can be used to present research, information in general, or to persuade. The presenter is often put in charge of the class during the presentation time, so in addition to presenting, the presenter has to keep the class engaged and in line. Formal oral presentations often involve a Q & A. Most of the grading can be done in-process because you are only observing one student at a time. It is very time consuming to get through a whole class of presentations and have the class engaged and learning and you are giving up control of many course hours and content coverage.

Group Presentations

• Tips for giving a group presentation

Sharing Presentations Online

Students can be made the presenter in online platforms to complete presentations.  Zoom, Blackboard, WebEx and other similar software allow the moderator (Professor) to make specific participants hosts which enables them to share their screens and control the participation options of other students in the class.  As each platform has variations on how to share documents and control the presentation, it is important that students are given specific instructions on how to “present” using the various platforms.  If possible, set up separate “rooms” for students to practice in before their presentation.

• Instructions for screen sharing in Zoom
• Instructions for screen sharing in WebEx
• Instructions for screen sharing in Blackboard Collaborate

Use Oral Recordings of Presentations Synchronously or Asynchronously

Consider allowing students to record their presentations and present the recording to the class.  While this would not be appropriate for a language class where the performance of the presentation is likely more important than the content, in other classes providing the opportunity for learners to record multiple times until they are satisfied with the output is an ideal way to optimize the quality of the presentation as well as reduce the performance related stress. The presentation can then be shared synchronously in class or online with the presenter hosting and fielding questions, or asynchronously posted on a discussion board or other app such as Flipgrid with the presenter responding to comments posted over a set period of time. A side benefit to the use of some of these tools such as Skye and Google Meet is that they are commonly used in the workforce so it good practice for post-graduation application of skills.

Possible Tools for Recording and Sharing

• Flipgrid – an easy to use app that lets students record short video clips and resubmit as many times as needed. The video stays in the Flipgrid app for other students to see (if shared) and allow for easy teacher responses whether via video or text. (Asynchronous)
• Skype   – Follow the instructions to record and share a video on the MS website (Either if posted on course platform)
• Google Meet – Follow the i nstructions to record and share a presentation on Google Meet . (Either if posted on course platform)
• Zoom – students can share their narrated PPT slides via Zoom (don’t forget to enable the sound)
• Powerpoint – Recording of narrations for slides
• Youtube – Recorded videos can be uploaded to Youtube to share by following instructions to upload Youtube video
• OneDrive – most institutions provide OneDrive accounts for faculty and students as part of Office 365. Students can save their video in OneDrive and choose who to share it with (faculty member, group, class)

Presenting in Another Language

If the goal of the presentation is to demonstrate in depth understanding of the course content and ability to communicate that information effectively, does the presentation have to be done in English?  Can the student’s mastery of the subject matter be demonstrated in another language with a translator? It would still be possible to evaluate the content of the presentation, the confidence, the performance, the visual aids etc.  On the global stage, translated speeches and presentations are the norm by political leaders and content experts – why not let students show the depth of their understanding in a language they are comfortable with?

If a more formal type of oral presentation is required, is it possible to give students some choice to help reduce their anxiety?  For example, could they choose to present to you alone, to a small group, or to the whole class?

Teach Making a Presentation Step by Step

Don’t assume that all the students in your class have been taught how to make a presentation for a college or university level class. Furthermore, there are many purposes for presentations (inform, educate, persuade, motivate, activate, entertain) which require different organizational structure, tone, content and visual aids.

• Ask the class to raise their hands if they feel ♦ very comfortable presenting in front of the class, ♦ somewhat comfortable presenting in front of the class or ♦ not comfortable presenting in front of the class.  This will help you gauge your learners’ prior experience / comfort and also let learners in the class see that others, both native speakers and ELLs are nervous about presenting orally in class.

Provide Clear Instructions

• Write clear, detailed instructions (following the suggestions in Module 3).
• Ask students to download a copy to bring to class and encourage them to record annotations as you discuss expectations.
• Example: How many slides should you use as your visual aid? Do you need to use outside sources? What tools can you use to create this presentation?
• Include the rubric that you will use to grade the presentations and explain each section, noting sections that have higher weighting.

Provide a Guide to Planning

• Have students write a description of the target audience for their presentation and explicitly state the purpose of the presentation.

• Encourage students to read widely on their topic. The more content knowledge the learner has about the topic, the more confident the learner will be when presenting.
• Teach students how to do an effective presentation that meets your course expectations (if class time does not permit, offer an optional  ‘office hours’ workshop). Remember – many of your students many never have presented a post-secondary presentation which may cause significant anxiety. Your ELL’s experiences with oral presentations may be limited or significantly different in terms of expectations based on their prior educational contexts.
• Have students view examples of good presentations and some bad ones – there are many examples available on YouTube such as  Good Presentation vs Bad Presentation .
• Provide specific guidelines for each section of the presentation. How should learners introduce their presentation? How much detail is required? Is audience interaction required? Is a call to action expected at the end?
• If audience interaction is required, teach your students specific elicitation techniques (See Module 3)
• Designing Visual Aids Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo
• Presentation Aids Video
• Paralinguistic features like eye contact are potentially culture – bound. If the subject that you are teaching values eye contact, then include this expectation in the presentation. On the other hand, if your field of study doesn’t require presentations typically, consider valuing the cultural diversity of your learners and not grading learners negatively for not making eye contact.
• Review the rubric. Let learners know what you are specifically grading  during the presentation. The rubric should be detailed enough that learners know what elements of the presentation are weighted the heaviest.

Model an Effective Presentation

A good speech is like a pencil; it has to have a point.

• Provide an exemplar of a presentation that you have presented yourself and recorded, or a presentation done by a previous student for which you have written permission to share.

Require Students to Practice

• Practice saying the presentation out loud
• Practice with a room mate/ classmate / family member / friend
• Go on a walk and talk – encourage students to get outside, and go for a walk – as they walk, they can say their presentation orally out loud. The fresh air and sunshine helps one to relax and reduce anxiety, so it is easier to focus on the talk.
• Record a practice presentation. Encourage students to find a quiet place to record and to use headphones with a mic to improve quality of the recording.
• If time allows, build formative practice presentations into the schedule. Have students practice their presentation in small groups and have other group mates give targeted feedback based on content, organization and presentation skills. Provide a checklist of expectations for the others in the group to use to provide specific, targeted feedback to the presenter. Students can watch their performance at home along with their peer’s feedback to identify areas for improvement.

• If you have assigned oral presentations in your class, review the course outcomes and the content covered in the assignment and determine if a formal oral presentation is necessary. 
• Think of one alternative you could offer to students who struggle with individual assignments.
• Annotate your assignment with notes indicating possible modifications you could make to improve the inclusivity and equity of the assignment.

• Our Mission

Honing Students’ Speaking Skills

Some guidelines for teaching all students to speak credibly and confidently—an essential skill for college and career success.

It’s been a long time since schools focused solely on the three Rs—reading, writing, and arithmetic. Along the way, we realized that there’s so much more that defines a successful student and citizen, and that schools play a central role in training students to improve on a multitude of skills and abilities.

As outlined in the Common Core State Standards , for example, we are now tasked to teach a set of speaking skills. More and more businesses are citing the ability to speak and communicate comprehensively as vital skills in terms of hiring and professional success. For K–12 teachers, this means more targeted lessons that are focused on oral presentation and verbal assessment.

The fear of public speaking, or glossophobia , strikes almost 80 percent of our general population. Throw in our country’s percentage of English-language learners (ELLs), which ranges from 10 to 25 percent of our K–12 population (depending on the state), and you have an issue that requires precise scaffolding to help prepare our students to hit grade-level speaking expectations. So how can we challenge students to improve their oral presentation skills?

Striving for Equity

I used to use TED talks as my oral presentation template, as many teachers do. As an English language arts teacher and recently retired coach of one of the largest middle school speech and debate teams in the country (Go Bulldogs!), I’ve relied on TED talks for both exemplars and research. But I found that despite my scaffolds, there was still a great divide in final presentation quality between those who could and those who couldn’t. Enter Ignite Talks .

TED and Ignite Talks have some similarities, but it’s their key differences that have worked out better for my high- and low-ability learners, native speakers, and ELLs, and for both extroverted and introverted students.

Here’s what these speech platforms have in common: They both use the format of advocacy: hook, background information, evidence, and a call to action. And they both blend writing genres—memoir/anecdote, argument/persuasive, and informational/expository—rather than segregate them.

And here’s how they differ: Ignite Talks include specific timing and pacing guidelines where TED talks do not. These guidelines, I find, work to bring out the best in all learners, leveling the playing field for students. In fact, with the Ignite Talks rules, I found that students who liked to talk were forced to be more concise. And those who were fearful really only had to muster their courage for a short, set period of time.

Ignite Talks break down as follows: 20 slides, with 15 seconds per slide = 5 minutes.

The slides are set to advance automatically, and because of this, they must be highly visual. So there’s an opening to teach symbolism as well as how to find and cite  free images . Because of the speed, a speaker cannot rely on the slides as their script; there’s no room for bullet points or paragraphs. This encourages students to make eye contact and speak with their back to the screen and not to the audience.

The time limit reminds me of the math homework debate: If students struggle with five problems, why give them 50? And if they can conquer five, well, 50 won’t add to their learning. Having students present with a strict pacing structure helps to avoid repetition or babbling from those students who love to talk—or those who are underprepared. A strict pacing structure also helps those students who suffer from presentation paralysis.

Organizing the Speech

Sometimes students present independently. Other times, they work in small groups so they can divide up the Ignite Talks verbal workload. To help them break down the outline of a collaborative speech, I give them a choice in organization.

For the first option, I refer to the five steps for making a pitch like Elon Musk :

• Name the enemy.
• Paint a picture of the promised land.
• Explain away obstacles.
• Win them over with evidence.

I also offer an executive summary structure—background information, evidence, recommendations—to simplify a possible outline even further and bring more authentic writing to their presentation.

Both speech structures (Musk’s and mine) basically ask the students to provide research and take a strong stance on an issue, but they can select the structure that makes the most sense to them. The structure of both helps them to chunk their slides and images.

Before they get started with their planning, I always go over the oral presentation rubric, so there are no surprises. For my most recent project-based unit, I used a speech rubric when my students presented Ignite Talks as superhero leagues, focusing on global issues that they felt passionately needed to be solved. Incidentally, the groups were heterogeneous: ELLs presented alongside native English speakers, and it was an equitable success.

Depending on your group of learners, you will decide which works best—TED or Ignite Talks. What ultimately matters, though, is that you are taking on the charge of preparing your students to speak credibly and confidently out there in the world.

Inspired Together Teachers

Improve Student Presentations: Teach Them How to be Effective

March 22, 2019 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

In our experience, teachers are more likely to assign oral presentations than they are to teach students how to do presentations. We give students the task, and sometimes a rubric, and expected to give polished presentations. We tell them to use expression, but rarely teach them how to read with expression.

Unfortunately, the assign and present method rarely results in excellent presentations.

We say enough already!

We know students should learn to give effective presentations. Oral presentation skills are included in local, state and national standards. Almost all careers, and most jobs require some form of public speaking. Students can effectively demonstrate their learning through speaking, and if it is done well, they can help others learn.

Many teachers struggle to help students with presentations because they fear public speaking themselves. In some studies, fear of public speaking is the number one fear of the American public. In one study, 41 % of people listed public speaking as their number one fear and 19 percent listed death. We should take note when people are more afraid of public speaking than death!

We can eliminate the fear of public speaking if we teach students the skills for good speaking, give them opportunities to practice in low stress situations, and start by frequently practicing they are young. A high school or college speech class is extremely intimidating if students have had no formal instruction in speaking up until that time. To make matters worse, speech classes are seldom required, so many students don’t even get that training.

Where do students get an opportunity for frequent, low stakes practice in speaking? In the classroom.

Every teacher, not just language arts teachers, have an opportunity to help students become confident speakers. Students can improve their presentations skills in history, science, social studies or math in addition to language arts classes. Subjects such as the arts and languages come alive when students learn and use good presentation skills.

You can take back student presentations by teaching students effective presentation skills.

  before you begin, establish rules and expectations..

Emphasize that the goal of speaking assignments is practice to help students become effective speakers.

Help students to understand how having good oral presentations skills will be an asset in the future.

Encourage a growth mindset- if students are nervous, explain that they haven’t perfected the skill yet.

Teach students how to be a good audience and set the expectation that they will be polite. Teach them how to ask good questions of the presenter.

Teach students that their role is not just to create the content, but to practice the skills of effective speaking.

Determine an attention getting signal to use to call students back to you for further instruction.

Teach, model and practice the basics of effective speaking.

Project your voice.

Have student practice projecting their voice across the room without shouting. Try it with a whisper. Students will be amazed that they can whisper so loud that others can hear them at a distance. Practice reading a line or two with different volumes. Have students partner up and try speaking at different volumes from different distances. They want to be sure that everyone can hear them.

Practice standing with a confident stance.

Students should be comfortable, but not slouching. They should stand still and can move occasionally, but not sway back and forth. They can take a few steps or move across “the stage” occasionally, which adds interest.

Practice good eye contact.

Good eye contact helps speakers connect with the audience, which means they will be more engaged in your presentation. Students often miss this one. If they are nervous, they will often fail to make eye contact with others.

Teach students to look up and smile at the audience before they begin. This often puts all parties at ease.

Lack of eye contact also occurs when students read their papers or power points word-for-word. Good speakers often share the content with notes rather than reading from a script. Good speaking is more like talking than reading. If students must read, have them write “look up” at various points in the script. Alternatively, have students write highlights from their papers on note cards, choosing the most important or interesting parts.

Pay attention to speaking rate.

Rate is effectively taught by modeling. Try reading something very fast. It is difficult to keep up. Then read something slowly. It becomes boring. Have students practice reading a paragraph with a partner, alternating fast and slow until they come to a happy medium. Advanced students can learn to modulate rate for effect, for example slowing down to build suspense. This will avoid the dreaded monotone.

Teach students to articulate. 

In general, Americans can be sloppy speakers. Teach students to pronounce things carefully. Voice all of the letters, for example say running, rather than runnin.”  Look for other culprits of sloppy speech, “Ta” for “to” and “gonna” instead of going to. Watch out for mumbling.

Use a more formal tone than you might use in every day speech.

Teach students that there is a time and place for slang and sloppy speech, for example when you are with your friends or in informal situations. Public speaking is a time to use more formal pronunciations.We once heard a student presenting to the board of education and he opened by calling them “Dudes.” It was not well received. You don’t want to put off your audience by appearing unprofessional.

Teach students to use facial expressions to add interest. 

If students have a good command of vocal parts of speaking, teach them to add facial expressions, which will increase audience attention. Give students an opportunity to practice facial expressions. Ask students to show disgust, happiness, sadness, nervousness in their faces. Show accusing looks, hopeful looks and embarrassed looks. Students can make a note in their scripts to remind them to use a facial expression.

Teach students to use gestures. 

Using gestures appropriately will also help your audience maintain interest. Students may use their hands or some part of their body to add emphasis to something they say. If they choose to use a gesture, make sure it is a full gesture, done slowly and purposefully. Students often rush a gesture, throwing it away and eliminating effectiveness because it is done too quickly and not completely. Practice gestures by having students say “goodbye” and waving. Too little or gesturing too quickly, and it isn’t effective. Too long and it looks ridiculous.

Students often like to use gestures. If students want to add gestures, they should plan for them and practice them.

Have students write an attention getting opening.

Students want to get the audience’s attention right from the start. “This report is about the role of farmers in 15 th Century China ” does not inspire interest.  “Did you know that each and every one of you has something in common with 15 th Century farmers in China?”   Now we are listening.

Have students start with an intriguing question, an interesting fact or a surprising statement. Have them hint at something valuable they are going to share. Tell them to find a way to connect their topic to their audience.  A little time spent here can have a big pay off in terms of audience interest.

With time and practice, students will improve and gain valuable public speaking skills.

Many students have something to say and want to be heard. Others crave attention and relish being in the limelight. Teaching students the basics of speaking will help them to feel comfortable and confident with public speaking.

Developing good public speaking skills will serve them well in many situations in life, from communicating well in relationships to giving a wedding toast to making a presentation in their future careers.

We hope to banish boring speeches from our classrooms.

What about you?

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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

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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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ORAL PRESENTATION SKILLS - A PRACTICAL GUIDE

Related Papers

International Journal of Learning and Teaching

Rizaldy Hanifa

The importance of being able to perform a good oral presentation is undeniably necessary for academician nowadays, including students of higher education. To show their capacity, the students need to be prepared in delivering their presentation. However, the current students' presentation skill is still far from the expectation. Therefore, this article aims at sharing several facts dealing with presentation skill in terms of preparations, problems faced during presentation, and the ways to cope with the problems. This study was conducted as a qualitative research with descriptive approach. Questionnaire and interview were distributed and performed to five respondents to gather the data needed. The findings show that preparation involving content mastery and practice are the keys to be successful in presentation. Meanwhile, the problems faced are highly related to the respondents' nervousness due to time limitation and audiences, which cause losing idea while performing. To overcome these, some strategies such as believing in their abilities, skipping less important points, and anticipating possible questions from the audiences were employed. Based on the research results, it is suggested that speaker should be trained to be more aware of the preparations and strategies needed for presentation since the main keys to the success of delivering good presentation are highly determined by knowing how to prepare well and being able to use the strategies more appropriately and frequently.

How to Practice Academic Medicine and Publish from Developing Countries?

An oral presentation is a form of communication, where you impart and then exchange information with your audience. This can be either one-way, a didactic, or two-way called a Socratic or a Dialectic presentation. There are many forms of oral presentation and you should find out where and when you are required to speak [1]. The National Training Laboratory in Maine, USA has suggested a ‘cone’ of learning or learning ‘pyramid’. In this, they have found that the most effective way of learning is through teaching others. Most students remembered only 10% of the material given in books but remembered 90% of the facts they learned when they had to teach others [2] (Fig. 38.1).

Journal of advances in linguistics

Conchi Hernández

ANNALS OF THE ORADEA UNIVERSITY. Fascicle of Management and Technological Engineering.

Ioana Horea

Peter Levrai , Averil Bolster

Oral Presentations are an important part of studying in an English-medium university environment and will be something many students face, whatever their field of study. Such presentations can be particularly challenging for non-native English speakers (NNES). Despite the importance of oral presentations as a form of academic discourse, they remain a relatively underresearched area and an area where there is limited targeted EAP presentation training materials. There is no clear conceptualization in the existing literature of which the authors are aware as to the key features that make a presentation academic. This paper aims to redress that issue with the aim of then evaluating the training materials currently available to help NNES develop their academic oral presentation skills.

Johannes Junge Ruhland

This worksheet is geared towards advanced undergraduate students majoring in literature, although much of it could be adapted for other disciplines and contexts. It provides guidance on crafting and delivering oral presentations, which are typically based on an article assigned by the instructor to the presenter and to be delivered to a class who has not read the article. The typical length of these presentations is 5 minutes, and presentations may include slideshows. Longer presentations have different parameters. This worksheet is paired with “Know Your Audience: Undergraduate Writing and Speaking.” For writing assignments, readers can refer to “How Do I Efficiently Write Essays in French?” This worksheet was first created in Fall 2021 and was last updated by its author in Summer 2023 with the valuable input and feedback of former students Marley Fortin, Merve Ozdemir, and Elizabeth Swanson.

Nafiseh Zarei

Success in oral pesentation skills contributes to students’ success in academic performance as well as their social life. It is important for teachers to know their students’ needs and social background in order to encourage them to share information relevant to their interests with their peers to improve their oral presentation skills. This study investigates the factors that affect oral presentation among undergraduates. This quantitative study used Likert scale questionnaire to collect data from 100 undergraduates at a private university in Malaysia (UNITAR International University). The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) in the form of mean, standard deviation, and variance. The findings of the study showed four primary factors: confidence, nervousness, communication, and presentation skill that effect oral presentation among the undergraduate students. The results of the study demonstrated that the students were very nervous during presentat...

Australasian Journal of Paramedicine

Jamie Ranse

This article will not provide guidance on public speaking techniques or details on the use of presentation software programs commonly used at conferences.

Proceedings of CLaSIC 2014

John Wilson , Gavin Brooks

In many second language (L2) communication classes the majority of the class time is taken up by teacher-fronted, drill-oriented activities. Oral presentations are one example of a learner-centered, communicative activity that can be used to fix this problem. However, if not implemented correctly, the difficulty of the tasks involved in presenting in front of others can take away from the pedagogical benefits of using presentations in the classroom. Because of this, it is important that language teachers understand the skills involved in giving an effective presentation, and the potential difficulties oral presentations can cause for L2 learners. This paper focuses on one genre of oral presentations, the poster presentation, and examines the benefits of using poster presentations in the L2 classroom. It draws upon the practical experience the authors have gained from teaching and developing materials for presentation classes to provide a framework for how poster presentations can be used in the language classroom. By examining the tasks involved, and the pedagogical justification behind those tasks, it is hoped that this paper will encourage language teachers to use poster presentations in their classrooms in a way that benefits both the students and the teachers.

What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

Partner Center

Oral Presentation Rubric

About this printout

This rubric is designed to be used for any oral presentation. Students are scored in three categories—delivery, content, and audience awareness.

Teaching with this printout

More ideas to try, related resources.

Oral presentation and speaking are important skills for students to master, especially in the intermediate grades. This oral presentation rubric is designed to fit any topic or subject area. The rubric allows teachers to assess students in several key areas of oral presentation. Students are scored on a scale of 1–4 in three major areas. The first area is Delivery, which includes eye contact, and voice inflection. The second area, Content/Organization, scores students based on their knowledge and understanding of the topic being presented and the overall organization of their presentation. The third area, Enthusiasm/Audience Awareness, assesses students based on their enthusiasm toward the topic and how well they came across to their intended audience. Give students the oral presentation rubric ahead of time so that they know and understand what they will be scored on. Discuss each of the major areas and how they relate to oral presentation.

• After students have completed their oral presentations, ask them to do a self-assessment with the same rubric and hold a conference with them to compare their self-assessment with your own assessment.
• Provide students with several examples of oral presentations before they plan and execute their own presentation. Ask students to evaluate and assess the exemplar presentations using the same rubric.
• Students can do a peer evaluation of oral presentations using this rubric. Students meet in partners or small groups to give each other feedback and explain their scoring.
• Lesson Plans
• Student Interactives

Students research engineering careers and create poetry to understand the vocabulary of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

Useful for a wide variety of reading and writing activities, this outlining tool allows students to organize up to five levels of information.

• Print this resource

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• Kindergarten K

Academic Development Centre

Oral presentations

Using oral presentations to assess learning

Introduction.

Oral presentations are a form of assessment that calls on students to use the spoken word to express their knowledge and understanding of a topic. It allows capture of not only the research that the students have done but also a range of cognitive and transferable skills.

Different types of oral presentations

A common format is in-class presentations on a prepared topic, often supported by visual aids in the form of PowerPoint slides or a Prezi, with a standard length that varies between 10 and 20 minutes. In-class presentations can be performed individually or in a small group and are generally followed by a brief question and answer session.

Oral presentations are often combined with other modes of assessment; for example oral presentation of a project report, oral presentation of a poster, commentary on a practical exercise, etc.

Also common is the use of PechaKucha, a fast-paced presentation format consisting of a fixed number of slides that are set to move on every twenty seconds (Hirst, 2016). The original version was of 20 slides resulting in a 6 minute and 40 second presentation, however, you can reduce this to 10 or 15 to suit group size or topic complexity and coverage. One of the advantages of this format is that you can fit a large number of presentations in a short period of time and everyone has the same rules. It is also a format that enables students to express their creativity through the appropriate use of images on their slides to support their narrative.

When deciding which format of oral presentation best allows your students to demonstrate the learning outcomes, it is also useful to consider which format closely relates to real world practice in your subject area.

What can oral presentations assess?

The key questions to consider include:

• what will be assessed?
• who will be assessing?

This form of assessment places the emphasis on students’ capacity to arrange and present information in a clear, coherent and effective way’ rather than on their capacity to find relevant information and sources. However, as noted above, it could be used to assess both.

Oral presentations, depending on the task set, can be particularly useful in assessing:

• knowledge skills and critical analysis
• applied problem-solving abilities
• ability to research and prepare persuasive arguments
• ability to generate and synthesise ideas
• ability to communicate effectively
• ability to present information clearly and concisely
• ability to present information to an audience with appropriate use of visual and technical aids
• time management
• interpersonal and group skills.

When using this method you are likely to aim to assess a combination of the above to the extent specified by the learning outcomes. It is also important that all aspects being assessed are reflected in the marking criteria.

In the case of group presentation you might also assess:

• level of contribution to the group
• ability to contribute without dominating
• ability to maintain a clear role within the group.

See also the ‘ Assessing group work Link opens in a new window ’ section for further guidance.

As with all of the methods described in this resource it is important to ensure that the students are clear about what they expected to do and understand the criteria that will be used to asses them. (See Ginkel et al, 2017 for a useful case study.)

Although the use of oral presentations is increasingly common in higher education some students might not be familiar with this form of assessment. It is important therefore to provide opportunities to discuss expectations and practice in a safe environment, for example by building short presentation activities with discussion and feedback into class time.

Individual or group

It is not uncommon to assess group presentations. If you are opting for this format:

• will you assess outcome or process, or both?
• how will you distribute tasks and allocate marks?
• will group members contribute to the assessment by reporting group process?

Assessed oral presentations are often performed before a peer audience - either in-person or online. It is important to consider what role the peers will play and to ensure they are fully aware of expectations, ground rules and etiquette whether presentations take place online or on campus:

• will the presentation be peer assessed? If so how will you ensure everyone has a deep understanding of the criteria?
• will peers be required to interact during the presentation?
• will peers be required to ask questions after the presentation?
• what preparation will peers need to be able to perform their role?
• how will the presence and behaviour of peers impact on the assessment?
• how will you ensure equality of opportunities for students who are asked fewer/more/easier/harder questions by peers?

Hounsell and McCune (2001) note the importance of the physical setting and layout as one of the conditions which can impact on students’ performance; it is therefore advisable to offer students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the space in which the presentations will take place and to agree layout of the space in advance.

Good practice

As a summary to the ideas above, Pickford and Brown (2006, p.65) list good practice, based on a number of case studies integrated in their text, which includes:

• make explicit the purpose and assessment criteria
• use the audience to contribute to the assessment process
• record [audio / video] presentations for self-assessment and reflection (you may have to do this for QA purposes anyway)
• keep presentations short
• consider bringing in externals from commerce / industry (to add authenticity)
• consider banning notes / audio visual aids (this may help if AI-generated/enhanced scripts run counter to intended learning outcomes)
• encourage students to engage in formative practice with peers (including formative practice of giving feedback)
• use a single presentation to assess synoptically; linking several parts / modules of the course
• give immediate oral feedback
• link back to the learning outcomes that the presentation is assessing; process or product.

Neumann in Havemann and Sherman (eds., 2017) provides a useful case study in chapter 19: Student Presentations at a Distance, and Grange & Enriquez in chapter 22: Moving from an Assessed Presentation during Class Time to a Video-based Assessment in a Spanish Culture Module.

Diversity & inclusion

Some students might feel more comfortable or be better able to express themselves orally than in writing, and vice versa . Others might have particular difficulties expressing themselves verbally, due for example to hearing or speech impediments, anxiety, personality, or language abilities. As with any other form of assessment it is important to be aware of elements that potentially put some students at a disadvantage and consider solutions that benefit all students.

Academic integrity

Oral presentations present relative low risk of academic misconduct if they are presented synchronously and in-class. Avoiding the use of a script can ensure that students are not simply reading out someone else’s text or an AI generated script, whilst the questions posed at the end can allow assessors to gauge the depth of understanding of the topic and structure presented. (Click here for further guidance on academic integrity .)

Recorded presentations (asynchronous) may be produced with help, and additional mechanisms to ensure that the work presented is their own work may be beneficial - such as a reflective account, or a live Q&A session. AI can create scripts, slides and presentations, copy real voices relatively convincingly, and create video avatars, these tools can enable students to create professional video content, and may make this sort of assessment more accessible. The desirability of such tools will depend upon what you are aiming to assess and how you will evaluate student performance.

Student and staff experience

Oral presentations provide a useful opportunity for students to practice skills which are required in the world of work. Through the process of preparing for an oral presentation, students can develop their ability to synthesise information and present to an audience. To improve authenticity the assessment might involve the use of an actual audience, realistic timeframes for preparation, collaboration between students and be situated in realistic contexts, which might include the use of AI tools.

As mentioned above it is important to remember that the stress of presenting information to a public audience might put some students at a disadvantage. Similarly non-native speakers might perceive language as an additional barrier. AI may reduce some of these challenges, but it will be important to ensure equal access to these tools to avoid disadvantaging students. Discussing criteria and expectations with your students, providing a clear structure, ensuring opportunities to practice and receive feedback will benefit all students.

Some disadvantages of oral presentations include:

• anxiety - students might feel anxious about this type of assessment and this might impact on their performance
• time - oral assessment can be time consuming both in terms of student preparation and performance
• time - to develop skill in designing slides if they are required; we cannot assume knowledge of PowerPoint etc.
• lack of anonymity and potential bias on the part of markers.

From a student perspective preparing for an oral presentation can be time consuming, especially if the presentation is supported by slides or a poster which also require careful design.

From a teacher’s point of view, presentations are generally assessed on the spot and feedback is immediate, which reduces marking time. It is therefore essential to have clearly defined marking criteria which help assessors to focus on the intended learning outcomes rather than simply on presentation style.

Useful resources

Joughin, G. (2010). A short guide to oral assessment . Leeds Metropolitan University/University of Wollongong http://eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/2804/

Race, P. and Brown, S. (2007). The Lecturer’s Toolkit: a practical guide to teaching, learning and assessment. 2 nd edition. London, Routledge.

Annotated bibliography

Class participation

Concept maps

Essay variants: essays only with more focus

• briefing / policy papers
• research proposals
• articles and reviews
• essay plans

Film production

Laboratory notebooks and reports

Objective tests

• short-answer
• multiple choice questions

Patchwork assessment

Creative / artistic performance

• learning logs
• learning blogs

Simulations

Work-based assessment

Reference list

Search form

Oral communication skills are important for students.

BY ANTON LUCANUS

Communication skills are vital for a student’s academic success and future career prospects. In today’s challenging environment, students must not only possess academic expertise, but also the requisite skills to enhance their learning and employability prospects in the future.

Communication is a dynamic process as it involves an interaction between two or more people i.e. the sender and the receiver. The main purpose of communication is to transmit thoughts and beliefs to another person. The major components of communication are verbal communication or oral communication and non-verbal communication. Oral communication is the process of expressing ideas through the medium of speech and this plays a crucial role in the life of students.

Importance of Oral Communication for Students

An individual learns the basics of oral communication right at home. The school environment takes this learning a notch higher by teaching the student how to interact with peers and teachers alike. The quality of communication in student life will define professional communication later in life.

Good communication enables students to assimilate more from the learning process by empowering them to ask relevant questions and discuss doubts.

Effective verbal communication nurtures the process of socialization by facilitating new friendships and these in turn aid the learning process.

Productive communication is a boost to career development. An ability to convey thoughts in a clear and precise manner would help a student to make a favorable impression at an interview and get the job that he deserves.

Communication skills inculcate professionalism in speaking styles, ways of self-expression and attitudes towards others, and these traits would hold students in good stead in their professional lives.

Dynamics of Oral Communication

The hallmark of a good student communicator is that he has mastered the art of preparing, organizing and delivering successful oral presentations. Oral communication includes real-time presentations, video presentations and interviews, with accompanying visual aids such as handouts and power-points.

Message is the key to a good oral communication. The substance of the presentation should be relevant to the audience and goals of the presentation.

Self-awareness is the starting point of good oral communication. A person who is aware of his strengths and weaknesses can put in the required efforts to improve communication skills.

Confidence is another vital aspect of good communication. A person may know the subject and yet not communicate adequately if he lacks confidence.

Simplicity in messaging is indispensable for good communication as assimilation of the message is directly proportional to clarity of its presentation.

Awareness of the audience is an important tool in the hands of an effective oral communicator. A good communicator can guage the impact of the by observing the body language and feedback of the audience and adjust his approach accordingly.

Interaction is the path to effectiveness. A student oral communicator can keep the audience engaged by asking questions and soliciting opinions on the subject matter at hand. This would also help in fine tuning the message and style of presentation, based on the feedback received from the audience.

The tone of voice of the presenter carries a lot of weight in delivery of the message. A confident tone keeps the audience engaged, whereas a low and monotonous tone can be off-putting. Voice modulation can also be employed to highlight the key points in the presentation and retain the attention of the audience.

Body language is an important component of effective oral communication. The student should adopt a stable and confident posture, make appropriate gestures, avoid being fidgety and establish eye contact during the presentation.

Oral communication is not merely the ability to speak, but also the capacity to listen. A good communicator is one who is attuned to the audience and is able to calibrate his message accordingly. An aspiring oral communicator should be willing to acquire and hone his listening skills over a period of time.

  The Path to Effective Oral Communication

Oral communication is an art that can be learnt and polished through reading, presentation skills and practice.

An oral communicator should have intellectual curiosity. Reading is a means to the development of good communication skills. A well-educated mind would be able to communicate better as content is the soul of the communication process. He should also possess an attitude of discussion and deliberation as this would improve intellectual capabilities and thereby contribute to effective communication.

Effective writing skills and good verbal communication skills go hand-in-hand although they may appear antithetical to a newbie. A student with good writing skills would alone be in a position to organize and present his thoughts in a structured manner; an exposure to the nitty-gritty of essay writing would be immensely beneficial in that regard.

The age-old dictum ‘Practice makes a person perfect’ makes perfect sense in the world of oral communication. The first impression is the best impression and many students fail this test due to a various impediments such as stage fright, lack of self-confidence and performance anxiety. A student can conquer his fears and master the art of oral communication by participating in many real and mock presentations, and speech-based activities.

Active participation in the community would transform a student into a good communicator by honing his linguistic abilities. Moreover, a leadership position in an academic setting would be an important asset on the CV of a student.

To conclude, a student willing to put his nose to the grindstone can indeed make a smooth transition from a tentative speaker to an effective and seasoned oral communicator.

Byline –  Anton Lucanus is the Director of Neliti. During his college years, he maintained a perfect GPA, was published in a top cancer journal, and received many of his country’s most prestigious undergraduate scholarships. Anton writes for The College Puzzle as a means to share the lessons learnt throughout his degree and to guide current students to achieve personal and educational fulfilment during college life.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

The more, the better a multivariate longitudinal study on l2 motivation and anxiety in efl oral presentations provisionally accepted.

• 1 University of Oxford, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

For decades, oral presentations have become a common method of assessment in language learning classrooms. Nonetheless, anxiety is a persistent negative feeling pervasive in EFL learners. Although applied linguistic research suggests that there is a relationship between motivation and anxiety, the nature and direction of this relationship remain inconsistent. To tackle this concern, this mixed-methods longitudinal study aimed to investigate the growth trajectories of Chinese EFL learners’ L2 motivation and anxiety in oral presentations. The participants were 171 second-year undergraduate medical students who attended an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course. They delivered four oral presentations and reported their L2 motivation and anxiety levels in questionnaire surveys. Results show that: (1) As the number of EFL learners giving oral presentations increased, the L2 motivation levels increased, and the anxiety levels decreased. (2) Those who were initially more anxious about giving oral presentations had higher decrease rates during the four oral presentations. (3) There was co-development but inverse relationships between ideal L2 self and anxiety and between ought-to L2 self and anxiety, although a complete parallel process model was not established. These findings suggest that students’ perceptions of L2 motivation interact with anxiety levels over time but in a sophisticated fashion. Finally, pedagogical implications for EFL oral presentation instruction are provided.

Keywords: latent growth curve modeling, parallel process modeling, Anxiety, L2 motivational self system, oral presentations

Received: 04 Mar 2024; Accepted: 29 Apr 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Mr. Hao Wu, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

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This presentation discusses various Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) detector setups with a program to accurately determine the location of a radioactive source. A SiPM is itself an array of small avalanche photodiode cells on a silicon chip. Applying a low voltage just above the breakdown allows for massive output pulses from the detection of single photons. SiPMs are an option for radiation detection when connected to scintillating materials, which produce photons when particles interact within them. Scintillators are clear materials that allow direct photon travel from a scintillator to a detector, and different wrapping materials allow for different signal responses in terms of precision and strength. Lab tests performed at Augustana verified certain performance characteristics. This presentation will discuss these results and the results of using these in an experiment run at Triangle Universities Nuclear Lab (TUNL) by the MoNA Collaboration, a nuclear physics research collaboration based out of Michigan State University, done with the prospect of designing a new neutron detector array.

"Updated High-Resolution Diffraction Grating Holder" Physics Presented by William Murillo Project advisor: Dr. William Peterson

Advanced spectroscopic capabilities are typically reserved for large optical telescopes and are noticeably absent from smaller (<1m) telescopes operated by colleges and universities. The miniature grism consists of a simple 3D-printed housing containing five optical elements that can be installed inside standard filter wheels that hold various filters for viewing light at a specific wavelength. The previous generation grism had 600 lines/mm volume phase holographic (VPH) grating with a peak spectral resolution of 1.1nm. The updated grism has a compound grating-prism with a 2000lines/mm grating with a max throughput of 70% at 656nm. With a maximum resolution of <0.3nm (<150km/s at H-alpha), we are able to make precise measurements of H-alpha Doppler broadening caused by young Be stars, heterogeneous sets of stars with B spectral types and emission lines, near critical rotation causing the nuclear material to slide off near the equator. We plan to observe a survey of these stars to characterize the semi-periodic behavior of the discretion properties. 

"A Coordinate Transform Method for Solving Maxwell's Equations" Mathematics Presented by Hoang Trieu Project advisor: Dr. Benjamin Civiletti

Optimizing nanophotonic devices requires finding an efficient numerical method to solve electromagnetic scattering problems. One common application is thin-film solar cells, wherein the geometry of the cell is optimized to maximize efficiency.  In this research, we implemented the hybrid numerical method C-RCWA, which is a combination of the C-method and Rigorous Coupled-Wave Approach (RCWA), to solve Helmholtz equations in inhomogeneous thin-film solar cells with periodic interfaces. The C-method transforms the problem into a new coordinate system such that the material interfaces are flat. The benefit of simpler geometry is traded against more complicated anisotropic materials, which results in a more efficient solver compared to the standard RCWA. We will first review the method to solve the transformation optics problem, and then, preliminary numerical results will be presented. We conclude with plans for future applications of the C-RCWA method.

Texas Medical Center

Old main 28 (session e).

"Analyzing Cell Cycle Effects, Compensation, and Rescue of P53 and Caspase-2 in Human Colorectal Carcinoma Cells" Texas Medical Center Presented by Leslie Bandera Project advisors: Dr. Patrick Crawford, Dr. Rayford Harrison and Dr. Heidi Storl

The p53 gene is the most commonly mutated tumor suppressor gene in cancer cells leading to p53 protein disfunction. If p53 function is lost, then cell cycle arrest and apoptosis is inhibited causing tumor proliferation. However, if normal p53 function is restored, then normal cell cycle progress would continue. By re-activating existing p53 or compensating for its function through different cell cycle regulators such as caspase-2, the normal phenotype could be rescued thereby restoring tumor suppression mechanisms in human colorectal carcinoma cells. If protein function compensation occurs, then p53 potentially works in a separate pathway from caspase-2. In order to determine whether caspase-2 activity increased without p53 present, a fluorescent reporter was used to visualize caspase-2 activation. The resulting fluorescence showed increased caspase-2 activation in cells lacking p53 suggesting potential compensation and deviation in activation pathways. The corresponding p53 compensation for caspase-2 concluded that the p53 half-life remains the same even if compensation is occurring. Additionally, the dysregulation of the G1 cell cycle checkpoint seen in cancer cells containing p53 loss-of-function mutations was then rescued by re-activating existing p53 and restoring normal function with p53ERTAM systems inserted into cells via viral vector. Results showed increased G1 arrest when tamoxifen increases p53 activity. Overall, the results suggest that p53 and caspase-2 work in separate pathways allowing for functional compensation between them. Additionally, p53 reactivation by tamoxifen can trigger normal phenotypic responses. With a better understanding of cell cycle responses, caspase-2 compensation and p53 rescue are potential targets of cancer cell cycle regulation.

"Fixing the Broken Circuit: The Role of the LKB1 Gene in Cell Fate" Texas Medical Center Presented by Amen Bekele Project advisor: Dr. Heidi Storl

Neurons assume their identity during development and undergo selective division, which traditionally limits their ability to change cell types. With our overall goal being fixing broken brain circuits, we wondered if it was possible to convert these cell types from one to another, even after their fate had been determined. This conversion approach could help us replace cells that lack connections, potentially restoring proper neuronal circuit functionality. We sought to understand if we could manipulate the LKB1 gene to fix the broken circuit by changing neuron identity, particularly in the context of amacrine cells in the retina. By using the cre-lox system and knocking out the LKB1 gene in the amacrine cell layer of the retina, we observed an increase in dopaminergic amacrine cells (d-ACs). This indicates that there might be an increase in the birth of d-ACs or a change in the cell fate of non-dopaminergic amacrine cells into becoming d-ACs. As part of our analysis, I examined the mosaic cell pattern of these neurotransmitter amacrine cells to observe changes in terms of the increase or decrease of d-ACs and other non-dopaminergic amacrine cells. We believe that by examining the underlying mechanisms, we can use LKB1 to induce nearby amacrine cells to transform into d-ACs. This will help us take a step forward in therapeutic treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, which stems from the loss of dopaminergic cells. 

"LATINO: Beyond OCD Genetic Bounds" Texas Medical Center Presented by Rachel Nandelenga Project advisor: Dr. Heidi Storl

Did you check the door this morning? Are you sure? Imagine checking again and again. Individuals with OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, suffer from obsessions and compulsions daily and pathologically. Currently, 95% of OCD genetic research is focused on individuals of European Ancestry, leaving a mere 5% for all other minority groups worldwide.

Recognizing this glaring health disparity, the Storch Lab acted. They launched LATINO (The Latin American Trans-Ancestry INitiative for OCD Genomics), a groundbreaking project aimed at building a genomic database specifically for Latino and Hispanic individuals. By conducting clinical assessments and collecting saliva samples, LATINO seeks to identify the factors contributing to OCD development within this community.

Over the past three years, LATINO has expanded to include over 50 testing sites across the United States, Canada, and Latin America, ensuring a comprehensive representation. As a member of this project, my role involves recruiting individuals and cataloging the data we collect.

Once we achieve our recruitment goal of 5,000 Latino and Hispanic individuals, genetic analysis will be conducted to discover and map OCD genomic loci with a more diversified sample in mind. Our ultimate vision is to provide every Latino and Hispanic individual with OCD the confidence that there is an understanding of their condition, as well as treatments and assessments available in their communities that respect and embrace their rich ancestry.

Art History, Graphic Design, Studio Art

Wallenberg hall (10-10:45 a.m.) and thomas tredway library (10:45-11:30 a.m.) (session f).

Senior Art Show Art History, Graphic Design, Studio Art Presented by Francesca Anduray, Quinn Au, Lillian Hart, Liam Haskill, Linh Hoang, Abby Holtan, Hannah Johnson, Eleanor Klink, Emmie Kulak, Ceu Lian, Christina O'Connell, Esme O'Rourke, Jessica Peters, Karen Rizzo, Aykeem Spivey, Ilsa Strelow, Emily Torres

Scandinavian Studies, Kinesiology, Philosophy

Old main 132 (session g).

"Nils Holgersson: Compassion for Animals in a Swedish Children's Book" Scandinavian Studies Presented by Jack Brandt Project advisor: Dr. Mark Safstrom

What accounts for Sweden's reputation as a global leader in equality and happiness? In part, culture. I researched Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige, or in English, Nils Holgersson's wonderful trip across Sweden, to learn more. Selma Lagerlöf, Sweden's first Nobel prize winner in literature, wrote this book in the early 1900s. It was used in schools and arguably reflects the same values that also led to Sweden's welfare state. At face value, it's just a book about Sweden that follows a farm boy who is cursed to be a small elf after taunting one himself. He travels across Sweden on the back of a goose. His trip familiarizes him with the people and landscapes of Sweden. A second look at the book reveals the notion of equality that underlies it. Scandinavia is famous for its equality and relative lack of hierarchies – from using first names with superiors; to how companies are run, compared to other places in the world, including the USA. I researched how this impacts environmental views, in particular how it's increasingly difficult to reconcile with the demands of our tech-driven world.

"Effects of Periodic Heat Extraction on Power, Velocity, Blood Lactate, and RPE during Bench Press" Kinesiology Presented by Timothy Swaney Project advisor: Dr. Jeff Mettler

PURPOSE: To determine the effects of Palmar Cooling (PC) on power, velocity, blood lactate, and RPE during bench press in resistance-trained individuals.

METHODS: 18 resistance-trained individuals completed three separate sessions for the study. The first session consisted of a 1RM bench press testing protocol. The training protocol for the second and third sessions consisted of four sets of five repetitions at 80% of the individual’s 1RM with rest intervals. One of the training sessions was randomly chosen as the experimental (PC) condition and the other a control (NO PC).  Blood lactate and RPE were recorded after each set. Linear mixed-effects modeling was used for data analysis.

RESULTS: There was a significant main effect for condition, where the peak power was greater for the PC condition than no PC (p< 0.001). There was a significant main effect for condition, where the peak velocity for the PC condition was greater than NO PC (p<0.001). There was a significant main effect for condition and set, where the average (AVG) power decreased (p<0.007, p<0.001). There was a significant main effect for condition and set, where the AVG velocity decreased (p<0.007, p<0.001). The main effects seen for both AVG power and velocity are expected to decrease amongst both conditions as the number of sets increase. There was a main effect for condition, where the RPE was decreased in the PC condition compared to NO PC (p<0.001). There was a main effect for set, which as sets increase so will fatigue (p<0.001).  

CONCLUSION: The greater peak power and velocity and average power and velocity may suggest an improved anaerobic capacity in the PC condition. The lower average RPE in the PC condition and insignificance of blood lactate may suggest limited central nervous system fatigue.

"Anchoring the AAA Model" Philosophy Presented by Luca James Barba Project advisor: Dr. Deke Gould

My goal in this paper is to expose two—but resolve one—major issues facing one of the foremost endeavors in the theory of knowledge: Virtue Epistemology. In Part 1 of this paper, I propose the epistemic criterion of "anchoring”  as an addition to Ernest Sosa's AAA model of knowledge. It is a solution to an internal inconsistency that arises from Sosa's response to Duncan Pritchard's (2009) environmentalist luck critique of the AAA model that allows performances to spatiotemporally extend beyond their performers. By modifying the AAA model to the A4 (AAA + Anchoring) model, I can address Pritchard’s critique without disturbing traditional conceptualizations of the locations of mental performances. I end Part 1 by exploring three significant objections to anchoring.

In Part 2 of this paper, I explore issues that the AAA/A4 model has with accuracy and epistemic verification. While Sosa succeeds in granting someone who has insight into animal knowledge further access to reflective knowledge or the awareness of knowing, I argue that reflective knowledge cannot retroactively verify an apt belief’s truthfulness without circular reasoning. This issue arises from Sosa’s reliance on a Cartesian argument to support foundationalism in the face of the Pyrrhonian Problematic and Sextus’s Dark Room Scenario. The conclusion of Descartes’s conclusion that the treasure hunter in the Dark Room is required to gain awareness of the truth cannot be drawn from the premises Sosa has available. 

Larson Hall, Bergendoff Hall (Session K)

"Kali Yuga - Augustana College Improvisation Ensemble" Presented by John Flannery, Liam Haynes, Adele Shirkey and Dr. Randall Hall

Uniting composition and performance into a single action, Kali Yuga performs free improvisations. The ensemble creates the music as it is heard, without prearranged musical material (no tunes, scales, chords, etc.). It is the collective expression of our different personalities communicated through sounds.

The name Kali Yuga comes from Hindu philosophy – it is the final stage of the cycle of time, the Iron Age of destruction and dissolution before the rebirth of the Golden Age.