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Kelsey: How to Tackle Presentations
Kelsey shares how she prepares for delivering a presentation.
Presentations can be extremely daunting, especially when it involves presenting in front of new people. You may be assigned a task during your A-Levels or at university to create a presentation, whether this be in groups or individually. Knowing how to prepare and feel relaxed before a presentation can be tough, but there are plenty of ways to overcome this.
In my own experience, I was involved in a group presentation in my first year of university. I had always felt very apprehensive when it came to the thought of presentations, especially since I had not completed one before. The idea of creating my presentation on PowerPoint I really enjoyed, but the thought of standing in front of a group of people and talking without messing up or going completely blank worried me. For my task, I was provided with a report on genetics which I had to evaluate with my assigned group and create a presentation which I had to present the following week to a seminar class. There are many different types of presentations you may be asked to create. whether that be at A-Level or University. Some possible examples include: an evaluation, thoughts on a text/book, a question you must answer or an argument to discuss.
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Particularly with group presentations, it is important that each group member becomes involved and contributes to the work you create. As part of my assignment grade, we had to anonymously mark each other’s contribution levels with a score out of 5, thus bringing extra pressure onto the group to ensure all members participated. Even without this grading system, it is only fair if everybody ‘pulls their weight’, so a possible idea to combat this would be for each group member to select a slide they would feel comfortable designing and presenting, resulting in all the workload being shared equally. Checking with your lecturer or assignment brief regarding suitable slide content and timings of the presentation can ensure you know what you need to achieve the highest grades. In my group, we discussed who felt comfortable presenting each slide, and we had regular check-in meetings to ensure our work was going smoothly and everyone in the group felt reassured with what we were doing.
When it comes to designing your PowerPoint, it may be hard at first to figure out what it should look like and to ensure that it looks professional. Avoiding transitions and keeping the text on the page concise is effective. It is a good idea to use graphs and images to support your text and keeping the design of the slides consistent, trying to avoid bright colours to maintain professionality.
Once all the slides have been created and you have developed an idea of what you’re going to say, it’s time to practise. This is where I know for many students (including myself) it can feel more daunting. The more you practise, the more prepared and comfortable you feel when presenting. When it comes to figuring out what to say, you could prepare a speech, or if you would rather just bring a few notes and allow the PowerPoint slides to prompt you. Personally, I prefer to write out a speech and learn it, but it is just a case of deciding which presenting strategy works best for you. You could book out study spaces or find a place with your group to practice timing your presentation and presenting it like you would on the day to become more confident and feel prepared.
The same thing applies if you are doing a presentation alone, practise your timings and practise in front of the mirror, in front of family members and friends or even speaking to yourself! It is a good idea to practise speaking slowly and clearly as it can be easy to become nervous and rush through your presentation. It is also recommended not to just read your speech from a sheet of paper. Flash cards may be a good idea if you need some notes to prompt you! Try and practise making good eye contact with the audience too.
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In my presentation, my seminar lead asked questions at the end, so if this is the case for yours, ensure you thoroughly understand what you are talking about in your presentation and have completed some wider reading in preparation.
Remember that everybody else is in the same position as you and many will be feeling nervous on the day, it is completely normal! Please remember to simply try your best, the lecturers and teachers understand that this may be your first presentation and you may be feeling anxious. Good luck!
Written by Kelsey, a BSc Biomedical Sciences student
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Illustrations by Eilidh Muldoon.