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Blog Beginner Guides How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

Written by: Krystle Wong Jul 20, 2023

A top-notch presentation possesses the power to drive action. From winning stakeholders over and conveying a powerful message to securing funding — your secret weapon lies within the realm of creating an effective presentation .  

Being an excellent presenter isn’t confined to the boardroom. Whether you’re delivering a presentation at work, pursuing an academic career, involved in a non-profit organization or even a student, nailing the presentation game is a game-changer.

In this article, I’ll cover the top qualities of compelling presentations and walk you through a step-by-step guide on how to give a good presentation. Here’s a little tip to kick things off: for a headstart, check out Venngage’s collection of free presentation templates . They are fully customizable, and the best part is you don’t need professional design skills to make them shine!

These valuable presentation tips cater to individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, encompassing business professionals, sales and marketing teams, educators, trainers, students, researchers, non-profit organizations, public speakers and presenters. 

No matter your field or role, these tips for presenting will equip you with the skills to deliver effective presentations that leave a lasting impression on any audience.

Click to jump ahead:

What are the 10 qualities of a good presentation?

Step-by-step guide on how to prepare an effective presentation, 9 effective techniques to deliver a memorable presentation, faqs on making a good presentation, how to create a presentation with venngage in 5 steps.

When it comes to giving an engaging presentation that leaves a lasting impression, it’s not just about the content — it’s also about how you deliver it. Wondering what makes a good presentation? Well, the best presentations I’ve seen consistently exhibit these 10 qualities:

1. Clear structure

No one likes to get lost in a maze of information. Organize your thoughts into a logical flow, complete with an introduction, main points and a solid conclusion. A structured presentation helps your audience follow along effortlessly, leaving them with a sense of satisfaction at the end.

Regardless of your presentation style , a quality presentation starts with a clear roadmap. Browse through Venngage’s template library and select a presentation template that aligns with your content and presentation goals. Here’s a good presentation example template with a logical layout that includes sections for the introduction, main points, supporting information and a conclusion: 

2. Engaging opening

Hook your audience right from the start with an attention-grabbing statement, a fascinating question or maybe even a captivating anecdote. Set the stage for a killer presentation!

The opening moments of your presentation hold immense power – check out these 15 ways to start a presentation to set the stage and captivate your audience.

3. Relevant content

Make sure your content aligns with their interests and needs. Your audience is there for a reason, and that’s to get valuable insights. Avoid fluff and get straight to the point, your audience will be genuinely excited.

4. Effective visual aids

Picture this: a slide with walls of text and tiny charts, yawn! Visual aids should be just that—aiding your presentation. Opt for clear and visually appealing slides, engaging images and informative charts that add value and help reinforce your message.

With Venngage, visualizing data takes no effort at all. You can import data from CSV or Google Sheets seamlessly and create stunning charts, graphs and icon stories effortlessly to showcase your data in a captivating and impactful way.

5. Clear and concise communication

Keep your language simple, and avoid jargon or complicated terms. Communicate your ideas clearly, so your audience can easily grasp and retain the information being conveyed. This can prevent confusion and enhance the overall effectiveness of the message. 

6. Engaging delivery

Spice up your presentation with a sprinkle of enthusiasm! Maintain eye contact, use expressive gestures and vary your tone of voice to keep your audience glued to the edge of their seats. A touch of charisma goes a long way!

7. Interaction and audience engagement

Turn your presentation into an interactive experience — encourage questions, foster discussions and maybe even throw in a fun activity. Engaged audiences are more likely to remember and embrace your message.

Transform your slides into an interactive presentation with Venngage’s dynamic features like pop-ups, clickable icons and animated elements. Engage your audience with interactive content that lets them explore and interact with your presentation for a truly immersive experience.

8. Effective storytelling

Who doesn’t love a good story? Weaving relevant anecdotes, case studies or even a personal story into your presentation can captivate your audience and create a lasting impact. Stories build connections and make your message memorable.

A great presentation background is also essential as it sets the tone, creates visual interest and reinforces your message. Enhance the overall aesthetics of your presentation with these 15 presentation background examples and captivate your audience’s attention.

9. Well-timed pacing

Pace your presentation thoughtfully with well-designed presentation slides, neither rushing through nor dragging it out. Respect your audience’s time and ensure you cover all the essential points without losing their interest.

10. Strong conclusion

Last impressions linger! Summarize your main points and leave your audience with a clear takeaway. End your presentation with a bang , a call to action or an inspiring thought that resonates long after the conclusion.

In-person presentations aside, acing a virtual presentation is of paramount importance in today’s digital world. Check out this guide to learn how you can adapt your in-person presentations into virtual presentations . 

Preparing an effective presentation starts with laying a strong foundation that goes beyond just creating slides and notes. One of the quickest and best ways to make a presentation would be with the help of a good presentation software . 

Otherwise, let me walk you to how to prepare for a presentation step by step and unlock the secrets of crafting a professional presentation that sets you apart.

1. Understand the audience and their needs

Before you dive into preparing your masterpiece, take a moment to get to know your target audience. Tailor your presentation to meet their needs and expectations , and you’ll have them hooked from the start!

2. Conduct thorough research on the topic

Time to hit the books (or the internet)! Don’t skimp on the research with your presentation materials — dive deep into the subject matter and gather valuable insights . The more you know, the more confident you’ll feel in delivering your presentation.

3. Organize the content with a clear structure

No one wants to stumble through a chaotic mess of information. Outline your presentation with a clear and logical flow. Start with a captivating introduction, follow up with main points that build on each other and wrap it up with a powerful conclusion that leaves a lasting impression.

Delivering an effective business presentation hinges on captivating your audience, and Venngage’s professionally designed business presentation templates are tailor-made for this purpose. With thoughtfully structured layouts, these templates enhance your message’s clarity and coherence, ensuring a memorable and engaging experience for your audience members.

Don’t want to build your presentation layout from scratch? pick from these 5 foolproof presentation layout ideas that won’t go wrong. 

4. Develop visually appealing and supportive visual aids

Spice up your presentation with eye-catching visuals! Create slides that complement your message, not overshadow it. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, but that doesn’t mean you need to overload your slides with text.

Well-chosen designs create a cohesive and professional look, capturing your audience’s attention and enhancing the overall effectiveness of your message. Here’s a list of carefully curated PowerPoint presentation templates and great background graphics that will significantly influence the visual appeal and engagement of your presentation.

5. Practice, practice and practice

Practice makes perfect — rehearse your presentation and arrive early to your presentation to help overcome stage fright. Familiarity with your material will boost your presentation skills and help you handle curveballs with ease.

6. Seek feedback and make necessary adjustments

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and seek feedback from friends and colleagues. Constructive criticism can help you identify blind spots and fine-tune your presentation to perfection.

With Venngage’s real-time collaboration feature , receiving feedback and editing your presentation is a seamless process. Group members can access and work on the presentation simultaneously and edit content side by side in real-time. Changes will be reflected immediately to the entire team, promoting seamless teamwork.

7. Prepare for potential technical or logistical issues

Prepare for the unexpected by checking your equipment, internet connection and any other potential hiccups. If you’re worried that you’ll miss out on any important points, you could always have note cards prepared. Remember to remain focused and rehearse potential answers to anticipated questions.

8. Fine-tune and polish your presentation

As the big day approaches, give your presentation one last shine. Review your talking points, practice how to present a presentation and make any final tweaks. Deep breaths — you’re on the brink of delivering a successful presentation!

In competitive environments, persuasive presentations set individuals and organizations apart. To brush up on your presentation skills, read these guides on how to make a persuasive presentation and tips to presenting effectively . 

Whether you’re an experienced presenter or a novice, the right techniques will let your presentation skills soar to new heights!

From public speaking hacks to interactive elements and storytelling prowess, these 9 effective presentation techniques will empower you to leave a lasting impression on your audience and make your presentations unforgettable.

1. Confidence and positive body language

Positive body language instantly captivates your audience, making them believe in your message as much as you do. Strengthen your stage presence and own that stage like it’s your second home! Stand tall, shoulders back and exude confidence. 

2. Eye contact with the audience

Break down that invisible barrier and connect with your audience through their eyes. Maintaining eye contact when giving a presentation builds trust and shows that you’re present and engaged with them.

3. Effective use of hand gestures and movement

A little movement goes a long way! Emphasize key points with purposeful gestures and don’t be afraid to walk around the stage. Your energy will be contagious!

4. Utilize storytelling techniques

Weave the magic of storytelling into your presentation. Share relatable anecdotes, inspiring success stories or even personal experiences that tug at the heartstrings of your audience. Adjust your pitch, pace and volume to match the emotions and intensity of the story. Varying your speaking voice adds depth and enhances your stage presence.

5. Incorporate multimedia elements

Spice up your presentation with a dash of visual pizzazz! Use slides, images and video clips to add depth and clarity to your message. Just remember, less is more—don’t overwhelm them with information overload. 

Turn your presentations into an interactive party! Involve your audience with questions, polls or group activities. When they actively participate, they become invested in your presentation’s success. Bring your design to life with animated elements. Venngage allows you to apply animations to icons, images and text to create dynamic and engaging visual content.

6. Utilize humor strategically

Laughter is the best medicine—and a fantastic presentation enhancer! A well-placed joke or lighthearted moment can break the ice and create a warm atmosphere , making your audience more receptive to your message.

7. Practice active listening and respond to feedback

Be attentive to your audience’s reactions and feedback. If they have questions or concerns, address them with genuine interest and respect. Your responsiveness builds rapport and shows that you genuinely care about their experience.

8. Apply the 10-20-30 rule

Apply the 10-20-30 presentation rule and keep it short, sweet and impactful! Stick to ten slides, deliver your presentation within 20 minutes and use a 30-point font to ensure clarity and focus. Less is more, and your audience will thank you for it!

9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule

Simplicity is key. Limit each slide to five bullet points, with only five words per bullet point and allow each slide to remain visible for about five seconds. This rule keeps your presentation concise and prevents information overload.

Simple presentations are more engaging because they are easier to follow. Summarize your presentations and keep them simple with Venngage’s gallery of simple presentation templates and ensure that your message is delivered effectively across your audience.

1. How to start a presentation?

To kick off your presentation effectively, begin with an attention-grabbing statement or a powerful quote. Introduce yourself, establish credibility and clearly state the purpose and relevance of your presentation.

2. How to end a presentation?

For a strong conclusion, summarize your talking points and key takeaways. End with a compelling call to action or a thought-provoking question and remember to thank your audience and invite any final questions or interactions.

3. How to make a presentation interactive?

To make your presentation interactive, encourage questions and discussion throughout your talk. Utilize multimedia elements like videos or images and consider including polls, quizzes or group activities to actively involve your audience.

In need of inspiration for your next presentation? I’ve got your back! Pick from these 120+ presentation ideas, topics and examples to get started. 

Creating a stunning presentation with Venngage is a breeze with our user-friendly drag-and-drop editor and professionally designed templates for all your communication needs. 

Here’s how to make a presentation in just 5 simple steps with the help of Venngage:

Step 1: Sign up for Venngage for free using your email, Gmail or Facebook account or simply log in to access your account. 

Step 2: Pick a design from our selection of free presentation templates (they’re all created by our expert in-house designers).

Step 3: Make the template your own by customizing it to fit your content and branding. With Venngage’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor, you can easily modify text, change colors and adjust the layout to create a unique and eye-catching design.

Step 4: Elevate your presentation by incorporating captivating visuals. You can upload your images or choose from Venngage’s vast library of high-quality photos, icons and illustrations. 

Step 5: Upgrade to a premium or business account to export your presentation in PDF and print it for in-person presentations or share it digitally for free!

By following these five simple steps, you’ll have a professionally designed and visually engaging presentation ready in no time. With Venngage’s user-friendly platform, your presentation is sure to make a lasting impression. So, let your creativity flow and get ready to shine in your next presentation!

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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 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.

8 tips to improve your public speaking skills

The significance of written communication in the workplace, the 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills, what is an entrepreneur understanding the different types and examples of entrepreneurship, get smart about your goals at work and start seeing results, 9 signs that you’re being pushed out of your job, goal-setting theory: why it’s important, and how to use it at work, the importance of good speech: 5 tips to be more articulate, empathic listening: what it is and how to use it, how to write a speech that your audience remembers, impression management: developing your self-presentation skills, 30 presentation feedback examples, your guide to what storytelling is and how to be a good storyteller, how to give a good presentation that captivates any audience, 8 clever hooks for presentations (with tips), how to make a presentation interactive and exciting, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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Home Blog Education Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success

Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success

Getting the perfect presentation design is just a step toward a successful presentation. For the experienced user, building presentation skills is the answer to elevating the power of your message and showing expertise on any subject. Still, one can ask: is it the same set of skills, or are they dependable on the type of presentation?

In this article, we will introduce the different types of presentations accompanied by the skillset required to master them. The purpose, as always, is to retain the audience’s interest for a long-lasting and convincing message.

Table of Contents

The Importance of Presentation Skills

Persuasive presentations, instructional presentations, informative presentations, inspirational presentations, basic presentation skills, what are the main difficulties when giving a presentation, recommendations to improve your presentation skills, closing statement.

Effective communication is the answer to reaching business and academic goals. The scenarios in which we can be required to deliver a presentation are as diverse as one can imagine. Still, some core concepts apply to all presentations.

 We define presentation skills as a compendium of soft skills that directly affect your presentation performance and contribute to creating a great presentation. These are not qualities acquired by birth but skills you ought to train and master to delve into professional environments.

You may ask: is it really that evident when a presenter is not prepared? Here are some common signs people can experience during presentations:

• Evasive body language: Not making eye contact with the audience, arms closed tightly to the body, hands in pockets all the time.
• Lack of interest in the presenter’s voice: dull tone, not putting an effort to articulate the topics.
• Doubting when asked to answer a question
• Irksome mood

The list can go on about common presenter mistakes , and most certainly, it will affect the performance of any presented data if the lack of interest by the presenter is blatantly obvious.  Another element to consider is anxiety, and according to research by the National Institute of Mental Health, 73% of the population in the USA is affected by glossophobia , which is the fear of public speaking, judgment, or negative evaluation by other people.

Therefore, presentation skills training is essential for any business professional who wants to achieve effective communication . It will remove the anxiety from presentation performance and help users effectively deliver their message and connect with the audience.

Archetypes of presentations

Persuasive presentations aim to convince the audience – often in short periods – to acquire a product or service, adhere to a cause, or invest in a company. For business entrepreneurs or politicians, persuasive presentations are their tool for the trade.

Unless you aim to be perceived as an imposter, a proper persuasive presentation has the elements of facts, empathy, and logic, balanced under a well-crafted narrative. The central pillar of these presentations is to identify the single factor that gathered your audience: it could be a market need, a social cause, or a revolutionary concept for today’s society. It has to be something with enough power to gather critiques – both good and bad.

That single factor has to be backed up by facts. Research that builds your hypothesis on how to solve that problem. A deep understanding of the target audience’s needs , concerns, and social position regarding the solution your means can offer. When those elements are in place, building a pitch becomes an easy task. 

Graphics can help you introduce information in a compelling format, lowering the need for lengthy presentations. Good presentation skills for persuasive presentations go by the hand of filtering relevant data and creating the visual cues that resonate with what your audience demands.

One powerful example of a persuasive presentation is the technique known as the elevator pitch . You must introduce your idea or product convincingly to the audience in a timeframe between 30 seconds and less than 2 minutes. You have to expose:

• What do you do 
• What’s the problem to solve
• Why is your solution different from others 
• Why should the audience care about your expertise

For that very purpose, using engaging graphics with contrasting colors elevates the potential power of your message. It speaks professionalism, care for details, and out-of-the-box thinking. Knowing how to end a presentation is also critical, as your CTAs should be placed with care.

Therefore, let’s resume the requirements of persuasive presentations in terms of good presentation skills:

• Identifying problems and needs
• Elaborating “the hook” (the element that grabs the audience’s attention)
• Knowing how to “tie” your audience (introducing a piece of information related to the hook that causes an emotional impact)
• Broad knowledge of body language and hand gestures to quickly convey your message
• Being prepared to argue a defense of your point of view
• Handling rejection
• Having a proactive attitude to convert opportunities into new projects
• Using humor, surprise, or personal anecdotes as elements to sympathize with the audience
• Having confidence
• Be able to summarize facts and information in visually appealing ways

You can learn more about persuasive presentation techniques by clicking here .

In the case of instructional presentations, we ought to differentiate two distinctive types:

• Lecture Presentations : Presentations being held at universities or any other educative institution. Those presentations cover, topic by topic, and the contents of a syllabus and are created by the team of teachers in charge of the course.
• Training Presentations : These presentations take place during in-company training sessions and usually comprise a good amount of content that is resumed into easy-to-take solutions. They are aimed to coach employees over certain topics relevant to their work performance. The 70-20-10 Model is frequently used to address these training situations.

Lecture presentations appeal to the gradual introduction of complex concepts, following a structure set in the course’s syllabus. These presentations often have a similar aesthetic as a group of professors or researchers created to share their knowledge about a topic. Personal experience does tell that course presentations often rely on factual data, adequately documented, and on the theoretical side.

An example of a presentation that lies under this concept is a Syllabus Presentation, used by the teaching team to introduce the subject to new students, evaluation methods, concepts to be learned, and expectations to pass the course.

On the other hand, training presentations are slide decks designed to meet an organization’s specific needs in the formal education of their personnel. Commonly known as “continuous education,” plenty of companies invest resources in coaching their employees to achieve higher performance results. These presentations have the trademark of being concise since their idea is to introduce the concepts that shall be applied in practice sessions. 

Ideally, the training presentations are introduced with little text and easy-to-recognize visual cues. Since the idea is to summarize as much as possible, these are visually appealing for the audience. They must be dynamic enough to allow the presenter to convey the message.

Those key takeaways remind employees when they revisit their learning resources and allow them to ruminate on questions that fellow workers raise. 

To sum up this point, building presentation skills for instructional presentations requires:

• Ability to put complex concepts into simpler words
• Patience and a constant learning mindset
• Voice training to deliver lengthy speeches without being too dense
• Ability to summarize points and note the key takeaways
• Empathizing with the audience to understand their challenges in the learning process

The informative presentations take place in business situations, such as when to present project reports from different departments to the management. Another potential usage of these presentations is in SCRUM or other Agile methodologies, when a sprint is completed, to discuss the advance of the project with the Product Owner.

As they are presentations heavily dependent on data insights, it’s common to see the usage of infographics and charts to express usually dense data in simpler terms and easy to remember. 

Informative presentations don’t just fall into the business category. Ph.D. Dissertation and Thesis presentations are topics that belong to the informative presentations category as they condense countless research hours into manageable reports for the academic jury. 

Since these informational presentations can be perceived as lengthy and data-filled, it is important to learn the following professional presentation skills:

• Attention to detail
• Be able to explain complex information in simpler terms
• Creative thinking
• Powerful diction
• Working on pauses and transitions
• Pacing the presentation, so not too much information is divulged per slide

The leading inspirational platform, TEDx, comes to mind when talking about inspirational presentations. This presentation format has the peculiarity of maximizing the engagement with the audience to divulge a message, and due to that, it has specific requirements any presenter must meet.

This presentation format usually involves a speaker on a stage, either sitting or better standing, in which the presenter engages with the audience with a storytelling format about a life experience, a job done that provided a remarkable improvement for society, etc.

Empathizing with the audience is the key ingredient for these inspirational presentations. Still, creativity is what shapes the outcome of your performance as people are constantly looking for different experiences – not the same recipe rephrased with personal touches. The human factor is what matters here, way above data and research. What has your experience to offer to others? How can it motivate another human being to pursue a similar path or discover their true calling?

To achieve success in terms of communication skills presentation, these inspirational presentations have the following requirements:

• Focus on the audience (engage, consider their interests, and make them a part of your story)
• Putting ego aside
• Creative communication skills
• Storytelling skills
• Body language knowledge to apply the correct gestures to accompany your story
• Voice training
• Using powerful words

After discussing the different kinds of presentations we can come across at any stage of our lives, a group of presentation skills is standard in any type of presentation. See below what makes a good presentation and which skills you must count on to succeed as a presenter.

Punctuality

Punctuality is a crucial aspect of giving an effective presentation. Nothing says more about respect for your audience and the organization you represent than delivering the presentation on time . Arriving last minute puts pressure on the tech team behind audiovisuals, as they don’t have enough preparation to test microphones, stage lights, and projector settings, which can lead to a less powerful presentation Even when discussing presentations hosted in small rooms for a reduced audience, testing the equipment becomes essential for an effective presentation.

A solution for this is to arrive at least 30 minutes early. Ideally, one hour is a sweet spot since the AV crew has time to check the gear and requirements for your presentation. Another benefit of this, for example, in inspirational presentations, is measuring the previous presenter’s impact on the audience. This gives insights about how to resonate with the public, and their interest, and how to accommodate your presentation for maximum impact.

Body Language

Our bodies can make emotions transparent for others, even when we are unaware of such a fact. Proper training for body language skills reduces performance anxiety, giving the audience a sense of expertise about the presented topic. 

Give your presentation and the audience the respect they deserve by watching over these potential mistakes:

• Turning your back to the audience for extended periods : It’s okay to do so when introducing an important piece of information or explaining a graph, but it is considered rude to give your back to the audience constantly.
• Fidgeting : We are all nervous in the presence of strangers, even more, if we are the center of attention for that moment. Instead of playing with your hair or making weird hand gestures, take a deep breath to center yourself before the presentation and remember that everything you could do to prepare is already done. Trust your instincts and give your best.
• Intense eye contact : Have you watched a video where the presenter stared at the camera the entire time? That’s the feeling you transmit to spectators through intense eye contact. It’s a practice often used by politicians to persuade.
• Swearing : This is a no-brainer. Even when you see influencers swearing on camera or in podcasts or live presentations, it is considered an informal and lousy practice for business and academic situations. If you have a habit to break when it comes to this point, find the humor in these situations and replace your swear words with funny alternatives (if the presentation allows for it). 

Voice Tone plays a crucial role in delivering effective presentations and knowing how to give a good presentation. Your voice is a powerful tool for exposing your ideas and feelings . Your voice can articulate the message you are telling, briefing the audience if you feel excited about what you are sharing or, in contrast, if you feel the presentation is a burden you ought to complete.

Remember, passion is a primary ingredient in convincing people. Therefore, transmitting such passion with a vibrant voice may help gather potential business partners’ interest.  

But what if you feel sick prior to the presentation? If, by chance, your throat is sore minutes before setting foot on the stage, try this: when introducing yourself, mention that you are feeling a bit under the weather. This resonates with the audience to pay more attention to your efforts. In case you don’t feel comfortable about that, ask the organizers for a cup of tea, as it will settle your throat and relax your nerves.

Tech Skills

Believe it or not, people still feel challenged by technology these days. Maybe that’s the reason why presentation giants like Tony Robbins opt not to use PowerPoint presentations . The reality is that there are plenty of elements involved in a presentation that can go wrong from the tech side:

• A PDF not opening
• Saving your presentation in a too-recent PowerPoint version
• A computer not booting up
• Mac laptops and their never-ending compatibility nightmare
• Not knowing how to change between slides
• Not knowing how to use a laser pointer
• Internet not working
• Audio not working

We can come up with a pretty long list of potential tech pitfalls, and yet more than half of them fall in presenters not being knowledgeable about technology.

If computers aren’t your thing, let the organization know about this beforehand. There is always a crew member available to help presenters switch between slides or configure the presentation for streaming. This takes the pressure off your shoulders, allowing you to concentrate on the content to present. Remember, even Bill Gates can get a BSOD during a presentation .

Presentations, while valuable for conveying information and ideas, can be daunting for many individuals. Here are some common difficulties people encounter when giving presentations:

Public Speaking Anxiety

Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, affects a significant portion of the population. This anxiety can lead to nervousness, trembling, and forgetfulness during a presentation.

Lack of Confidence

Many presenters struggle with self-doubt, fearing that they may not be knowledgeable or skilled enough to engage their audience effectively.

Content Organization

Organizing information in a coherent and engaging manner can be challenging. Presenters often grapple with how to structure their content to make it easily digestible for the audience. Artificial Intelligence can help us significantly reduce the content arrangement time when you work with tools like our AI Presentation Maker (made for presenters by experts in presentation design). 

Audience Engagement

Keeping the audience’s attention and interest throughout the presentation can be difficult. Distractions, disengaged attendees, or lack of interaction can pose challenges.

Technical Issues

Technology glitches, such as malfunctioning equipment, incompatible file formats, or poor internet connectivity, can disrupt presentations and increase stress.

Time Management

Striking the right balance between providing enough information and staying within time limits is a common challenge. Going over or under the allotted time can affect the effectiveness of the presentation.

Handling Questions and Challenges

Responding to unexpected questions, criticism, or challenges from the audience can be difficult, especially when presenters are unprepared or lack confidence in their subject matter.

Visual Aids and Technology

Creating and effectively using visual aids like slides or multimedia can be a struggle for some presenters. Technical competence is essential in this aspect.

Language and Articulation

Poor language skills or unclear articulation can hinder effective communication. Presenters may worry about stumbling over words or failing to convey their message clearly.

Maintaining appropriate and confident body language can be challenging. Avoiding nervous habits, maintaining eye contact, and using gestures effectively requires practice.

Overcoming Impersonal Delivery

In virtual presentations, maintaining a personal connection with the audience can be difficult. The absence of face-to-face interaction can make it challenging to engage and read the audience.

Cultural and Diversity Awareness

Presenting to diverse audiences requires sensitivity to cultural differences and varying levels of familiarity with the topic.

In this section, we gathered some tips on how to improve presentation skills that can certainly make an impact if applied to your presentation skills. We believe these skills can be cultivated to transform into habits for your work routine.

Tip #1: Build a narrative

One memorable way to guarantee presentation success is by writing a story of all the points you desire to cover. This statement is based on the logic behind storytelling and its power to connect with people .

Don’t waste time memorizing slides or reading your presentation to the audience. It feels unnatural, and any question that diverts from the topic in discussion certainly puts you in jeopardy or, worse, exposes you as a fraud in the eyes of the audience. And before you ask, it is really evident when a presenter has a memorized speech. 

Build and rehearse the presentation as if telling a story to a group of interested people. Lower the language barrier by avoiding complex terms that maybe even you aren’t fully aware of their meaning. Consider the ramifications of that story, what it could lead to, and which are the opportunities to explore. Then, visualize yourself giving the presentation in a natural way.

Applying this technique makes the presentation feel like second nature to you. It broadens the spectrum in which you can show expertise over a topic or even build the basis for new interesting points of view about the project.

Tip #2: Don’t talk for more than 3 minutes per slide

It is a common practice of presenters to bombard the audience with facts and information whilst retaining the same slide on the screen. Why can this happen? It could be because the presenter condensed the talk into very few slides and preferred to talk. The reality is that your spectators won’t retain the information you are giving unless you give visual cues to help that process. 

Opt to prepare more slides and pace your speech to match the topics shown on each slide. Don’t spend more than 3 minutes per slide unless you have to introduce a complex piece of data. Use visual cues to direct the spectators about what you talk about, and summarize the principal concepts discussed at the end of each section.

Tip #3: Practice meditation daily

Anxiety is the number one enemy of professional presenters. It slowly builds without you being aware of your doubts and can hinder your performance in multiple ways: making you feel paralyzed, fidgeting, making you forget language skills or concepts, affecting your health, etc.

Meditation is an ancient practice taken from Buddhist teachings that train your mind to be here in the present. We often see the concepts of meditation and mindfulness as synonyms, whereas you should be aware that meditation is a practice that sets the blocks to reach a state of mindfulness. For presenters, being in the here and now is essential to retain focus, but meditation techniques also teach us to control our breathing and be in touch with our body signals when stress builds up. 

The customary practice of meditation has an impact on imagination and creativity but also helps to build patience – a skill much needed for connecting with your audience in instructional presentations.

Having the proper set of presentation skills can be quite subjective. It goes beyond presentation tips and deepens into how flexible we can be in our ability to communicate ideas.

Different presentations and different audiences shape the outcome of our efforts. Therefore, having a basic understanding of how to connect, raise awareness, and empathize with people can be key ingredients for your career as a presenter. A word of advice: success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes dedication and patience to build communication skills . Don’t condition your work to believe you will be ready “someday”; it’s best to practice and experience failure as part of the learning process.

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Published on November 12, 2020

Effective Presentation Skills & Techniques For High Schoolers

Maybe you will not be in a career where you need to do formal presentations, but communicating your ideas to others is still important.

• Post author By tbrg
• Post date November 12, 2020
• No Comments on Effective Presentation Skills & Techniques For High Schoolers

Effective Presentation skills mean that you can:

Communicate information in a way that the audience will remain engaged in the topic

Be effective at communicating your thoughts and feelings.

Work on developing self-confidence

Improve real-world skills used for things such as job interviews

Presenters should use variety in their presentations.  Using variety helps to maintain the attention and interest of the audience.  It is hard to stand in front of a group of people and communicate through talking alone.

Presentations should also use other audio-visual components.  Use an appropriate method of conveying sound clips, posters, graphs, or other media to enhance the presentation.

Tone And Pace

Good presenters make sure their voice is loud and clear and that they are not speaking too quickly.  To get better at presentations, practice enunciating your words.  Proper enunciation will also help to speak at a reasonable speed.

If you speak too quickly, it is difficult for listeners to process the information.  It is vital to allow the audience time to take notes and ask any questions they may have. Tone and Pace top the list of effective presentation skills.

Make sure you are not presenting in a monotone voice.  You should be passionate about your topic, and you want to convey that passion to the audience.  Use gestures and emphasize certain parts of the presentation.  This helps to keep the audience engaged and interested.

Effective Presentation Skills For Interviews

When you go for a job interview, you are presenting yourself.  A potential employer will be evaluating your personality, behaviors, and knowledge.  It is important to portray yourself in a professional manner using appropriate communication skills. These skills are often learned and for high school students, an effective communication workshop can help.

Effective Presentation Skills In Business

Whether you are making formal presentations in your line of work or not, the skills are essential.  Having good presentation skills means that you will be able to communicate your ideas to your boss or other colleagues effectively.

Knowing how to convey information most appropriately is a critical skill in any profession.  Having strong presentation skills is also essential when it comes to leadership roles.

What Employers Want

Employers want people who are effective in communication.  They look for candidates who have high written, oral, and listening skills.  Presentations help to build on these skills and prepare you for the workforce in any occupation.

Presentations are comprised of both what you say and how you say it.

Preparing A Presentation

Make sure that you have a clear message that you are going to convey.  State your key message in a single sentence and then build on it.  Having a clear message helps to keep your presentation focused.

Make sure to develop the topic in an organized way.  If you jump around too much, the audience will not be able to focus on the message.  Start by introducing your topic and then lay out an overview so that your audience will know what is coming.

Use examples to develop your topic and make it relatable to the audience.  Ensure that you have researched your subject well and remember to cite your sources.

Conclude your presentation with a restatement of the topic.  Your conclusion should connect back to your introduction (as it would in a written paper).  Highlight your key points and leave the audience with a clear message.

Another essential aspect of presentations is the ability to answer any questions the audience may have.  Anticipate what kinds of questions people may ask so that you can have answers prepared.  This is an excellent skill to have at a job interview!

As well as preparing what you will say, you also need to be aware of how you will say it.  Presentations need to capture and hold the attention of the audience.  If there is a way to engage the audience in the presentation, that is also a bonus.  Can you have some discussion questions or do simulations of scenarios with the group?

Use visual aids to enhance the presentation but make sure they are carefully chosen and included with purpose.  People in the audience will retain more information if they both hear and see it.

The Bottom Line

Effective Presentation skills are a part of communicating, and the better you get at it, the more prepared you will be for the workforce.  Being able to convey ideas with confidence is an important skill to have.

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Highschool presentations: all you need to know

Presenting is not an easy task. People write books on presenting, take extended presentation training courses, and do a whole lot of other stuff just to make their speeches stand out and their visuals deliver a message clearly. And when you are a student, the complexities associated with your high school presentation can grow exponentially. Not only may you be new to presenting, but giving a speech in front of your whole class can seem like a truly terrifying experience. After all, you’ll have to go to school with those people for a couple more years.

But what if we told you that your presentation can make you a celebrity in your class (in a good way)? How could it be? Actually, there’s not much you need to know to make your presentation successful. Creating effective high school presentations involves careful planning, clear communication, and engaging delivery. Below, you’ll find five practical tips from our best experts to help you understand how to make a presentation for school that stands out.

Top Presentation Tips for Students

1. know what you’re talking about.

It may seem like obvious advice – but you need to understand the topic you present. What is important is to not only know your speech but to actually understand the subject. High school presentations are usually made either for research projects or for elaborating on some topic your class has just learned about. In each case, your knowledge of the subject is essential.

At the same time, your knowledge of the topic will allow for a more exciting presentation for students. It may allow you to put some interesting facts into your speech and offer a better explanation of your points. People like something explained in their own words much more than listening to a dull, memorized piece of information. Finally, your knowledge would demonstrate your enthusiasm about the topic, and you will undoubtedly ignite this enthusiasm in the audience!

Pro advice: Tailor your presentation to the interests and understanding of your classmates and teacher. Consider what they already know and what might capture their attention.

2. Prepare and Pre-Plan

The foundation of all the great presentation ideas for college students is a perfect plan. You have to make sure that everything works perfectly and that you know your material well. Technical difficulties happen often: the projector is not working, the presentation won’t start, or it crashes. All this is frustrating and takes time to fix. More importantly, it breaks the flow of your presentation, making it harder for you and your audience to keep track of the speech.

To avoid technical mishaps, try to check everything several times. Arrive early before the presentation and take time to make sure that everything works fine. At the same time, try to prepare for issues as well. For example, memorize your speech so that you can continue without the slides in case they won’t be working. A good idea is to have an online backup for your presentation in case the offline version won’t load for some reason.

Pro advice: Always stay within the allotted time for your presentation. Practice pacing to learn to cover all critical points without rushing.

3. Get Ready for Questions

Questions and discussions are important parts of the presentation process, especially for college presentation for high school students. The audience or the teacher may ask you to clarify something or state a viewpoint that contradicts yours. Don’t be afraid of the questions. Instead, think of them this way: you are an expert in your topic, and your answers will be valued as an expert opinion. To illustrate your point, don’t hesitate to return to the earlier slides and demonstrate your knowledge of the presentation’s structure.

Of course, there may be questions that you can’t answer exactly. What to do in such cases? Well, you can’t possibly know everything. Thank you for the question, and try to provide your opinion on the answer based on your research for the presentation. If the questioner presented a different viewpoint on your topic, acknowledge it and present arguments that would defend your stance. In other words, try to start a discussion – this move would add an interactive element to your presentation.

Pro advice: Whenever possible, relate your topic to personal experiences or examples. This can make your presentation more memorable.

4. Add Visual Appeal

A polished custom presentation design is a vital part of your presentation. Even the best school presentation ideas can be ruined by a bad PowerPoint template. The fundamental principle here is to make your visuals support your points and don’t take up too much attention. To do so, try using neutral colors and simple graphics or infographics. Add photos to illustrate your points. However, don’t overload your slides with too many images.

Text is an equally important part of what is displayed on the slides. Keep in mind that too much text on slides is one of the biggest mistakes in any presentation rubrics in college. A good decision would be to display several main points on each slide or the description for the visuals you are using. Alternatively, you can put some of the speaker notes on the slide to coordinate your speech using them. Put only the most essential information on the slides. Sometimes, the title and one image are more than enough.

Pro advice: Incorporate storytelling elements to make your presentation more engaging. People often remember stories more than dry facts.

5. Work on Your Delivery

In the school presentation, as in other presentations, how you talk is equally important as what you are talking about. Pauses, choice of words, pace of your speech – every detail is vital. There are a ton of techniques that would allow you to increase your speaking skills. However, everything starts with practice. Knowing the material well will eliminate the unnecessary pauses and “uhs” or “ahs.” Moreover, it would allow you to work on other aspects of your speech.

How fast you speak is also highly important. Speaking too fast will leave your audience little understanding of your presentation, while speaking too slow will put everyone to sleep. A general advice is to speak a little faster when you are presenting than your usual speaking speed. However, if you are a fast speaker, consider lowering your pace a little for the presentation.

Pro advice: Stand tall, make eye contact, and use a steady pace. Confidence in your delivery will help engage your audience and convey your message effectively.

Now that you are familiar with the most effective presentation tips for high school students, let’s look at some creative ideas you can use to make your presentation truly unforgettable.

3 Creative Ideas for High School Presentations

Creative presentations can captivate your college audience and make your material more engaging. Here are some creative ideas you can use to take your next presentation to a whole new level:

1. Interactive Workshops

Turn your presentation into an interactive workshop where your classmates can participate in discussions, activities, or small group exercises related to the topic.

2. Role Play or Skits

Use role-playing or skits to act out scenarios related to your presentation. This can be a fun and engaging way to illustrate key points.

3. Gamification

Incorporate game elements, such as quizzes, polls, or interactive challenges. It will help make your presentation more enjoyable.

Tailor these ideas to your assignment’s requirements and the institution’s presentation guidelines for students, and you’re halfway to success!

College and school presentations are actually meant to give you a presenting experience that you can use later in your career. So, don’t be afraid to experiment and try new methods while still at school. After all, practice makes perfect!

We hope these presentation guidelines for college students will help you to build a perfect presentation. Should you ever get stuck wondering how to make school presentation effective or need help with a PowerPoint makeover , reach out to our dedicated team, and we will gladly lend you a hand. We’re open 24/7/365!

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• Presenting techniques
• 50 tips on how to improve PowerPoint presentations in 2022-2023 [Updated]
• Present financial information visually in PowerPoint to drive results
• How to present a research paper in PPT: best practices
• Keynote VS PowerPoint

• Design Tips

10 common mistakes in presentations most students make

• Business Slides

Types of presentations

How to make a presentation interactive

Mastering the Art of Presentations: Tips and Tools for High School Success

Table of contents, do presentation skills really matter in high school.

Absolutely! High school is the perfect training ground for developing robust presentation skills. Whether it's convincing your peers during a debate or exhibiting your project findings, the ability to convey your thoughts clearly and persuasively is invaluable. Not only do these skills help in academic assessments, but they are also crucial for college admissions and future job interviews.

What Are Some Effective Presentation Hacks for High School Students?

First and foremost, understand the power of storytelling. Humans are wired to remember tales, so transform your presentation into a narrative. Next, consider these hacks:

• Know Your Material : This goes without saying – you need to have a firm grasp of your content.
• Engage with Visuals : Use images, graphs, and videos to break the monotony of text.
• Practice, Practice, Practice : Rehearse not just in front of a mirror, but also in front of a small audience.
• Master The Tools : Familiarize yourself with presentation software. Features offered by platforms like College Tools can assist in creating more engaging slides.
• Loosen Up : Use body language effectively. Hand gestures and movement can hold attention.

How Can I Deliver Content More Persuasively During Presentations?

Persuasion starts with your own belief in the content. Be confident and passionate about your subject. Then, use rhetorical devices such as the 'rule of three' – grouping information in threes is memorable. Implement a clear structure (introduction, body, conclusion) and close with a call-to-action. Remember, persuading is about more than just presenting facts; it's about crafting a convincing narrative.

How Can I Overcome Nervousness When Presenting?

Nervousness is a natural reaction to public speaking. The key is to transform that nervous energy into excitement. Begin with deep breathing exercises and positive visualization. Pro-tip: Start your presentation with a question or an interesting fact to engage the audience immediately – it can also serve as a great ice-breaker. Joining organizations like Toastmasters can also help you build confidence.

What Role Does Technology Play in Enhancing High School Presentations?

Technology is a game-changer for presentations. Dynamic slideshows, interactive quizzes, and multimedia elements can enhance the learning experience significantly. AI-powered tools also offer functionalities like speech recognition and adaptive learning, which tailors the presentation flow based on audience responses. Thus, effectively integrating technology can make your presentation stand out.

How Can I Make My Presentations More Interactive and Engaging?

To keep your audience engaged, involve them. Ask questions, incorporate polls, and encourage discussion. Tools like College Tools enhance this interactivity by allowing you to add quizzes and real-time feedback options into your slides. Also, consider introducing gamification elements or small group activities to maintain high energy levels throughout your presentation.

Is There a Way to Study More Efficiently for Presentations?

Definitely! Efficient study habits are vital. Start by breaking down your presentation into smaller, manageable sections. Study each part thoroughly before moving on to the next. Use mnemonic devices to remember key points, and take advantage of educational platforms that offer resources for test preparation and study efficiency . The aim is to have a deep enough understanding of the material that you can talk about it conversationally, without relying too much on your notes.

Can AI Assist in Creating and Practicing High School Presentations?

Interestingly, AI has a growing role in education, including presentation preparation. AI can help generate content ideas, provide feedback on speech delivery, and even help rehearse timings. Though it's important to maintain the personal touch in your presentations, AI can be a complementary tool in your practice arsenal.

From leveraging presentation hacks to embracing technology and efficient study methods, there's a multitude of strategies that high school students can employ to ace their presentations. It's a symbiotic blend of art and science; while the content and structure reflect the science, the delivery and engagement speak to the art. Remember, the goal is to not just communicate information but to do so in a way that is memorable and impactful.

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8 Ways to Teach Your Students Presentation Skills

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As an educator, it’s important to teach your students not just the subject immediately at hand, but also to build the skills and understanding that your students can carry forward into other learning environments in their future. From test taking skills and study habits to more general life skills like public speaking and self motivation, teaching is about guiding the next generation of students into their lives as functional members of society, and one of the skills you can help instill in your students is the ability to present and speak in public.

Public speaking and presentation skills can sometimes be difficult to teach on a wider scale, especially when you have a class with varying levels of comfort with presentation. Some people may be introverts, or even have anxiety around public speaking. However, managing those restless feelings is a part of learning presentation. While some teachers would rather throw their students right into things, it is completely possible to guide your students in the realm of presentation so they can broaden their skills and become truly comfortable. Here are eight ways you can teach your students about presentation and public speaking.

1. Show Examples

One of the best ways to ease your students into the world of presentation is to inspire them! There are so many great examples of public speaking, from the vast library of TED talks to guest speakers you can invite into your classroom. Show examples of public speaking and discuss them. See what your students have to say and how they react.

2. Use Small Groups

Practice often makes perfect, and sometimes that practice is best done when your students don’t even realize they’re practicing yet. Sure, presenting for a whole class can feel overwhelming, but breaking off into small groups can be a great stepping stone to practice the skills needed to present, but in a lower-stakes environment.

3. Reinforce Positive Feedback

The power of positive reinforcement can really do wonders for a student, both in terms of self esteem, and actual academic success. While some teachers evaluate based on areas in need of improvement, focusing first on what your students are doing right can give them something to focus on so they can keep up the good work and grow their confidence. This can especially help students who are nervous or struggling with self esteem.

4. Revisit Previous Projects

Sometimes, the best way to learn is by retracing your steps. And this can be true in the classroom as well as in the real world. Revisiting old projects can not only help students realize how far they have come, but also in understanding themselves a bit better overall throughout the process.

5. Encourage Questions

Teaching students is all about helping them learn what they’re missing, no matter what the subject at hand is. Even if students don’t have a lot of questions at first, encouraging them to think of ideas to ask questions and spark discussions can help engage them and guide them towards a better understanding, both of what they’re presenting about and the idea of presenting itself. 

6. Run a Discussion-Based Classroom

Presenting is often all about learning to vocalize and express yourself in front of a classroom, and this can feel especially stark for students when the format is so drastically different in your traditional classroom. If your students are used to lectures all day long, finally getting the chance to speak can feel foreign. However, in a discussion-based classroom, your students can express themselves freely and practice their speaking skills regularly, so it won’t feel so odd when the time comes to do it more formally.

7. Practice One-On-One

Some students can be especially nervous and really do need that personalized instruction. When you encounter students like this, working with them individually can often help them get over the hurdles they need to overcome. Sometimes, speaking in front of just you can feel like a lot, but accomplishing that can give them a boost of confidence they need to catch up with their peers.

8. Use Self Evaluation

Just like looking back on past projects, self evaluation can not only help students recognize their own progress and strengths, but also guide them in the ways they need to grow in the future. Public speaking is a skill that’s ever-evolving, and building a self awareness and confidence in that skill can be useful in future projects, even if they don’t realize it yet.

Teaching Presentation Skills

Presentation skills are about so much more than just one project or assignment. They’re skills that will serve your students throughout life, so it’s especially important to think critically about how to best teach and assess them. When you engage with your students and push them to be better, they might just surprise you with how far they come.

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8 Tips to Power-Up Your Classroom Presentations

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Last month, I attended a Back to School Night for parents, sitting through presentation after presentation by teachers, some with slides that helped make their presentation a delight to listen to, and others . . . well, that's why I'm writing this blog post.

The goal of a classroom presentation is to aid you in effectively conveying information in a way that allows students (or their parents) to remember what you said. Unfortunately, for some, the presentation becomes a crutch, and they begin to rely on the slides to tell their story, rather than to help them tell the story.

I've been creating presentations using software like PowerPoint and KeyNote for 20 years, and I've learned a lot about how to most effectively communicate. Here's what I've found.

1. Use as Many Slides as You Need

It's a common myth that better presentations use fewer slides. This is simply not the case. I once sent an education conference presentation to the organizers so they could preview it in advance of my speaking. They wrote back, concerned that my 45-minute presentation had 116 slides. I looked it over and realized they were right! I revised it and sent a presentation with 135 slides back to them. I finished my talk with 5 minutes to spare -- just enough time to take questions -- and the presentation was a huge success.

The number of slides in your presentation is irrelevant. What matters is how well your slides communicate and how much time you spend talking about each slide. Spending five minutes on five slides will almost always be more engaging to your students than spending five minutes on a single slide, even when the information is exactly the same.

In the movie Amadeus , the Emperor of Austria complains to Mozart that his music has "too many notes." Mozart responds, "There are just as many notes as are required. Neither more nor less." Use as many slides as you need to make your point. No more. No less.

2. Minimize Verbosity

Your slides are there to support what you are saying, not to say it for you. Keep your word count low, and only place one main point on a slide, plus three to five sub-points if absolutely needed. Remember tip #1 above -- don't be afraid to use more slides. They're free! Also, the language in your slides doesn't need to be in complete sentences. Pare the text to as few words as possible, using what's there only to emphasize and reinforce -- not replace -- the words coming out of your mouth.

3. Maximize Visuals

Photos, figures and icons work as visual memory triggers. They help your students remember what it is you're saying. Any time you can add a visual that helps illustrate or reinforce the points you're making in your slides, you should use it. One great way to do this on the cheap is to use public domain or creative commons photos you can find on Flickr or Google .

4. Reduce Noise

Many teachers like to add banners, headers, footers, page numbers and more noise to their slides. Unless the information needs to be on every slide for a vital reason (which is rare), you should remove it. All these redundant elements do is create distractions from the content of your slides. I find this to be especially true of page numbers. Imagine if a movie included a time code at the bottom, constantly reminding you how long you had been watching. All this does is serve to take the viewer out of the moment. Page numbers in slides really don't provide any useful information -- they just remind your students how long they've been watching.

Pursuant to tips #1 and #2, you're not going to win awards by cramming the most content on the fewest slides. Make text and visuals as large as you can. Not only does this make them easier to see and read, but larger images and text make a greater impact to aid memory. There's nothing wrong with filling an entire slide with a photo, and then placing text right on top. You may have to use a transparent background immediately behind the text so that it's clearly readable, but the overall effect is almost always more memorable than just some text beside an image.

6. Highlight What You Are Talking About

While you are presenting, your students may be momentarily distracted taking notes, thinking about what you are saying, glancing out the window, possibly even daydreaming. When they refocus on your slides, though, they need to quickly pick back up where you are, or you risk losing them again.

• Use contrast or call-outs to clearly show the area of the slide you are talking about.
• Reveal bullet points or table rows one at a time so that the last one visible is the one you are talking about.
• Use arrows, circles or other pointers to show what you are referencing in specific parts of an illustration, photo or graph.
• Animate and reveal parts of illustrations and graphs (where possible) to build your story rather than showing everything at once.
• Use bold type or different colors to highlight the keywords in any lengthy text.

7. Transition Changes

Humans suffer from an affliction called change blindness -- we have a hard time seeing changes unless there is a clear transition between the states. This is especially a problem in presentations where slides may look very much alike. Most programs include transitions that can be used between slides or on elements in the slides themselves.

My favorite transition is the cross-dissolve -- where the first slide fades down while the next slide fades up -- but different transitions can help illustrate points in your presentation. Are you talking about combustion or the fire of London? Use a flame transition. Talking about photography or Hollywood movies? Use the flashbulb transition. Even "cheesy" transitions help overcome change blindness and aid student memory at the same time.

8. Repeat Yourself Redundantly

It’s OK to repeat the same slide more than once -- especially when using images -- if you are reminding students of an earlier point. Obviously, this is not a license to be monotonous. However, if you want to tie separate ideas together, emphasize a point or splash in a little comic relief, it's perfectly fine to repeat a slide.

Bonus Tip: Make it Funny!

There's little doubt that emotional responses can aid memory. While it can be difficult to apply this power in a classroom slide presentation, humor is easy enough, and adding a bit of levity to your presentations at the right points can work to give students vital memory hooks.

Remember, the point of presentation slides is not to replace you as the teacher, but to help your students understand and remember what you are teaching. Overwhelming them with too much information can be just as harmful as underwhelming them with too little.

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 Give a Killer Presentation

• Chris Anderson

For more than 30 years, the TED conference series has presented enlightening talks that people enjoy watching. In this article, Anderson, TED’s curator, shares five keys to great presentations:

• Frame your story (figure out where to start and where to end).
• Plan your delivery (decide whether to memorize your speech word for word or develop bullet points and then rehearse it—over and over).
• Work on stage presence (but remember that your story matters more than how you stand or whether you’re visibly nervous).
• Plan the multimedia (whatever you do, don’t read from PowerPoint slides).
• Put it together (play to your strengths and be authentic).

According to Anderson, presentations rise or fall on the quality of the idea, the narrative, and the passion of the speaker. It’s about substance—not style. In fact, it’s fairly easy to “coach out” the problems in a talk, but there’s no way to “coach in” the basic story—the presenter has to have the raw material. So if your thinking is not there yet, he advises, decline that invitation to speak. Instead, keep working until you have an idea that’s worth sharing.

Lessons from TED

A little more than a year ago, on a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, some colleagues and I met a 12-year-old Masai boy named Richard Turere, who told us a fascinating story. His family raises livestock on the edge of a vast national park, and one of the biggest challenges is protecting the animals from lions—especially at night. Richard had noticed that placing lamps in a field didn’t deter lion attacks, but when he walked the field with a torch, the lions stayed away. From a young age, he’d been interested in electronics, teaching himself by, for example, taking apart his parents’ radio. He used that experience to devise a system of lights that would turn on and off in sequence—using solar panels, a car battery, and a motorcycle indicator box—and thereby create a sense of movement that he hoped would scare off the lions. He installed the lights, and the lions stopped attacking. Soon villages elsewhere in Kenya began installing Richard’s “lion lights.”

• CA Chris Anderson is the curator of TED.

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Developing your presentation skills, presentation skills.

Presentation skills allow individuals to deliver information clearly and with confidence. People with these skills are often viewed as knowledgeable and as experts in their fields.

Presentation skills are applicable across different industries as professionals use them to sign new deals, deliver proposals for various initiatives, report their own findings and research, and in professional development. Developing your presentation skills can help you grow professionally by exuding confidence and being able to persuade others.

In this guide, we’ll focus on presentation skills, their benefits, and how you can enhance yours. We’ll also share tips on how to plan a presentation.

What Are Presentation Skills?

Presentation skills are the ability to communicate information to an audience in a clear and engaging manner. 

Presentation skills involve using body language, voice modulation, and eye contact to deliver a speech, a multimedia presentation, or any other type of public speaking compellingly.

With strong presentation skills, you understand how to engage the audience and adapt your style and language to suit the listener’s needs.

What Are the Benefits of Having Presentation Skills?

Strong presentation skills will set you apart and open opportunities for career success in various professional scenarios. 

The following are the long-term benefits of developing and enhancing your presentation skills:

• Increased visibility and recognition: When you possess excellent presentation skills, you stand out as a confident and effective communicator. This makes you more likely to be considered for promotions, leadership roles, and meaningful projects.
• Ability to share knowledge and expertise: Strong presentation skills allow you to share your knowledge with others effectively. This helps you establish yourself as a subject matter expert and positions you as a valuable resource within your organization. Sharing your expertise can lead to increased networking opportunities and the chance to mentor others.
• Opportunity to create training materials: You’ll have the ability to create impactful training materials and deliver engaging training sessions. These skills can make you an asset in your organization's learning and development programs, giving you opportunities to train your colleagues.
• Improved sales: Delivering persuasive presentations will help you win over potential clients, secure new business opportunities, and ultimately contribute to increased sales and revenue generation for your company.
• Advanced job interview skills: When attending job interviews, strong presentation skills will help you communicate your qualifications, highlight your achievements, and negotiate higher pay with potential employers. This advantage can make you stand out and increase your chances of securing desired job opportunities.

Why Are Presentation Skills Important?

Presentation skills contribute to the professional development of the workforce in an organization, leading to the production of high-quality products and services. Let’s look at the importance of these skills in the workplace:

• Effective communication: Presentation skills enable you to communicate your ideas, proposals, and information clearly, facilitating understanding and reducing the chances of miscommunication.
• Professional credibility: If you can deliver engaging presentations, you command greater credibility in the workplace. You’ll often be perceived as knowledgeable and confident, improving your professional reputation and opening career advancement opportunities.
• Increased engagement and retention: Your employees or the people you address are more likely to remember and apply the information shared if it’s engaging. This results in improved productivity and performance.
• Influencing decision-making: When you’re a skilled presenter, you can effectively persuade others in decision-making by articulating your viewpoints, presenting supporting evidence, and addressing potential concerns. You can also influence customers to buy products or colleagues to embrace change.
• Effective knowledge transfer: Presentations provide a platform for sharing knowledge, expertise, and organizational best practices. For example, you can transfer your knowledge to peers, contributing to the growth of the workforce.

Examples of Presentation Skills in the Workplace

Presentation skills are utilized in the workplace to deliver information in order to achieve specific objectives. 

Here are practical examples of how these skills are applied in the workplace:

Sales Presentations

As a sales professional, you use presentation skills to deliver persuasive pitches and presentations to potential clients. you describe product features, highlight benefits, and address customer needs, aiming to generate sales.  , training sessions.

When conducting training sessions, you create engaging content, utilize visual aids, and employ interactive techniques to ensure that participants understand and retain the material being taught.  

Project Updates and Reporting

Project managers use presentation skills to provide project updates and reports to stakeholders. you communicate progress, achievements, challenges, and plans, ensuring that stakeholders understand the project status., effective team meetings, during team meetings, leaders or team members use presentation skills to communicate goals and strategies. you’ll share ideas, present data, and align team members toward a shared vision.  , client meetings or pitches, pitching to potential clients requires effectively communicating value propositions, addressing client needs, and building trust. you’ll use presentation skills to successfully deliver messages that resonate with clients' requirements to close deals.  , leadership and management presentations, leaders and managers often need to deliver presentations to various stakeholders such as executive teams, board members, or employees. their presentations can include organizational updates, performance reviews, or change management initiatives., how can i use presentation skills.

Your ability to apply effective presentation skills helps you to convey ideas, engage audiences, and leave a lasting impact. The skills can be used in professional settings, educational presentations, and even in public speaking engagements.

In education settings you will be able to utilize presentation skills in the following ways:

• Teaching: As an educator, you can utilize your presentation skills to deliver engaging and effective lessons to students. Kindergarten , elementary , and high school teachers , for example, require strong presentation skills to keep their lessons engaging. Their skills may include structuring content, using visual aids, and employing effective communication techniques to convey information clearly.
• Professional development: If you are working with fellow educators, you can share your knowledge and expertise by delivering professional development workshops or presentations. Your presentation skills will enable you to effectively communicate strategies, best practices, and new educational approaches.
• Parent-teacher conferences: Presenting information to parents or guardians is an essential part of a teacher's role. With your presentation skills, you can effectively communicate a student's progress, highlight areas of improvement, and discuss strategies for support.
• Online instruction: With the rise of online learning, presentation skills must adapt for virtual environments. You can use your skills to create engaging online presentations, record instructional videos, or conduct live virtual classes effectively.

In IT settings you will have many opportunities including:

• Professional presentations: In the business world, conveying effective presentations is crucial. You can use your presentation skills to deliver compelling pitches, proposals, and reports to clients, colleagues, or senior management. You can structure your content, create visually appealing slides, and communicate your message with confidence and clarity.
• Team meetings: As an IT professional, you will often participate in team meetings to discuss projects, share progress updates, or brainstorm ideas. Your presentation skills will help you effectively communicate your thoughts and ideas, ensuring that your contributions are clear, concise, and engaging.
• Job interviews: Strong presentation skills can set you apart during job interviews for roles such as an IT consultant . You can leave a lasting impression by effectively communicating your qualifications, experiences, and achievements to potential employers. Your ability to break down complex IT concepts into easy-to-understand information will showcase your professionalism and enhance your chances of securing job offers.

In the medical field, presentation skills are used to deliver updates on healthcare policies, present budget proposals, and discuss performance metrics.

• Teaching and training: If you are involved in medical education, you can use your presentation skills to teach and train medical students, residents, or other healthcare professionals. You can design and deliver presentations that effectively convey the necessary knowledge, engage your audience through interactive activities, and encourage discussion and questions.
• Patient education: Presentation skills can also be valuable when educating patients about their health conditions, treatment options, or preventive measures.
• Research proposals and grant applications: When applying for research grants or proposing research projects, presentation skills can help you effectively communicate your research objectives, methodologies, expected outcomes, and the significance of your work. 

Presentation skills learned for business can be highly valuable in various professional settings. Here are some ways you can apply these skills:

Work-related activities: You’ll use presentation skills when interacting with clients to deliver sales offers, product information, or even more details about your organization. You'll also use presentation skills in other business-related roles such as sales representative , marketing manager , sales manager , marketing specialist , and account manager.

How Can I Learn Presentation Skills?

WGU offers 75+ degree programs with coursework that often involves enhancing your presentation skills. For example:

In WGU’s School of Education , you can study for a Master of Science in Learning Experience Design and Education Technology. After completing this or another education program, you’ll be able to:

• Define the content of a presentation.
• Implement effective presentation delivery techniques.

Our College of Business offers a Master of Science in Management and Leadership, which will teach you to:

• Build confidence in public speaking and presentation.
• Demonstrate effective presentation skills in a physical or online setting.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some effective strategies for creating engaging and impactful presentations.

Some effective strategies for creating engaging and impactful presentations are:

• Structure your presentation with a clear introduction, main points, and a memorable conclusion.
• Practice and rehearse your presentation to ensure a smooth delivery.
• Start with a strong opening to grab the audience's attention.
• Use videos and props to enhance your message.
• Tell stories or use relevant analogies to make your presentation relatable.
• Encourage the audience to interact through questions, polls, or small activities.
• Use appropriate humor to keep the audience engaged.

How can I effectively handle questions or interruptions during a presentation?

To handle questions or interruptions during a presentation, allocate time for questions and notify your audience in advance. 

If you don't know the answer, be honest and offer to follow up with the information later.

How can I effectively engage and connect with my audience during a presentation?

Here are some tips to engage your audience during a presentation:

• Make eye contact and smile.
• Speak with confidence about the topic.
• Incorporate examples that resonate with the audience.
• Interact with the audience through questions, discussions, or interactive activities.
• Pay attention to nonverbal cues from the audience and adjust your delivery accordingly.

How can I tailor my presentation to different types of audiences?

To tailor your presentation to a specific audience, research your audience beforehand to understand their background, knowledge, and expectations.

When preparing your notes for the presentation, consider cultural sensitivities and ensure that you adapt your language to match the audience's level of understanding.

How can I handle time constraints during a presentation without rushing or missing key points?

During the presentation, prioritize your key points and allocate appropriate time to each. Summarize or wrap up sections if you realize you're running out of time. When preparing for your presentation, practice being concise and delivering the essential information without unnecessary elaboration.

During the Q&A sessions, be aware of your audience's engagement and adjust the pace if needed because some people may take longer than needed to ask a question.

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Powerful and Effective Presentation Skills: More in Demand Now Than Ever

When we talk with our L&D colleagues from around the globe, we often hear that presentation skills training is one of the top opportunities they’re looking to provide their learners. And this holds true whether their learners are individual contributors, people managers, or senior leaders. This is not surprising.

Effective communications skills are a powerful career activator, and most of us are called upon to communicate in some type of formal presentation mode at some point along the way.

For instance, you might be asked to brief management on market research results, walk your team through a new process, lay out the new budget, or explain a new product to a client or prospect. Or you may want to build support for a new idea, bring a new employee into the fold, or even just present your achievements to your manager during your performance review.

And now, with so many employees working from home or in hybrid mode, and business travel in decline, there’s a growing need to find new ways to make effective presentations when the audience may be fully virtual or a combination of in person and remote attendees.

Whether you’re making a standup presentation to a large live audience, or a sit-down one-on-one, whether you’re delivering your presentation face to face or virtually, solid presentation skills matter.

Even the most seasoned and accomplished presenters may need to fine-tune or update their skills. Expectations have changed over the last decade or so. Yesterday’s PowerPoint which primarily relied on bulleted points, broken up by the occasional clip-art image, won’t cut it with today’s audience.

The digital revolution has revolutionized the way people want to receive information. People expect presentations that are more visually interesting. They expect to see data, metrics that support assertions. And now, with so many previously in-person meetings occurring virtually, there’s an entirely new level of technical preparedness required.

The leadership development tools and the individual learning opportunities you’re providing should include presentation skills training that covers both the evergreen fundamentals and the up-to-date capabilities that can make or break a presentation.

So, just what should be included in solid presentation skills training? Here’s what I think.

The fundamentals will always apply When it comes to making a powerful and effective presentation, the fundamentals will always apply. You need to understand your objective. Is it strictly to convey information, so that your audience’s knowledge is increased? Is it to persuade your audience to take some action? Is it to convince people to support your idea? Once you understand what your objective is, you need to define your central message. There may be a lot of things you want to share with your audience during your presentation, but find – and stick with – the core, the most important point you want them to walk away with. And make sure that your message is clear and compelling.

You also need to tailor your presentation to your audience. Who are they and what might they be expecting? Say you’re giving a product pitch to a client. A technical team may be interested in a lot of nitty-gritty product detail. The business side will no doubt be more interested in what returns they can expect on their investment.

Another consideration is the setting: is this a formal presentation to a large audience with questions reserved for the end, or a presentation in a smaller setting where there’s the possibility for conversation throughout? Is your presentation virtual or in-person? To be delivered individually or as a group? What time of the day will you be speaking? Will there be others speaking before you and might that impact how your message will be received?

Once these fundamentals are established, you’re in building mode. What are the specific points you want to share that will help you best meet your objective and get across your core message? Now figure out how to convey those points in the clearest, most straightforward, and succinct way. This doesn’t mean that your presentation has to be a series of clipped bullet points. No one wants to sit through a presentation in which the presenter reads through what’s on the slide. You can get your points across using stories, fact, diagrams, videos, props, and other types of media.

Visual design matters While you don’t want to clutter up your presentation with too many visual elements that don’t serve your objective and can be distracting, using a variety of visual formats to convey your core message will make your presentation more memorable than slides filled with text. A couple of tips: avoid images that are cliched and overdone. Be careful not to mix up too many different types of images. If you’re using photos, stick with photos. If you’re using drawn images, keep the style consistent. When data are presented, stay consistent with colors and fonts from one type of chart to the next. Keep things clear and simple, using data to support key points without overwhelming your audience with too much information. And don’t assume that your audience is composed of statisticians (unless, of course, it is).

When presenting qualitative data, brief videos provide a way to engage your audience and create emotional connection and impact. Word clouds are another way to get qualitative data across.

Practice makes perfect You’ve pulled together a perfect presentation. But it likely won’t be perfect unless it’s well delivered. So don’t forget to practice your presentation ahead of time. Pro tip: record yourself as you practice out loud. This will force you to think through what you’re going to say for each element of your presentation. And watching your recording will help you identify your mistakes—such as fidgeting, using too many fillers (such as “umm,” or “like”), or speaking too fast.

A key element of your preparation should involve anticipating any technical difficulties. If you’ve embedded videos, make sure they work. If you’re presenting virtually, make sure that the lighting is good, and that your speaker and camera are working. Whether presenting in person or virtually, get there early enough to work out any technical glitches before your presentation is scheduled to begin. Few things are a bigger audience turn-off than sitting there watching the presenter struggle with the delivery mechanisms!

Finally, be kind to yourself. Despite thorough preparation and practice, sometimes, things go wrong, and you need to recover in the moment, adapt, and carry on. It’s unlikely that you’ll have caused any lasting damage and the important thing is to learn from your experience, so your next presentation is stronger.

How are you providing presentation skills training for your learners?

Manika Gandhi is Senior Learning Design Manager at Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. Email her at [email protected] .

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17 Presentation Skills That Every Effective Presenter Must Develop

• Written by HIGH5 Content & Review Team
• August 8, 2024
• Professional skills

It’s no secret that effective presentations can help you get ahead in business. After all, what better way to show off your knowledge and expertise than by delivering a well-crafted presentation? The right presentation skills give you the ability to share your ideas with an audience convincingly and engagingly.

Unfortunately, not everyone is born a natural presenter. If you’re not used to standing up in front of an audience, the prospect of doing so can be daunting. Fortunately, understanding your unique strengths can help you overcome these challenges and improve your presentation skills. The HIGH5 strengths assessment is a powerful tool that can provide valuable insights into your natural abilities, allowing you to leverage your strengths and develop strategies to address areas for improvement.

With the right guidance, there are a few simple things you can do to enhance your presentation skills and become a more confident and effective communicator. In this article, we’ll share some tips on how to do just that, allowing you to deliver an effective presentation. Let’s get right into it.

What are presentation skills?

Presentation skills are the abilities you need to deliver a clear and effective presentation. After all, a good presenter is someone who can communicate their ideas in a way that engages and motivates their audience.

There are many different aspects to presentation skills, from knowing how to structure your talk to using visuals effectively, to dealing with nerves. Developing strong presentation skills will help you to communicate your ideas more effectively and make a positive impression on your audience.

Presentation skills are important because they can help you to communicate your ideas clearly and effectively. A good presentation can make a big impact on your audience and can help to persuade them of your point of view. Presentation skills are also important in other areas of life, such as job interviews, sales pitches, and networking events. Being able to present your ideas clearly and concisely can give you a big advantage over others who are not as confident in their presentation skills.

Importance and benefits of presentation skills

One of the most important reasons to recognize presentation skills is because they are a valuable asset for any profession. Good presentation skills can help you in your career by making it easier to sell your ideas, get promoted, and be successful in business. Identifying your unique strengths through the HIGH5 assessment can provide invaluable insights into your natural communication abilities, allowing you to leverage your strengths and develop targeted strategies to enhance your presentation skills. By understanding your strengths, you can tailor your approach to deliver more impactful and persuasive presentations, increasing your chances of success in any professional setting.

In addition, good presentation skills can also help you in your personal life by making it easier to give speeches, make presentations, and teach classes. In addition, recognizing presentation skills can also help you improve your presentations. If you are not aware of the importance of presentation skills, you may not be using them to their full potential. By taking the time to learn about presentation skills and how to use them effectively, you can make your presentations more effective and persuasive.

Here’s a list of benefits that come with good presentation skills:

• Increased confidence
• The ability to think on your feet
• Improved public speaking skills
• Enhanced written communication skills
• The ability to lead and motivate others
• Enhanced problem-solving abilities
• Improved negotiation skills
• Stronger time management skills
• Greater creativity
• The opportunity to make a positive impact on others

Pro Tip From HIGH5 Take the HIGH5 strengths assessment to gain a deeper understanding of your natural communication style and preferences. Use this knowledge to play to your strengths when preparing and delivering presentations, such as leveraging your creativity for engaging visuals or your analytical skills for structured content.

17 crucial presentation skills

Let’s now explore some practical examples of presentation skills that will help you ace your next big presentation.

Body language

Effective body language, including posture and gestures, enhances your message and engages your audience.

Active listening

Active listening helps you respond appropriately and adjust your presentation based on audience feedback.

Storytelling

Storytelling is a great way to engage your audience and make your points more memorable. And while it might not seem like a traditional presentation skill, it can be extremely effective. If you possess strengths like creativity, communication, or persuasion, you may find it easier to weave captivating stories into your presentations.

The HIGH5 strengths assessment can help you identify these natural storytelling abilities and provide strategies for leveraging them to captivate your audience. So, if you can find ways to weave stories into your presentation, it’ll go a long way in captivating your audience and making your message more impactful.

• Verbal communication

Clear and concise verbal communication ensures your message is understood and retained by your audience.

Voice projection

Projecting your voice confidently ensures that your message is heard clearly by everyone in the room.

Stage presence

Good stage presence involves commanding attention through confident movement and engagement with the audience.

Self-awareness

Being self-aware helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses, allowing for continuous improvement in your presentation skills.

Facial expressions

Using appropriate facial expressions adds emotion and clarity to your spoken words, making your message more impactful.

Avoid filler words

Minimizing filler words like “um” and “uh” helps maintain your credibility and keeps your audience focused on your message.

Choose the right angle for standing

Standing at the right angle, typically facing the audience while occasionally turning to your visuals, keeps the audience engaged and ensures they follow along with your presentation.

Engagement with your audience

Another key presentation skill is the ability to engage with your audience. This means making eye contact, using gestures, and speaking in a way that is relatable and easy to understand.

If you’re just standing there reading off a slide, chances are your audience is going to get bored pretty quickly. But if you can find ways to keep them engaged, they’ll be more likely to listen to what you have to say.

Good eye contact

One of the best ways to engage with your audience is through eye contact. When you make eye contact with someone, it shows that you’re interested in what they have to say and that you’re engaged in the conversation. It also helps to build trust and rapport. So, if you can find ways to make eye contact with your audience members, it will go a long way in keeping them engaged.

Natural gestures

Another great way to engage with your audience is through natural gestures. Using your hands and arms to gesture can help emphasize points and keep your audience engaged. Just be sure not to go overboard – too much gesturing can be distracting.

The use of visual aids

Visual aids can be a great way to engage your audience and make your points more clear. Using slides, charts, and graphs can help illustrate your ideas and make them easier to understand. Similar to using gestures, just be sure not to overdo it – too many visuals can be overwhelming and confusing.

The ability to handle questions

At some point during your presentation, you’re likely going to get questions from your audience; how you handle those questions can make or break your presentation. If you’re able to answer them confidently and without getting flustered, it’ll show that you know your stuff.

But if you start to get tongue-tied or defensive, it’s going to reflect poorly on you. So, be prepared for questions and try to stay calm when answering them.

An organized structure

Another important presentation skill is having a well-organized structure. This means having an introduction, main body, and conclusion to your presentation. It also means using transitions between sections to help your audience follow along. If your presentation is all over the place, it’s going to be hard for your audience to stay engaged and they’ll quickly tune out.

Last but not least, confidence is one of the most important presentation skills you can have. If you’re not confident in what you’re saying, it’s going to show – and your audience is going to pick up on it. So, even if you’re not feeling 100% sure of yourself, try to project confidence. It’ll make a big difference in how your audience perceives you and your message.

Pro Tip From HIGH5 Use the HIGH5 assessment to understand your unique storytelling style and preferences. Incorporate personal anecdotes, analogies, or case studies that align with your strengths to make your presentations more engaging and memorable.

How to identify presentation skills?

To identify your presentation skills you will need the help of self-assessment tools and feedback from your colleagues or friends. One of the self-assessment tools that we recommend is the HIGH5 strengths test which will help you discover your strengths and talents. From there you can connect your strengths with presentation skills to see which strength boosts your skill.

The second way is also called peer feedback. Ask your colleagues, friends or close family members to give you feedback on your presentation skills. From there you can identify what presentation skills you have and what skills you need to improve.

How to improve presentation skills in the workplace?

The workplace is one of the most important places to hone your presentation skills. After all, in the business world, first impressions are key, and being able to deliver a polished and professional presentation can make all the difference in whether or not you’re successful. Here are a few tips to help you improve your presentation skills in the workplace:

Preparation is key

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s worth repeating. When you’re preparing for a presentation, take the time to do your research and gather all of the necessary information. This will help ensure that your presentation is well-organized and flows smoothly.

Be aware of your body language

Your body language speaks volumes, so it’s important to be aware of what you’re communicating with your nonverbal cues. Make sure you’re standing up straight, making eye contact, and using gestures appropriately. These small tweaks can make a big difference in how your audience perceives you.

Practice, practice and practice

One of the best ways to improve your presentation skills is simply to practice as much as you can. The more you present, the more comfortable you’ll become and the better you’ll be at thinking on your feet and handling questions from the audience.

Seek feedback

After each presentation, take some time to reflect on what went well and what could be improved. Seek feedback from your colleagues or boss, and consider taking the HIGH5 strengths assessment to gain insights into your natural abilities and areas for growth. This will help you learn from your mistakes, leverage your strengths, and continue to improve.

By understanding your unique strengths, you can develop targeted strategies to enhance your presentation skills and make a more significant impact in the workplace. By following these tips, you can start to improve your presentation skills and make a positive impression in the workplace.

Pro Tip From HIGH5 After receiving feedback on your presentation, use the HIGH5 strengths assessment to identify areas where you excelled and areas for improvement. Develop an action plan that leverages your strengths while addressing your weaknesses, such as practicing more storytelling techniques if you have strong communication abilities or focusing on visual aids if you have strong creativity.

How do you highlight presentation skills in a resume and job interview?

Another important skill that is often overlooked is the ability to highlight presentation skills in both a resume and a job interview. This can be the difference between getting the job and not. When you are applying for a job, your resume is often the first thing that potential employers will look at. It is important to make sure that your resume includes any relevant presentation skills that you may have.

You can do this by including any experience you have in public speaking, leading presentations, or teaching courses. If you do not have any experience in these areas, consider listing any other relevant skills that could transfer over into presenting, such as customer service or sales experience.

In addition to your resume, it is also important to be able to highlight your presentation skills during a job interview. This is often done through behavioral interviewing, where you will be asked to describe specific examples of times when you have presented in the past. It is important to be prepared for this type of question and to have a few examples ready to go.

When you are highlighting your presentation skills, it is important to focus on any successes that you have had. This could be anything from getting positive feedback from an audience to successfully teaching a new course. No matter what the specific example is, it is important to focus on how you were able to positively impact the situation. This will show potential employers that you can effectively present information and that you are someone they would want on their team.

How to improve presentation skills in school as a student?

School students often have to present in front of their classmates and teachers, which can be a daunting experience, especially if you don’t feel confident in your abilities. However, understanding your unique strengths can help you approach presentations with greater confidence and effectiveness. The HIGH5 strengths assessment is a valuable tool that can provide insights into your natural abilities, allowing you to leverage your strengths and develop strategies to address areas for improvement. With the right guidance, there are some things you can do to improve your presentation skills while you’re still in school.

Join a club or organization that requires presentations

This will force you to get up in front of people regularly and hone your skills. If no club or organization at your school requires presentations, start one! Give speeches in front of the mirror. Practicing in front of a mirror can help you identify any nervous habits you have (like fidgeting or pacing) and correct them before you have to give a real speech.

Use note cards instead of a script

Reading from a script can make you sound robotic and unauthentic. Note cards will help you stay on track without sounding like you’re reciting memorized lines.

Record yourself giving a presentation

Then, watch the recording back to see how you can improve. This exercise can be painful, but it’s one of the best ways to identify your weaknesses and work on them.

Find a mentor

Ask a teacher or another adult you trust to give you feedback on your presentations. They can offer helpful tips and criticism that will help you improve. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a great presenter in no time!

Pro Tip From HIGH5 As a student, take the HIGH5 strengths assessment to identify your natural communication and leadership abilities. Use this knowledge to play to your strengths when preparing and delivering presentations, such as leveraging your analytical skills for structured content or your creativity for engaging visuals.

Presentation skills FAQ

What are the 7 presentation skills.

The 7 presentation skills are:

• Eye contact

What are the 4 types of presentation skills?

The 4 types of presentation skills are:

• Visual aids
• Non-verbal communication
• Listening skills

What is the rule of presentation?

The rule of presentation is to always keep the audience in mind. This means knowing who your audience is, what they want to hear, and how to best deliver your message so that they will listen and be able to understand it.

What are the 5 presentation skills?

The five essential presentation skills are clear communication, audience engagement, confident delivery, effective use of visuals, and proper body language.

What are 10 qualities of a good presentation?

A good presentation is clear, concise, engaging, well-structured, visually appealing, confident, interactive, relevant, well-paced, and memorable.

Every great presenter must have the majority of presenting skills already learned. It is beneficial for each individual to have some level of presentation skills, to be able to showcase and demonstrate their project, ideas and plans to their friends, family members and colleagues.

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15 Hard and Soft Skills High Schoolers Will Need in the Future

Kristina Cappetta

If you have a high schooler or a child entering high school soon, you want them to be ready for life as an adult, both in their professional and personal lives. This is why it’s so important that teens learn both the hard and soft skills that are essential to becoming functioning adults.

What are these skills?

We’re going to explore the essential life skills high school students need as well as take a closer look at hard and soft skills so that your child can be as prepared as possible to enter adulthood and join the “real world.” 

Related: 11 Life Skills Every Child Should Know

Hard Skills Vs. Soft Skills

When you hear people talk about hard skills, they are referring to the knowledge needed to do a job. For example, a person goes to medical school to learn how to become a doctor. These are the hard skills that are taught and practiced.

Soft skills are personal qualities that help someone thrive in life and the workplace. These can be problem-solving skills , communication skills, and other basic life skills. Often, these can be the ones that students lack because so much focus is put into the technical side of things that learning life skills gets pushed aside.

Essential Life Skills High Schoolers Need by Graduation

1. time management.

Time management skills are essential both in college and in the workforce. Time management means learning to divide tasks and prioritize them to make the most of your time. 

This is important to learn so that you can have time to get everything done without stressing out. Using a calendar or daily planner, and setting reminders and alarms can all help to manage your time.

High school students can work on this skill by keeping their assignments in order and completing them as they are due. Logging assignments and events into a planner or a calendar can help to visualize what needs to be done. 

Some people also benefit from making a checklist. This way when they’ve completed a task, they can cross it off and feel accomplished.

2. Money Management and Financial Literacy 

With online banking becoming the norm these days, high school students may not realize that they still need to have  money management skills . From budgeting, saving, and to even writing out a check (yes people still do that), the know-how is just not there.

Financial literacy is necessary to function in life. Young people need to know how to set a budget, save money, and spend wisely.

You can help your child in the decision-making department by giving them an allowance and teaching them how they can spend some of it and save. 

Some parents also set up teen debit cards or  teen credit cards that give them a taste of financial freedom, but also teach lessons when they don’t have enough money to buy certain things.

3. Communication and Social Skills

Thanks to technology, many young people don’t know how to communicate anymore. Have you ever seen a group of teens spend time together? They are all on their phones texting, snapping, and doing everything but talking to each other. In the real world, you need to be able to have a conversation with another person without using a phone, computer, or relying on social media .

High schools can help teens develop these skills by promoting class discussions that help teens talk to one another. While this may seem foreign to your teenage, encourage them to be more interactive with their friends by talking versus texting.

 Knowing how to read body language during a conversation and knowing how to simply talk is a skill that is needed in the real world.

4. Household Management and Meal Prep

Home economics classes used to take care of basic life skills like cooking, knowing how to grocery shop , and even how to use basic tools in a toolbox. But many schools have done away with these types of classes for one reason or another.

At home, you can teach these basic life skills by simply showing your teen how to do them at home. You can have your own life skills class right at home every day! While your teen may not love you for it now, they will appreciate it down the road!

5. Goal-setting skills

Part of the essential life skills that teens need to have include knowing how to set goals. They need to know how to set attainable goals so that they can have a sense of accomplishment when they reach them.

Goals help to motivate teens. Without them, they can seem lost and even become lazy. High school can help teens set goals by giving them benchmarks and deadlines. At home, you can also help them set goals by helping them find something they want to achieve. 

6. Social-Emotional Learning

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is a vital skill for success in all aspects of life, both personal and professional. If high school students can learn to become more self-aware, practice self-control, and have interpersonal skills, such as conflict resolution, they will be better off.

According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning SEL helps students of all ages by helping them in the following areas:

Responsible Decision-Making

Teens learn how to respond to a situation based on learned behaviors such as safety and the well-being of others.

Self-Awareness

Students learn how to recognize their emotions and how they affect their behaviors.

Self-Management and Self-Regulation 

Teaches students how to control their thoughts and emotions, and how to set realistic goals.

Social Awareness

Shows teens how to put themselves in someone else’s shoes to understand how other people from different backgrounds see things.

Relationship Skills

Students learn how to build and maintain healthy relationships with a variety of people.

High schools can help teens work on these skills by having them take part in journal writing, giving them a mentor to help them, and even writing a biography of another student.

7. Organizational Skills

Being organized can help save you time and make sure you get everything done. This is important because if you are disorganized, you are more likely to miss appointments and important deadlines.

High school can help your child develop their organizational skills  by encouraging them to keep a planner and be accountable for their assignments. Setting deadlines and making sure there are consequences if those deadlines are not met, can help your child become more organized.

8. Basic First Aid

Teaching basic first aid , and possibly even CPR, can help students in the real world. Some high schools do offer CPR classes. These types of skills can help if your teen finds themselves in a dangerous situation as well as help them assist others who may be in distress.

9. Self-Care and Stress Management

When we don’t take care of ourselves, we are more likely to become stressed. Teens are no different. Between school, extracurriculars, and prepping for college, today’s teens are more stressed out than we often acknowledge. 

Self-care strategies for teens such as deep breathing, exercise, and seeking out help are all essential coping skills for managing stress in a healthy way.  Knowing when a timeout is needed can benefit young adults as they work to gather the life skills to become successful,

Some schools have incorporated yoga classes to help with stress management . Others have physical education classes that promote activity which can help students feel better about themselves. This can make them less stressed and improve their mental health.

Critical Skills to Enter the Future Workforce

While there are many important life skills that high school students need, there are also other critical skills they should have to enter the real world and the future workforce.

Presentation/Public Speaking Skills

Learning how to present ideas effectively is critical in the workforce. Doing research, reporting, and data analysis are vital skills that teens can work on when they are in high school. Many times, teachers will assign a project that requires them to use those skills and hone the ones they may not be doing as well with.

Once they’ve completed their projects, they have to present them in front of the class. While this may come naturally to some students, many get nervous speaking in front of their peers. 

By practicing this skill, students will not only do well in their classes but also have the necessary skill to enter the workforce.

Computer Skills

While many high schools teach computer skills throughout the school year, it’s always important to emphasize their importance in the workforce. 

Being able to use MS Office, Google Drive, and graphic design tools, have all become an integral part of the workforce. As these evolve, it’s important for students to keep up with them so they are ready for what’s ahead.

How to Use AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has proven that is here to stay. High school students need to learn how AI can be used to solve real-life problems. Some education companies have started to create AI curricula for middle school and high school students. The goal is to teach them how to use AI responsibly and to their benefit.

• Analytical Skills

Analytical skills include gathering data, analyzing it, and presenting it so that it has meaning. These skills are often taught in various high school subjects. As students work on these skills, they can improve them so that they can be used in their future careers.

Remote Working/Asynchronous Global Working Skills

Remote work and remote learning are not going away after the pandemic is over. Research shows that approximately 12% of workers are fully remote , while roughly 28 percent are hybrid, and 60 percent work fully in person. 

While the ability to work remotely is dependent on the type of work done, high school students should be able to understand this concept and the skills needed to make this happen. This includes knowing how to be organized and having the self-discipline and time management skills to successfully work from home. 

Being able to work on your own and be productive is an important skill that high schools can begin to teach by encouraging students to be more independent inside the classroom.

• Adaptability

Being a part of the workforce of the future means you have to be able to adapt. Think about how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we all did our work. If employees couldn’t or didn’t adapt, they likely didn’t make it through.

Teaching high school students to be able to adapt is important as they prepare for real-life situations in the workforce. When something doesn’t go as planned, they will learn how to pivot and make the necessary adjustments to make it work.

The Takeaway on Teaching Teens Life Skills 

When it comes to life skills that high school students should have before they graduate, it’s important to focus on soft skills as well as hard skills. Things like time and money management, as well as computer skills, are all equally important as students prepare for what lies ahead.

While some high school courses can help to teach the necessary hard skills for the future, it’s also important for parents to do their part at home to help their children when it comes to soft skills and life skills. The more you can help them now, the better off they will be in the future.

For more tips on important skills to teach teens, check out our 5 Steps to Teach Your Teens to Budget . 

Committee for Children. (n.d.). What Is Social-Emotional Learning? Retrieved from https://www.cfchildren.org/resources/what-is-social-emotional-learning/

Classcraft. (2020, October 7). 12 SEL activities for high school students. Classcraft Blog - Resource hub for schools and districts. https://www.classcraft.com/blog/features/12-sel-activities-for-high-school-students/

Liu, A. (2021, March 18). Why Children Need To Learn About Artificial Intelligence. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/03/18/why-children-need-to-learn-about-artificial-intelligence/?sh=5ee6d5cb6b6a

Santora, M. (2021, May 28). Do We Know How Many People Are Working From Home? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/28/us/remote-work-census-bureau.htm

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Omsk: Western Siberia's hidden gem

A city view of Omsk. Source: Dmitry Feoktistov

Omsk was founded in 1716 when a wooden fort was constructed to house a Cossack unit in the area to protect the expanding Russian frontier from Central Asian nomadic incursions. It served various administrative functions throughout the 1800s and became infamous as a place of exile and incarceration. The city was rundown when selected as a hub for the Trans-Siberian railway in the 1890s. Many international trade companies and foreign consulates relocated here and the remnants of their offices can still be found in the city today.

The mystery of Kolchak’s gold

Omsk became the headquarters of the anti-Bolshevik white army led by Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak in 1918. In late 1918 there was a revolt in the city initiated by a leftist faction (Socialist Revolutionary Party or SPs) with 500 rebel deaths at the hands of Cossacks and Czechoslovak soldiers, a major factor in convincing the SPs to join the Bolsheviks. There is a large Soviet-era monument to the uprising at the corner of Lenina street and Broz Tito street.  

Kolchak was entrusted with a large portion of the Tsarist’s gold reserves, yet amazingly lost much of it. Supposedly 250 million rubles were lost (about $8 million at the time). Legend has it that they were buried near the village of Taiga, yet numerous excavations have turned up nothing. The area still attracts the occasional fortune seeker.

Kolchak’s headquarters are located at what is today the  Omsk Regional Archives  at Broz Tito St., 3. Nothing shows how much times have changed as the imposing Kolchak statue that was unveiled in 2012 around the corner. The statue guards  Kolchak restaurant , a four-story culinary complex featuring a steak house, an Irish pub, a Central Asian café and an Italian eatery.  For more details on where and how to dig Kolchak's gold, see  Top Ten Mysterious Lost Treasures of Russia

Dostoevsky and the Tsar

At 1.15 million people Omsk dwarfs the region’s second largest city, Tara (population 28,000). The city is split by the River Irtysh into two sections (all places of interest are on the right bank) with downtown emanating from the River Om.

Most foreigners have heard of Omsk via writer Fyodor Dostoevsky who spent four years here as a prisoner (1849-1853). He spent most of his time in Omsk in squalor and chains and with no books besides the Bible, however, it left an indelible mark on his memory and influenced his future literary output. There is a statue of the writer in chains grasping a Bible at the corner of Partizanskaya and Spartakovskaya streets, where Dostoevsky undoubtedly stepped many times. A  museum dedicated to the author's time in Omsk  is located nearby at Dostoevskogo St. 1. The local university is also named for him.

A view of the Assumption Cathedral, Omsk. Source: Lori/Legion-Media

Tarskaya Street is one of the city’s oldest thoroughfares. It features a monument to victims of Stalinist repressions and the Tara gates, originally built in 1792 as one of the four entrances to the Omsk fort. Nearby stands the Assumption Cathedral, one of the largest churches in Siberia. Future Tsar Nicholas II laid the first stone here in 1891 when making his way back to St. Petersburg after his Eastern journey.

In Omsk you are never more than a few steps from the village, made clear when one exits the center to the north, where most houses are wooden and roads unpaved. Stroll along Bulatova and Rabinovicha streets, a well-preserved ensemble of wooden architecture.

Omsk’s cultural heritage 

The Pushkin State Library is worth a look with busts of Russian literary figures adorning the front side of the building. At the corner under the big “M” is one of several stations of the never completed Omsk metro. Construction began in 1992, but as of 2014 the project is again dormant due to financing problems.

One of Omsk’s most famous sons is Symbolist painter Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1910). Vrubel ignored contemporary trends and focused on themes from fairy tales, demons and religious subjects and also designed a majolica frieze for the Metropol Hotel in Moscow. Omsk’s Fine Arts Museum is named for him and features a number of  his works .

Milhail Vrubel's painting 'Demon Seated in a Garden' (1890)

Over the years a number of tourists have tripped over the monument to Stepanych. This bust of a plumber rising from a sewer was the idea of Omsk’s former mayor after a trip to Slovakia in the 1990s. Stepanych has become one of the symbols of the city.

Omsk is a hockey town, with one of the major teams,  Avangard , in the KHL, Russia’s premiere professional league. Russian champions on several occasions, check out a match at Omsk Arena. But if you can’t catch a game there’s a large kiosk featuring the team’s merchandise at the airport.

Siberian   punk, jazz and the classics

While Omsk may not be on everyone’s radar musically, it does host a  musical theater  built just after the war. The building on 10 Let Oktyabrya Street is in the form of an enormous sloping grand piano.

A monument to Stepanych, Lenina Street, Omsk. Photo credit: RIA Novosti/Pavel Lisitsyn 

Perhaps Russia’s most famous punk band,  Grazhdanskaya oborona  (Civil Defence), was formed here in 1982. The band was active until 2008 when lead singer Yegor Letov died of heart failure at age 43. Letov is buried at the Staro-Vostochnoe cemetery. A sprawling graveyard with thousands of graves, fans should stop at the administration for help in locating his grave.

In Russia, Omsk is known among the younger, tech-savvy generation primarily because of the “Omsk bird,” also known as Winged Doom. The origin of what became one of Russia’s most ubiquitous memes comes from a painting by German artist Heiko  Müller. One day in 2009 an Internet user posted this painting with the line, “Welcome to Omsk,” at the top. Additional versions menace viewers stating, “Don't try to leave Omsk,” and “Omsk is closer than you think.” Like many popular memes on the Internet, this one went viral and has become something like an unofficial symbol of the city.

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Omsk State Medical University

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Omsk State Medical University was established in 1920 in the Omsk city of the Russian Federation and is one of the oldest medical universities in Russia. It is also one of the largest as well top-ranked medical universities in Russia, constantly securing its position in the list of 100 best universities in Russia. 

For the clinical training of the students, the University has affiliations with 33 hospitals and clinics in the city. Students are provided education with state-of-the-art infrastructure, including research labs and modern medical equipment. In a century-long time, more than 35,000 doctors have been trained at Omsk State Medical University.

Omsk State Medical University is duly approved by the Medical Council of India (MCI) and offers a 6-Year MBBS Program for local as well as international students. Medical aspirants from India who have qualified NEET can apply for direct admission to the MBBS Program of Omsk State Medical University.

Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Russia

World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS)

Medical Council of India (MCI)

Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)

Medical Council of Canada (MCC)

Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER)

To get admission to the MBBS Program of Omsk State Medical University, the student must qualify NEET-UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate). 

Besides NEET-UG, there is no requirement to go through any additional entrance examination.

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Medical Laboratories

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• Omsk State Medical University was established in 1920 in the Omsk city of Russia.
• Omsk State Medical University constantly ranks in the list of 100 best universities in Russia.
• Since its inception, more than 35,000 doctors have been trained at Omsk State Medical University.
• For the clinical training of the students, Omsk State Medical University has affiliations with 33 hospitals and clinics.
• Library of Omsk State Medical University has a collection of more than 6,00,000 books.

University Address

Mbbs program, admission & support, medical licensing examination support, student life.

In a century-long time, more than 35,000 doctors have been trained at Omsk State Medical University, which is indeed a remarkable achievement. Now, every year, more than 8,500 students graduate from the University. The University has a team of about 500 faculty members. University’s campus is divided into six buildings. 

For the clinical training of the students, the University has affiliations with 33 hospitals and clinics in the city. Students are provided education with state-of-the-art infrastructure, including research labs and modern medical equipment. 

Library of Omsk State Medical University is one of the oldest and leading university libraries in the Russian Federation. It houses a collection of more than 6,00,000 books and also provides access to eBooks, online medical journals, and other internet resources. To help the students easily find and borrow books, an electronic system is installed in the library.  Students are given access to the library database in Russian as well as the English language.

The University is actively involved in various research projects related to medicine and healthcare. Students at Omsk State Medical University get an opportunity to participate in those projects, be a part of the future of medicine, and develop significant skills during the program. 

Quality of Omsk State Medical University’s education system is also certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). For a personalized and modern learning experience, the University has well-equipped classrooms and follows an apt-student teacher ratio. On the campus, the students also have access to various laboratories, including Physics lab, Chemistry lab, and Physiology lab.

The University preserves its 100 years of glorious history and achievements with the help of a dedicated museum on the Campus, which is open for all students and University visitors. 

Omsk State Medical University is also associated with many medical universities and other institutions in Russia as well as other countries to increase joint initiatives, share resources, and facilitate student exchange programs.

Omsk State Medical University is well-recognized in Russia as well as internationally. It is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS) and certified by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), United States of America. Also, Omsk State Medical University is duly approved by the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Medical Council of Canada (MCC). Omsk State Medical University offers a 6-Year MBBS Program for local as well as international students. Medical aspirants from India who have qualified NEET can apply for direct admission to the MBBS Program of Omsk State Medical University. 

Omsk State Medical University Ulitsa Lenina, 12, Omsk, Omsk Oblast, Russia, 644099

Omsk State Medical University offers a 6-Year MBBS Program in Russian Medium. For international students, classes for initial years may be conducted in English language. 

The Program for MBBS in Russia is focused on building a strong academic base with a pragmatic approach to education and medical research. To provide hands-on clinical experience, the students studying MBBS in Russia are involved in clinical training from the second year of MBBS. While education in classrooms and laboratories helps the students develop academic skills and sound theoretical understanding, clinical training in University-affiliated hospitals help them apply their knowledge into practice.

To get admission to the MBBS Program of Omsk State Medical University, you can apply online at Rus Education website.

Rus Education is exclusively authorized by the Russian Centre for Science and Culture (Cultural Department of The Embassy of the Russian Federation in India) to promote Russian Education among Indian Citizens. Rus Education is also an authorized associate of Omsk State Medical University. We facilitate one-window admission to the MBBS Program of Omsk State Medical University with no requirement of any donation or capitation and without any entrance examination.

For the living arrangement of students, Omsk State Medical University maintains 6 dormitories. Hostel facilities are well-furnished and equipped with facilities required for daily student life, including shared kitchens, sports facilities and study space. Two or three students share one hostel room. 

The University maintains its own sports and recreational facilities, and interested students can play the sports of their choice to relax and stay fit. 

To arrange recreational activities and community programs for the students, the University has a dedicated Department of Extracurricular and Social Activities. To involve students in social work, University runs different volunteering and charity activities. Depending on their interests, students can also join creative activities like dance, singing, and humor organized by student clubs.

For promoting healthy lifestyle and fitness among students, the University has 22 sports clubs and also operates two gyms and five fitness centers on the campus. These facilities open up a wide array of options for the students to play their favorite sports and stay energetic. 

On off-days, students can also go out to explore Omsk city, which is one of the largest cities in Russia, offering plenty of avenues for amusement. Omsk has numerous museums, historical architectures, classic theaters, and educational institutions that students can explore. While food is available through the mess facility of the University, occasionally, students can go out for dining. To get around in Omsk, students don’t face any problems as the city has well-regulated means for public transport, including buses, taxis, metro, and railways. Being a city where people of many nationalities and religions live together, Omsk offers a high culture and friendly environment for strangers and locals alike. 

So, Omsk State Medical University and the Omsk city offers the very best of education as well as life, making student life not only fruitful but exciting, fulfilling, and full of experiences, and memories.

TOP MEDICAL UNIVERSITIES IN RUSSIA

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Siberian State Medical University

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