Part of the mark you receive for your presentation will be given for the way your information is delivered. For this, your marker will consider things like your voice, your body language and gestures, your slides and your engagement with the audience. Here are some tips for maximising your marks for delivery.
Visit the space before your presentation
If you're unfamiliar with the presentation venue, try to visit it before the day of your presentation. This allows you to decide where to stand so you don't block the slides and where you can maintain eye contact with the entire audience, not just the teacher.
It's also a good opportunity to test the room's technology to prevent any surprises on the day.
Face your audience
It can be tempting to turn around and read from your slides, but this should be avoided. Every time you turn your back on your audience, you break the engagement. This is why positioning yourself to the side of your slides and making hand gestures towards important points is preferred.
Also, having fewer words on your slides will reduce the temptation to read from them.
Use your voice
The voice we use when giving presentations should be different from our normal speech. When presenting, we should:
Slow down: This will improve the clarity of your voice by allowing you to focus more on pronunciation and it gives the audience more time to process what you are telling them.
Project: This means speaking more loudly than you usually would so that everyone in the room can hear you clearly.
Emphasise: By using emphasis, you put a stress on key words and concepts, which will make them stand out more for your audience. For example, the following came from a presentation that a student gave on deforestation.
In this example, the emphasised words are in bold:
"Deforestation is a major issue because it leads to the loss of biodiversity and contributes significantly to climate change."
Body language
A good posture and positive body language tell your audience that you are confident, interested and excited about what you have to say. On the other hand, if you have closed body language and do not seem interested in your topic, it will be hard for your audience to be engaged.
Where possible, try to maintain good posture, give eye contact to each person in the room and use hand gestures that complement your talk. For example, you can signal to key points in your slides or to emphasise certain key words.
Avoid crossing your arms, looking at the ground, turning your back to the audience and only focusing on one section of the audience.
Practice
If you want to build up your confidence before a talk, then you should know your topic inside and out. Here are some tips for getting prepared:
Rehearse your talk a number of times and time yourself. When you know your talk well, you will deliver it well.
Practise with a friend or family member and get feedback from them.
Practise delivering your talk using the main points and brief notes only on cue cards. It is important that you know your topic thoroughly so that you can deliver your presentation confidently.
