Delivery

Tomorrow (Monday, the 13th) the 2nd-year students will be giving their presentations. 1st-year students will be giving them on Wednesday. Before you present, I would like to say something about your delivery on the day.

I can see from my meetings with you that you have been working hard to prepare your texts and Powerpoint® slides. But don't forget, that presentations are largely about your delivery. Of course, if you don't have a good script, it will be difficult to deliver well. The same thing is true for your slides. Your text and images on your slides can have a strong impact and support your presentation.

HOWEVER, all the preparation in the world with your text and slides cannot replace your delivery. This means you must practice, practice, practice.

While you want to memorize your text as much as possible, it is not enough to remember the words. You want to know the material so well, that you can talk about it conversationally as if you were talking about your hobbies or your family. If you have been practicing a lot already, this may be possible. If not, it may be late to be that confident, but you will want to be as confident as possible before you present.

Practice OUT LOUD as much as possible. In fact, if possible, you want to practice out loud at a speech level of volume.

Also, when possible, practice in front of a mirror. See what you look like when you present. You may notice some bad habit before your official presentation and be able to adjust.

Another thing to consider is practicing with your team including the Powerpoint® delivery. During your presentation, you don't want to have to look behind you at the screen to see if it is the correct slide. Also, you don't want to have to look at the person at the computer to signal to change the slide. That does not look natural to your audience.

Now, when it comes time to give your presentation, stop worrying about the above, just relax and give your best performance. If it doesn't go as smooth as you would like, use this experience to help motivate you to prepare earlier and more carefully for next time.

Learning is a lifelong event. Don't get frustrated over imperfections in class. Use them to help you do better next time.

Work hard in your preparation. Then, relax and enjoy your performance. Then, learn and grow.

I look forward to watching your presentations.

This is not the last blog post, so keep checking back.