by Todd Pheifer

Created on: June 12, 2009

Student presentations can be a great way to teach communication skills and build confidence that will serve students for years to come. Of course, there will always be students who are comfortable in front of crowds while others would rather do anything else than present to a group of their peers. The task of the teacher is to walk the fine line between challenge and support so that skilled presenters can hone their talent while novices can build confidence in their ability to communicate. Therefore, here are a few steps for preparing students for presentations.

Modeling

Probably the best way to teach presentations it to model them effectively as a teacher. This means that teachers have to be prepared, energetic, informative, and interactive when they present. Of course, the challenge is that some teachers are just not very good communicators. This puts them in an awkward position of "do-as-I-say-but-don't-do-as-I-do", though there is always the possibility that they are unaware of their weakness. Granted, students may still learn from a poor teacher by seeing what should not be done in a presentation.

Confidence

Before getting into a complex presentation, teachers have to work on the confidence of their students. They might start with short speeches or less intimidating situations in order to build up the student's comfort level in front of the classroom. Again, the teacher has to be careful that they do not embarrass the student or make them look bad in front of their peers. This is easier said than done sometimes, since students can be a bit cruel to each other, particularly in presentation situations. In general, the teacher should work to develop an atmosphere of respect and support for presenters, so that the culture becomes one of encouragement and positive feedback.

Content

When creating actual presentations, teachers should focus on the content of the presentation, rather than just the style and pizazz. This particularly pertains to the use of software programs like Power Point. What has happened in classrooms and boardrooms across the country is that people have become enamored with the bells and whistles of presentation software but they never really learned how to use it effectively. Therefore, students may be prone to spend hours on colors, animations, and sound effects, rather than the depth and content of the presentation. Teachers should make sure that the students spend the bulk of their time on an outline, proper research, citations, talking points, and rehearsing. Visual flair has it's place, but a presentation that is heavy on flash and light on content will quickly be exposed for it's lack of scholarly depth.

Overall, presentations are often about practice, interaction, and feedback. In a classroom setting, students have to opportunity to present in different ways on a variety of topics. In addition, they have the opportunity to practice presenting on their own or working with groups to create a product with multiple perspectives. Over time, students will hopefully build confidence as they become more comfortable with themselves and their material. Presenting is always a good skill to possess, as it translates well to a variety of fields and vocations.

Learn more about this author, Todd Pheifer.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.