presentation task meaning

Erasmus+ Resources

9.4 /10 on 38.000 verified reviews

Introduction to Task-Based Learning (TBL)

What is a task and what is the best way to define and describe Task-Based Learning?

Do you think that incorporating meaningful tasks is a good way to motivate your learners?

Written by Sheila Corwin

Teacher Trainer in Florence

Task-Based Learning: what it is?

Task-Based Learning (TBL) is all about your students creating, producing, or designing something in class… it could be anything… anything at all. TBL includes the 21st Century skills of Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking (4C’s) and can also be described as a short interactive assignment that results in a finished product.

The Task part of Task-Based Learning has been (more or less) defined by linguistic scholars as:

things people do in everyday life (Long, 1985).
a goal-oriented activity that leads to an outcome or result (Willis, 1996).
a completed work plan which can be assessed (Ellis, 2003).

What kind of activity is a task?

In 2007, Jane Willis and her husband Dave Willis came up with the following criteria in their book Doing Task-Based Teaching (pp. 12-14) which can be used to discern a task:

Will the activity engage learners’ interest?
Is there a primary focus on meaning?
Is there a goal or an outcome?
Is success judged in terms of the result?
Is completion a priority?
Does the activity relate to real-world activities?

If your answer is yes to all the questions, you can be sure that the classroom activity you have in mind is task-like.

Task-Based Learning and Task-Based Language Teaching

TBL is an approach to teaching that was originally used by second or foreign-language teachers. It is an approach that stems from Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) – a language teacher methodology – which emerged in the 1970s.

Language teachers originally adopted Task-Based Learning for a variety of reasons with the most important being the desire to make their classrooms more student-centered, communicative, and collaborative by incorporating more interactive tasks.

Task-Based Learning (TBL) is also known as Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and Task-Based Instruction (TBI). Its principal focus is on the completion of meaningful tasks. Such tasks can include creating a poster, producing a newsletter, video, or pamphlet, or designing a map of the school or neighborhood.

The Task Cycle > Task / Plan / Report

The TBL formula includes the following stages:

The teacher introduces the topic and gives students clear instructions and guidelines on what they will be doing during the three-part task cycle (below). This phase will give students a clear understanding of what will be expected of them and include any important knowledge or details they need to know.

This is also a good time to lead into the task by brainstorming or asking questions about the topic. Teachers can also get students ready for the task by presenting an example of the task or introducing a picture, audio, or video which will be useful in completing the task.

Students get ready to do the task. Students are given what they need to complete the task (handouts and written instructions) and are assigned to work in pairs or small groups while the teacher monitors and offers encouragement when necessary. The teacher’s role is typically limited to one of a coach, guide, and facilitator.

Students work on the task in pairs or small groups and prepare to report or present their results or product. They make important decisions about their presentation and assign each person in the group with a part of the task to present, so everyone takes responsibility during the report stage. The group rehearses its presentation. The teacher walks around, helps if needed, and takes notes on anything that needs to be addressed after the presentations.

Report/Present

Students present their findings to the class in the form of a presentation. The rest of the class listens to the reports and writes down feedback which will be given to the presenters after all reports have been heard. The class can also ask questions or provide some quick oral feedback after each presentation. The teacher also gives feedback on the content as well. Students vote on the best presentation, report, or product.

After presenting their completed task, others in the class can offer constructive feedback.

Several ways to do so include:

Two stars and a wish – two positive things about the presentation and one suggestion,
The 3, 2, 1, Formula – Three likes, Two suggestions, and One question.
Finally, feedback can be given based on things like the content of the presentation, use of visuals, eye contact, etc.

How to create your own TBL lesson

Here is a template for creating your own Task-Based Learning lesson or activity:

Design a ……………………………………
Create a …………………………………….
Produce a …………………………………..
Task: What would you like your students to design, create, or produce?
Plan: What specific instructions will you give your students for doing this task and what guidelines should they follow during their planning stage?
Report/Present: What do you want your students to report or present and how much time will you give them to explain or present their ideas?

There are many different TBL interpretations so don’t hesitate to make it your own.

An example of Task-Based Learning Activity

Jane Willis (1996) came up with A Framework for Task-Based Learning that includes coming up with tasks that revolve around a certain topic. This can be very useful for teachers looking for task ideas to engage their students during a lesson.

See the example to follow:

Topic: Travel

Listing : List three reasons why people love to travel.
Ordering, Sorting, and Classifying : Put pictures of different travel destinations in order from the most desired to the least desired destination. Sort travel destinations from the northern to the southern hemisphere. Classify destinations by languages people speak.
Comparing or Matching: Compare different countries. Match people to their country of origin.
Problem Solving: Think of three low-budget travel destinations.
Creative Task : Create a travel poster or find out about different countries and become an expert on a country that you would like to travel to in the future.
Share Personal Experiences : Share stories about past travel destinations. Write a poem about your favorite place and share it with the class.

6 Advantages of Task-Based Learning

Students are at the center of learning.
Students are working on something that is personal and relevant to them.
Students gain practice in collaborating with others and making group decisions.
Students spend a lot of time communicating.
Students take on responsibility for engaged learning .
TBL is enjoyable , motivating, and a great place to start for teachers thinking about incorporating more Project Based Learning at their schools or classrooms.

Task-Based Learning has many interpretations and you, the teacher, can adapt and make anything your own. Although TBL was originally developed with language teachers in mind, the core of every Task-Based Learning lesson, as the name suggests, is the task.

A Task-Based approach offers an alternative for teachers who are interested in creating a more student-centered environment in their classroom. In a task-based class, the lesson is based on the completion of a central task and its presentation.

TBL incorporates all 4C’s and is a great way to get students used to working on Project Based Learning (PBL) because it includes many of the same skills but, in a smaller, more digestible way.

Whereas PBL requires working on a project for an extended period, TBL can be done in one or two lessons and can be a good starting point for teaching students how to communicate, collaborate and work on presentations with others.

Willis D. and J. Willis (2007) Doing Task-based Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Willis J. (1996) A Framework for Task-based Learning. Harlow: Longman Pearson Education

7 thoughts on “ Introduction to Task-Based Learning (TBL) ”

Hello, I do not use project-based learning techniques with my lessons. However, I have successfully used other methods and techniques.

Hi Mehmet, TBL or Task Based Learning is a very small PBL and can be a good place to start for teachers who are interested in incorporating more communication, collaboration, creativity, and collaboration between students in their classrooms.

Yes, I think that collaborative method and game-based learning develop students’ creativity. Of course, we can say that these also contribute to many more mental development of children.

Thanks to Sheila i met in’Florence in January 2018, I use Willis´s model to set up TBL in class…it does work very well.

Now I am a teacher trainer and I teach them how to set up this pedagogical method in class.

So glad you’ve found this approach useful to you in both your own classroom and in your training of other teachers. By the way, I have very fond memories of you in my teacher training classroom, Chantal. =)

I find it more helpful for teachers and useful to students

It’s great to have formulas.

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

presentation skills an elevator pitch slide

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

skills required for persuasive presentations

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.

using a course syllabus presentation to boost your instructional presentation skills

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.

presentation skills example of a training presentation

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

skill requirements for instructional presentations

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.

a SCRUM process being shown in an informative slide

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.

an example of a thesis dissertation template

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

skill requirements for informational presentations

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.

using a quote slide to boost inspirational presentation skills

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

skills required for inspirational presentations

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.

Like this article? Please share

Business Presentations, Presentation Approaches, Presentation Skills Filed under Education

Filed under Design • August 14th, 2024

Creating Custom Themes for PowerPoint and Google Slides

Do you want your slides to go beyond the average result from a template? If so, learn how to create custom themes for presentations with this guide.

Filed under Business • August 8th, 2024

How to Create Engaging and Persuasive Proposal Presentations

Secure your business deals and build your brand’s reputation by mastering the art of proposal presentations. Tips and recommended PPT templates included.

Filed under Business • July 24th, 2024

How to Create a Demo Presentation

Discover the secrets behind successful demo presentations and what they should contain with this article. Recommended PPT templates included.

Basic tasks for creating a PowerPoint presentation

PowerPoint presentations work like slide shows. To convey a message or a story, you break it down into slides. Think of each slide as a blank canvas for the pictures and words that help you tell your story.

Choose a theme

When you open PowerPoint, you’ll see some built-in themes and templates . A theme is a slide design that contains matching colors, fonts, and special effects like shadows, reflections, and more.

On the File tab of the Ribbon, select New , and then choose a theme.

PowerPoint shows you a preview of the theme, with four color variations to choose from on the right side.

Click Create , or pick a color variation and then click Create .

Shows the Create New presentation from Theme dialog in PowerPoint

Read more: Use or create themes in PowerPoint

Insert a new slide

On the Home tab, click the bottom half of New Slide , and pick a slide layout.

Shows New Slide button on Home tab of the ribbon in PowerPoint

Read more: Add, rearrange, and delete slides .

Save your presentation

On the File tab, choose Save .

Pick or browse to a folder.

In the File name box, type a name for your presentation, and then choose Save .

Note: If you frequently save files to a certain folder, you can ‘pin’ the path so that it is always available (as shown below).

Tip: Save your work as you go. Press Ctrl+S often or save the file to OneDrive and let AutoSave take care of it for you.

Format your text

Select the text.

Under Drawing Tools , choose Format .

Shows the Drawing Tools tab on the ribbon in PowerPoint

Do one of the following:

To change the color of your text, choose Text Fill , and then choose a color.

To change the outline color of your text, choose Text Outline , and then choose a color.

To apply a shadow, reflection, glow, bevel, 3-D rotation, a transform, choose Text Effects , and then choose the effect you want.

Change the fonts

Change the color of text on a slide

Add bullets or numbers to text

Format text as superscript or subscript

Add pictures

On the Insert tab, select Pictures , then do one of the following:

To insert a picture that is saved on your local drive or an internal server, choose This Device , browse for the picture, and then choose Insert .

(For Microsoft 365 subscribers) To insert a picture from our library, choose Stock Images , browse for a picture, select it and choose Insert .

To insert a picture from the web, choose Online Pictures , and use the search box to find a picture. Choose a picture, and then click Insert .

You can add shapes to illustrate your slide.

On the Insert tab, select Shapes , and then select a shape from the menu that appears.

In the slide area, click and drag to draw the shape.

Select the Format or Shape Format tab on the ribbon. Open the Shape Styles gallery to quickly add a color and style (including shading) to the selected shape.

Add speaker notes

Slides are best when you don’t cram in too much information. You can put helpful facts and notes in the speaker notes, and refer to them as you present.

Click inside the Notes pane below the slide, and begin typing your notes.

Shows the speaker Notes pane in PowerPoint

Add speaker notes to your slides

Print slides with or without speaker notes

Give your presentation

On the Slide Show tab, do one of the following:

To start the presentation at the first slide, in the Start Slide Show group, click From Beginning .

Shows the Slide Show tab on the ribbon in PowerPoint

If you’re not at the first slide and want to start from where you are, click From Current Slide .

If you need to present to people who are not where you are, click Present Online to set up a presentation on the web, and then choose one of the following options:

Broadcast your PowerPoint presentation online to a remote audience

View your speaker notes as you deliver your slide show.

Get out of Slide Show view

To get out of Slide Show view at any time, on the keyboard, press Esc .

You can quickly apply a theme when you're starting a new presentation:

On the File tab, click New .

Select a theme.

Read more: Apply a design theme to your presentation

In the slide thumbnail pane on the left, select the slide that you want your new slide to follow.

On the Home tab, select the lower half of New Slide .

From the menu, select the layout that you want for your new slide.

Your new slide is inserted, and you can click inside a placeholder to begin adding content.

Learn more about slide layouts

Read more: Add, rearrange, and delete slides

PowerPoint for the web automatically saves your work to your OneDrive, in the cloud.

To change the name of the automatically saved file:

In the title bar, click the file name.

In the File Name box, enter the name you want to apply to the file.

If you want to change the cloud storage location, at the right end of the Location box, click the arrow symbol, then navigate to the folder you want, then select Move here .

On the Home tab, use the Font options:

Select from other formatting options such as Bold , Italic , Underline , Strikethrough , Subscript , and Superscript .

On the Insert tab, select Pictures .

From the menu, select where you want to insert the picture from:

On the Insert tab of the ribbon, select Pictures, and then on the menu choose the type of picture you want.

Browse to the image you want, select it, then select Insert .

After the image is inserted on the slide, you can select it and drag to reposition it, and you can select and drag a corner handle to resize the image.

On the slide canvas, click and drag to draw the shape.

Select the Shape tab on the ribbon. Open the Shape Styles gallery to quickly add a color and style (including shading) to the selected shape.

The Shape tab on the ribbon in PowerPoint for the web includes quick styles you can apply to any shape.

A horizontal Notes pane appears at the bottom of the window, below the slide.

Click in the pane, then enter text.

On the Slide Show tab, select Play From Beginning .

To start a slide show, on the View tab of the ribbon select Play From Beginning.

To navigate through the slides, simply click the mouse or press the spacebar.

Tip: You can also use the forward and back arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through the slide show.

Stop a slide show

To get out of Slide Show view at any time, on the keyboard, press Esc.

The full-screen slide show will close, and you will be returned to the editing view of the file.

Tips for creating an effective presentation

Consider the following tips to keep your audience interested.

Minimize the number of slides

To maintain a clear message and to keep your audience attentive and interested, keep the number of slides in your presentation to a minimum.

Choose an audience-friendly font size

The audience must be able to read your slides from a distance. Generally speaking, a font size smaller than 30 might be too difficult for the audience to see.

Keep your slide text simple

You want your audience to listen to you present your information, instead of reading the screen. Use bullets or short sentences, and try to keep each item to one line.

Some projectors crop slides at the edges, so that long sentences might be cropped.

Use visuals to help express your message

Pictures, charts, graphs, and SmartArt graphics provide visual cues for your audience to remember. Add meaningful art to complement the text and messaging on your slides.

As with text, however, avoid including too many visual aids on your slide.

Make labels for charts and graphs understandable

Use only enough text to make label elements in a chart or graph comprehensible.

Apply subtle, consistent slide backgrounds

Choose an appealing, consistent template or theme that is not too eye-catching. You don't want the background or design to detract from your message.

However, you also want to provide a contrast between the background color and text color. The built-in themes in PowerPoint set the contrast between a light background with dark colored text or dark background with light colored text.

For more information about how to use themes, see Apply a theme to add color and style to your presentation .

Check the spelling and grammar

To earn and maintain the respect of your audience, always check the spelling and grammar in your presentation .

Top of Page

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

410.531.1610 | [email protected]

Search Search for:

Performance Task Blog Series # 1 – What is a performance task?

A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and proficiency. Performance tasks yield a tangible product and/or performance that serve as evidence of learning. Unlike a selected-response item (e.g., multiple-choice or matching) that asks students to select from given alternatives, a performance task presents a situation that calls for learners to apply their learning in context.

Performance tasks are routinely used in certain disciplines, such as visual and performing arts, physical education, and career-technology where performance is the natural focus of instruction. However, such tasks can (and should) be used in every subject area and at all grade levels.

Characteristics of Performance Tasks

While any performance by a learner might be considered a performance task (e.g., tying a shoe or drawing a picture), it is useful to distinguish between the application of specific and discrete skills (e.g., dribbling a basketball) from genuine performance in context (e.g., playing the game of basketball in which dribbling is one of many applied skills). Thus, when I use the term performance tasks, I am referring to more complex and authentic performances.

Here are seven general characteristics of performance tasks:

Performance tasks call for the application of knowledge and skills, not just recall or recognition.

In other words, the learner must actually use their learning to perform . These tasks typically yield a tangible product (e.g., graphic display, blog post) or performance (e.g., oral presentation, debate) that serve as evidence of their understanding and proficiency.

Performance tasks are open-ended and typically do not yield a single, correct answer.

Unlike selected- or brief constructed- response items that seek a “right” answer, performance tasks are open-ended. Thus, there can be different responses to the task that still meet success criteria. These tasks are also open in terms of process; i.e., there is typically not a single way of accomplishing the task.

Performance tasks establish novel and authentic contexts for performance.

These tasks present realistic conditions and constraints for students to navigate. For example, a mathematics task would present students with a never-before-seen problem that cannot be solved by simply “plugging in” numbers into a memorized algorithm. In an authentic task, students need to consider goals, audience, obstacles, and options to achieve a successful product or performance. Authentic tasks have a side benefit – they convey purpose and relevance to students, helping learners see a reason for putting forth effort in preparing for them.

Performance tasks provide evidence of understanding via transfer.

Understanding is revealed when students can transfer their learning to new and “messy” situations. Note that not all performances require transfer. For example, playing a musical instrument by following the notes or conducting a step-by-step science lab require minimal transfer. In contrast, rich performance tasks are open-ended and call “higher-order thinking” and the thoughtful application of knowledge and skills in context, rather than a scripted or formulaic performance.

Performance tasks are multi-faceted.

Unlike traditional test “items” that typically assess a single skill or fact, performance tasks are more complex. They involve multiple steps and thus can be used to assess several standards or outcomes.

Performance tasks can integrate two or more subjects as well as 21 st century skills.

In the wider world beyond the school, most issues and problems do not present themselves neatly within subject area “silos.” While performance tasks can certainly be content-specific (e.g., mathematics, science, social studies), they also provide a vehicle for integrating two or more subjects and/or weaving in 21 st century skills and Habits of Mind. One natural way of integrating subjects is to include a reading, research, and/or communication component (e.g., writing, graphics, oral or technology presentation) to tasks in content areas like social studies, science, health, business, health/physical education. Such tasks encourage students to see meaningful learning as integrated, rather than something that occurs in isolated subjects and segments.

Performances on open-ended tasks are evaluated with established criteria and rubrics.

Since these tasks do not yield a single answer, student products and performances should be judged against appropriate criteria aligned to the goals being assessed. Clearly defined and aligned criteria enable defensible, judgment-based evaluation. More detailed scoring rubrics, based on criteria, are used to profile varying levels of understanding and proficiency.

Let’s look at a few examples of performance tasks that reflect these characteristics:

Botanical Design (upper elementary)

Check out the full performance task at: http://dlrn.us?bdrhs

Evaluate the Claim (upper elementary/ middle school)

Moving to South America (middle school)

Your task is to research potential home locations by examining relevant geographic, climatic, political, economic, historic, and cultural considerations. Then, write a letter to your aunt and uncle with your recommendation about a place for them to move. Be sure to explain your decision with reasons and evidence from your research.

Accident Scene Investigation (high school)

Your team will share this information with the public through the various media resources owned and operated by the newspaper.

Check out the full performance task at: http://dlrn.us?qfl3p

In sum, performance tasks like these can be used to engage students in meaningful learning. Since rich performance tasks establish authentic contexts that reflect genuine applications of knowledge, students are often motivated and engaged by such “real world” challenges.

When used as assessments, performance tasks enable teachers to gauge student understanding and proficiency with complex processes (e.g., research, problem solving, and writing), not just measure discrete knowledge. They are well suited to integrating subject areas and linking content knowledge with the 21st Century Skills such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, and technology use. Moreover, performance-based assessment can also elicit Habits of Mind, such as precision and perseverance.

See original post at: http://www.performancetask.com/what-is-a-performance-task/

Upcoming Conferences & Workshops

Teaching for deeper learning – 4-day virtual academy , creating an understanding-based curriculum and assessment system for modern learning, learn more about jay mctighe’s latest book.

Watch Book Chat Video

6 Ways to Make Presentation Tasks Work in Your Classroom

 All topics A-Z
 Grammar
 Vocabulary
 Speaking
 Reading
 Listening
 Writing
 Pronunciation
 Virtual Classroom
Worksheets by season
 600 Creative Writing Prompts
 Warmers, fillers & ice-breakers
 Coloring pages to print
 Flashcards
 Classroom management worksheets
 Emergency worksheets
 Revision worksheets
Resources we recommend

| | -->

by BUSYTEACHER_admin 96,201 views

As a teacher you sit there, trying to lead by example and listen intently. You may glare at whoever is chatting on the back table and wonder whether it is appropriate to interrupt and remind everyone to listen. You are probably making a silent vow that you will never set a task involving presentations again.

Presentations CAN be beneficial in the ESL classroom. They encourage clarity, and a structured approach to . However, these advantages only benefit the student who is giving the presentation. The problem is that the rest of the class often has nothing to do and as a result, they lose focus.

Allowing students to work in groups creates a more relaxed and dynamic environment. It enables the incidental use of English during the planning process; students must communicate within their group to decide who is going to say what. Importantly, a change of speakers energises a presentation and keeps the audience engaged.

. This way there are 3 presentations going on at once. This means more interaction and communication, making your classroom a hive of activity.

Speakers may feel more relaxed because they can stay seated and present their work to a smaller audience. A smaller audience is also more likely to pay attention, ask questions and give helpful feedback.

After round 1, you could move the groups around and repeat the process. Students will have learnt from the first presentation and can put the feedback they have gained directly into practice.

Explain to students that they are going to vote for which holiday they would like to go on. The winning group is the one with the most votes. This gives students an incentive to listen to the presentations of the other groups.

If you are practicing using , get each group to be real estate agents and try to sell a house to the class. After the presentations you could hold an auction where students bid on the houses that they liked the best!

If the groups are presenting an or a design they have created, get other groups to score each invention out of 10.

By adding a competitive edge to the exercise, you inspire the speakers and the listeners to really engage with the task and with each other.

Before each presentation, tell students that you will ask them questions afterwards about what was said. As you listen, make notes and write some comprehension questions to ask the class.

Tell students to prepare one question each for the speaker. They can prepare their question during the presentation. Afterwards, choose 2 or 3 students to ask the speaker their questions.

Feedback can be as structured or unstructured as you like. It could be done with forms, by writing comments on slips of paper or on .

Interested in becoming a BusyTeacher author? If you enjoyed this article, please help spread it by clicking one of those sharing buttons below. And if you are interested in more, you should follow our Facebook page where we share more about creative, non-boring ways to teach English.

. That's 4,036 pages filled with thousands of practical activities and tips that you can start using today. 30-day money back guarantee. -->

Copyright 2007-2021 пїЅ
Submit a worksheet
Mobile version

-->


The term Management Dashboard defines a wide range of data reporting and visualization tools or dashboards that allow using various performance & efficiency measures to report on an enterprises ability to organize and coordinate its activities in accordance with certain policies and in achievement of pre-determined objectives.

New Checklists


In this you can read a range of tips and suggestions that will help you manage your money in an effective manner.

Important Presentation Skills for Workplace Success

What Are Presentation Skills?

Steps To Create a Presentation

Skills that help make an effective presentation, how to make your skills stand out.

xavierarnau / Getty Images

Whether you’re a high-level executive or an administrative assistant, developing your presentation skills is one key way to climb in an office-based job. Leaders make decisions based on information shared in presentation format, and hardly any business changes its mind without first seeing a persuasive presentation.

It is important for any office employee to know what steps go into creating an effective presentation and what presentation skills are most important to employers. Highlighting these skills will also help you stand out during your job search.

Key Takeaways

Presentation skills are what you need to know to be able to give an engaging, effective presentation.
The steps to creating a successful presentation are preparation, delivery, and follow-up.
Employers want to know you have the necessary skills to research, analyze, and create a presentation, plus the communication skills needed to deliver it and field questions afterward.
You can highlight your skills to employers through your resume, cover letter, and interview.

What Are Presentation Skills?

Presentation skills refer to all the qualities you need to create and deliver a clear and effective presentation. While what you say during a presentation matters, employers also value the ability to create supporting materials, such as slides.

Your prospective employer may want you to deliver briefings and reports to colleagues, conduct training sessions, present information to clients, or perform any number of other tasks that involve speaking before an audience.

Giving engaging and easy-to-understand talks is a major component of the strong oral communication skills that are a job requirement for many positions. Not all presentations take place in a formal meeting. Many presentation skills are relevant to one-on-one consults or sales calls.

Any presentation has three phases: preparation, delivery, and follow-up. All presentation skills fit into one of these three phases.

Preparation

Preparation involves research and building the presentation. Consider the audience you'll be presenting to and what most interests them. This may mean crafting the entire text (or at least writing notes) and creating any slides and other supporting audio/visual materials.

You will also have to make sure that the appropriate venue is available, properly set up beforehand, and ensure the projector (if you'll need one) works and connects with your laptop.

You'll also want to practice your presentation as many times as you need to to feel comfortable delivering it with ease and confidence within the time allotted for the presentation.

Skills related to preparation include conducting research related to your presentation topic, devising charts and graphs depicting your research findings, and learning about your audience to better tailor your presentation to their needs. You'll also need to create digital slides, using statistics, examples, and stories to illustrate your points and effectively to persuade the audience.

Preparing handouts or digital references is an added courtesy that will help the audience pay attention because they won't be preoccupied with note-taking.

Your delivery is the part of the presentation that the audience sees. A good delivery depends on careful preparation and confident presentation and requires its own distinctive skill set .

Skills related to delivery include giving an attention-grabbing opening for a talk, providing a summary of what will be covered to introduce the presentation and provide context, and using body language and eye contact to convey energy and confidence.

Make sure you pause to emphasize key points, modulate your vocal tone for emphasis, and articulate your speech clearly and smoothly.

Don't be afraid of injecting humor or speaking with enthusiasm and animation—these techniques can help you in projecting confidence to your audience.

Summarize key points at the conclusion of the presentation, and be sure to have a plan for how you'll field any audience questions.

Presentation follow-up includes properly breaking down and storing any equipment, contacting any audience members with whom you agreed to communicate further, and soliciting, collecting, and analyzing feedback.

In some presentations, you may collect information from audience members—such as names and contact information or completed surveys—that you also must organize and store.

Skills related to follow-up include creating an evaluation form to solicit feedback from attendees, interpreting feedback from evaluations, and modifying the content and/or delivery for future presentations. Other follow-up skills include organizing a database of attendees for future presentations, interviewing key attendees to gain additional feedback, and emailing presentation slides to attendees.

To create and deliver the most effective presentation takes a variety of skills, which you can always work to improve.

You must be able to look honestly at your performance, assess the feedback you get, and figure out what you need to do to get better. That takes analytical thinking .

More importantly, you need to have a firm grasp of the information you are about to communicate to others. You need to analyze your audience and be prepared to think quickly if asked questions that force you to demonstrate that you are fully aware of the material and its implications.

The kind of analytical skills you need to be an effective presenter include problem sensitivity, problem-solving , reporting and surveying, optimization, and predictive modeling. It also helps to be adept at strategic planning, integration, process management, and diagnostics. With these skills, you'll be better able to objectively analyze, evaluate, and act on your findings.

Organization

You do not want to be the person who spends half of their presentation time trying to find a cable to connect their laptop to the projector. Many things can and do go wrong just before a presentation unless you are organized .

Presentation preparation also means keeping track of notes, information, and start/stop times. You will want to proofread and fine-tune all the materials you plan to use for the presentation to catch any mistakes. Make sure you time yourself when you rehearse so you know how long it will take to deliver the presentation.

A presentation that's finished in half the time allotted is as problematic as one that's too long-winded.

Some key organizational skills to work on include event planning, auditing, benchmarking, prioritization, and recordkeeping. Make sure your scheduling is on point and pay close attention to detail. Quick thinking is an important skill to have for when things inevitably go wrong.

Nonverbal Communication

When speaking to an audience, the way you present yourself can be just as important as how you present your information. You want to appear confident and engaging. You can do this through good posture, the use of hand gestures, and making eye contact with the audience.

Practice your nonverbal communication by filming yourself doing a practice presentation and observing your body language carefully. Your physical bearing and poise should convey a degree of comfort and confidence in front of an audience, while active listening , respect, and emotional intelligence will help you in facilitating group discussions.

Presentation Software

Microsoft PowerPoint is the dominant software used to create visual aids for presentations. Learn to use it well, including the special features outside of basic templates that can really bring a presentation to life. Even if someone else is preparing your slideshow for you, it will help to know how to use the software in case of last-minute changes.

Other software that is good to learn includes Microsoft Office, Apple Keynote, Google Slides, and Adobe Presenter.

Public Speaking

You need to appear comfortable and engaging when speaking before a live audience, even if you're not. This can take years of practice, and sometimes public speaking just isn't for certain people. An uncomfortable presenter is a challenge for everyone. Fortunately, public speaking skills can improve with practice . Some skills to work on include articulation, engagement, and memorization. You should be able to assess the needs of the audience and handle difficult questions. Controlling your performance anxiety will help you communicate more effectively.

Research is the first step in preparing most presentations and could range from a multi-year process to spending 20 minutes online, depending on context and subject matter. At the very least, you must be able to clearly frame research questions, identify appropriate information sources, and organize your results. Other useful skills include brainstorming, collaboration , comparative analysis, data interpretation, and deductive and inductive reasoning. Business intelligence is a skill that will help you evaluate what information you need to support the bottom line, while case analysis and causal relationships will help you parse and evaluate meaning.

Verbal Communication

Public speaking is one form of verbal communication , but you will need other forms to give a good presentation. Specifically, you must know how to answer questions. You should be able to understand questions asked by your audience (even if they're strange or poorly worded) and provide respectful, honest, and accurate answers without getting off-topic. Use active listening, focus, and empathy to understand your audience. Skills such as assertiveness, affirmation, and enunciation will help you restate and clarify your key points as it relates to their questions or concerns.

You may or may not need a written script, but you do need to pre-plan what you are going to say, in what order you will say it, and at what level of detail. If you can write a cohesive essay, you can plan a presentation.

Typical writing skills apply to your presentation just as they do to other forms of writing, including grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and proofreading. The ability to build outlines, take notes, and mark up documents will also be useful.

How to nail the presentation task during an interview process

Preparing a short presentation for the second or third stage of the interview process has now become common practice and a good performance is crucial if you want to beat the competition and get an offer.

Far too often I’ve seen senior candidates sail through the first few stages but fall at the presentation hurdle. For candidates 70K+, the employer needs to know that you can do the big as well as the small stuff with ease. Similarly, if you’re worth 100K+, but you can’t deliver a good presentation, articulate a strategy or answer a simple question, then how can you lead a multi-million dollar P&L alongside a large team?

In my previous digital career, I would write and deliver presentations weekly to small and large audiences, and I now coach all of my candidates on this vital stage. Critiquing and feeding back on all aspects of their performance.

So here are my top tips to producing a great presentation and delivering it like a pro:

Put the time and effort in

Preparation is key. The more prepared you feel, the less you’ll buckle under pressure.

“What you put in is what you get out”.

Answer the question

It might sound obvious, but this is one of the biggest reasons for people failing this crucial stage of the process.

Really focus on answering the specific question(s) set out in the task. Don’t go off on a tangent. Don’t skip over the questions or talk about something else that interests you more.

The interviewer wants to see that you can respond to a specific challenge.

Double and triple check that you have addressed and answered exactly what they’ve asked.

Know your content

Keep it simple and refine your presentation over multiple revisions. Really get to know the story you’re trying to tell, and feel comfortable with the journey you want to take the audience on.

If you don’t know your content off by heart, then you’ll stumble, lose your train of thought and it will undermine your confidence.

The best presentations are those that are delivered with passion, insight and knowledge.

Focus on strategy, not tactics

This is the second biggest mistake candidates make. Unless you’re applying for an operational or executional role, the client is going to be looking for a strategic response.

If you’re in the running for a senior 100K+ marketing role, then the client will be looking to see that you can formulate a strategic view point and plan. Many candidates go straight to the minutia of tactics, channels, and executions.

A Marketing Director or CMO wants to see that you can come in, build a strategy, articulate it confidently and then talk about how you would activate it.

Spend the time talking about solutions, not problems

If your task is to review a competitor brand, product, campaign or activity and make recommendations, then make sure you spend the bulk of your time sharing your suggestions for improvement.

Don’t spend 80% of your presentation pulling apart the competition’s work and laughing about how terrible it is (that’s the easy part), and then leave one slide for your recommendations.

Instead, clearly point out the areas which you think could be improved upon (20%) and then spend the bulk (80%) of your presentation talking about the great ideas, solutions, strategies, and recommendations that you think could make it better.

Remember, this task is about selling yourself; the way you think, articulate and present your ideas.

Keep it simple

If you over-complicate your presentation then the audience could get confused, lost or just switch off.

Keep it simple, focused and engaging.

Make it visual

They say a picture can tell a thousand words, so make sure your images support the story you’re telling.

People buy with their eyes, so if you deliver a presentation full of words on a slide, then the audience will just switch off.

There is no right or wrong answer

This isn’t a test with only one right answer. Employers are evaluating your ability to analyse and answer a question, formulate a strategy, develop ideas, write a presentation, engage an audience and present confidently.

They’re going to be reviewing all 360 degrees of you, so focus on all aspects of the presentation.

Practice, practice, practice

This is the most important part. Never go into a presentation cold and do it on the hoof.

You may be a seasoned and confident presenter but that doesn’t mean you should wing it! The more you practice, the better and more fluid you will get at delivering the key messages with maximum impact.

Time yourself to ensure you’re within your limit.

Share and present it to other people; even your harshest critic as they can make you focus, give you clarity and point out where you can make improvements.

You’re going to be doing this day-in, day-out if you get the job, so start as you mean to go on. And remember – enjoy yourself!

Helpful Content

Whether you need help with your CV, some tips on how to prepare for an interview or what is happening across the job market, take a look at some of our helpful content here.

2020: Getting your CV into shape for the year ahead

8 recruitment trends and predictions for 2023, creating the best cv for the digital & marketing industries.

How it works

Transform your enterprise with the scalable mindsets, skills, & behavior change that drive performance.

Explore how BetterUp connects to your core business systems.

We pair AI with the latest in human-centered coaching to drive powerful, lasting learning and behavior change.

Build leaders that accelerate team performance and engagement.

Unlock performance potential at scale with AI-powered curated growth journeys.

Build resilience, well-being and agility to drive performance across your entire enterprise.

Transform your business, starting with your sales leaders.

Unlock business impact from the top with executive coaching.

Foster a culture of inclusion and belonging.

Accelerate the performance and potential of your agencies and employees.

See how innovative organizations use BetterUp to build a thriving workforce.

Discover how BetterUp measurably impacts key business outcomes for organizations like yours.

Daring Leadership Institute: a groundbreaking partnership that amplifies Brené Brown's empirically based, courage-building curriculum with BetterUp’s human transformation platform.

What is coaching?

Learn how 1:1 coaching works, who its for, and if it's right for you.

Accelerate your personal and professional growth with the expert guidance of a BetterUp Coach.

Types of Coaching

Navigate career transitions, accelerate your professional growth, and achieve your career goals with expert coaching.

Enhance your communication skills for better personal and professional relationships, with tailored coaching that focuses on your needs.

Find balance, resilience, and well-being in all areas of your life with holistic coaching designed to empower you.

Discover your perfect match : Take our 5-minute assessment and let us pair you with one of our top Coaches tailored just for you.

Research, expert insights, and resources to develop courageous leaders within your organization.

Best practices, research, and tools to fuel individual and business growth.

View on-demand BetterUp events and learn about upcoming live discussions.

The latest insights and ideas for building a high-performing workplace.

BetterUp Briefing

The online magazine that helps you understand tomorrow's workforce trends, today.

Innovative research featured in peer-reviewed journals, press, and more.

Founded in 2022 to deepen the understanding of the intersection of well-being, purpose, and performance

We're on a mission to help everyone live with clarity, purpose, and passion.

Join us and create impactful change.

Read the buzz about BetterUp.

Meet the leadership that's passionate about empowering your workforce.

For Business

For Individuals

6 presentation skills and how to improve them

smiling-woman-introducing-her-presentation-to-her-team-at-work-presentation-skills

Jump to section

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.

two-women-talking-happily-on-radio-presentation-skills

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.

woman-looking-at-video-from-tablet-while-cooking-dinner-presentation-skills

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.

men-giving-conference-sitting-on-a-chair-with-microphone-presentation-skills

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.

Understand Yourself Better:

Big 5 Personality Test

Elizabeth Perry, ACC

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, what is an entrepreneur understanding the different types and examples of entrepreneurship, the 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills, 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..

3100 E 5th Street, Suite 350 Austin, TX 78702

Platform Overview
Integrations
Powered by AI
BetterUp Lead™
BetterUp Manage™
BetterUp Care®
Sales Performance
Diversity & Inclusion
Case Studies
Why BetterUp?
About Coaching
Find your Coach
Career Coaching
Communication Coaching
Personal Coaching
News and Press
Leadership Team
Become a BetterUp Coach
BetterUp Labs
Center for Purpose & Performance
Leadership Training
Business Coaching
Contact Support
Contact Sales
Privacy Policy
Acceptable Use Policy
Trust & Security
Cookie Preferences

PRESENTATION SKILLS

Search SkillsYouNeed:

Presentation Skills:

A - Z List of Presentation Skills
Top Tips for Effective Presentations
General Presentation Skills
What is a Presentation?
Preparing for a Presentation
Organising the Material
Writing Your Presentation
Deciding the Presentation Method
Managing your Presentation Notes
Working with Visual Aids
Presenting Data
Managing the Event
Coping with Presentation Nerves
Dealing with Questions
How to Build Presentations Like a Consultant
Self-Presentation in Presentations
Specific Presentation Events
Remote Meetings and Presentations
Giving a Speech
Presentations in Interviews
Presenting to Large Groups and Conferences
Giving Lectures and Seminars
Managing a Press Conference
Attending Public Consultation Meetings
Managing a Public Consultation Meeting
Crisis Communications
Elsewhere on Skills You Need:
Communication Skills
Facilitation Skills
Teams, Groups and Meetings
Effective Speaking
Question Types

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and start improving your life in just 5 minutes a day.

You'll get our 5 free 'One Minute Life Skills' and our weekly newsletter.

We'll never share your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Presentation Skills

Presenting information clearly and effectively is a key skill in getting your message across. Today, presentation skills are required in almost every field, and most of us are required to give presentations on occasions. While some people take this in their stride, others find it much more challenging.

It is, however, possible to improve your presentation skills with a bit of work. This section of SkillsYouNeed is designed to help.

Many people feel terrified when asked to talk in public, especially to bigger groups. However, these fears can be reduced by good preparation, which will also lay the groundwork for making an effective presentation.

There are Different Types of Presentations, but They’re All Presentations

There are any number of occasions when you may be asked to speak in public or to a group of people. They include:

Presenting or making a speech at a conference or event.
Objecting to a planning proposal at a council meeting.
Making a speech at a wedding.
Proposing a vote of thanks to someone at a club or society.
On behalf of a team, saying goodbye and presenting a gift to a colleague who is leaving.
Seeking investment or a loan to help you set up a new business.

These can all be considered presentations.

They do not, however, all require the same approach. You would not, for example, use PowerPoint to thank a colleague who was leaving. It would be unusual (though it has been done) to use it in a speech at a wedding. However, a conference audience would be somewhat surprised NOT to see slides projected onto a screen.

It follows, therefore, that there is no single set of rules that apply to all presentations. There are, however, some things that every presentation opportunity has in common. These include:

You will present better if you have prepared effectively . This does NOT necessarily mean that you have written out your speech verbatim and rehearsed it until you know it off by heart—although that might work for some people. It does, however, mean that you have to be confident that you are saying the right thing, in the right way, to the right people.

You need to be clear about your audience and your message . Every presentation will be better if you have clearly considered the message that you want or need to convey, and how best to convey it to your audience. These two pieces of information drive your style, structure, content, and use of visual aids.

You must never overrun your allocated time . In other words, don’t outstay your welcome. Almost every speech or presentation is better if it is shorter. Nobody minds going for coffee early or finishing before they expected to do so. Everybody minds being held up.

Generally speaking, your audience starts on your side. As a rule, your audience is there (more or less) voluntarily. They have chosen to listen to you, and they want to enjoy your presentation. The occasion is yours to lose.

An Important Point

There is one very important point to remember: if what you’re doing or saying is not working, do something else.

One of the worst feelings as a presenter is that you have lost your audience. You know that’s happened, but you continue to stumble through your remaining PowerPoint slides for the next 15 minutes, as your audience checks their phones and wishes it was coffee time. You think you have no choice, but that’s not actually true.

When you present, you are in charge of the room . The audience has effectively handed you control and is sitting back waiting for you to do something. You may have prepared a specific talk, but if you see that isn’t working, you can always change it. You are, after all, the expert.

You can, for example:

Skip through some slides to a section that they may find more interesting;
Ask your audience whether there is particular information that they were expecting that you are not providing;
Suggest that everyone looks a bit sleepy, and maybe it would be better to start questions early, or have a discussion; or
Ask the audience at the start of the presentation what they are expecting and what they want you to cover. That way, you can tailor the presentation to fit their expectations.

Just as when you are facilitating, you want to help your audience get the most out of your presentation. The best way to do that is to accept feedback—which may include smiles, nods of interest, or people getting their phones out.

Quick Guide to Effective Presentations

If you need to improve your presentation skills quickly, then a really good place to start is with our Top Tips for Effective Presentations .

This will give you some ‘quick wins’ that will help you improve your presentations. If you’re already an experienced presenter, this page should be a useful refresher, or even take your skills from good to great.

Our tips include general ideas about connecting with your audience, information about the importance of voice and body language, and detailed tips about preparing slide-shows.

The most important tip of all, however, is to remember that it's all about your audience.

Keep that in mind, and your presentation skills will almost instantly improve.

If you have more time to develop your presentation skills…

…then the Presentation Skills section of SkillsYouNeed is designed to help.

Our Presentation Skills section is split into two parts.

The first gives you a step-by-step guide to putting together and delivering a professional and effective presentation .
The second provides more detailed information about presenting and communicating in particular circumstances .

You can either use our step-by-step guide to walk you through the presentation preparation and delivery process, or you can focus on particular areas that are an issue for you.

Preparing for Your Presentation

The guide starts by explaining What is a Presentation?

We define a presentation as a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team. Effective presentations usually require careful thought and preparation—although this preparation need not take very long.

Preparation is the most important part of making a successful presentation. Our page on Preparing For A Presentation explains what information you need before you can really start to plan your presentation and decide what you are going to say. The most important aspects include the objective of the presentation, the subject, and the audience.

Irrespective of whether the occasion is formal or informal, you should always aim to give a clear, well-structured delivery. To do so, you need to organise your presentation material . You can either do this in your head, or use a technique like mind-mapping to help you identify links and good flow.

By the time you come to write your presentation , you should know exactly what you want to say and the order in which you want to say it. You may want to use one of the standard presentation structures, such as ‘What, Why, How?’. You will also find it helpful to consider how to tell your story most effectively, and to use stories in your presentation to illustrate points. There is more about this in our page on writing your presentation .

You also need to decide on your presentation method . Presentations range from the formal to the informal. Your choice of presentation method will depend on many factors, including the audience, the venue, the facilities, and your own preferences.

Visual aids can add another dimension to your presentation, helping to hold your audience’s attention, and also act as a reminder of what you wanted to say. However, they need handling with care. Only use visual aids if they are necessary to maintain interest and assist comprehension . If visual aids are not used well, they can ruin a presentation.

See Working with Visual Aids to avoid falling into the trap of the dreaded ‘ Death by PowerPoint’ .

A particular case of visual aids is the use of data in a presentation.

There are times when using data in a presentation can really help you to tell the story better. It is, however, important not to blind your audience with statistics. You also need to remember that many people find numbers difficult to understand. Our page on Presenting Data gives some hints and tips about using data effectively in a presentation situation.

On the Day of the Presentation

There are a number of aspects to delivering your presentation on the day.

The practicalities of how you manage your presentation can make a significant difference to its success, and to your nerves! For example, turning up early means that you have will have a chance to see the room, and ensure that you can operate all the necessary equipment. There is more about how to cope, including managing sound systems, audio-visual equipment and lecterns in our page on Managing the Presentation Event .

Many people also feel very nervous before and during a presentation. This is entirely normal, and can even be helpful if you can channel it in the right way. There are some tried and tested strategies and techniques to manage your nerves so that you can concentrate on delivering an effective and engaging presentation.

See Coping with Presentation Nerves for some ideas that will help.

How you present yourself can also affect how your audience responds to your presentation.

You need to fit with your audience's expectations if they are not going to spend quite a large chunk of your presentation dealing with the differences between expectations and reality.

For more about aspects of self-presentation, see our page on Self-Presentation in Presentations .

You also need to consider how to manage your presentation notes .

Few people are able to give a presentation without notes. You will need to know your own abilities and decide how best to make the presentation. You might manage your talk by using full text, notes on cue cards, keywords on cue cards, or mind maps. There is more about this in our page on Managing your Presentation Notes .

After the presentation, you may be faced with a question-and-answer session. For many people, this is the worst part of the event.

Decide in advance how and when you wish to handle questions. Some speakers prefer questions to be raised as they arise during the presentation whilst others prefer to deal with questions at the end. At the start of your presentation, you should make clear your preferences to the audience. See our page on Dealing with Questions for more ideas about how to make the question session pleasant and productive, rather than something to dread.

Presenting Under Particular Circumstances

You may find that you need to give a presentation under certain circumstances, where your previous experience is less helpful.

Circumstances that may be new to you include:

Giving a Speech , for example, at a wedding.

One particular special case is attending public consultation meetings.

Our pages on Attending Public Consultation Meetings , and Managing Public Consultation Meetings provide information to help whether you are a concerned member of the public, or responsible for organising a public meeting.

You may also find yourself required to organise or manage a press conference.

Although this may not strictly be what you would describe as a ‘presentation’, it is nonetheless an event at which you are required to present your organisation in a particular light.

Our page on Managing a Press Conference gives some ideas about how best to do that.

Finally, should you be unlucky enough to be involved in a serious crisis or disaster that affects your organisation, our page on Crisis Communications gives some ideas about how to manage press and public relations on these occasions.

Start with: What is a Presentation? Top Tips for Effective Presentations

See also: Personal Appearance Interpersonal Communication Skills

Evaluating Business Presentations: A Six Point Presenter Skills Assessment Checklist

Posted by Belinda Huckle | On April 18, 2024 | In Presentation Training, Tips & Advice

In this Article...quick links

1. Ability to analyse an audience effectively and tailor the message accordingly

2. ability to develop a clear, well-structured presentation/pitch that is compelling and persuasive, 3. ability to connect with and maintain the engagement of the audience, 4. ability to prepare effective slides that support and strengthen the clarity of the message, 5. ability to appear confident, natural and in control, 6. ability to summarise and close a presentation to achieve the required/desired outcome, effective presentation skills are essential to growth, and follow us on social media for some more great presentation tips:, don’t forget to download our presenter skills assessment form.

For many business people, speaking in front of clients, customers, their bosses or even their own large team is not a skill that comes naturally. So it’s likely that within your organisation, and indeed within your own team, you’ll find varying levels of presenting ability. Without an objective way to assess the presenter skills needed to make a good presentation, convincing someone that presentation coaching could enhance their job performance (benefiting your business), boost their promotion prospects (benefiting their career) and significantly increase their self confidence (benefiting their broader life choices) becomes more challenging.

Businessman delivering a great presentation

So, how do you evaluate the presenting skills of your people to find out, objectively, where the skill gaps lie? Well, you work out your presentation skills evaluation criteria and then measure/assess your people against them.

To help you, in this article we’re sharing the six crucial questions we believe you need to ask to not only make a professional assessment of your people’s presenting skills, but to showcase what makes a great presentation. We use them in our six-point Presenter Skills Assessment checklist ( which we’re giving away as a free download at the end of this blog post ). The answers to these questions will allow you to identify the presenter skills strengths and weaknesses (i.e. skills development opportunities) of anyone in your team or organisation, from the Managing Director down. You can then put presenter skills training or coaching in place so that everyone who needs it can learn the skills to deliver business presentations face-to-face, or online with confidence, impact and purpose.

Read on to discover what makes a great presentation and how to evaluate a presenter using our six-point Presenter Skills Assessment criteria so you can make a professional judgement of your people’s presenting skills.

If you ask most people what makes a great presentation, they will likely comment on tangible things like structure, content, delivery and slides. While these are all critical aspects of a great presentation, a more fundamental and crucial part is often overlooked – understanding your audience . So, when you watch people in your organisation or team present, look for clues to see whether they really understand their audience and the particular situation they are currently in, such as:

Is their content tight, tailored and relevant, or just generic?
Is the information pitched at the right level?
Is there a clear ‘What’s In It For Them’?
Are they using language and terminology that reflects how their audience talk?
Have they addressed all of the pain points adequately?
Is the audience focused and engaged, or do they seem distracted?

For your people, getting to know their audience, and more importantly, understanding them, should always be the first step in pulling together a presentation. Comprehending the challenges, existing knowledge and level of detail the audience expects lays the foundation of a winning presentation. From there, the content can be structured to get the presenter’s message across in the most persuasive way, and the delivery tuned to best engage those listening.

Businesswoman making a great presentation

Flow and structure are both important elements in a presentation as both impact the effectiveness of the message and are essential components in understanding what makes a good presentation and what makes a good speech. When analysing this aspect of your people’s presentations look for a clear, easy to follow agenda, and related narrative, which is logical and persuasive.

Things to look for include:

Did the presentation ‘tell a story’ with a clear purpose at the start, defined chapters throughout and a strong close?
Were transitions smooth between the ‘chapters’ of the presentation?
Were visual aids, handouts or audience involvement techniques used where needed?
Were the challenges, solutions and potential risks of any argument defined clearly for the audience?
Were the benefits and potential ROI quantified/explained thoroughly?
Did the presentation end with a clear destination/call to action or the next steps?

For the message to stick and the audience to walk away with relevant information they are willing to act on, the presentation should flow seamlessly through each part, building momentum and interest along the way. If not, the information can lose impact and the presentation its direction. Then the audience may not feel equipped, inspired or compelled to implement the takeaways.

Connecting with your audience and keeping them engaged throughout can really be the difference between giving a great presentation and one that falls flat. This is no easy feat but is certainly a skill that can be learned. To do it well, your team need a good understanding of the audience (as mentioned above) to ensure the content is on target. Ask yourself, did they cover what’s relevant and leave out what isn’t?

Delivery is important here too. This includes being able to build a natural rapport with the audience, speaking in a confident, conversational tone, and using expressive vocals, body language and gestures to bring the message to life. On top of this, the slides need to be clear, engaging and add interest to the narrative. Which leads us to point 4…

It’s not uncommon for slides to be used first and foremost as visual prompts for the speaker. While they can be used for this purpose, the first priority of a slide (or any visual aid) should always be to support and strengthen the clarity of the message. For example, in the case of complex topics, slides should be used to visualise data , reinforcing and amplifying your message. This ensures that your slides are used to aid understanding, rather than merely prompting the speaker.

The main problem we see with people’s slides is that they are bloated with information, hard to read, distracting or unclear in their meaning.

The best slides are visually impactful, with graphics, graphs or images instead of lines and lines of text or bullet points. The last thing you want is your audience to be focused on deciphering the multiple lines of text. Instead your slides should be clear in their message and add reinforcement to the argument or story that is being shared. How true is this of your people’s slides?

Most people find speaking in front of an audience (both small and large) at least a little confronting. However, for some, the nerves and anxiety they feel can distract from their presentation and the impact of their message. If members of your team lack confidence, both in their ideas and in themselves, it will create awkwardness and undermine their credibility and authority. This can crush a presenter and their reputation.

This is something that you will very easily pick up on, but the good news is that it is definitely an area that can be improved through training and practice. Giving your team the tools and training they need to become more confident and influential presenters can deliver amazing results, which is really rewarding for both the individual and the organisation.

Audience applauding a great presentation

No matter how well a presentation goes, the closing statement can still make or break it. It’s a good idea to include a recap on the main points as well as a clear call to action which outlines what is required to achieve the desired outcome.

In assessing your people’s ability to do this, you can ask the following questions:

Did they summarise the key points clearly and concisely?
Were the next steps outlined in a way that seems achievable?
What was the feeling in the room at the close? Were people inspired, motivated, convinced? Or were they flat, disinterested, not persuaded?

Closing a presentation with a well-rounded overview and achievable action plan should leave the audience with a sense that they have gained something out of the presentation and have all that they need to take the next steps to overcome their problem or make something happen.

It’s widely accepted that effective communication is a critical skill in business today. On top of this, if you can develop a team of confident presenters, you and they will experience countless opportunities for growth and success.

Once you’ve identified where the skill gaps lie, you can provide targeted training to address it. Whether it’s feeling confident presenting to your leadership team or answering unfielded questions , understanding their strengths and weaknesses in presenting will only boost their presenting skills. This then creates an ideal environment for collaboration and innovation, as each individual is confident to share their ideas. They can also clearly and persuasively share the key messaging of the business on a wider scale – and they and the business will experience dramatic results.

Tailored Training to Fill Your Presentation Skill Gaps

If you’re looking to build the presentation skills of your team through personalised training or coaching that is tailored to your business, we can help. For nearly 20 years we have been Australia’s Business Presentation Skills Experts , training & coaching thousands of people in an A-Z of global blue-chip organisations. All our programs incorporate personalised feedback, advice and guidance to take business presenters further. To find out more, click on one of the buttons below:

Work Email Address * Please enter your email address and then click ‘download’ below

Written By Belinda Huckle

Co-Founder & Managing Director

Belinda is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of SecondNature International. With a determination to drive a paradigm shift in the delivery of presentation skills training both In-Person and Online, she is a strong advocate of a more personal and sustainable presentation skills training methodology.

Belinda believes that people don’t have to change who they are to be the presenter they want to be. So she developed a coaching approach that harnesses people’s unique personality to build their own authentic presentation style and personal brand.

She has helped to transform the presentation skills of people around the world in an A-Z of organisations including Amazon, BBC, Brother, BT, CocaCola, DHL, EE, ESRI, IpsosMORI, Heineken, MARS Inc., Moody’s, Moonpig, Nationwide, Pfizer, Publicis Groupe, Roche, Savills, Triumph and Walmart – to name just a few.

A total commitment to quality, service, your people and you.

What is Task-Based Learning?

Boost your learner outcomes with this effective framework..

What is task-based learning?

Or should that be ‘task-based language teaching’? How do you use it in a lesson? What’s the difference between this and project-based learning? Read on!

Task-Based Learning (TBL) is a lesson structure, a method of sequencing activities in your lessons. Sometimes called ‘task-based language teaching’, in TBL lessons, students solve a task that involves an authentic use of language rather than complete simple questions about grammar or vocabulary.

Task-based learning is an excellent way to get students engaged and using English. That, plus the collaborative element, builds confidence in language and social situations. It’s also been shown to align with how we learn a language.

So why doesn’t everyone use TBL all the time?

Well, there are several disadvantages to task-based learning, which we’ll look at in a minute. A lot of teachers try it once, it falls flat, and they don’t use it again. A big part of that first failure is that the ‘task’ isn’t a task.

Thanks for reading Barefoot TEFL Teacher! Subscribe for free to receive new posts.

What is a task?

Good question. TBL calls for a specific kind of task, one that fits these requirements:

It involves meaningful communication A ‘gap’ between what the students know to prompt communication (e.g. they have different information or a difference of opinion). Students can choose how to complete it and which language to use. There’s a clear goal, so students know when it’s completed

A task could be to create a presentation, some media, a piece of text, or a recorded dialogue.

It could be trying to find the solution to a practical problem, like planning a complex journey, or deducing missing information, like working out who started a rumour at school.

It could even be justifying and supporting an opinion, like arguing for your preference in an election or your favourite competitor in a TV show.

Whichever task you choose, like ‘present, practice, production’ (PPP), task-based learning is a structure with three stages:

1. The pre-task

This is where you introduce the task to the students and get them excited about the task. Once they’re engaged, then you should set your expectations for the task. Do this, so the ‘less motivated’ students don’t do the bare minimum.

To do this, you could show the students an example of the completed task or model it.

If you want to differentiate your students, then now is an excellent time to hand out support materials or scaffold the task appropriately. Group them and give instructions .

The focus of the stage is to engage the learners, set expectations and give instructions .

2. The task

Begin the task!

Small groups or pairs are good, rather than a larger group where shyer students can ‘hide’. Ideally, you won’t join in the task, but you’ll monitor and only give hints if students get stuck.

A note here on task design — there are several ways to design a task, but usually (as mentioned above), it should involve a ‘gap’ of some sort. Read this article for ideas on how to do this.

The focus of this stage is fluency — using the language to communicate without using L1 unless needed.

3. A review

Once the learners complete the task and have something to show, it’s time to review.

Peer reviews are preferable, or if you see an error common to many during your monitoring, a teacher-led delayed correction is also very useful.

For weaker groups, peer correction can be made more effective by giving the students support on providing feedback — perhaps via a checklist or a ‘things to look for’ list.

The aim for this stage is accuracy — reflecting on completed work and analysing it.

Advantages of task-based learning

Student interaction is ‘built in’ to the lesson, as they need to communicate to complete the task.

Students’ communication skills improve.

Students’ confidence can improve as tasks can mimic real life.

Students’ motivation can improve due to the same reason.

Students’ understanding of language can be more profound as it’s used in realistic contexts.

Disadvantages of task-based learning

Tasks have to be carefully planned to meet the correct criteria.

It can take longer to plan.

It’s also time-consuming adapting PPP-style coursebook lessons.

Too much scaffolding in the early stages can turn a TBL class into a PPP class.

Students can avoid using the target language to complete the task if:

Tasks aren’t well-designed

Students aren’t motivated.

Students are too excited.

Students feel lazy

I believe there are more ways for a task-based learning class to ‘fail’ (or rather, for it to go wrong) than a presentation, practice, production class. I’d recommend that a teacher grasp the basics (classroom and behaviour management, especially) before starting to experiment with TBL classes.

Three reasons TBL classes go wrong

Here are three reasons TBL classes typically go wrong and what to do about it.

1. If tasks aren’t designed well

What happens: Students might get into the task, but if it’s designed around communication, then there’s no need to talk, and students can complete the task by themselves. Which inevitably happens.

Why it happens: there’s no gap in the task (see earlier)

Solution: design your task with one of the communicative gaps mentioned earlier. Here’s a helpful podcast where I discuss task design.

2. If students are lazy or bored

What happens: Students will do the bare minimum to complete the task. They’ll avoid the target language and use the most straightforward language they know, even single-word utterances, to get by.

Why it happens: the topic isn’t interesting, hasn’t been presented clearly, they don’t understand, or there’s no rapport with the teacher.

Solution: choose an interesting topic/context/material for learners, grade your language appropriately, check your instructions, and work on rapport building.

3. If students are too excited

What happens: students are so excited to complete a task that they revert to a mixture of crazy interlanguage , body language and shouting (“That.. Here! No, wrong, it, it — [speaks own language] — ta-da! Teacher, teacher, done!” )

Why it happens: they’re over-excited and want to complete the task as soon as possible. The good news is that you chose a topic, context and materials connected with them — congratulations! The bad news is that it got in the way of the task…

Solution: If you expect your task to excite the students, make sure that you set the standards very clearly. Show a model of some kind, and be clear about the minimum standard. If appropriate, quantify it; “you have to record at least 20 lines of speech, everyone must speak at least three times…” and so on.

Final thoughts on task-based learning

I’ve noticed that with enthusiastic advanced learners, a model isn’t as important and might even be a bad idea. Giving a model can steer your students in a particular direction, as they think that’s what you want and try to please you. Not providing a model lets them use their imagination and creativity.

Conversely, a model is necessary for younger or weaker learners, or there’s a danger of ending up with low-quality work.

Task-based learning seems to be slowly changing its name, as more people call it ‘task-based language teaching’.

You might have heard of ‘project-based learning’ (PBL) — the only real difference between that and task-based learning is that PBL is usually run over periods longer than just one lesson and with more review stages.

Ellis, R. (2018) Reflections on task-based language teaching . Bristol; Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Multilingual Matters (Second language acquisition, volume 125).

Nunan, D. (2004) Task-based language teaching . Cambridge, UK; New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press (Cambridge language teaching library).

Willis, D. and Willis, J. R. (2011) Doing task-based teaching . 5. print. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press (Oxford handbooks for language teachers).

Podcast: Principles for Designing Better Tasks (with Dave Weller) . A discussion between myself and the lovely folks at the TEFL Training Institute .

If you liked this article, you’ll love my books:

📝 Lesson Planning for Language Teachers - Plan better, faster, and stress-free (4.5 ⭐ , 175 ratings).

👩‍🎓 Essential Classroom Management - Develop calm students and a classroom full of learning (4.5 ⭐, 33 ratings).

🏰 Storytelling for Language Teachers - Use the power of storytelling to transform your lessons (4.5 ⭐, 11 ratings).

🤖 ChatGPT for Language Teachers - A collection of AI prompts and techniques to work better, faster (4.5 ⭐, 10 ratings).

💭 Reflective Teaching Practice Journal - Improve your teaching in five minutes daily (4.5 ⭐, 16 ratings).

📄 PDF versions available here.

Liked by David Weller

Ready for more?

Skip to main content
Skip to primary sidebar
Skip to footer

Defined Learning (formerly Defined STEM) Homepage

Knowledge Base
Extended Learning

Performance Tasks

For more information of the design and use of performance tasks and performance task assessment, we’ve published a seven part series at https://blog.performancetask.com/ , authored by Jay McTighe.

Defined STEM Performance Task Project Outline

Set the stage.

Introduction
Career Video & Guiding Questions

Explore the Background ( GRASP)

Goal – Each performance task begins with a Goal. The goal provides the student with the outcome of the learning experience and the contextual purpose of the experience and product creation.
Role – The Role is meant to provide the student with the position or individual persona that they will become to accomplish the goal of the performance task. The majority of roles found within the tasks provide opportunities for students to complete real-world applications of standards-based content. The role may be for one student or in many instances can serve as a small group experience. Students may work together or assume a part of the role based upongroup dynamics. These roles will require student(s) to develop creative and innovative products demonstrating their understanding of the content through the application of the content and a variety of skills across disciplines.
Audience – The performance tasks contain an Audience component. The audience is the individual(s) who are interested in the findings and products that have been created. These people will make a decision based upon the products and presentations created by the individual(s) assuming the role within the task. Click here for an article on the importance of audience within a performance task.
Situation – The Situation provides the participants with a contextual background for the task. Students will learn about the real-world application for the task. Additionally, this section builds connections with other sections of Defined STEM. This is the place that may invite students to consider various video resources, simulations, language tasks, and associated websites when appropriate. This section of the performance task will help the students connect the authentic experience with content and concepts critical to understanding.
having a student complete all products within a task;
having students complete a number of products based upon content application and/or student interest;
having a student complete certain products based upon the educator’s decision to maximize content, concept, and skill application;
having student work as part of a cooperative group to complete a product or the products; and/or
having students complete products based upon the strength of their multiple intelligences.

Do the Research

Learning Objects
Research Resources
Constructed Response

Design Process & Product Creation

The Design Process
Submitting your work

Final Reflections

Was this article helpful, related articles.

What We Offer

Connect With Us!

How to Start a Presentation: 5 Templates and 90 Example Phrases

By Status.net Editorial Team on February 27, 2024 — 11 minutes to read

Starting a presentation effectively means capturing your audience’s attention from the very beginning. It’s important because it sets the tone for the entire presentation and establishes your credibility as a speaker.

Effective Openers: 5 Templates

Your presentation’s beginning sets the stage for everything that follows. So, it’s important to capture your audience’s attention right from the start. Here are some tried-and-true techniques to do just that.

1. Storytelling Approach

When you start with a story, you tap into the natural human love for narratives. It can be a personal experience, a historical event, or a fictional tale that ties back to your main point.

Example Introduction Template 1:

“Let me tell you a story about…”

Example : “Let me tell you a story about how a small idea in a garage blossomed into the global brand we know today.”

2. Quotation Strategy

Using a relevant quote can lend authority and thematic flavor to your presentation. Choose a quote that is provocative, enlightening, or humorous to resonate with your audience.

Example Introduction Template 2:

“As [Famous Person] once said…”

Example : “As Steve Jobs once said, ‘Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.'”

3. Questioning Technique

Engage your audience directly by opening with a thoughtful question. This encourages them to think and become active participants.

Example Introduction Template 3:

“Have you ever wondered…”

Example : “Have you ever wondered what it would take to reduce your carbon footprint to zero?”

4. Statistical Hook

Kick off with a startling statistic that presents a fresh perspective or underscores the importance of your topic.

Example Introduction Template 4:

“Did you know that…”

Example : “Did you know that 90% of the world’s data was generated in the last two years alone?”

5. Anecdotal Method

Share a brief, relatable incident that highlights the human aspect of your topic. It paves the way for empathy and connection.

Example Introduction Template 5:

“I want to share a quick anecdote…”

Example : “I want to share a quick anecdote about a time I experienced the customer service that went above and beyond what anyone would expect.”

How to Start a Powerpoint Presentation: 45 Example Phrases

Starting a PowerPoint presentation effectively can captivate your audience and set the tone for your message. The opening phrases you choose are important in establishing rapport and commanding attention. Whether you’re presenting to colleagues, at a conference, or in an academic setting, these phrases will help you begin with confidence and poise:

1. “Good morning/afternoon/evening, everyone. Thank you for joining me today.”
2. “Welcome, and thank you for being here. Let’s dive into our topic.”
3. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to present to you all about…”
4. “Thank you all for coming. Today, we’re going to explore…”
5. “Let’s begin by looking at the most important question: Why are we here today?”
6. “I appreciate your time today, and I promise it will be well spent as we discuss…”
7. “Before we get started, I want to express my gratitude for your presence here today.”
8. “It’s a pleasure to see so many familiar faces as we gather to talk about…”
9. “I’m thrilled to kick off today’s presentation on a topic that I am passionate about—…”
10. “Welcome to our session. I’m confident you’ll find the next few minutes informative as we cover…”
11. “Let’s embark on a journey through our discussion on…”
12. “I’m delighted to have the chance to share my insights on…”
13. “Thank you for the opportunity to present to such an esteemed audience on…”
14. “Let’s set the stage for an engaging discussion about…”
15. “As we begin, I’d like you to consider this:…”
16. “Today marks an important discussion on a subject that affects us all:…”
17. “Good day, and welcome to what promises to be an enlightening presentation on…”
18. “Hello and welcome! We’re here to delve into something truly exciting today…”
19. “I’m honored to present to you this comprehensive look into…”
20. “Without further ado, let’s get started on a journey through…”
21. “Thank you for carving time out of your day to join me for this presentation on…”
22. “It’s wonderful to see such an engaged audience ready to tackle the topic of…”
23. “I invite you to join me as we unpack the complexities of…”
24. “Today’s presentation will take us through some groundbreaking ideas about…”
25. “Welcome aboard! Prepare to set sail into the vast sea of knowledge on…”
26. “I’d like to extend a warm welcome to everyone as we focus our attention on…”
27. “Let’s ignite our curiosity as we begin to explore…”
28. “Thank you for your interest and attention as we dive into the heart of…”
29. “As we look ahead to the next hour, we’ll uncover the secrets of…”
30. “I’m eager to share with you some fascinating insights on…”
31. “Welcome to what I believe will be a transformative discussion on…”
32. “This morning/afternoon, we’ll be venturing into the world of…”
33. “Thank you for joining me on this exploration of…”
34. “I’m delighted by the turnout today as we embark on this exploration of…”
35. “Together, let’s navigate the intricacies of…”
36. “I’m looking forward to engaging with you all on the subject of…”
37. “Let’s kick things off with a critical look at…”
38. “Thank you for your presence today as we shine a light on…”
39. “Welcome to a comprehensive overview of…”
40. “It’s a privilege to discuss with you the impact of…”
41. “I’m glad you could join us for what promises to be a thought-provoking presentation on…”
42. “Today, we’re going to break down the concept of…”
43. “As we get started, let’s consider the significance of our topic:…”
44. “I’m thrilled to lead you through today’s discussion, which centers around…”
45. “Let’s launch into our session with an eye-opening look at…”

Starting a Presentation: 45 Examples

Connecting with the audience.

When starting a presentation, making a genuine connection with your audience sets the stage for a successful exchange of ideas. Examples:

“I promise, by the end of this presentation, you’ll be as enthusiastic about this as I am because…”
“The moment I learned about this, I knew it would be a game-changer and I’m thrilled to present it to you…”
“There’s something special about this topic that I find incredibly invigorating, and I hope you will too…”
“I get a rush every time I work on this, and I hope to transmit that energy to you today…”
“I’m thrilled to discuss this breakthrough that could revolutionize…”
“This project has been a labor of love, and I’m eager to walk you through…”
“When I first encountered this challenge, I was captivated by the possibilities it presented…”
“I can’t wait to dive into the details of this innovative approach with you today…”
“It’s genuinely exhilarating to be at the edge of what’s possible in…”
“My fascination with [topic] drove me to explore it further, and I’m excited to share…”
“Nothing excites me more than talking about the future of…”
“Seeing your faces, I know we’re going to have a lively discussion about…”
“The potential here is incredible, and I’m looking forward to discussing it with you…”
“Let’s embark on this journey together and explore why this is such a pivotal moment for…”
“Your engagement in this discussion is going to make this even more exciting because…”

Building Credibility

You present with credibility when you establish your expertise and experience on the subject matter. Here’s what you can say to accomplish that:

“With a decade of experience in this field, I’ve come to understand the intricacies of…”
“Having led multiple successful projects, I’m excited to share my insights on…”
“Over the years, working closely with industry experts, I’ve gleaned…”
“I hold a degree in [your field], which has equipped me with a foundation for…”
“I’m a certified professional in [your certification], which means I bring a certain level of expertise…”
“Having published research on this topic, my perspective is grounded in…”
“I’ve been a keynote speaker at several conferences, discussing…”
“Throughout my career, I’ve contributed to groundbreaking work in…”
“My experience as a [your previous role] has given me a unique outlook on…”
“Endorsed by [an authority in your field], I’m here to share what we’ve achieved…”
“The program I developed was recognized by [award], highlighting its impact in…”
“I’ve trained professionals nationwide on this subject and witnessed…”
“Collaborating with renowned teams, we’ve tackled challenges like…”
“I’ve been at the forefront of this industry, navigating through…”
“As a panelist, I’ve debated this topic with some of the brightest minds in…”

Projecting Confidence

“I stand before you today with a deep understanding of…”
“You can rely on the information I’m about to share, backed by thorough research and analysis…”
“Rest assured, the strategies we’ll discuss have been tested and proven effective in…”
“I’m certain you’ll find the data I’ll present both compelling and relevant because…”
“I’m fully confident in the recommendations I’m providing today due to…”
“The results speak for themselves, and I’m here to outline them clearly for you…”
“I invite you to consider the evidence I’ll present; it’s both robust and persuasive…”
“You’re in good hands today; I’ve navigated these waters many times and have the insights to prove it…”
“I assure you, the journey we’ll take during this presentation will be enlightening because…”
“Your success is important to me, which is why I’ve prepared diligently for our time together…”
“Let’s look at the facts; they’ll show you why this approach is solid and dependable…”
“Today, I present to you a clear path forward, grounded in solid experience and knowledge…”
“I’m confident that what we’ll uncover today will not only inform but also inspire you because…”
“You’ll leave here equipped with practical, proven solutions that you can trust because…”
“The solution I’m proposing has been embraced industry-wide, and for good reason…”

Organizational Preview

Starting your presentation with a clear organizational preview can effectively guide your audience through the content. This section helps you prepare to communicate the roadmap of your presentation.

Outlining the Main Points

You should begin by briefly listing the main points you’ll cover. This lets your audience know what to expect and helps them follow along. For example, if you’re presenting on healthy eating, you might say, “Today, I’ll cover the benefits of healthy eating, essential nutrients in your diet, and simple strategies for making healthier choices.”

Setting the Tone

Your introduction sets the tone for the entire presentation. A way to do this is through a relevant story or anecdote that engages the audience. Suppose you’re talking about innovation; you might start with, “When I was a child, I was fascinated by how simple Legos could build complex structures, which is much like the innovation process.”

Explaining the Structure

Explain the structure of your presentation so that your audience can anticipate how you’ll transition from one section to the next. For instance, if your presentation includes an interactive portion, you might say, “I’ll begin with a 15-minute overview, followed by a hands-on demonstration, and we’ll wrap up with a Q&A session, where you can ask any questions.”

Practice and Preparation

Before you step onto the stage, it’s important that your preparation includes not just content research, but also rigorous practice and strategy for dealing with nerves. This approach ensures you present with confidence and clarity.

Rehearsing the Opening

Practicing your introduction aloud gives you the opportunity to refine your opening remarks. You might start by greeting the audience and sharing an interesting quote or a surprising statistic related to your topic. For example, if your presentation is about the importance of renewable energy, you could begin with a recent statistic about the growth in solar energy adoption. Record yourself and listen to the playback, focusing on your tone, pace, and clarity.

Memorizing Key Points

While you don’t need to memorize your entire presentation word for word, you should know the key points by heart. This includes main arguments, data, and any conclusions you’ll be drawing. You can use techniques such as mnemonics or the method of loci, which means associating each key point with a specific location in your mind, to help remember these details. Having them at your fingertips will make you feel more prepared and confident.

Managing Presentation Jitters

Feeling nervous before a presentation is natural, but you can manage these jitters with a few techniques. Practice deep breathing exercises or mindful meditation to calm your mind before going on stage. You can also perform a mock presentation to a group of friends or colleagues to simulate the experience and receive feedback. This will not only help you get used to speaking in front of others but also in adjusting your material based on their reactions.

Engagement Strategies

Starting a presentation on the right foot often depends on how engaged your audience is. Using certain strategies, you can grab their attention early and maintain their interest throughout your talk:

1. Encouraging Audience Participation

Opening your presentation with a question to your audience is a great way to encourage participation. This invites them to think actively about the subject matter. For instance, you might ask, “By a show of hands, how many of you have experienced…?” Additionally, integrating interactive elements like quick polls or requesting volunteers for a demonstration can make the experience more dynamic and memorable.

Using direct questions throughout your presentation ensures the audience stays alert, as they might be called upon to share their views. For example, after covering a key point, you might engage your audience with, “Does anyone have an experience to share related to this?”

2. Utilizing Pacing and Pauses

Mastering the pace of your speech helps keep your presentation lively. Quickening the pace when discussing exciting developments or slowing down when explaining complex ideas can help maintain interest. For example, when introducing a new concept, slow your pace to allow the audience to absorb the information.

Pauses are equally powerful. A well-timed pause after a key point gives the audience a moment to ponder the significance of what you’ve just said. It might feel like this: “The results of this study were groundbreaking. (pause) They completely shifted our understanding of…”. Pauses also give you a moment to collect your thoughts, adding to your overall composure and control of the room.

How should one introduce their group during a presentation?

You might say something like, “Let me introduce my amazing team: Alex, our researcher, Jamie, our designer, and Sam, the developer. Together, we’ve spent the last few months creating something truly special for you.”

Job Knowledge Performance Review Phrases (Examples)
40th Birthday Sayings and Wishes: Heartfelt Sample Phrases
70 Example Phrases: Key Marketing Skills for Your Resume
8 Templates: A Perfect Letter of Recommendation
100 Performance Review Phrases for Job Knowledge, Judgment, Listening Skills
Cover Letter vs. Letter of Interest vs. Letter of Intent

Task Search

Dress to impress brat update outfit ideas and themes.

The Dress to Impress Brat Update is here, which is an official collaboration with singer Charli XCX. It adds a plethora of new content, including clothing, accessories, makeup, hair, and themes. If you're struggling to come up with designs for the new themes, this page lists outfit ideas for the DTI Brat Update to help you.

Dress to impress dti brat update outfit ideas themes (1).jpg

DTI Brat Update Themes

There are eight themes in the Dress to Impress Brat Update, which are:

Rotten to the Core
Internet Famous
Club Classics

Dress to Impress Brat Outfit Ideas

The Brat theme celebrates Charli XCX's brat album, which should be your focus here. The album's art is simplistic, with just black "brat" text over a neon green background, so you should follow that color scheme.

Brat Outfit Idea #1

Brat Outfit Idea #2

Dress to Impress PARTYGIRL Outfit Ideas

PARTYGIRL is a reference to the song 365 on Charli XCX's brat album. For this theme, you want your outfit to show that your character likes to party. We recommend using dresses and heels.

PARTYGIRL Outfit Idea #1

PARTYGIRL Outfit Idea #2

DTI Rave Outfit Ideas

For the Dress to Impress Rave theme, you want to show off an outfit that your character would wear at an underground secret party, much like Charli XCX's secret Boiler Room sessions. We recommend swimsuit tops and bodysuits with heels.

Rave Outfit Idea #1

Rave Outfit Idea #2

Dress to impress dti brat update rave outfit idea 1.jpg

DTI Rotten to the Core Outfit Ideas

The DTI Rotten to the Core theme is a reference to Charli XCX's Apple song. For this theme, we'd recommend using the apple prop, or dressing up as Charli herself.

Rotten to the Core Outfit Idea #1

Dress to impress dti brat update apple outfit idea 1.jpg

This outfit idea is inspired by Charli XCX's clothes in a TikTok video where she learned the viral Apple dance!

Rotten to the Core Outfit Idea #2

Dress to impress dti brat update apple outfit idea 2.jpg

Dress to Impress Internet Famous Outfit Ideas

For the Dress to Impress Internet Famous theme, you either want to create an outfit that shows someone who's chronically online, or recreate a famous internet celebrity.

Internet Famous Outfit Idea #1

Internet Famous Outfit Idea #2

For our second outfit choice, we tried to recreate one of Charli XCX's looks in her 360 music video!

Dress to Impress Club Classics Outfit Ideas

The DTI Club Classics theme is named after the Charli XCX song Club Classics. For this one, you want it to look like your character has just stepped out of the club. We recommend skirts, legwarmers, and fishnet stockings.

Club Classics Outfit Ideas #1

Dress to impress dti brat update club classics outfit idea 1.jpg

Club Classics Outfit Ideas #2

Dress to impress dti brat update club classics outfit idea 2.jpg

DTI Mean Girls Outfit Ideas

Though the Dress to Impress Mean Girls theme is named after a Charli XCX song, in our experience, most people take it literally and dress up like characters from the Mean Girls movie. So we've put together a brat-inspired movie outfit and a regular one for those who don't want a brat-ified version.

Mean Girls Outfit Idea #1

Mean Girls Outfit Idea #2

DTI Y2K Outfit Ideas

The DTI Y2K theme is all about outfits from the late 90s to the early 00s, with big chunky belts and beret hats. Don't forget the baggy trousers, short skirts, and flip phones!

Y2K Outfit Idea #1

Y2K Outfit Idea #2

For more Dress to Impress game help, check out:

Dress to Impress Outfit Ideas and Themes (DTI)
Dress to Impress Codes

Up Next: How-To Guides

Top guide sections.

Beginner's Guide to Roblox
Roblox Promo Codes List
Top Free ROBLOX Games to Play
Best ROBLOX Games for Adults

Was this guide helpful?

In this guide.

IMAGES

Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success
10 Ways to Improve Presentation Skills at Work
Presentation Skills Ultimate Guide How to Give a Good Presentation
The Importance of Presentation Skills in the Classroom
PPT
How To Develop Effective Presentation Skills

COMMENTS

What Are Effective Presentation Skills (and How to Improve Them)
Presentation skills are the abilities and qualities necessary for creating and delivering a compelling presentation that effectively communicates information and ideas. They encompass what you say, how you structure it, and the materials you include to support what you say, such as slides, videos, or images. You'll make presentations at various ...
What is 'Presentation, Practice, Production' (PPP)?
Presentation, practice, production (PPP) is a lesson structure, a way to order activities in your lessons. ... meaning that you'll get a lot of exposure to this method. ... practice, production works. Maybe not as well as something like task-based learning (TBL), but TBL takes longer to plan and implement, which becomes very difficult when ...
Task-Based Learning Method > Examples & Advantages
In a task-based class, the lesson is based on the completion of a central task and its presentation. TBL incorporates all 4C's and is a great way to get students used to working on Project Based Learning (PBL) because it includes many of the same skills but, in a smaller, more digestible way.
8 Types of Workplace Presentations (With List of Tips)
Sales teams often use persuasive presentations to win clients. 5. Problem-solution presentation. A problem-solution presentation aims to aid in decision-making efforts by describing a problem or a challenge and presenting an audience with a solution or a set of solutions.
How To Create a Project Presentation: A Guide for ...
The project manager is able to explain this definition without the need to outline detailed processes and activities within them. Scope. The Scope section of the presentation generally involves several slides, as the content layout is a list of "requirements." Based on this fact, a table layout is suggested to make good use of space.
Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success
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.
Student presentations
Presentations normally have one or more of the following aims: To inform/ raise awareness of an important issue. To persuade people to do something. Form part of an exam, demonstrating public speaking/presentation skills in a first or second language. I set students a task where they answer these questions:
How to Assess Student Learning with Presentations
Presentations have many benefits, including improving public speaking skills and using higher-order thinking. However, teachers need to make sure they: Create a detailed scoring guide to help ...
Basic tasks for creating a PowerPoint presentation
Under Drawing Tools, choose Format. Do one of the following: To change the color of your text, choose Text Fill, and then choose a color. To change the outline color of your text, choose Text Outline, and then choose a color. To apply a shadow, reflection, glow, bevel, 3-D rotation, a transform, choose Text Effects, and then choose the effect ...
1
A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and proficiency. Performance tasks yield a tangible product and/or performance that serve as evidence of learning. Unlike a selected-response item (e.g., multiple-choice or matching) that asks students to select ...
6 Ways to Make Presentation Tasks Work in Your Classroom
Students ask questions. This will make the presentation more interactive and give students something to think about as they listen. Tell students to prepare one question each for the speaker. They can prepare their question during the presentation. Afterwards, choose 2 or 3 students to ask the speaker their questions. 6.
What is Task Presentation?
Task Presentation is an instructional event intended to communicate some information about planned tasks and to summarize the amount of work to be done. It is also a process of engaging the audience in understanding goals and objectives of the tasks. The purpose of a typical presentation of tasks is to present a challenging problem and provide listeners with a clear and proper understanding of ...
Presentations considering your purpose and audience
Presentation on the research done within your school/discipline, to a group of visiting academics. Photo by Product School on Unsplash. This is an informative presentation to a group of experts ...
Important Presentation Skills for Workplace Success
Presentation skills are what you need to know to be able to give an engaging, effective presentation. The steps to creating a successful presentation are preparation, delivery, and follow-up. Employers want to know you have the necessary skills to research, analyze, and create a presentation, plus the communication skills needed to deliver it ...
How to nail the presentation task during an interview process
Practice, practice, practice. This is the most important part. Never go into a presentation cold and do it on the hoof. You may be a seasoned and confident presenter but that doesn't mean you should wing it! The more you practice, the better and more fluid you will get at delivering the key messages with maximum impact.
6 presentation skills and how to improve them
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.
Preparing for a Presentation
There are a number of aspects that you need to consider when preparing a presentation. They include the aim of the presentation, the subject matter, the audience, the venue or place, the time of day, and the length of the talk. All these will affect what you say and how you say it, as well as the visual aids that you use to get your point across.
Presentation Skills
Presenting or making a speech at a conference or event. Objecting to a planning proposal at a council meeting. Making a speech at a wedding. Proposing a vote of thanks to someone at a club or society. On behalf of a team, saying goodbye and presenting a gift to a colleague who is leaving.
What Makes A Great Presentation Checklist
1. Ability to analyse an audience effectively and tailor the message accordingly. If you ask most people what makes a great presentation, they will likely comment on tangible things like structure, content, delivery and slides. While these are all critical aspects of a great presentation, a more fundamental and crucial part is often overlooked ...
What is Task-Based Learning?
Sometimes called 'task-based language teaching', in TBL lessons, students solve a task that involves an authentic use of language rather than complete simple questions about grammar or vocabulary. Task-based learning is an excellent way to get students engaged and using English. That, plus the collaborative element, builds confidence in ...
Performance Tasks
A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and proficiency. Performance tasks yield a tangible product and/or performance that serve as evidence of learning. Unlike a selected-response item (e.g., multiple-choice or matching) that asks students to select ...
How to Start a Presentation: 5 Templates and 90 Example Phrases
11. "Let's embark on a journey through our discussion on…". 12. "I'm delighted to have the chance to share my insights on…". 13. "Thank you for the opportunity to present to such an esteemed audience on…". 14. "Let's set the stage for an engaging discussion about…". 15.
How To Prepare For An Unseen Task In An Interview
There are three different ways you can find out if you've got an unseen task to do: You'll find out in the email they send you to invite you to interview. You probably won't have to do the last one. For the interview for the job I'm in now, I found out about my presentation in the email. But attached was an outline of the day - as in ...
NAR settlement set to hit real estate agents this week: Here's how they
Realtors across the country are bracing for a seismic shift in the way they do business. Starting August 17, new rules will roll out that overhaul the way Realtors get paid to help people buy and ...
Dress to Impress Outfit Ideas and Themes (DTI)
In Dress to Impress, you're given a set theme you must meet by using the clothing provided in the dressing room.There are many themes in DTI, so it can be challenging to think up a winning design ...
PDF What do we mean by Primary Prevention for Children, Youth, Young People
What do we mean by Primary Prevention for Children, Youth, Young People, and Families Colorado Substance Abuse Trend and Response Task Force February 2, 2024 Sharon T. Liu, Director, Community Prevention and Early Intervention . ... SATF 2.2.24 prevention presentation Created Date:
Dress to Impress Brat Update Outfit Ideas and Themes
Club Classics Outfit Ideas #1. Club Classics Outfit Ideas #2. DTI Mean Girls Outfit Ideas. Though the Dress to Impress Mean Girls theme is named after a Charli XCX song, in our experience, most ...
Ukraine says troops advancing further in Russia, as BBC told UK tanks
Kyiv says it is setting an administrative office in the Russian region of Kursk, where it is pressing ahead with a military offensive.
See Trump's controversial remark about the Medal of Honor
Former President Donald Trump said the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which honors civilians, "is actually much better" than the Medal of Honor because service members who receive the nation ...
Bangladesh's 'Gen Z revolution' toppled PM Sheikh Hasina ...
Inside Bangladesh it's being dubbed a Gen Z revolution - a protest movement that pitted mostly young student demonstrators against a 76-year-old leader who had dominated her nation for decades ...