When I prepare for a presentation, I typically work off of a PowerPoint document that I have created. I will go through each of the slides and speak as if I am actively addressing the audience. When I identify trouble areas, I will go back and repeat those segments and practice them a few more times. If possible, I go to Leonard Hall to practice my speech to an empty auditorium.
I think it is such a cool idea to practice your speech in the auditorium. I also like how you speak as if you were actively addressing the audience. I think I would benefit from that technique, and it would help me with practicing my body language and gestures before giving the speech to an audience.
I like how you work off of PowerPoint as well, I think it is a great way to organize things. I also find myself rehearsing each slide as if I was giving the real presentation right then and there. This helps practice the pace of the presentation and prepares you for the topics discussed. I think it is awesome you try to find the time to go practice in an actual auditorium that is empty, where this can help keep your nerves calm as you present.
I like how you go to a hall to practice for your presentation. Usually I do it in my room but then when you get to the classroom it’s a totally different vibe. I will use that tip going forward. I also like to use powerpoint and go through the slides and rehearse so that I am prepared for parts that may be a little wordy and like you said, I will go back to those and practice extra on them.
Hi Reese, thanks for your comment! I found that for me it is best to go to the place I am giving a speech at, because then I am able to familiarize myself with the environment. I also try to envision the audience being there, which makes helps reduce my anxiety on presentation day. If I can’t do that, I will find a quiet place and talk the presentation through verbally. I have found that if I only rehearse the presentation in my head, it is harder for me to identify trouble areas with my speech.
This year I had a big exam that I needed to do really well on. I decided to study for the exam by doing all of the practice problems from the chapters that would be on the exam. I did all of the problems three times and spent days rehearsing how to solve the different types of problems that would be on the exam. I practiced more than I ever have for a test, and I ultimately ended up with one of the highest grades in the class on that exam!
Practicing problems for a specific exam is a great way to prepare for it. Going over the motions on how to solve each problem definitely helps how to go about the questions given. I also find myself doing this for some of my classes. I will go over past worksheets for those chapters as well, and try to answer the questions all over again without looking at the answer. In the end, this type of practice usually always pays off. Great job!
Congrats on getting one of the highest grades in the class! I took anatomy last semester so I can relate to having to find a way to study that works for you. I like your idea of doing all the practice problems that would be on the exam. That way, you are prepared for those and can focus more on the ones you couldn’t pre study for. I also like how you said you practiced more than ever and you did very well. I use to say “if I know it, I know it” but now in college I have learned that by studying more than you think you need to will help improve your grade.
Congrats on getting one of the highest grades in the class! I took anatomy last semester so I can relate to having to find a way to study that works for you. I like your idea of doing all the practice problems that would be on the exam. That way, you are prepared for those and can focus more on the ones you couldn’t pre study for. I also like how you said you practiced more than ever and you did very well. In college I have learned that by studying more than you think you need to will really help improve your grade.
Repetition is a great way to lock in how to do things. I haven’t had a practical exam in a few years, but when studying I often used flashcards or practice tests in order to help myself remember the concepts.
Great perspective of the utility of practice and rehearsal for exams! College has turned me into a study fiend, especially over that past couple semesters. Preparing, especially for exams, days in advance is essential, like you had detailed. Studying in small chunks has also helped me, ~25-30 minutes with ~5 minute breaks in between. I wonder if chunking also helps when it comes to preparing and rehearsing for speaking? Regardless, great anecdote, well said!
Congrats on getting one of the highest grades in your class, that’s great! I also use this technique a lot when I’m studying for an exam. I did this a lot for Calculus last semester when we would get review packets. I would spend about a good week studying the problems and making sure I knew how to do them all. To this day I’m pretty sure it’s the only reason I passed, the hard work really does pay off though!
Congrats on your success! I always find that when I practice for days leading up to a big speech or exam I usually do much better. Practice problems are usually a great way to achieve a good score on an exam. I also like watching videos and reviewing lecture material to help practice.
In preparation for a presentation I may be getting ready to give, I like to organize all of my information in a particular way so that it flows from topic to topic. Once I have all of my slides figured out, I like to take the general idea off of each slide, and expand further using different words so that I am not reading off of the slides word for word. Sometimes it is helpful for me to write on a notecard what I will be saying for each slide so that I can use them as a reference when each slide comes up. This can be beneficial in better connecting with my audience, making eye contact, and looking up. It is also helpful to speak in a loud, slow manner so that the audience can understand what is being said.
I like doing the general ideas as well, I feel like it makes my talking more engaging when I am not reading off of the slide. I also like that you still organize what points you want to hit, because sometimes I can miss a point if I am not organized. I also definitely should start trying to organize the topics so they flow better, that is a good idea and would probably help ease some of my stumbling.
I love to use notecards too. I think it helps a lot. Also for some reason it makes me feel more prepared and confident. I find myself struggling less when I have them. I think you have a great system going on.
I have always really admired people who can use notecards, as I tend to distract myself more than anything by looking at them. If I have a presentation, I tend to make my slides similar to notes, and if possible, have “speaker notes” up on the presenter screen with very minimal information.
I agree Beanie! Notecards don’t work for me because I get distracted trying to find my place on the notecard and then I am lost. Instead of the cards or speaker notes, when rehearsing my presentation, I visualize my bullet points on the Powerpoint slides as the reminders. As I speak aloud, I work to expand on those topics verbally.
I usually will start with an outline before I make my presentation with a pen and paper. It helps me get an idea of how I would like to organize my project. I find success with this. When I am done with editing my presentation I will make notecards or mental notes of what to say during it. I do not like to read directly from slides. This is because I find it hard to pay attention when my previous professors would read directly from the slides. I like to incorporate personal experiences within the presentation because I find it more exciting. I think this also holds the audiences attention more as well. I also will add in transition sentences when going from slide to slide. I feel like this gets rid of awkwardness. I also will usually visualize me giving the presentation because I think it prepares me and I will be less nervous.
Visualizing the presentation is a great idea! I think that’s really important when making slides or thinking about what to say, as it helps make it more natural, even when the basics are scripted. I also appreciate that you take cues from the people presenting around you, and what works for you to understand them.
Experience I have had with practice and performance is playing sports growing up. We would practice more days than we would perform, or have games. Practice is where you learned new things, rehearsed different plays and used trial and error. Games is where you use what you learned from practice to perform at your highest. Practice is very important for performance because it is where you learn what works for you and what doesn’t. That way, when you get to the game, you are prepared for what could happen and what you do in certain situations. The same goes for presentations, you practice before to see what works and what doesn’t, what you need to improve on and where you do well. That way, when you get to your presentation, you are prepared and ready to perform.
Hi Wylie,
Great analogy and points! I feel that my first defense against being anxious when speaking in public is the time I invest to practice. After constant practicing, I find that it is still nerve-wracking to ask someone to listen to my presentation prior to the big day, but the impromptu rehearsal does pay in dividends if the listener is open and honest about my mistakes. Feedback from others also helps me reflect on what needs to be improved.
In general, my public speaking style tends to be more laid back and off the cuff. In preparation for a speaking event, or somewhere I might have to speak, I typically just walk through what I might want to say. Knowing the key points to hit helps me move through efficiently, and keeps me on track of what I’d like to say. I don’t typically write out speeches, nor do I often have notecards with me, but being able to go with the mood of who I am speaking to is often a better gauge than something prewritten.
I can attest to your public speaking style! With the creative writing club, I’ve also noticed how you approach speaking to groups of people with a more relaxed and congenial affect. When it comes to preparation, I also feel like less preparation can be more. I have the tendency (as you well know) of overthinking or overanalyzing what I choose to say, especially for a presentation, speech, etc.. I feel like not over-preparing allows me to present in a more dynamic and abatable way, like you had mentioned.
In my experience with public speaking, I’ve had very different methods of preparation. I always use notecards when presenting and feel like I will forget key points without notes in front of me. I hope to become more comfortable with public speaking because I think it’s important to casually speak to an audience, like you described.
I admire the fact that you can wing it without any backup (note cards). I usually stress heavily before I’m about to speak in public so I will usually go to great lengths to make sure that I have everything I need to say written down. However, when I actually start speaking publicly, I too tend to be laid back and speak off the cuff. The only difference is that I need to know that I have something to fall back on if I’m not in the mood to feel out the room and such.
My experience when it comes to preparing for a public speaking performance is very limited. It has almost exclusively been in an academic setting. I usually write out the key points of my presentation on a word document, and use it as a guide for when I present and speak in front of peers and professors. This usually helps me from blanking mid-presentation, but this does end up happening from time to time. With this being said, I think I am grossly unprepared, and lack the proper skills for effective public speaking as of right now.
I can related to the limited public speaking experience. Especially with the pandemic, there have been very few opportunities to practice presentation skills. To become a confident public speaker, it’s essential to learn these skills and gain experience.
I also have limited experience when it comes to public speaking. Only giving presentations in school is hard because your audience usually isn’t particularly interested in what you have to say. Public speaking is challenging, and I am sure that many other people are also not confident in their public speaking skills.
I often deal with presentation anxiety whether I’m presenting to just a few people or a large group. I have found that practicing for several days before a presentation makes a huge difference in my confidence and final performance. I used practice dance at a studio every week for our annual recital, which is where I had the most experience with practice and rehearsal. We practiced the same routine for months and by the time of the recital, I felt confident to perform on stage.
I agree with this completely! I always get really nervous when I have to talk in front of big crowds and my voice tends to shake a lot. However, I also found that practicing helps with the nervousness a ton. By practicing, I get into the habit of being able to easily get my points across and it always goes way better than when I wing it!
This is a good point. I normally struggle with procrastination and with things like a presentation coming up, I would likely start practicing for it the night before it’s due. In the past though, I have had some presentations that stressed me out so much that I just had to rehearse for them ahead of time and not the night before. I always found that doing this lead to me being more confident in my speaking and memory during the event.
I played softball for eight years which taught me a lot about the importance of practicing. I also did theater for a little bit which is essentially just rehearsing your lines over and over again for months. Doing theater helped me realize that I am awful when it comes to winging things so ever since then I’ve made sure to prepare myself whether it be giving a presentation or really just anything. Over the years I’ve found that when I practice in advance and really put the time into something it helps calm me down and I feel more confident as well.
As a hockey player, I think it’s fair to say that practice has an extremely intimate relationship with performing at a high level. When I was playing junior hockey, the way I practiced and the level of motivation I had during practice would reflect in the games. Practicing itself is important but it’s even more important to practice deliberately (practice at the same level that you wish to perform). As for preparation, I’ll allude to hockey again. Leading up to a game, making sure that I have everything I need, taping my stick, meal timing, visualization, are all important things to consider in order to keep a clear head which will also reflect in a game.
In my experience with public speaking, I usually prepare for several days leading up to the presentation. I like to use a google slide or PowerPoint to talk from, because I like to give my audience something else to look at besides just me talking. My experience with public speaking has been in an academic setting, giving me almost no practice talking to other audiences and giving presentations about topics that I am genuinely passionate about. I find talking in front of large groups stressful at times, but I usually notice that once I am actively giving my presentation it is much less difficult than I first anticipated.
37 thoughts on “CLOSED: DBQ 1”
When I prepare for a presentation, I typically work off of a PowerPoint document that I have created. I will go through each of the slides and speak as if I am actively addressing the audience. When I identify trouble areas, I will go back and repeat those segments and practice them a few more times. If possible, I go to Leonard Hall to practice my speech to an empty auditorium.
I think it is such a cool idea to practice your speech in the auditorium. I also like how you speak as if you were actively addressing the audience. I think I would benefit from that technique, and it would help me with practicing my body language and gestures before giving the speech to an audience.
I like how you work off of PowerPoint as well, I think it is a great way to organize things. I also find myself rehearsing each slide as if I was giving the real presentation right then and there. This helps practice the pace of the presentation and prepares you for the topics discussed. I think it is awesome you try to find the time to go practice in an actual auditorium that is empty, where this can help keep your nerves calm as you present.
I agree! I do the same with trouble areas. I often go back and practice till I get it right. I think it also gives me more confidence.
I like how you go to a hall to practice for your presentation. Usually I do it in my room but then when you get to the classroom it’s a totally different vibe. I will use that tip going forward. I also like to use powerpoint and go through the slides and rehearse so that I am prepared for parts that may be a little wordy and like you said, I will go back to those and practice extra on them.
Hi Reese, thanks for your comment! I found that for me it is best to go to the place I am giving a speech at, because then I am able to familiarize myself with the environment. I also try to envision the audience being there, which makes helps reduce my anxiety on presentation day. If I can’t do that, I will find a quiet place and talk the presentation through verbally. I have found that if I only rehearse the presentation in my head, it is harder for me to identify trouble areas with my speech.
This year I had a big exam that I needed to do really well on. I decided to study for the exam by doing all of the practice problems from the chapters that would be on the exam. I did all of the problems three times and spent days rehearsing how to solve the different types of problems that would be on the exam. I practiced more than I ever have for a test, and I ultimately ended up with one of the highest grades in the class on that exam!
Practicing problems for a specific exam is a great way to prepare for it. Going over the motions on how to solve each problem definitely helps how to go about the questions given. I also find myself doing this for some of my classes. I will go over past worksheets for those chapters as well, and try to answer the questions all over again without looking at the answer. In the end, this type of practice usually always pays off. Great job!
Yes, I love that method! Sometimes I will even write out steps to solve a problem and memorize those. Good job on your exam too!
Congrats on getting one of the highest grades in the class! I took anatomy last semester so I can relate to having to find a way to study that works for you. I like your idea of doing all the practice problems that would be on the exam. That way, you are prepared for those and can focus more on the ones you couldn’t pre study for. I also like how you said you practiced more than ever and you did very well. I use to say “if I know it, I know it” but now in college I have learned that by studying more than you think you need to will help improve your grade.
Congrats on getting one of the highest grades in the class! I took anatomy last semester so I can relate to having to find a way to study that works for you. I like your idea of doing all the practice problems that would be on the exam. That way, you are prepared for those and can focus more on the ones you couldn’t pre study for. I also like how you said you practiced more than ever and you did very well. In college I have learned that by studying more than you think you need to will really help improve your grade.
Repetition is a great way to lock in how to do things. I haven’t had a practical exam in a few years, but when studying I often used flashcards or practice tests in order to help myself remember the concepts.
Hi Reese!
Great perspective of the utility of practice and rehearsal for exams! College has turned me into a study fiend, especially over that past couple semesters. Preparing, especially for exams, days in advance is essential, like you had detailed. Studying in small chunks has also helped me, ~25-30 minutes with ~5 minute breaks in between. I wonder if chunking also helps when it comes to preparing and rehearsing for speaking? Regardless, great anecdote, well said!
Congrats on getting one of the highest grades in your class, that’s great! I also use this technique a lot when I’m studying for an exam. I did this a lot for Calculus last semester when we would get review packets. I would spend about a good week studying the problems and making sure I knew how to do them all. To this day I’m pretty sure it’s the only reason I passed, the hard work really does pay off though!
Congrats on your success! I always find that when I practice for days leading up to a big speech or exam I usually do much better. Practice problems are usually a great way to achieve a good score on an exam. I also like watching videos and reviewing lecture material to help practice.
In preparation for a presentation I may be getting ready to give, I like to organize all of my information in a particular way so that it flows from topic to topic. Once I have all of my slides figured out, I like to take the general idea off of each slide, and expand further using different words so that I am not reading off of the slides word for word. Sometimes it is helpful for me to write on a notecard what I will be saying for each slide so that I can use them as a reference when each slide comes up. This can be beneficial in better connecting with my audience, making eye contact, and looking up. It is also helpful to speak in a loud, slow manner so that the audience can understand what is being said.
I like doing the general ideas as well, I feel like it makes my talking more engaging when I am not reading off of the slide. I also like that you still organize what points you want to hit, because sometimes I can miss a point if I am not organized. I also definitely should start trying to organize the topics so they flow better, that is a good idea and would probably help ease some of my stumbling.
I love to use notecards too. I think it helps a lot. Also for some reason it makes me feel more prepared and confident. I find myself struggling less when I have them. I think you have a great system going on.
I have always really admired people who can use notecards, as I tend to distract myself more than anything by looking at them. If I have a presentation, I tend to make my slides similar to notes, and if possible, have “speaker notes” up on the presenter screen with very minimal information.
I agree Beanie! Notecards don’t work for me because I get distracted trying to find my place on the notecard and then I am lost. Instead of the cards or speaker notes, when rehearsing my presentation, I visualize my bullet points on the Powerpoint slides as the reminders. As I speak aloud, I work to expand on those topics verbally.
I usually will start with an outline before I make my presentation with a pen and paper. It helps me get an idea of how I would like to organize my project. I find success with this. When I am done with editing my presentation I will make notecards or mental notes of what to say during it. I do not like to read directly from slides. This is because I find it hard to pay attention when my previous professors would read directly from the slides. I like to incorporate personal experiences within the presentation because I find it more exciting. I think this also holds the audiences attention more as well. I also will add in transition sentences when going from slide to slide. I feel like this gets rid of awkwardness. I also will usually visualize me giving the presentation because I think it prepares me and I will be less nervous.
Visualizing the presentation is a great idea! I think that’s really important when making slides or thinking about what to say, as it helps make it more natural, even when the basics are scripted. I also appreciate that you take cues from the people presenting around you, and what works for you to understand them.
Experience I have had with practice and performance is playing sports growing up. We would practice more days than we would perform, or have games. Practice is where you learned new things, rehearsed different plays and used trial and error. Games is where you use what you learned from practice to perform at your highest. Practice is very important for performance because it is where you learn what works for you and what doesn’t. That way, when you get to the game, you are prepared for what could happen and what you do in certain situations. The same goes for presentations, you practice before to see what works and what doesn’t, what you need to improve on and where you do well. That way, when you get to your presentation, you are prepared and ready to perform.
Hi Wylie,
Great analogy and points! I feel that my first defense against being anxious when speaking in public is the time I invest to practice. After constant practicing, I find that it is still nerve-wracking to ask someone to listen to my presentation prior to the big day, but the impromptu rehearsal does pay in dividends if the listener is open and honest about my mistakes. Feedback from others also helps me reflect on what needs to be improved.
In general, my public speaking style tends to be more laid back and off the cuff. In preparation for a speaking event, or somewhere I might have to speak, I typically just walk through what I might want to say. Knowing the key points to hit helps me move through efficiently, and keeps me on track of what I’d like to say. I don’t typically write out speeches, nor do I often have notecards with me, but being able to go with the mood of who I am speaking to is often a better gauge than something prewritten.
Hi Beanie!
I can attest to your public speaking style! With the creative writing club, I’ve also noticed how you approach speaking to groups of people with a more relaxed and congenial affect. When it comes to preparation, I also feel like less preparation can be more. I have the tendency (as you well know) of overthinking or overanalyzing what I choose to say, especially for a presentation, speech, etc.. I feel like not over-preparing allows me to present in a more dynamic and abatable way, like you had mentioned.
In my experience with public speaking, I’ve had very different methods of preparation. I always use notecards when presenting and feel like I will forget key points without notes in front of me. I hope to become more comfortable with public speaking because I think it’s important to casually speak to an audience, like you described.
I admire the fact that you can wing it without any backup (note cards). I usually stress heavily before I’m about to speak in public so I will usually go to great lengths to make sure that I have everything I need to say written down. However, when I actually start speaking publicly, I too tend to be laid back and speak off the cuff. The only difference is that I need to know that I have something to fall back on if I’m not in the mood to feel out the room and such.
My experience when it comes to preparing for a public speaking performance is very limited. It has almost exclusively been in an academic setting. I usually write out the key points of my presentation on a word document, and use it as a guide for when I present and speak in front of peers and professors. This usually helps me from blanking mid-presentation, but this does end up happening from time to time. With this being said, I think I am grossly unprepared, and lack the proper skills for effective public speaking as of right now.
I can related to the limited public speaking experience. Especially with the pandemic, there have been very few opportunities to practice presentation skills. To become a confident public speaker, it’s essential to learn these skills and gain experience.
I also have limited experience when it comes to public speaking. Only giving presentations in school is hard because your audience usually isn’t particularly interested in what you have to say. Public speaking is challenging, and I am sure that many other people are also not confident in their public speaking skills.
I often deal with presentation anxiety whether I’m presenting to just a few people or a large group. I have found that practicing for several days before a presentation makes a huge difference in my confidence and final performance. I used practice dance at a studio every week for our annual recital, which is where I had the most experience with practice and rehearsal. We practiced the same routine for months and by the time of the recital, I felt confident to perform on stage.
I agree with this completely! I always get really nervous when I have to talk in front of big crowds and my voice tends to shake a lot. However, I also found that practicing helps with the nervousness a ton. By practicing, I get into the habit of being able to easily get my points across and it always goes way better than when I wing it!
This is a good point. I normally struggle with procrastination and with things like a presentation coming up, I would likely start practicing for it the night before it’s due. In the past though, I have had some presentations that stressed me out so much that I just had to rehearse for them ahead of time and not the night before. I always found that doing this lead to me being more confident in my speaking and memory during the event.
I played softball for eight years which taught me a lot about the importance of practicing. I also did theater for a little bit which is essentially just rehearsing your lines over and over again for months. Doing theater helped me realize that I am awful when it comes to winging things so ever since then I’ve made sure to prepare myself whether it be giving a presentation or really just anything. Over the years I’ve found that when I practice in advance and really put the time into something it helps calm me down and I feel more confident as well.
As a hockey player, I think it’s fair to say that practice has an extremely intimate relationship with performing at a high level. When I was playing junior hockey, the way I practiced and the level of motivation I had during practice would reflect in the games. Practicing itself is important but it’s even more important to practice deliberately (practice at the same level that you wish to perform). As for preparation, I’ll allude to hockey again. Leading up to a game, making sure that I have everything I need, taping my stick, meal timing, visualization, are all important things to consider in order to keep a clear head which will also reflect in a game.
In my experience with public speaking, I usually prepare for several days leading up to the presentation. I like to use a google slide or PowerPoint to talk from, because I like to give my audience something else to look at besides just me talking. My experience with public speaking has been in an academic setting, giving me almost no practice talking to other audiences and giving presentations about topics that I am genuinely passionate about. I find talking in front of large groups stressful at times, but I usually notice that once I am actively giving my presentation it is much less difficult than I first anticipated.