Recently, I spoke to a student from Republic Polytechnic (RP) about what is life like as a RP student.
I found out that presentations are a huge aspect of poly life for RP students. The school believes that presentations are important to prepare its students for university and to enter the workforce.
He was kind enough to share some tips on how he aced his presentations during his stint in RP, and I would like to share 7 of them in this article.
Here are 6 Presentation Tips to Ace Your Way Through Poly.
1. Research
Conducting research on the topic you are about present is of paramount importance.
Through research, you will be able to find the relevant information for your presentation instead of just copy-pasting large chunks of information from the internet or books.
You may also be able to learn new things about what you are presenting and add those facts into your presentation.
2. Teamwork
Almost every presentation that poly students do is done in teams.
You should discuss with your teammates on the information that they are going to present to ensure that the transition between one another is smooth.
It would be really awkward if you and your teammates suddenly start talking at the same time. Yikes!
3. The Visuals
If you are using slides to do your presentation, it is important to make sure your slides look as clean and concise as possible.
Ensure that the background colour of your slides and the font colour you are using compliments each other. It would not look nice if your background colour is blue and your fonts are in pink. Ew!
Also, nobody wants to put in extra effort to squint their eyes just to read the texts in your presentation.
Make sure your font size is big enough for viewers to be able to see them from a distance.
Instead of having a chunk of words and numbers, add some informative graphics like pie charts or graphs. Your slides would look cleaner and more pleasing to the eye.
4. Timing
Have you ever listened to someone talk on and on, making you want to fall asleep? So have I.
Research shows that the normal attention span of teenagers and adults ranges from 10 to 15 minutes, hence your presentation should not be longer than 15 minutes if not, you will have many of your audiences having a hard time keeping their head upright.
5. Body Language
Body language is more important than you think, if you stand awkwardly while giving a presentation, chances are your audience would not even be interested in listening.
If you are always fidgeting, it will pull your audience’s attention away from the slides as your constant body movement will be too distracting. Chill man!
You should maintain eye contact with your audience as it establishes a form of connection and it is a powerful way of communicating confidence.
6. Thank Your Audience
Be it whether your audience paid attention to your presentation or not, it is always important to thank them for their time and attention at the end of your presentation. It’s a form of basic courtesy!
These are the tips that I have gathered from my conversation with the RP student. After abiding by these tips, you won’t have to worry about failing your presentation!
If you need a private tutor to help you with anything related to poly (either a tough module or any project work), send us an enquiry.
Here are some related articles you might find interesting:
What Happens When I Fail a Subject in Poly? – SmileTutor
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