Getting Ready to Give a Presentation

Practical Hints

Whenpreparingyourpresentation,followthese

guidelinestoaddpolishtoyourpresentation.

SettingUpand

HandlingEquipment

·

For allpresentations,props(food,

toys,examp les,etc.)shouldbe

placedonuniformtrays.These

don’thavetobeexpensive,just

cleanandinconspicuous.

·

Alltraysshouldbecovered.Dish

towels workgreat,buttheyshould

beasolidcolor,clean,andu niform.

·

Onceyou’ vepurchasedtraysand

towels remembertoputthemina

safeplaceandDONOTusethem

onaregularbasis.Thisw illmean

traysandtowelswillsta ycleanand

canbeusedo verandoveragain.

·

Alwaysrecovertraysonceyouare

finishedusingthem.Traysare

coveredfortworeasons:

o

Towelscoverupanymesses

oropenedcontainers

o

Iftheaudiencecan’tsee

whatisonthetraystheywill

notbedistractedduringthe

presentation

·

Arrangeequipmentandsuppliessothat

theaudiencecanseeclearly.

·

Placetraysandextraequipmentona

secondtablebehindyou.

·

Usetraystogroupyoursuppliesand

equipment.Itiseasiertomove

materialsontraysanditlooksneater.

·

Whenpossible,usetransparent

equipmentsuchasglassbowlssothe

audiencecanseethemater ialandthe

process.

·

Labelcontainersclearlyandbesure

yourlabelsarevisibletotheaud ience.

·

Keepahandtowelorpapertowels

handyif needed.

·

Makealistofequipmentandsupplies

neededonasmallcardandplacewith

thetray.

·

Arrangetheequipmentandsuppliesin

themostconvenientmanner.Keepthe

tableclearinthecentersopeoplecan

seewhatyouaredoing.

·

Handlepropscarefullyandquietly;

haveafoldedtowelunderbowlsor

pans.

·

Keeptheworksurfaceclean;have

dampcloths,sponges,papertowels

handy.

Getting Ready to

Give a Presentation

Appearance

Firstimpressio nsareveryimportant.

·

Choosesimp le,practicalclothingso

thatyour audiencewillbeat tractedto

yourpresentation,notdistractedby

yourclothes.Teammembersmight

wanttodressalike.

·

Makesureyo urclothingisclean,neat,

andwellpressed.

·

Besurethatyourhandsandfingernails

areclea nandwellkept.

·

Makesureyo urshoesarecomfortable

andlookprofessional.

·

Hairshouldbeoutofyour face.

·

Keepjewelrytoaminimum;avoidlong

earrings,excessiverings,bracelets,and

bulkynecklaces(nomatterhowgreat

they lookwithyo uroutfit).

·

Makeupshouldbecleancut.Bright

eyeshadowandlipstickcanbevery

distractingtotheaudience.Even

thoughyouaregivingapresentation,

stagemakeupisnotnecessary.

·

Avoidmannerismsthatmaydistractt he

audiencesuch aspushinghairback,

rockingbackandforth,andchewing

gum.

·

Dresstastefully.Skirt s shouldbeofa

conservativelengthandtopsshould

haveahighneckline.

Gestures

·

Usehandge sturesormovementsto

giveemphasistomainpoints.

·

Thefaceisvery importantfor

gesturing.Useyoursmile,youreyes,

·

Benat ural,beat ease,behappy,andbe

suretosmile.

·

Standupstraightandtall,asifyou

wereapuppeto nastringandthestring

isattachedtothetopofyourhead.Be

suretokeepyourshouldersbackand

notleanononefootortheother.

·

Youcanputoneorbothhandsinfront

ofyo uorouttot heside,keeping

elbowsclosetoyourbody.

·

Handscanbeplacedvertically,asif

youcouldcutsomethingwithaknife.

Oryoucanputyourhandsoutflat,asif

youwerewaitingforsomeonetoput

coinsinyourhand.

·

Somepeoplearecomfortableusingone

fingerfortheirfirstpoint,twofingers

fortheirsecondidea,andsoforth.

·

Practicetofindthegesturesthatare

mostcomfortableforyou.Justbesure

youdon’t“fidget”withyourhands,or

leanthemonthetable.

·

Planyourmoves.Manypeopletakea

fewstepsbetweenmainideas.This

helpsyouraudienceknowyouare

changingthetopic.Youwillnotwant

tomoveandwalkcontinually,though.

·

Getusedtousingyour handswhenyou

speak.Thiswillhelp youavoid playing

withpropsortuggingonclothing.If

necessary,“choreograph”yourspeech,

knowingwhentoacknowledgeaposter

orshowapro pcanmakeyoumore

comfortable.

·

Beent husiastic.Yourinterestinyour

topicisusuallyshowninyourfacial

expressions.Youneedtoco nsiderhow

smiles,frowns, looksofsurpriseor

otherfacialchangeswillhelptellyour

story.

TipsforG ivingaFood

Presentation

·

Useanapron.

·

Coveranycommerciallabelsthat are

showing.

·

Whitepaperormaskingtapeplaced

overthe labelworkswell.

·

Labelallingredients.

·

Itisokaytopremeasure.

·

Arrangeingredientsonyourtrayinthe

orderyouwillbeusingthem.

·

Keepsurfacescleanw ithwaxedpaper.

·

Tapeasmallpaperbagbesideyouon

thetableforpeelings,eggshells,etc.

·

Cleanasyougo!

·

Useclearmixingbowlsifavailable.

·

Usepropermeasuringequipment.

·

Includenutritionalvalues,storage,as

wellas“howto’s”.

·

Ifusingamixer,atowel underyour

bowlwilldeadenthesound.

·

Before youdisplayyourfinished

product,cleanupeverything.Cover

yourtrayswithmatchingtowelsand

thendisplaywhatyouhavemade.

·

Usetraysandattractivedishesto

displaythefinishedproduct.

Showman ship

·

Try coordinatingyourtraycoverswith

yourpresentation.Forexample,ifyour

postersaremainlyblack,white,and

yellow,tryusingblackoryello w

towels.

·

Remembertobr ingaplasticbagtotape

tothetableifyouwillhavegarbage.

Thiscouldbescrapsofpaper,egg

shells,string,etc.Trashshou ldNOT

goontrays.

·

Alwaysremembertotalkwhenyouare

loadingorunloadingitemsfromatray.

Theonlytimethereshouldbesilenceis

whileyourbackist urned,andthat

shouldbebrief.Practice!

·

Practiceyourpresentationenoughso

thatyouareascomfortableaspossible.

·

Remembertor elaxyourlegswhenyou

speak.

·

Lockingyourkneesisdangerousand

youshouldbeabletomove,butavoid

swayingorro cking.

·

Speakwithclarityandvolumewithout

givinganimpressionofforceoryelling

attheaudience.Ifyouhavetrouble

pronouncingawordorphrase,change

it!

·

Remembertochangetheinflectionof

yourvoicewhenspeaking. Practice

puttingemphasison important words

andphrases,aswellasend ing

sentences.

·

Presentingisaleadershipposition.

Workoncreatingan“activelistening”

environment ,consistency,and

empoweringyouraudience.

______________________________________

Additional4HCommunicationsre sourcesinclude:

· TheVersatile4HPresentation

· TheFourP’sofPlanningAPresentation

· GettingReadytoGivea4H Presentation

· PresentationVisuals

· UsingPo werPoint

®

in4HPresentations

· Evaluatinga4HPresentation

· HowtoPrepareaMulti mediaPresentation

· HowtoPreparea4HRadioPublic ServiceAnnouncement

VisittheNebraska4HWebsiteforadditionalresources

(http:4h.unl .edu).

______________________________________

Writtenby:

SandraStockall

4HYouthDevelopmentSpecialist

UniversityofNebraska–LincolnExtension

Contributionsfrom:

MaryJacobson,LincolnCounty4HMember

JaneArm strong,ExtensionEducator