Presentations 
Successful presenters do five key things:
- Engage with their audience
- Organize strong content
- Optimize their slides
- Cite their sources
- Deliver with confidence
Check out the videos on this page to learn more about each of these key components of powerful presentations!
After pressing play, click on the YouTube icon to play the video in a new tab. (It will be easier to read the text in this larger format, and you can access the transcript.)
How can you take the pressure off yourself and enjoy speaking with your audience?
See examples of how to
- make presentations more interesting and
- put the focus on helping your audience understand your topic and learn.
Are you feeling nervous about presentation day?
Take advantage of the things you can control ahead of time:
- being selective about which content to include,
- incorporating techniques to help you and your audience stay on track, and
- learning how to frame facts in a way that engages your class.
Ever get bored reading tons of text on slides during presentations?
Use slides and other visual aids to enhance what you say and support your audience members' learning.
Learn how to incorporate visual and verbal citations for video or presentation assignments.
Do you think the best speakers don't get nervous?
Experienced public speakers
- aim for authenticity, not perfection,
- talk with their audience, not at them, and
- practice and learn to use body language, voice, and eye contact in ways that make them appear confident.
If you are working with a group on a presentation, read our tip sheet for some ways to apply these ideas when working with other people.
If you are pre-recording your presentation, be sure to check out this useful information.
Would you like to meet with a Learning Strategist for help with a presentation? One-on-one appointments are available every weekday. More info