Know your purpose and audience
A presentation is a planned talk to a group. First decide your purpose: to inform (teach facts), to persuade (change minds) or to entertain.
Then think about your audience: their age, what they already know and what they need. Talk to classmates in simple words; talk to judges with more detail. A good test: can you say your main message in one sentence?
Structure: opening, body, closing
Opening (about 10% of the time): greet, hook the listener with a question, a surprising fact or a short story, and say what you will cover.
Body (about 80%): 2–3 main points, each with an example or a number. Use signposts such as "First…", "Next…", "Finally…" so people can follow.
Closing (about 10%): sum up the main points, give one clear take-away, and thank the audience. Invite questions.
Reciting a poem or passage
When reciting, understand the meaning first. Mark pauses and stressed words, then practise until you can look up from the page most of the time.
Visual aids and slides
Slides help people see what you say. Good slides have one idea each, a clear title, a few key words (about 6 lines or fewer), large text and a helpful picture or chart.
Never read your slides word by word. You are the presentation; the slide is only a helper. Charts must have labelled axes and units. Always credit pictures you did not make.
Delivery: voice, body language and nerves
Voice: speak loudly enough for the back row, at a steady pace (about 120–150 words per minute), and change your tone to stress key words. Pause after an important point.
Body language: stand straight, keep your hands open, look at different people for a few seconds each (eye contact) and smile.
Stage fear is normal. Breathe slowly, practise out loud 3 times, know your first two lines by heart and remember the audience wants you to do well.
Answering questions
Listen fully, repeat the question if needed, answer briefly, and say "I will find out" if you do not know.
Try it: a one-minute talk
Pick any object at home. Give a 1-minute talk about it to a family member: a hook, 2 points, a closing line. Time it. Then ask them: what was your main point? If they can say it back, you succeeded.
Key formulas and definitions
- Purpose: inform, persuade or entertain
- Structure: opening (~10%) → body (~80%) → closing (~10%)
- Signposts: "First", "Next", "Finally", "To sum up"
- Slide rule: one idea per slide, about 6 lines or fewer
- Speaking pace: about 120–150 words per minute
- Eye contact: look at one person for 3–5 seconds, then move on
Worked examples
1. You have 5 minutes to talk about saving water to Class 6 students. Plan the timing.
Opening ≈ 10% of 5 min = 30 s (a question: "How many buckets does your family use a day?"). Body ≈ 80% = 4 min (3 points: why water matters, where we waste it, 3 easy fixes). Closing ≈ 30 s (sum up + one action: "Turn off the tap while brushing").
2. A slide has 14 lines of small text. How would you fix it?
Keep only the key words (4–6 short lines), split the rest into a second slide or say it aloud, raise the font size and add one picture or chart that shows the idea.
3. Your talk is 750 words long and you speak at 150 words per minute. Will it fit a 4-minute slot?
Time = 750 ÷ 150 = 5 minutes. It is 1 minute too long, so cut about 150 words (one example or one minor point).
4. Write a strong opening for a talk on plastic pollution.
"Every minute, about a truckload of plastic enters the sea. Today I will show you where it comes from, what it does, and three things we can do this week." It hooks, states the topic and previews the structure.
Common mistakes
- Reading from the slides or notes with your back to the audience.
- Putting whole paragraphs on slides in tiny fonts.
- Speaking too fast because of nerves; pause and breathe.
- Having no clear ending: stopping suddenly with "That's it."