Striking that perfect duration for your presentation can be tricky. You may feel as though you prepared a presentation that will last the appropriate length and then find out as you are speaking that you grossly miscalculated. Presentations can go by very quickly, especially when you are nervous and speeding through the material. For instance,…

Whether you are new to giving speeches or you have many presentations under your belt, there are always ways to improve your public speaking skills. Even the most experienced speakers can suffer from fear and anxiety over public speaking. In fact, public speaking is routinely described as one of the greatest and most common fears.…

School presentations can be extremely nerve-wracking, but pretty much every student will have to do one at some point. Although it’s not a favorite project of most students, learning to present in front of a group is a very important skill that will be helpful in both one’s academic and professional career. It’s a skill…

Most of us have sat through a dull, boring, and confusing presentation at some point. You probably found yourself dozing off, constantly checking your watch, or even scrolling through your phone just to pass the time. The fact is, even the best presentation can flop if you make a few common mistakes. A poorly delivered…

Oftentimes teachers will create PowerPoint presentations as a means to communicate content with students in a way other than lecturing or teaching from a textbook. If done correctly, this can be a powerful tool for both educators and students. It can be effective for reinforcing concepts and providing visual aids to help students retain information.…

If you think about every presentation you have ever been to, there’s a good chance that most of them included a PowerPoint slideshow. While this can certainly be a useful tool, it’s also a tool that has been used time and time again. It’s tough to wow audiences with a presentation that uses the same…

When used correctly, PowerPoint presentations can be a great way to support a speech, help the audience visualize concepts, and capture attention. However, poorly designed slides can do just the opposite. Too much text or distracting images can leave the audience feeling bored, confused, and even irritated. Slideshows are intended to help audiences follow along…

You can tell when an audience has stopped listening during a presentation because phones come out and you notice they start to slouch in their seats to check their email or respond to a text. Instead of looking at the speaker and nodding along, they are looking down and tapping their feet as if to…

The minute you walk into a presentation and see the presenter turn on the slideshow, you probably find yourself thinking, “not another boring PowerPoint.†We have all suffered through horrible PowerPoint presentations packed with long lists of bullet points, pixelated clip art, and a speaker who simply reads from the slides. The good news is…

Transitions are an integral part of a smooth flowing presentation, yet many speakers forget to plan for these transitions. Failure to practice this seemingly insignificant part of the presentation can actually lead to anxiety for the speaker if they begin fumbling and awkwardly scrambling to move from one topic to the next. Not only can…