Giving a presentation to fellow classmates can be a bit daunting, especially if you are new to oral

and visual presenting. But with the right PowerPoint tips, public speaking skills, and plenty of practice,
you can present like a pro at your upcoming presentation. Here, are the best college presentation tips
for students. And once you have one successful presentation, you’ll get better each time!

THE BEST PRESENTATION TIPS FOR STUDENTS

1. Arrive Early and Be Technically Prepared

 Get to the room early and make sure you leave plenty of time for technical set up and technical
difficulties. Have several backup drives (including an online version if possible) so that you are
prepared for anything!

2. Know More

 Be educated on more than just what you are sharing. That way, you can add points, speak
candidly and confidently, and be prepared to answer any audience or teacher questions.

3. Share Your Passion With Your Audience

 Connect with your audience by showing that you are passionate about your topic. Do this with
the right tone, eye contact, and enthusiasm in your speech.

4. Pace Yourself

 When student presenters are nervous, they tend to speed up their speech. This can be a
problem, however, because your speed may be distracting, hard to understand, and you may
run under your time.

5. Rehearse Thoroughly

 Don’t just practice, rehearse your college presentation. Rehearse the entire delivery, including
standing up, using gestures, and going through the slides.

6. Show Your Personality

 You don’t need to be professional to the point of stiffness during your presentation. Don’t be
afraid to show your personality while presenting. It will make your presentation more
interesting, and you will seem more approachable and confident.

7. Improvise

 You can’t be 100% certain what will happen during your presentation. If things aren’t exactly as
you expected, don’t be afraid to improvise and run off script.

8. Pump Yourself Up

 Get yourself excited and full of energy before your college presentation! Your mood sets the
tone for your presentation, and if you get excited right before, you will likely carry that
throughout and you’ll make your audience excited about your topic as well.

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9. Remember to Pause

 Pausing not only prevents filler words and helps you recollect your thoughts, it can also be a
powerful indicator of importance within your presentation.

10. Create “Um” Alternatives

 Try hard not to use filler words as they make you look unprofessional and uncertain. The best
alternatives to “um” “like” and “so” are taking a breath or a silent pause to collect your
thoughts.

11. Using your Hands

 Using your hands makes your college presentation more interesting and helps to
get your points across. Point at the slide, use common hand gestures, or mimic a
motion.

12. Eye Contact

 Eye contact is one of the most important presentations tips for students. Many
students are nervous, so they look at their notes or their feet. It is important that
you show your confidence and engage your audience by making eye contact. The
more presentations you give, the more eye contact will feel natural.

13. The right Tone

 The best public speakers vary their tone and pitch throughout their presentation.
Try to change it up, and choose the right tone for your message.

PREPARING AN EFFECTIVE COLLEGE PRESENTATION

1. Open Strong

 Grab your fellow students’ attention by starting strong with a powerful quote, intriguing
scenario, or prompt for internal dialogue.

2. Start with A Mind Map

 Mind mapping is literally creating a map of the contents of your college presentation. It is a
visual representation and flow of your topics and can help you see the big picture, along with
smaller details.

3. Edit Yourself

 Some students make the mistake of including too much information in their college
presentations. Instead of putting all of the information in there, choose the most important or
relevant points, and elaborate on the spot if you feel it’s necessary.

4. Tell A Story

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  People love stories — they capture interest in ways that figures and facts cannot. Make your
presentation relatable by including a story, or presenting in a story format.

5. The Power of Humor

 Using humor in your college presentation is one of the best presentation tips for students.
Laughter will relax both you and the audience, and make your presentation more interesting

POWERPOINT TIPS FOR STUDENTS

1. Use Key Phrases

 Choose a few key phrases that remain throughout your PowerPoint presentation. These
should be phrases that really illustrate your point, and items that your audience will remember
afterwards.

2. Limit Number of Slides

 Having too many slides will cause you to feel you need to rush through them to finish on time.
Instead, include key points on a slide and take the time to talk about them. Try to think about
including one slide per one minute of speech.

3. Plan Slide Layouts

 Take some time to plan out how information will be displayed on your PowerPoint. Titles
should be at the top, and bullets underneath. You may want to add title slides if you are
changing to a new topic.

4. The Right Fonts

 Choose an easy-to-read font that isn’t stylized. Sans serif fonts tend to be easier to read when
they are large. Try to stick to only two different fonts as well to keep the presentation clean.

5. Choosing Colors and Images

 When it comes to colors, use contrasting ones: light on dark or dark on light. Try to choose a
few main colors to use throughout the presentation. Choose quality images, and make sure to
provide the source for the images.

6. Use Beautiful Visual Aids

 Keep your presentation interesting and your audience awake by adding visual aids to your
PowerPoint. Add captivating photos, data representations, or infographics to illustrate your
information.

7. Don’t Read Straight from Your Notes

 When you read straight from your notes, your tone tends to remain monotonous, you don’t
leave much room for eye contact. Try looking up often, or memorizing portions of your
presentation.

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8. Avoid Too Much Text

 PowerPoint was made for images and bullets, not for your entire speech to be written in
paragraph form. Too much text can lose your audiences’ interest and understanding.

9. Try A Theme

 Choosing the right theme is one of those presentation tips for students that is often overlooked.
When you find the right theme, you keep your college presentation looking interesting,
professional, and relevant.

10. Be Careful with Transitions and Animations

 Animations and transitions can add a lot to your presentation, but don’t add to many or it will
end up being distracting.

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