Teachers are essentially professional presenters. Talking to a group of students, parents and other teachers is all a presentation. This means teachers give presentations constantly. These presentation tips are geared towards this hard-working group of professionals.
Giving this many presentations can cause speakers to become burnt out. These tips will help teachers perform better in front of their variety of audiences.
1. Give Lots of Thought to Your Visual Aids
Visual aids have a research-backed ability to decrease learning time, improve comprehension, and increase retention. They’re critical for teachers. Don’t simply add visuals as a quick after-thought. Be thoughtful about the ways movie clips, infographics, and even GIFs can enhance the content. Keep in mind that entertainment value is just as important as a visual aid’s ability to support your argument. Students who are entertained will also retain your lessons.
2. Don’t Read from the Slides
One of the biggest presentation mistakes teachers make is reading directly from the slides. Not only is this incredibly boring for anyone to sit through (child or adult) but it’s an ineffective way to teach. Do what you can to keep your slide content to a minimum. Let the visual do most of the legwork rather than the text. Research shows an audience learns 79% more from textless visuals.
3. Simplify Your Topics
It’s easy to share a ton of details about a topic that you know everything about. It’s hard for your audience to understand it all. Edit your lessons down to one main idea per slide. Supporting points can be broken out across additional slides. Don’t worry about high slide counts. Worry about how easy your topic is for your audience to understand.
4. Include Plenty of Interaction
No one wants to be talked to for any significant long time. Especially not students who are forced to stay seated for hours at a time. Don’t speak straight through your presentation without a little engagement. Use questions, role-playing and small group discussions to get students involved. This will make it easier for you to hold their attention. Presentation tips on audience engagement create excitement and interest in your deck.
5. Show Your Personality
Set aside formality in favor of a more casual approach. Conversational speech will make you an effective teacher. Take time to get to know your students and their parents. Avoid using formal language that will make you appear distant. Crack a bad joke or two to make you more relatable and show some personality.
Implementing these tips into your presentations will help your classes become much more engaging and interactive. And we are certain it will not only make it easier for your students to understand material but also make you a better tutor for eQualifai!
