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ELA 5: Presenting Under Pressure 44 Views
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Description:
If you're feeling a lot of pressure before a presentation, remember to relax, practice up, and definitely do NOT place yourself near an open flame. We read somewhere that things under pressure might might explode near fire, and we aren't taking any chances.
Transcript
- 00:07
[Dino and Coop singing]
- 00:13
Lots of scary things happen in school. Bullies, mystery meat...pep assemblies. [Bully pushes over the other kid]
- 00:19
But nothing – nothing – strikes fear into the hearts of students quite like public speaking. [Scary figures appear, then public speaking on a blackboard]
- 00:25
Oh, the horror!
- 00:26
This is surely going to be the most embarrassing three to five minutes of your life! [Guy walks on stage and pees himself]
Full Transcript
- 00:30
It may be hard to believe, but giving a presentation doesn’t have to feel like torture. [Kid in handcuffs with heavy ball attached to feet]
- 00:34
One of the best things you can do to calm your nerves before a presentation is practice.
- 00:39
Write your script and practice it at home.
- 00:41
Keep practicing until you know all of your main talking points by heart. Knowing them [Boy has chest x-ray and talking points appear are next to his heart]
- 00:45
by brain would be good, too. [Talking points sticking out the boy's brain]
- 00:47
You can even write out some of your main points on notecards for easy reference.
- 00:50
And be sure to practice with your notecards. Doesn’t do you any good if they’re just
- 00:54
gathering dust in a drawer somewhere. [Notecards are in a messy drawer]
- 00:56
You want your practice sessions to be as close to the real thing as possible…so that once [Guy reading a notecard in the mirror]
- 01:01
you start giving your real presentation, it all feels natural, almost like you've done
- 01:05
it a dozen of times before.
- 01:07
Because, hopefully, um…you have.
- 01:09
When the big day comes, there are a few things you can do to keep nervousness at bay. [Schoolbus arrives]
- 01:13
Keep in mind: there's no real reason to be nervous. You're just telling your classmates
- 01:18
and teacher some stuff you learned, not defusing a ticking time bomb. [A bomb in front of the school sign]
- 01:21
You can also treat your presentation as an acting role. It is a kind of performance,
- 01:25
after all, so why not pretend to be an incredibly confident speaker? [Girl with her hands on her hips at the front of class]
- 01:29
Fake it until you make it, baby.
- 01:31
Also, when it comes to the structure of your presentation, try to keep your audience engaged.
- 01:36
As one or two teachers might have demonstrated for you over the years, seeing someone just [Girl switches the TV on in front of the class]
- 01:40
stand and talk for a long time isn't exactly riveting. [Guy giving a presentation from a flip chart]
- 01:43
When you're preparing your presentation, try to use visual elements. You can bring along [Coop pointing at a blackboard]
- 01:47
some props, posters, or items to symbolize your topic. Maybe even a live hamster you’ve
- 01:52
trained to demonstrate some of your points. That should keep everyone awake.
- 01:56
You can also keep your audience engaged by literally engaging them. [Guy proposing to a girl in a restaurant]
- 01:59
Okay, we don’t mean you should propose marriage. Not that literally...
- 02:02
Just ask them some questions, making them as much a part of the presentation as you are. [Dino pointing at a blackboard]
- 02:07
If you follow these tips, your next presentation should feel…not so much like a death sentence. [Someone banging a court gavel]
- 02:12
On the other hand, getting your grade after a bad presentation can feel a lot like one… [Guy being led away in handcuffs]
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