Assignment 20: Anne Nombe

I'm not really exceptionally talented in anything, but I like to think I can make and give a good presentation, so I'll go with that. These are just going to be guidelines rather than a how-to.

• Everyone who took Seminar last year know about the whole "use a dark background and bright text" thing, but that doesn't restrict you to simply using black and white. Add in a pop of color to attract your audience's eye. Use browns and greys as backgrounds, and whites for regular text, using a complementary color for words you want to emphasize.
• Don't overload your slides with words. Imagine the mental groan everyone in the room would have if they saw your paragraphs on the screen. Instead, condense your paragraph to a main idea, and talk about the entire paragraph orally.
• If you're going to give a good presentation, you need to put in the work. This means practice is ESSENTIAL. Practice until your voice hurts. That's when you've done enough.
• You need to practice without looking at your laptop screen. Get up and stare elsewhere to make sure you actually have everything memorized.
• Bring no more than one note card. That way, all your important facts are on one card, you don't have to rely so much on your card for your speech, and you won't risk your cards being out of order or falling out of your hands.
• When you get up to speak, the worst thing is nerves. Some people shake. Some people stutter. Public speaking is hard. Something that helps me is to keep in mind that everyone is just as nervous as me when they present, and that they aren't judging me anymore than I judge them. No one will remember you stuttering on one word in your presentation forever. It's okay to make mistakes.

And there you go!