Your STEAM Presentation: 7 Key Tips for Success
Created by Chris Wood
Note: You don’t need to perfectly meet all these guidelines, but the more the better!
Tip #1: Presentation & Originality
- Your presentation consists of clearly original and innovative ideas, content, and activities that highlight the unique attributes of your topic.
- Feel free to use already existing content, but the goal is to create your own material to the maximum extent possible.
Tip #2: Audience Engagement
Try to engage with your audience rather than just speak at them. The goal is an actively engaged audience, rather than a passive one.
Question Your Audience
Spice up your presentation with open-ended questions. Examples: has anyone played with Legos as a child? Does anyone still play with Legos? Did Albert Einstein work on the development of the atomic bomb? Ask for personal testimony, e.g. who can share a story about the worst job you ever had? Who considers themselves to be a very left-brained or very right-brained person?
Demonstrations
If at all possible, consider some kind of live demonstration. Make your presentation activity-based to the maximum extent possible!
Gaming and Polling
Walt Disney, I think, said: “I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.” So true. Check out the following engagement tools:
- Kahoot!: Make learning awesome! Kahoot! delivers engaging learning to billions. Teachers, students, businesses, and parents all use Kahoot! for group learning, e-learning, distance learning, and self-study everywhere!
- Sign up with Google account
- Training Video: How to use Kahoot! in the Classroom
- Mentimeter: Collect polls, data, and opinions from participants using smart devices.
- Sign up with Google account
- Training Videos:
- DirectPoll: Live polling
- MindMeister: Free mind maps
- Training Video: How to Create Engaging Mind Map Presentations
- PearDeck Google Slides add-on: make your google slides presentation interactive with google templates.
- PollEverywhere: Create polls
- Whiteboards:
- SketchPad
- Blackboard Whiteboard
Tip #3: Visuals
- Your presentation includes easy to follow queues, and prompts that appeal to attendees and enhances their grasp of your topic. Include videos, graphs (https://www.canva.com/graphs/), charts, and images.
- No dis-embodied voices. Lively, easy-to-view graphics are essential — but don’t overdo it! Your presence (your face!) needs to dominate your presentation. Consider multiple simultaneous on-screen frames. Try to always be on the screen. Other frames can contain videos, graphs, charts, and images.
Tip #4: Citations
- Show or mention your key sources – it lends credibility!
Tip #5: Relevance
- Your presentation includes practical applications relevant for today’s cohort of students and community members.
- Connect to today’s issues.
Tip #6: Preparation
- For oral presentations, 12 minutes is a really short amount of time! Rehearse your presentation many, many times!
- Meet with your assigned STEAM Committee Contact–they look forward to providing a lot of helpful feedback!
- An Info-Session will take place on Friday, May 1st from 11a-12p via Blackboard Collaborate
- Dress Rehearsal workshops will take place Wednesday, May 20th 10a-12p, 1p-3p remotely