Students have varied experience with public speaking. Set your students up for success by providing them with a Presentation Outline Template to use for their next in-class presentation.
Preparatory Questions
This Presentation Outline Template created by the Instruction Design team contains essential preparatory questions to help students tailor their presentation for a specific audience and zero in on the purpose of the presentation, which should be more than, “to get a good grade.” Students will identify the audience demographic and problem. When framing the presentation as a solution to a problem it automatically becomes more engaging and memorable.
The preparatory questions also include “What do you want the audience to think, feel, and do?” Those questions help the presenter establish the purpose, the emotional center, and the call to action.
Structure
A good presentation will be structured in an organized fashion that is clear and easy to follow.
An introduction will have an engaging hook to grab the audience’s attention, followed by an introduction of the presenter(s) and their credibility, followed by a brief preview statement and transition to the main body.
The main body will be broken up into key points that each have clear evidence and/or stories. The number of points will differ based on the time and topic, but each point should be clear, concise, and memorable with clear transitions between points that lead the audience.
The conclusion will contain a brief summary, a clear call to action, a last thing or drop the mic statement to wrap up the presentation, and “thank you” to demonstrate gratitude and signal completion.
Summary
We want our students to have strong public speaking skills to be competitive when they enter the job market. Presentations in class are common assignments, but presentation expectations are not always provided. Using the outline template with the Presentation Rubric gives students clear guidelines and learning tools to help them improve their presentation skills.