Just Imagine you are standing in front of a huge crowd. Recalling your sentences mean swallowing your saliva, dry throat, sweating, fidgeting the hands and looking at the roof and trying to remember what to speak next. So, what does this body language indicates? Nervousness, fear! Yes, no matter how well you prepare what matters most is whether you can deliver the content or the audience are listening or paying attention to your words.
Even for adults to stand in front of an audience and deliver a presentation is scary. For children it is even scarier. But luckily the same techniques which are applicable for adults can be implemented for children and also gradually they can ace their presentation.
Every presentation includes two important factors. First whether the presenter conveyed the audience what he/she wanted to convey and whether the audience received it without getting bored. Hence even with children same thing applies.
Let us understand how children can prepare for the presentation.
Mirror is your best guide
One of the traditional yet effective method for children is practicing in front of the mirror. This gives them an opportunity to correct or alter their body language. For instance, are they maintaining eye to eye contact, hand gestures, standing posture or stance in general. All these questions are answered or you get a feedback with this exercise.
Your closed one are your second priority
You can select your comfortable crowd such as family as well as friends and speak in front of them and genuinely ask for their feedback. For instance if they say your voice is not audible or lacks modulation, then you need to work on it to improve that particular aspect.
It’s okay if your forget but never give up
It is normal to forget or recall the exact lines from the rehearsal. But it’s okay. You can always replace the same with other words without altering the meaning of the sentence. The fear of forgetting makes the presentation worst.
Start your presentation with opening words
There is a saying, first impression is the best impression. However, even in your presentation keeping the audience lively is the most important thing. Start your presentation by asking questions related to the topic or by creating a story or quotes/quiz. This will help you grab the their attention.
Monotonously don’t read
One of the biggest mistakes children do in their presentation is reading from the slides or paper. Instead keep pointers and start explaining the content. Reading will be definitely boring. In the beginning limit your explanation for four to five sentences, later you can add instances or examples.
Connect with your audience
While preparing the content itself, collect enough real life examples to reach the audience. Even if you are talking about nano technology or algorithm or simple topics, keep enough real life examples which can be easily understood. This is how you can slowly withdraw from fear of facing the crowd.
Practice deep breathing exercise
It is obvious when your body is tensed it can be seen or experienced in symptoms like sweating, dry throat or shivering. Keep your body calm and relaxed. Oxygen does this job. Hence start practicing deep breathing exercise.
Presentation is a skill which comes from practice. So practice well before your presentation. Always summarise the presentation using closing words. Keep simple, understandable, exact fonts and slides. If you are talking maintain eye contact, focus on your voice tone and keep the environment lively.
Image by Gerd Altmann
