Public speaking and presentations

Presenting is a skill, not a personality trait. With a clear structure, simple slides and enough practice, most people can give a confident talk, and nerves become manageable.

Structure your talk

• UCL's study skills guide describes three main stages: introduction, body and conclusion.
• Introduction: say what you will cover and why it matters to this audience. Body: two to four main points, each with evidence or an example. Conclusion: repeat your key message and what you want people to do or remember.
• Keep the scope realistic for your time limit. UCL warns against trying to cover too much.
• If you write a script, write for speaking: UCL suggests avoiding complex sentences, the passive voice and complicated words.
• Southampton advises checking your brief for a question and answer session and leaving time for it.

Design simple slides

• UCL's rule of thumb is about one slide per minute, so roughly 15 slides for a 15-minute talk.
• UCL suggests a maximum of four to five bullet points per slide, so the bullets double as your prompts.
• Use large fonts. UCL suggests 22 to 28 point for text and 34 to 40 for titles; Southampton suggests 20 to 28 for body text and 36 to 44 for headings. Either way, bigger than a document.
• Use high contrast and a plain background. Southampton suggests avoiding green and red or pink and keeping animations subtle.
• Give each graph a title that states its message, for example 'Sales doubled after the change', not just 'Sales'.
• Do not read your slides aloud. Southampton advises using notes or cue cards as prompts, not scripts.

Rehearse properly

• Rehearse several times and time yourself. Southampton suggests adding approximate times to your speaker notes to track pace on the day.
• Rehearse in realistic conditions: standing, with your actual slides, at the volume you will use.
• Record yourself on your phone and watch it back for pace, filler words and body language.
• Practise in front of a friendly audience such as family or friends and ask for one strength and one improvement.
• Mayo Clinic suggests preparing answers to up to five questions the audience might ask.

Managing nerves

• Mayo Clinic notes that anxiety often peaks at the start and fades within minutes, so plan and memorise your opening lines.
• Take two or more slow, deep breaths before you start, as Mayo Clinic suggests.
• Mayo Clinic notes that nervous speakers tend to overestimate how visible their nerves are. Audiences mostly focus on the information.
• If your mind goes blank, pause, breathe and look at your notes. Mayo Clinic says such moments usually last only a few seconds and audiences generally do not mind.
• Speak more slowly than feels natural. Southampton notes that nerves speed up speech.
• If fear of speaking seriously affects your life, Mayo Clinic notes that professional help such as cognitive behavioural therapy can work. Speak to a doctor or school counsellor.

Delivery and questions

• Make eye contact by scanning sections of the room. Southampton suggests starting with friendly faces, or looking just above heads if eye contact is hard.
• In Q&A, repeat each question aloud so everyone hears it, and ask for clarification if needed.
• It is fine not to know. UCL suggests thanking the questioner and saying you will look into it.
• If you run short of time, Southampton advises skipping to your final point and conclusion rather than rushing or stopping abruptly.
• Before the day, save your slides in more than one place, such as a USB stick and cloud storage.