April 21, 2016 by tpilcher

Muscle Memory – Teaching the Presentation

To teach the poster presentation assignment, I create a poster from the rubric that I will use to grade them. In class, I then present the poster and lead a discussion on the elements of a powerful presentation. The students have already worked on their posters–the media and the message–so I spend a lot of time on the messenger portion. Some students don’t really know what to do with their bodies or voices while presenting. I help them practice right there in class: everyone stands up and practices a strong stance (planting their feet, not shifting weight too much), natural hand gestures, orienting toward the audience, appropriate smiles, etc.

Standing up in class also helps to wake up students and increase memory associations. And hopefully, the practice helps students feel less nervous or uncomfortable when presenting in class.