PELHAM HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER

The mission of Pelham High School is to educate students so that they may pursue life goals, 
participate fully as active citizens, and become socially responsible community members.

Presentation Guidelines

I.                   Welcome and Introduction

a.     Greet the audience

b.    Thank them for coming

c.     Introduce Yourself

d.    Introduce Your Topic –give your proposal statement/ state your objective

e.     Explain why you chose your topic

f.       Announce when you will entertain questions

g.     Pull the audience in with a question or device- make it relevant to their lives

h.    Give them a map of their journey- how you will present your subject

II.                 The Main Body of Your Presentation

a.     Overview of your subject

b.     First area of interest

c.      Second area of interest

d.    Third area of interest

e.     Fourth area of interest

f.       Fifth area of interest

(Most audiences will not listen beyond five main points)

III.              Conclusion

a.     restate your objective

b.    sum up the topic in a pithy sentence or two

c.     thank the audience for coming

d.    entertain final questions

 Remember

q       Speak clearly and audibly

q       Good eye contact with audience. Don’t look over their heads, don’t read your notes!  Use notecards if needed.

q       Don’t use slang- never say "You guys"!

q       Don’t apologize, start over, put yourself down, etc

q       Avoid excessive movements. Keep legs flexible, breathe!

q       Make audiovisual aids easily read from a distance- not a lot of print!

q       Engage the audience directly with a question or activity

q       Always thank them for coming.

q       Smile!

q       Use “directionals” to move from one area to another- “I will now”, next, finally, etc.

Elizabeth Strauss, Media Generalist
Pelham High School Library Media Center
bstrauss@pelhamsd.org