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16 Public Speaking Tips for Students

Arlin Cuncic, MA, is the author of The Anxiety Workbook and founder of the website About Social Anxiety. She has a Master's degree in clinical psychology.

Aron Janssen, MD is board certified in child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry and is the vice chair of child and adolescent psychiatry Northwestern University.

Public speaking tips for students aim to reduce anxiety that can interfere with giving presentations or speeches in class. These tips can also be helpful for those with social anxiety disorder (SAD)   who have difficulty speaking in front of a group or telling a story among friends.

Public Speaking Tips

If you have SAD and need to give a speech  in elementary school, high school, college, or university, it helps to be as prepared as possible . Beyond preparation, however, there are strategies that you can use to reduce anxiety and fight the urge to stay home with a fake illness.

Even great speakers practice their speeches beforehand. Practice out loud with a recording device or video camera and then watch yourself to see how you can improve. If you are feeling brave, practice in front of a friend or family member and ask for feedback.

• Talk about what you know : If possible, choose a topic for your speech or presentation that you know a lot about and love. Your passion for the topic will be felt by the audience, and you will feel less anxious knowing that you have a lot of experience to draw from when other students ask you questions.
• Concentrate on your message : When you focus on the task at hand, anxiety is less likely to get out of control. Concentrate on the main message of your speech or presentation and make it your goal to deliver that message to the other students in your class.
• Grab the audience's attention : Most of your fellow classmates will pay attention for at least the first 20 seconds; grab their attention during those early moments. Start with an interesting fact or a story that relates to your topic.
• Have one main message : Focus on one central theme and your classmates will learn more. Tie different parts of your talk to the main theme to support your overall message. Trying to cover too much ground can leave other students feeling overwhelmed.

Tell Stories

Stories catch the attention of other students and deliver a message in a more meaningful way than facts and figures. Whenever possible, use a story to illustrate a point in your talk.

Being prepared to speak in public can also be important if you have social anxiety disorder. Feeling confident and prepared to give your speech may help lessen your feelings of anxiety. Some of the things that you can do to prepare include:

• Visit the room : If you have access to the classroom where you will be speaking outside of class hours, take the time to visit in advance and get used to standing at the front of the room. Make arrangements for any audio-visual equipment and practice standing in the exact spot where you will deliver your speech.
• Rack up experience : Volunteer to speak in front of your class as often as possible. Be the first one to raise your hand when a question is asked. Your confidence will grow with every public speaking experience.
• Observe other speakers : Take the time to watch other speakers who are good at what they do. Practice imitating their style and confidence.
• Organize your talk : Every speech should have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Structure your talk so that the other students know what to expect.

Manage Your Anxiety

Taking steps to deal with your feelings of anxiety can also make public speaking easier. Some of the things that you can do:

• Tell someone about your anxiety : If you are speaking in front of a high school or college class, meet with your teacher or professor and describe your public speaking fears . If you're in elementary or high school, share your fears with your parents, a teacher, or a guidance counselor. Sometimes sharing how you feel can make it easier to overcome stage fright.
• Visualize confidence : Visualize yourself confidently delivering your speech. Imagine feeling free of anxiety and engaging the students in your class. Although this may seem like a stretch for you now, visualization is a powerful tool for changing the way that you feel. Elite athletes use this strategy to improve performance in competitions.
• Find a friendly face : If you are feeling anxious, find one of your friends in class (or someone who seems friendly) and imagine that you are speaking only to that person.

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Maintain Perspective

Remember that other students are on your side. Think about a time when you have been an audience member and the student delivering the speech or presentation was noticeably nervous. Did you think less of that student? More likely, you felt sympathetic and wanted to make that person more comfortable by smiling or nodding.

Remember—other students generally want you to succeed and feel comfortable. If for some reason the audience is not on your side or you experience bullying or social exclusion, be sure to discuss this with a parent, teacher, or guidance counselor.

Be Confident

Sometimes just knowing what makes a good speech can help you feel more confident. Focus on some of the following elements and practice them before you have to speak in public.

• Develop your own style : In addition to imitating good speakers, work on developing your own personal style as a public speaker. Integrate your own personality into your speaking style and you will feel more comfortable in front of the class. Telling personal stories that tie into your theme are a great way to let other students get to know you better.
• Avoid filler words : Words such as "basically", "well", and "um" don't add anything to your speech. Practice being silent when you feel the urge to use one of these words.
• Vary your tone, volume, and speed : Interesting speakers vary the pitch (high versus low), volume (loud versus soft), and speed (fast versus slow) of their words. Doing so keeps your classmates interested and engaged in what you say.
• Make the audience laugh : Laughter is a great way to relax both you and the other students in your class, and telling jokes can be a great icebreaker at the beginning of a speech. Practice the timing and delivery of your jokes beforehand and ask a friend for feedback. Be sure that they are appropriate for your class before you begin.
• Smile : If all else fails, smile. Your fellow classmates will perceive you like a warm speaker and be more receptive to what you have to say.

Don't Apologize

If you make a mistake, don't offer apologies. Chances are that your classmates didn't notice anyway. Unless you need to correct a fact or figure, there is no point dwelling on errors that probably only you noticed.

If you make a mistake because your hands or shaking, or something similar, try to make light of the situation by saying something like, "I wasn't this nervous when I woke up this morning!" This can help to break the tension of the moment.

A Word From Verywell

It's natural to feel frightened the first time you have to speak in front of your class. However, if you fear continues, interferes with your daily life and keeps you awake at night, it may be helpful to see someone about your anxiety.

Try talking to a parent, teacher, or counselor about how you have been feeling. If that doesn't get you anywhere, ask to make an appointment with your doctor. Severe public speaking anxiety is a true disorder that can improve with treatment .

Spence SH, Rapee RM. The etiology of social anxiety disorder: An evidence-based model . Behav Res Ther. 2016;86:50-67. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2016.06.007

By Arlin Cuncic, MA Arlin Cuncic, MA, is the author of The Anxiety Workbook and founder of the website About Social Anxiety. She has a Master's degree in clinical psychology.

10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills

Few are immune to the fear of public speaking. Marjorie North offers 10 tips for speakers to calm the nerves and deliverable memorable orations.

Marjorie North

Snakes? Fine. Flying? No problem. Public speaking? Yikes! Just thinking about public speaking — routinely described as one of the greatest (and most common) fears — can make your palms sweat. But there are many ways to tackle this anxiety and learn to deliver a memorable speech.

In part one of this series,  Mastering the Basics of Communication , I shared strategies to improve how you communicate. In part two, How to Communicate More Effectively in the Workplace , I examined how to apply these techniques as you interact with colleagues and supervisors in the workplace. For the third and final part of this series, I’m providing you with public speaking tips that will help reduce your anxiety, dispel myths, and improve your performance.

Here Are My 10 Tips for Public Speaking:

1. nervousness is normal. practice and prepare.

All people feel some physiological reactions like pounding hearts and trembling hands. Do not associate these feelings with the sense that you will perform poorly or make a fool of yourself. Some nerves are good. The adrenaline rush that makes you sweat also makes you more alert and ready to give your best performance.

The best way to overcome anxiety is to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more. Take the time to go over your notes several times. Once you have become comfortable with the material, practice — a lot. Videotape yourself, or get a friend to critique your performance.

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2. Know Your Audience. Your Speech Is About Them, Not You.

Before you begin to craft your message, consider who the message is intended for. Learn as much about your listeners as you can. This will help you determine your choice of words, level of information, organization pattern, and motivational statement.

3. Organize Your Material in the Most Effective Manner to Attain Your Purpose.

Create the framework for your speech. Write down the topic, general purpose, specific purpose, central idea, and main points. Make sure to grab the audience’s attention in the first 30 seconds.

4. Watch for Feedback and Adapt to It.

Keep the focus on the audience. Gauge their reactions, adjust your message, and stay flexible. Delivering a canned speech will guarantee that you lose the attention of or confuse even the most devoted listeners.

5. Let Your Personality Come Through.

Be yourself, don’t become a talking head — in any type of communication. You will establish better credibility if your personality shines through, and your audience will trust what you have to say if they can see you as a real person.

6. Use Humor, Tell Stories, and Use Effective Language.

Inject a funny anecdote in your presentation, and you will certainly grab your audience’s attention. Audiences generally like a personal touch in a speech. A story can provide that.

7. Don’t Read Unless You Have to. Work from an Outline.

Reading from a script or slide fractures the interpersonal connection. By maintaining eye contact with the audience, you keep the focus on yourself and your message. A brief outline can serve to jog your memory and keep you on task.

8. Use Your Voice and Hands Effectively. Omit Nervous Gestures.

Nonverbal communication carries most of the message. Good delivery does not call attention to itself, but instead conveys the speaker’s ideas clearly and without distraction.

9. Grab Attention at the Beginning, and Close with a Dynamic End.

Do you enjoy hearing a speech start with “Today I’m going to talk to you about X”? Most people don’t. Instead, use a startling statistic, an interesting anecdote, or concise quotation. Conclude your speech with a summary and a strong statement that your audience is sure to remember.

10. Use Audiovisual Aids Wisely.

Too many can break the direct connection to the audience, so use them sparingly. They should enhance or clarify your content, or capture and maintain your audience’s attention.

Practice Does Not Make Perfect

Good communication is never perfect, and nobody expects you to be perfect. However, putting in the requisite time to prepare will help you deliver a better speech. You may not be able to shake your nerves entirely, but you can learn to minimize them.

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About the Author

North is a consultant for political candidates, physicians, and lawyers, and runs a private practice specializing in public speaking, and executive communication skills. Previously, she was the clinical director in the department of speech and language pathology and audiology at Northeastern University.

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7.4 Public Speaking and Class Presentations

Learning objectives.

• Know how to overcome nervousness and anxiety associated with public speaking and giving class presentations.
• Effectively use the six-step process to prepare for and deliver a class presentation.
• Create effective visual aids for use in class presentations.
• Work with a group to successfully plan and deliver a class presentation.

Public speaking—giving an oral presentation before a class or another group of people—is a special form of interaction common in education. You will likely be asked to give a presentation in one of your classes at some point, and your future career may also involve public speaking. It’s important to develop skills for this form of communication.

Public speaking is like participating in class—sharing your thoughts, ideas, and questions with others in the group. In other ways, however, public speaking is very different. You stand in front of the class to speak, rather than from your usual seat—and for most students, that changes the psychology of the situation. You also have time outside of class to prepare your presentation, allowing you to plan it carefully—and, for many, giving more time to worry about it and experience even more anxiety!

Overcoming Anxiety

Although a few people seem to be natural public speakers, most of us feel some stage fright or anxiety about having to speak to a group, at least at first. This is completely normal. We feel like everyone is staring at us and seeing our every flaw, and we’re sure we’ll forget what we want to say or mess up. Take comfort from knowing that almost everyone else is dreading giving class presentations the same as you are! But you can learn to overcome your anxiety and prepare in a way that not only safely gets you through the experience but also leads to success in your presentation. The following are proven strategies for overcoming anxiety when speaking in public:

• Understand anxiety. Since stage fright is normal, don’t try to deny that you’re feeling anxious. A little anxiety can help motivate you to prepare and do your best. Accept this aspect of the process and work to overcome it. Anxiety is usually worst just before you begin and but eases up once you’ve begun.
• Understand that your audience actually wants you to succeed. They’re not looking for faults or hoping you’ll fail. Other students and your instructors are on your side, not your enemy. They likely won’t even see your anxiety.
• Reduce anxiety by preparing and practicing. The next section discusses the preparation process in more detail. The more fully you prepare and the more often you have practice, the more your anxiety will go away.
• Focus on what you’re saying, not how you’re saying it. Keep in mind that you have ideas to share, and this is what your classmates and instructors are interested in. Don’t obsess about speaking, but focus on the content of your presentation. Think, for example, of how easily you share your ideas with a friend or family member, as you naturally speak your mind. The same can work with public speaking if you focus on the ideas themselves.
• Develop self-confidence. As you prepare, you will make notes you can refer to during the presentation. You’re not going to forget what you want to say. The more you practice, the more confident you’ll become.

Guidelines for Presentations

Preparing and delivering a presentation in class (or in business or other settings) is a process very similar to the learning process discussed in Chapter 4 “Listening, Taking Notes, and Remembering” , Chapter 5 “Reading to Learn” , and Chapter 6 “Preparing for and Taking Tests” and the writing process discussed in Chapter 8 “Writing for Classes” . The process breaks down into these six basic steps:

• Analyze your audience and goals
• Plan, research, and organize your content
• Draft and revise the presentation
• Prepare speaking notes
• Practice the presentation
• Deliver the presentation

Step 1: Analyze Your Audience and Goals

Who will see and hear your presentation—and why? Obviously, other students and the instructor. But you still need to think about what they already know, and don’t know, about your topic. If your topic relates to subject matter in class lectures and readings, consider what background information they already have and be careful not to give a boring recap of things they already know. It may be important, however, to show how your specific topic fits in with subjects that have been discussed already in class, especially in the beginning of your presentation, but be sure to focus on your new topic.

New terms and concepts may become familiar to you while doing your research and preparation, but remember to define and explain them to other students. Consider how much explanation or examples will be needed for your audience to grasp your points. If your topic involves anything controversial or may provoke emotion, consider your audience’s attitudes and choose your words carefully. Thinking about your audience will help you find ways to get their attention and keep them interested.

Be sure you are clear about the goals for the presentation. Are you primarily presenting new information or arguing for a position? Are you giving an overview or a detailed report? Review the assignment and talk with the instructor if you’re unsure. Your goals guide everything in the presentation: what you say, how much you say, what order you say it in, what visual aids you use, whether you use humor or personal examples, and so forth.

Step 2: Plan, Research, and Organize Your Content

Starting with the assignment and your goals, brainstorm your topic. Jot notes on specific topics that seem important. Often you’ll do reading or research to gather more information. Take notes as you would with any reading. As you research the topic at this stage, don’t worry at first about how much content you are gathering. It’s better to know too much and then pick out the most important things to say than to rush ahead to drafting the presentation and then realize you don’t have enough material.

Organizing a presentation is similar to organizing topics in a class paper and uses the same principles. Introduce your topic and state your main idea (thesis), go into more detail about specific ideas, and conclude your presentation. Look for a logical order for the specifics in the middle. Some topics work best in chronological (time) order or with a compare-and-contrast organization. If your goal is to persuade the audience, build up to the strongest reason. Put similar ideas together and add transitions between different ideas.

While researching your topic and outlining your main points, think about visual aids that may help the presentation.

Also start thinking about how much time you have for the presentation, but don’t limit yourself yet in the outline stage.

Step 3: Draft and Revise the Presentation

Unless required by the assignment, you don’t need to actually write out the presentation in full sentences and paragraphs. How much you write depends on your own learning and speaking style. Some students speak well from brief phrases written in an outline, while other students find it easier to write sentences out completely. There’s nothing wrong with writing the presentation out fully like a script if that helps you be sure you will say what you intend to—just so you don’t actually get up and read from the script.

You can’t know for sure how long a presentation will last until you rehearse it later, but you can estimate the time while drafting it. On the average, it takes two to three minutes to speak what can be written on a standard double-spaced page—but with visual aids, pauses, and audience interaction, it may take longer. While this is only a rough guide, you can start out thinking of a ten-minute presentation as the equivalent of a three to four-page paper.

Never wait until the last minute to draft your presentation. Arrange your time to prepare the first draft and then come back to it a day or two later to ask these questions:

• Am I going on too long about minor points? Could the audience get bored?
• Do I have good explanations and reasons for my main points? Do I need more data or better examples? Where would visual aids be most effective?
• Am I using the best words for this topic and this audience? Should I be more or less informal in the way I talk?
• Does it all hold together and flow well from one point to the next? Do I need a better introduction or transition when I shift from one idea to another?

Visual Aids in Presentations

Except for very short informal presentations, most presentations gain from visuals—and visual aids are often expected. If encouraged or allowed to include visuals in your presentation, plan to do so. Consider all possible types:

• Charts or graphs
• Photos or other images
• Video clips
• Handouts (only when necessary—they can be distracting)

Use the available technology, whether it’s an overhead projector, PowerPoint slides, a flip chart, or posters. (Talk to your instructor about resources and software for designing your visuals.) Follow these guidelines:

Design your visuals carefully. Here are some basic rules:

• Use a simple, neutral background. A light-colored background with text in a dark color works best for words; a dark background used like matting works best for photos.
• Minimize the amount of text in visuals—more than eight words per slide is usually too much. Avoid simply presenting word outlines of what you are saying. Make sure text is large enough for the audience to read.
• Don’t use more than two pictures in a slide, and use two only to make a direct comparison. Montages are hard to focus on and distract the viewer from what you’re saying. Use images only when they support your presentation; don’t use clip art just as decoration.
• Don’t put a table of numbers in a visual aid. If you need to illustrate numerical data, use a graph. (Microsoft Excel can make them for you easily.)
• Don’t use sound effects. Use a very brief recording only if directly related to your main points.
• Don’t use visual special effects such as dissolves, spins, box-outs, or other transitions. They are distracting. Use animation sparingly and only if it helps make a point.
• Don’t use so many visuals or move through them so quickly that the audience gives all its attention to them rather than to you.
• Practice your presentation using your visual aids, because they affect your timing.
• Explain visuals when needed but not when they’re obvious.
• Keep your eyes on your audience, only briefly glancing at visuals to stay in synch with them.
• Don’t hand out a printout of your visuals. Your audience should keep their eyes on you instead of fiddling around with paper.

Step 4: Prepare Speaking Notes

As mentioned earlier, it’s not a good idea to read your presentation from a written page rather than deliver it. To keep your audience’s attention, it’s important to make eye contact with them and to use a normal speaking voice—and you can’t do this if you keep your eyes on a written script.

Speaking notes are a brief outline for your presentation. You might write them on index cards or sheets of paper. Include important facts and data as well as keywords for your main ideas, but don’t write too much. (If you forget things later when you start practicing, you can always add more to your outline then.) Be sure to number your cards or pages to prevent a last-minute mix-up.

Think especially about how to open and close your presentation, because these two moments have the most impact of the whole presentation. Use the opening to capture the audience’s attention, but be sure it is appropriate for your audience and the goals. Here are some possibilities for your opening:

• A striking fact or example (illustrating an issue or a problem)
• A brief interesting or humorous anecdote (historical, personal, or current event)
• A question to the audience
• An interesting quotation

Then relate the opening to your topic and your main point and move into the body of the presentation.

Your closing mirrors the opening. Transition from your last point to a brief summary that pulls your ideas together. You might end with a challenge to the audience, a strong statement about your topic, or a personal reflection on what you have been saying. Just make sure you have a final sentence planned so that you don’t end up uncomfortably fumbling around at the end (“Well, I guess that ends my presentation”).

Step 5: Practice the Presentation

Practice may be the most important step. It is also the best way to get over stage fright and gain confidence.

Practice first in an empty room where you imagine people sitting, so that you can move your eyes around the room to this “audience.” The first time through, focus on putting your outlined notes into full sentences in your natural speaking voice. Don’t read your notes aloud. Glance down at your notes only briefly and then look up immediately around the room. Practice two or three times just to find the right words to explain your points and feel more comfortable working with your notes. Time yourself, but don’t obsess over your presentation being the exact length required. If your presentation is much too long, however, adjust it now in your notes so that you don’t start memorizing things that you might accidentally still say later on even though you cut them from your notes.

Once you feel good speaking from your notes, practice to add some more polish to your delivery. You might want to record or videotape your presentation or ask a friend or roommate to watch your presentation. Pay attention to these aspects of how you speak:

• Try to speak in your natural voice, not in a monotone as if you were just reading aloud. If you will be presenting in a large room without a microphone, you will need to speak louder than usual, but still try to use a natural voice.
• In usual conversation, we speed up and slow down and vary the intensity of our words to show how we feel about what we’re saying. Practice changes in your delivery style to emphasize key points.
• Don’t keep looking at your notes. It’s fine if you use words that are different from those you wrote down—the more you rehearse without looking at your notes, the more natural sounding you will be.
• Be sure you can pronounce all new words and technical terms correctly. Practice saying them slowly and clearly to yourself until you can say them naturally.
• Don’t forget transitions. Listeners need a cue when you’re moving to a new idea. Practice phrases such as “ Another important reason for this is…” or “Now let’s move on to why this is so.…”
• Watch out for all those little “filler” words people use so often, such as “like,” “you know,” “well,” and “uh.” They’re very distracting to most audiences. Listen to or watch your tape to see if you are using these fillers or ask your friend to point it out.
• Pay attention to body language when practicing. Stand up straight and tall in every practice session so that you become used to it. Unless you have to stand at a podium to use a fixed microphone in your presentation, practice moving around while you speak; this helps keep the audience watching you. Use hand and arm gestures if they are natural for you, but don’t try to make up gestures for the presentation because they will look phony. Most important, keep your eyes moving over the audience. Practice smiling and pausing at key points.
• Finally, it’s a good idea to be ready in case of an accident. Most likely your presentation will go smoothly, you’ll stay on track with your notes, and your PowerPoint slides will work fine, but sometimes a mishap happens. Be ready to joke about it, rather than becoming flustered. If the computer fails and you lose your visuals, say something like, “Well, that’s a shame, I had some really great photos to show you!” If you drop your index cards or notes, or accidentally skip ahead in your presentation and then have to backtrack, make a joke: “Sorry about that, I was so excited to get to my next point that I’m afraid I lost control there for a moment!” Let your audience laugh with you—they’ll still be on your side, and you can defuse the incident and move on without becoming more nervous.

Step 6: Deliver the Presentation

Be sure to get enough sleep and eat a healthy breakfast. Don’t drink too much caffeine or else you’ll become hyper and nervous. Wear your favorite—and appropriate—clothing and comfortable shoes.

You may use computerized visual aids when you give a presentation to a class.

John Haynes Photography – OLPC – CC BY-ND 2.0.

Remember, your audience is on your side! If you’re still nervous before your turn, take a few deep breaths. Rehearse your opening lines in your mind. Smile as you move to the front of the room, looking at your audience. You’ll see some friendly faces smiling back encouragingly. As you start the presentation, move your eyes among those giving you a warm reception—and if you see some student looking bored or doing something else, just ignore them. But don’t focus on any one person in the audience for too long, which could make them nervous or cause them to look away.

Don’t keep looking at your watch or a clock: If your rehearsal times were close to your assigned time, your presentation will be also. If you do notice that you’re running behind schedule, it may be that you’re saying too much out of nervousness. Use your notes to get back on track and keep the pace moving. But it’s better to deliver your presentation naturally and fluidly and be a bit long or short than to try to change your words and end up sounding unnatural.

At the closing, deliver your last line with confidence, sweeping your eyes over the audience. If appropriate, ask if there are any questions. When you’re done, pause, smile, say “Thank you,” and walk back to your seat.

Later on, ask other students and your instructor for comments. Be open minded—don’t just ask for praise. If you hear a suggestion for improvement, file that in your memory for next time.

Group Presentations

You may be assigned to give a presentation in a small group. The six-step process discussed previously works for group presentations, too, although group dynamics often call for additional planning and shared responsibilities:

• Schedule a group meeting as soon as possible to get started. Don’t let another student put things off. Explain that you’re too busy and won’t have time at the last minute.
• Begin by analyzing your audience and your goals together as a group to make sure everyone understands the assignment the same. Discuss who should do what. While everyone should talk about what content to include, from here onward, you will take on specialized roles. One or more may begin research and gathering information. Others who are good writers may volunteer to draft the presentation, while one or more others may develop the visual aids. Those who have public speaking experience may volunteer to do all or most of the speaking (unless the assignment requires everyone to have a speaking role). You also need a team leader to keep everyone on schedule, organize meetings, and so on. The best team leader is an even-tempered student with good social skills, who can motivate everyone to cooperate.
• Steps 2 and 3 can likely be carried out individually with assigned tasks, but group members should stay in touch. For example, the person developing the visuals should be talking to those doing the researching and drafting to see what visuals are needed and get started finding or creating them.
• Before preparing notes in step 4, meet again to go over the content and plan for visuals. Everyone should be comfortable with the plan so far. Make final decisions about who will do each section of the presentation. Set the time for each segment. Then speakers should prepare their own speaking notes. Let someone with strong speaking skills open or close the presentation (or both), with others doing the other parts.
• The whole group should be present for practice sessions in step 5, even if not everyone is speaking. Those not speaking should take notes and give feedback. If one student is doing most of the presenting, an alternate should be chosen in case the first choice is sick on the scheduled day. The alternate also needs to practice.
• During the delivery, especially if using technology for visual aids, one student should manage the visuals while others do the presenting. If several students present different segments, plan the transition from one to another so that the presentation keeps flowing without pauses.

Additional Resources

For Class Presentations

Using PowerPoint. A step-by-step illustrated tutorial for learning how to create effective visual presentations with PowerPoint. https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/tutorials/powerpoint/

“How to Give a Bad Talk.” A humorous look (with some very good advice) on what not to do when preparing for and giving a class presentation. http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~pattrsn/talks/BadTalk.pdf

Class presentations on YouTube. Search YouTube with the phrase “class presentation” and look for video examples of actual students giving class presentations. Observing and critiquing the presentations of other students are good ways to get started preparing your own and learning from others. Here’s a good example of a student group presentation on a topic we can all relate to (how body language works):

In this presentation, take note of

• how students make good eye contact with the audience;
• the first student’s natural speaking voice and tone, and how she did not have to use her note cards very often (obviously she practiced well);
• some differences among these students;
• the use of PowerPoint slides within the presentation (some better than others);
• the appropriate occasional use of humor;
• the division of presentation responsibilities within the student group;
• each presenter’s interaction with the audience.

Key Takeaways

• Public speaking skills are important because you will likely give presentations in class and perhaps in a future job.
• Overcome anxiety about public speaking by understanding your feelings, preparing well and practicing your delivery, and focusing on your subject.

Follow a six-step process to prepare and deliver a presentation:

• Deliver the presentation and seek feedback
• Use visual aids to support a presentation, creating visuals that are relevant, attractive, and powerful.
• The success of a group presentation depends on effective group meetings, successful division of roles, and repeated group practices.

Checkpoint Exercises

If you have given a class presentation in the past, what worked best for you? (If you have not given a presentation yet as a student, what aspect do you think will be most difficult for you?)

__________________________________________________________________

Name the two most important things you can do to reduce anxiety about a class presentation you will have to give.

For each of the following statements about class presentations, circle T for true or F for false:

Describe how best to use body language (facial expressions, eye movements, gestures, etc.) when giving a presentation.

If you were assigned along with three other students to give a group presentation in the class using this textbook, what would be your preferred role in the preparation stages? Your least preferred role? If you had to take your least preferred role, what single thing would you want to work hardest on to make the presentation successful?

College Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

How to Present a Presentation in Class?

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How to Give a Presentation in Class as a College Student

We all have given presentations at some point in our lives. But for students, presentations play an important role, be it during a seminar or an important event. If you are wondering how to give a presentation in class, then don't worry; this blog will help you stand out in the classroom. Stick to the end to understand how to present a presentation in class and make an everlasting impression on your audience. Let's get started!

What is a Presentation?

In simple terms, a presentation is a way of communicating an idea to an audience by speech, slideshow, or other visual aids. Presentations are used in academic settings like colleges and schools and even professional settings like the workplace. An effective presentation should be well-structured, engaging, and tailored to the needs of the audience. It should include an introduction, a main body and a conclusion, as well as nonverbal cues like body language and tone of voice.

Components of a Presentation

Your final grade isn't based just on a few multiple-choice exams. Instead, it will combine assignments, exams, and presentations. This is why you need to know how to give a presentation in class if you want good grades at the end of your semester. 

To know how to give a good presentation, you first need to know exactly what goes into making a presentation. This will include two main components - a visual element and a spoken element.  

Visual elements

An essential aspect of how to present in class is visuals. If you're wondering how to create a presentation for the class that your peers and professor will love, here are a few important tips on how to give a presentation in class:

1. Keep it brief: Most well-made presentations can convey all the information you need in around 10-15 slides. 

2. Use minimal text: Don't overcrowd your slides with information. If people are too busy reading, they won't pay attention to what you're saying. 

3. Use relevant images: Your PPT's visuals should be catchy, but remember that they all need to serve a purpose.

4. Spoken elements: Spoken elements are the next essential thing in presenting a presentation in class. Most students have trouble with the spoken part of their presentations. If you want to know how to give a presentation in class that'll get you good grades, your speech needs to be well-polished. 

How to Start Your Presentation?

If you want to know how to give a presentation in class as a student, you must first learn how to write a good speech.

1. Use a good hook: The start of your speech should get the attention of your audience right away and pique their interest. 

2. Use some humor: Speeches are a way for you to showcase some personality. A spoken assignment gives you the freedom to be a little creative and better engage your audience.

3. Complement your visuals: Your speech needs to be informative and convey all the information you worked so hard to prepare. 

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How to Give a Presentation in Class?

Now that you have a fair understanding of a good presentation, we'll give you some tips on how to give a presentation in class that will help you make an impact and earn you the highest grade. Here are some tips on how to present in class that you can use before the big day: 

1. Introduce Yourself

It's a given that when you begin a presentation, you must introduce yourself with your name and offer a little background information to the audience. You can tell a bit about yourself and what your presentation is about. This will help you establish yourself as an expert in your domain.  

2. Build Rapport with your Audience

The next step in preparing a presentation in class is building a good rapport with your audience. Be yourself and genuinely try to connect with your audience. Research what the audience wants, smile often, and look at your audience while speaking. If there's time before your presentation, engage them in small talk. 

3. Know your Content Well

The next essential point on how to do a PowerPoint presentation for class is understanding your content well. You must have a good understanding of the content that you are presenting. If you don't understand what you're trying to say, how will your audience? Test out your presentation on some friends to ensure that your content is understandable to someone who isn't too familiar with the topic, so you can ensure that your classmates and professor can easily understand your content. 

4. Start with a Story

The presentation starting lines for students should always start with a short story to make it more interesting and relevant to your audience. This is the next important thing on how to give a presentation in class. Try to keep the story short, under one minute, and use humour or thought-provoking ideas. A personal touch to the story can enrich it, too. 

5. Organize your PPT

Organizing your presentation is also an essential element of giving a good class presentation. Make sure to put short and minimal content in your PPT and add good visuals, too. If you want to know how to give a presentation in class that will get you an A, remember to create a well-structured PPT and use these best PowerPoint presentation tips . 

6. Engage your Audience

Keeping the session interactive is another essential part of presenting a presentation in class. Keep your presentation engaging by asking questions, conducting a fun activity, sharing examples related to your topic, or using humour to make your audience interested and attentive. 

7. Speak Slowly and Clearly

While you're giving your speech, make sure that you speak slowly and clearly; it's the next important thing in giving an excellent presentation. When nervous, people tend to speak fast. Speaking slowly and clearly allows you to be more audible to your audience. 

8. Manage your Time

Managing your time is an essential aspect of presenting in class. Understand the time you require to present and adjust the length of your content accordingly. You can do this by practising multiple times while keeping track of your time. Try to avoid an incomplete and rushed presentation. Instead, aim to have a concise and well-delivered one.

9. Create a Visually Appealing Presentation

The other important thing about preparing a PowerPoint presentation for class is making the most of visuals. Visual aids like slideshows, charts, and graphs should be used strategically to reinforce the main points, engage the audience, and improve the presentation's delivery. Avoid cluttering your slides with extra information. 

10. Maintain Good Eye Contact with the Audience

Another important aspect of giving a presentation in class is maintaining eye contact. Good eye contact will help you build rapport with your audience, improve your concentration, become more confident, and facilitate engagement.

11. Dress Properly

Your appearance has a huge impact on the audience's perception of your presentation. Make sure that you are dressed appropriately, your outfit is comfortable and doesn't distract the audience from your message. So make sure of the dressing part on how to present a presentation.

12. End on a Strong Note

Ending your presentation on a strong note is also an essential part of the presentation process in class. In the end, summarize everything, address everyone's questions, if any, and thank your audience.

13. Seek Feedback

The next essential thing about presenting a presentation in class is seeking feedback. It is always a good practice to ask for feedback from your professor or classmates. It helps identify areas that you can improve upon for future presentations. It also shows your open-mindedness, as you are open to constructive criticism of your work.

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Creative presentation ideas.

If you're wondering how to give a presentation in class, but the typical PowerPoint slides and speech combination seems to be boring, there are a few different presentation styles you could try on how to present in class:

1. Video Presentation

A video presentation is a great way to pack as many visuals as you want into your presentation while still keeping your audience engaged. If you really want to go all out, you can even try out some timed speeches to complement specific parts of your video. 

2. Interactive Presentation

You can fill your presentation with short quizzes or audience opinions to get the entire class involved in your presentation. This could be a fun way to lift everyone's spirits and ensure your presentation stays in their minds even when they leave the classroom. 

3. Prop-filled Presentation

If you want to go the extra mile, you can bring in physical visual aids, another essential thing in how to do PowerPoint presentations in class to supplement your presentation. Incorporating props into your presentation shows an extra level of planning, creativity, and effort that your audience will appreciate. 

Public Speaking Tips for Students

So, your speech is written, and it's great! But that's only half the battle—your delivery is just as important. If the thought of public speaking makes you feel weak in the knees, try these public speaking tips, another essential thing for students to know about presenting in class. 

1. Record Yourself Practising

On how to present a presentation in class, the first tip is to record yourself. Listening to yourself speak helps you better understand where you can improve your delivery at different points. Once you know how you're going to sound in front of an audience, you can take the pressure off your final presentation. 

2. Practice in Front of Friends & Family

The next tip on how to present in class is practice. To get comfortable with the idea of speaking in front of a crowd, practice with your friends or family. The people closest to you are often your harshest critics, so if you can handle them, you can handle anything. 

3. Prepare for the Worst

When thinking about how to give a presentation in class, always be prepared for the worst. Preparing for the worst is an important part of presenting in class. Try to keep a backup in mind in case anything goes wrong, like the audio not working or the slides stopping. 

4. Breathe and Do a Self Talk Before the Presentation

Next on how to present in class, is doing deep breathing exercises and talking to yourself before a presentation. Say motivating and inspiring things to yourself, or you can do mantra-based rituals where you can say things like "I'm here to give, not receive." Do use these tips on how to calm down before a presentation .  

5. Memorise Key Points

Most people fear getting up on stage and forgetting everything they have prepared. To ensure that doesn't happen, memorize the key points related to your whole content. This is another essential tip on how to present a presentation in class.

Things to Not Do During a Presentation?

Now that you know what you should do, here are a few things you definitely should NOT do. If you want to know how to give a presentation in class, do not make these rookie mistakes while you're presenting. 

1. Reading from your Slides

Professors have to see dozens of students' presentations every day, and the last thing they want to see is a boring presentation with someone reading off of their slides. So, the first thing to avoid on how to present in class is reading from slides. Slides are a visual aid and should NOT be used as cue cards. 

2. Avoiding Eye Contact 

Make as much eye contact with your audience as possible. This is an essential part of giving a presentation in class. Do not look at your shoes or keep glancing at your slides. Maintaining eye contact shows confidence and will keep your audience engaged in your speech.   

3. Speaking Too Fast 

The next thing to avoid when presenting in class is speaking too fast. Don't rush through your words because that will make you come across as underconfident and reduce your volume. Keep a consistent pace throughout, and you'll get through your speech in no time!

4. Exceeding Time Limit

Don't exceed your time limit. Another thing to avoid when doing a PowerPoint presentation for class is overextending yourself, as people might have other things to attend to. Also, sitting too long through a presentation may cause your audience to lose attention. 

5. Overcrowding PPT with Text

The next thing to avoid when presenting in class is making your PPT verbose. Too much text makes your presentation look bad, and your audience might have to put in a lot of effort to read the content. 

That was our detailed guide on how to give a presentation in class as a college student. We know we've packed in a lot of information, but if you break everything down step by step, it's all incredibly simple. If you follow all our tips on how to present in class, we can ensure that you'll give a killer presentation! Before you start creating your presentation, make sure you check our blog for the best PowerPoint presentation tips . Also, check out the top 8 presentation tools for students.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to structure a presentation, how do you introduce yourself in a presentation, what is a fun way to start a presentation, how can i make my presentation more engaging, what is the 10 20 30 rule, what is the 666 rule in presentation, which text is best in presentation.

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My Speech Class

Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

130+ Demonstration Speech Topics

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

Begin your writing process by selecting some demonstration materials.

Choose a topic you are knowledgeable about, as this will help make your presentation much more effective.

If you cannot come up with good public speaking cases for a presentation, then use any of the subjects listed below for inspiration.

In this article:

How to Choose the Right Demonstration Speech Topic

Our list of good demonstration topics, process demonstration speech topics, health / fitness, technical how to ideas, demonstrate …, your central idea and purpose, how to introduce, your outline, the delivery of your demonstration speech topics.

You likely have plenty of processes and skills that you think would be valuable for others to know how to do, but that doesn’t mean that any topic you pick will be a good idea for your circumstance. You have to consider the complexity of the demo and whether your audience will be able to fully understand the process in the time given. Here are a few things to consider to help you choose a good demonstration speech topic:

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• Interests – Both you and your audience’s interests are an important factor when deciding on a demonstration speech topic. Your excitement and enthusiasm is needed to inspire the audience to care about what you are teaching. If your speech gains great audience attention, you’ll likely have questions to answer afterword. Make sure to choose a topic you are knowledgeable and confident in.
• Audience demographics – Consider what is appropriate for the group you are addressing. Aim to provide a skill that is of value to them, though be careful not to pick a topic that is either overly simple or complex.
• Setting – Consider what your presentation space is going to be like. Will you be indoors or outdoors? How much room do you have? These details will help you understand which topics will be better suited than others, given the conditions you’re delivering your speech in.
• Time limit – Think about what you can realistically teach in the time you’re given for your speech. While one topic may stand out to you, you may not be able to fully cover it if you’re only given five minutes.
• Visual aids – While your demonstration itself is a visual aid, many how-to speeches can benefit from videos, PowerPoint slideshows, and handouts. Consider what technology or props you’ll have available for your speech.

Speech topics can be broad. To give an effective demonstration speech, it’s a good idea to customize a topic to fit your unique situation. Take a speech topic that interests you and work to hone in on one central idea within that subject.

To discover the main point you want to make in your speech, determine what the specific purpose is of teaching your audience about this topic. What exactly do you want to demonstrate to your audience?

Form a clear thesis statement that answers this question in detail. Describe in one sentence what your demonstration is about and why it’s important that you share it.

Once you’ve determined the central idea of your speech, play with different action verbs to set up your main point. Here are a few phrases and verbs to frame your demonstrative speech topic:

• How to …
• Fix …
• Use …
• … Works
• … is done, produced, or made.
• Structure…
• X Steps to…

Try some of these other verbs too: deal with, draw, handle, execute, create, develop, incorporate, invent, operate, perform, or predict. Those words generate attention and they are in nature describing what your public speaking audience can expect .

These action verbs and phrases help describe to your audience what they can expect from your speech. Your headline will be more of an attention getter with these demonstration-specific words.

Below are lists of demonstration speech topics separated by category. In order to choose an effective demonstration speech topic, remember to consider your interests, audience, and what visual aids are available. Use action verbs to create an attractive headline and better target your audience.

• cook a pie (or anything else you like / know how to cook).
• fix a flat tire.
• create a Halloween mask.
• clean your car.
• play piano.
• change a bank check.
• dress like a princess.
• play a computer game.
• make a cocktail.
• taste wine.
• organize a surprise party.
• print a digital photo.
• eat oysters.
• register for voting.
• make Irish Coffee.
• read music notes.
• learn playing guitar.
• use your breath when you sing.
• open a bottle of wine.
• make your garden full of flowers year around.
• build a web site.
• clean your swimming pool.
• clean your golf clubs.
• make a fast summer salad.
• make a new candle of old ones.
• make your own wedding dress.
• organize your wedding.
• make a water-color.
• build a shed.
• prevent injury.
• knot a carpet.
• stop thinking.
• speak Italian.
• become a good actress.
• become a famous film star.
• write a film script.
• write a business-like letter.
• make honey.
• blow a glass.
• train your brain.
• dry your hair.
• greet Japanese people.
• use the cruise control.
• make a genealogical tree.
• climb a building.
• make a dancing show.
• snow board.
• board on sand.
• make a golf swing.
• draw a cartoon character.
• build a snowman.
• use the content of articles without violating their copyrights.
• put a weave in hair.
• sculpt your eyebrows properly.
• apply nail polish.
• apply makeup.
• find a roommate.
• choose the perfect pet.
• survive in the wilderness.
• make an emergency kit.
• perform a magic trick.
• organize your closet.
• change a baby’s diaper.
• find your ancestors.
• set up an aquarium.
• choose a digital camera.
• use the process of deduction.
• tie various knots.
• use the U.S. Postal Service.
• weave a basket.
• write a resume.
• knit a scarf.
• write a will.
• read a map.
• avoid ID theft.
• make bread crumbs.
• pick a bottle of wine.
• make banana pudding.
• make homemade salsa.
• decorate a cake.
• make pizza.
• make ice cream.
• brush your teeth properly.
• be healthy.
• choose the right running shoe.
• shoot a basketball.
• wax a surfboard.
• play chess.
• play poker.
• weight lift.
• program car keys and remotes.
• backup your DVDs.
• pack a suitcase that passes customs.
• find cheap airline tickets.
• find the best spring break deals.
• use a makeup if you a guy.
• fly an real RC plane (only show this outdoors and only if you are good).
• scribe a good poem.
• be an ninja (PS Joking sorry).
• pot a plant.
• bake a birdhouse.
• build a model.
• make jello Jigglers.
• arrange flowers.
• polish Shoes.
• design wedding cakes.
• stamp greeting cards.
• make ornaments.
• color eggs.
• make a pinata.
• fold napkins in a funny way.
• tie Die shirts.
• get your keys out of a locked car.
• fix a flat tire on a bicycle.
• saddle horse (I did this and tooka video of saddling my horse and narrated it to my audience).
• be a good student
• make jewelrey.
• text effective and clear messages.
• make a paper airplane.
• grow herbs – e.g. chamomile, parsley, catnip – in your own mini greenhouse.
• make the crunchiest marshmallows at a camp fire place.
• care for hamsters or other household pets.
• fold an origami crane.
• prepare invisible ink to write secret messages.
• construct a boomerang that comes back to you.
• prepare a banana chocolate shake to recover from a hangover.
• make twirling confetti eggs for parties and events.
• select the proper running shoes for recreational walks.
• use a sextant for navigation like two centuries ago.
• select and prepare a backpack for travel abroad.
• make up a first aid kit for simple treatment of minor injuries.
• learn break dance tricks and street moves.
• build a rabbit hutch or cages and runs.
• make a real Italian pizza with classic recipes.
• read a barometer and analyze the results.
• get energy from solar cells on your roof.
• identify if a Louis Vuitton bag is authentic.
• practice active listening communication techniques.
• learn fast reading.
• clean and polish golden rings, bracelets, and necklaces.
• pick a color scheme and palette.
• count the calories and make healthier choices.

And so on …

Another way of inventing demonstration speech topics is by association . Look at the general categories and themes below.

Food and Drink, Household Appliances, Sports Equipment, Outdoor Recreation Travel Trips, Health and Beauty Tips, Home Improvement, Home Decoration, Vintage Cars, Government Science, Nature Medicine, College Games, Culture, Tires and Suspension Trademarks, Travel Packing, Acne Curing, Building Treehouses, Vaccines, Vacuum Cleaners, Valentines Day Dating, Vanishing Tricks, Ventilation Systems, Video Game Consoles, Making Home Videos, Volleyball Techniques, Warm Ups and Stretching Training Methods, Water Polo Rules, Wind Turbines, Tasting Wine Vintages, Woodworking, How to Write a Testimonial About Yourself, Sales Elevator Pitches, Yoga for Starters Programs … Et cetera.

Process demonstration speech topics about deciding on an evening dress, roommates, and even personalized rubber stamps for public speaking and on how to do or fabricate something and the working of things and performing their functions.

Here are thirty example topics. You could show and explain how to:

• apply table manners.
• investigate a black box in an airplane.
• choose jewelry for an evening dress.
• choose tasty French champagne.
• deliver an effective speech.
• bake the best doughnuts.
• organize a prom night the whole nine yards.
• find a good dorm roommate.
• get a refund after you bought something you do not like.
• get a satellite tv for free.
• secure your home from burglars.
• lose weight safely and with a lasting effect.
• build a recycle compost bin in your garden.
• build a pyramid of a team cheerleaders.
• prepare for a job interview.
• register or establish a legal valued trademark or patent.
• overcome fear of public speaking before you stand behind a desk.
• get rid of roaches, mice and other pests in the backyard the natural way.

Unique Demonstration Speech Topics

• How asphalt cement is made.
• How batteries and accus work.
• How original Aboriginal boomerangs work.
• How bulletproof vests work.
• How an artificial pacemaker stimulates a heart.
• How perfumes and fragrances are designed.
• How thermometer instruments work.
• How antique barometers work.
• How personalized rubber stamps for hallmark imprinted impresssions are made.
• How topographic maps and globes are fabricated.
• How air bags open.
• How an espresso machine produces your cup of coffee.
• Fireworks and other explosive devices precaution regulation.
• Preparations for a tandem hang glider flight.
• Why hot air balloons fly after the sun is down.
• How lie detectors detect lies. This genre of topics for demonstration speech in education should be prepared with the help of professional officers of course.
• How a cardiac surgeon does a heart bypass operation to relieve pain on the chest and improve blood supply?
• Intelligent high IQ tests of the Mensa foundation for gifted and talented students.
• How metal detectors for treasure hunting work.
• The Academy Awards ceremony of the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Academy.
• The patent examining procedure of the Trademark Office.
• The organization of political election conventions.
• The ultimate method to remove chocolate stains from your clothes or carpet.
• The UN Security Council explained – start with positioning the permanent
• The smartest and impertinent money laundering conspiracy tricks revealed.
• The sun eclipse – the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sunview on Earth.
• How a radar detector, a speed countermeasure equipment, works.
• The four forms a rainbow can take – primary, secondary and supernumerary rainbows, and glory clouds.
• Why our red blood cell production is important.
• Satellite orbit types – polar, sun synchronous, and geosynchronous.
• Barometers, the instruments used to measure atmospheric pressure.
• The VoIP call process diagram demonstrated for teleconferencing.
• The route of your Short Message Service text from your mobile phone to its destination. Ideal to show the virtual road for passage with a huge map.
• Unique uses for duct tape.
• Catcher hand signals in baseball and how to recognize them.
• How the sun’s ultraviolet rays can damage your eyes.
• How to stake a rose bush to get more flowers.
• Making fake UFO photo’s is not difficult.
• Marinate jumbo-size shrimps for your barbecue.
• Tips for more privacy in a high school or college facebook.
• A step by step guide to write an ebook
• How to close a client
• How to create a business plan
• How to create an awesome finished product
• How to file taxes as a business owner
• How to network
• How to pitch your services
• How to prioritize your time
• How to research a potential product
• How to work from home
• How to ace a test
• How to balance your time as a college student
• How to create the perfect study space
• How to find cheap textbooks
• How to make any professor like you
• How to make friends on campus
• How to make money while going to school
• How to pick your schedule
• How to sign up for classes
• How to deliver an award-winning, persuasive speech
• How to perform well on standardized tests
• How to write a demonstration speech outline
• How to write an informative speech
• How to write in cursive
• How to avoid making eye contact with your ex
• How to breakdance
• How to dress like a princess
• How to prepare a presentation you forgot all about
• The best way to eat a deviled egg without being messy
• How meditation works
• How to check your blood sugar
• How to create a marathon training plan
• How to find the best health insurance
• How to perform an Olympic-style lift
• How to perform a yoga pose
• How to perform tai chi
• How to plan a vegetarian meal
• Incorporate veggies and fruits into your day
• The proper running technique
• The fundamentals of a weight-training routine
• How to bottle your own wine
• How to carve a pumpkin
• How to decorate a cake
• How to fly a kite
• How to grow a vegetable garden
• How to knit a sweater
• How to make peanut butter
• How to perform a simple magic trick
• How to swing a golf club
• Impress friends with an amazing card trick
• Best ways to pack a suitcase
• How to change a baby’s diaper
• How to change a flat tire
• How to organize closet space
• How to organize your email account
• How to save money
• How to tie a tie
• How to wash a car
• The proper way to fold a napkin
• 10 ways to use a curling iron
• How an STM image works
• How to choose the best pattern font for your website
• How to create an email account
• How to create an iPhone app
• How to insert an image placeholder in WordPress
• How to install WordPress
• How to print a digital photo
• Red/green/blue color mixing for website design
• How to apply make-up
• How to apply for college
• How to find a part-time job
• How to French braid hair

Technical how to speech topics to present information and instructional steps in a demo oral. To explain a techie or complicated issue to educate a public speaker must be concrete; do not only talk about abstract theories but describe it, make it vivid with visual aids, common metaphors and comparisons to ordinary live.

International fitting sizes; the different measurements for sizes in the United States and standards used in other countries, all about the yards, feet, inches, meters, centimeters and their history. You can limit these technical how to speech topics to clothing only.

Animation; show how to create a nice short animated movie or funny cartoon from a series of 2 D images. Give the full set of instructions while you are showing what you mean step by step. Start with a simple animated character, an avatar-like puppet that jumps over a wall.

Sunscreen; the working and the urgent need of using a topical product that absorbs and even reflects the ultraviolet sun beams. Everyone like to sit in the sun, although not everyone is aware that sun protection is important to prevent the damaging effects of sunlight on the long term.

Hard Disk Drives; how to recover data for a damaged hard drive, what does the police, government agencies, criminal investigation departments and internationally respected authorities do with modern technology to discover storages media on a computer.

April Fool’s Day; the best speech topics for a funny how to fool someone are from hoaxes and practical jokes on the First of April; give examples – your main points – in a top 3 on notoriety, absurdity and originality of the sense of humor that’s being used.

Tree Climbing Techniques; provide an adequate training in tree climbing for recreational climbers, discuss the gear, ropes and knots. And don’t forget the forest ethics!

Birth control pills; how does the Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill or C O C P, containing the estrogen and progestin hormones, stop an ovulation.

Mosaic Tile Projects; for decorating your kitchen, bedroom, living areas and even the garden wall. Tell your public step by step in this technical topic how to do it.

Room Air Conditioners; how are energy efficient and reliable systmes designed to meet your comfort needs, and which special technology is used?

One advice to help you with making things easier: Most audiences relate to technology issues in general, so again, don’t get to technical and avoid highly complex demonstratives when exploring these nine technic possibilities.

How To Draw

Draw a Bearded Collie dog, an Abyssinian cat, a Swallow Belied Mangalitza pig, a Dwarf Hotot bunny.

To make a picture frame, to do a magic card trick, to draw a cartoon animal, to kick a soccer ball, to do origami, to make flowers out of tissue, to make a ribbon necklace, to make a friendship bracelet, to play indian poker, to play basketball, to hit a volleyball, to make homemade gatorade, throw a baseball the right way, to knit a crochet, to braid hair.

How to Play Baseball You could talk about the rules – show how to swing a bat – also show how to feild – to run the base’s hit homerun’s.

Caps and Hats Describe in speaking instructions lessons how you can tailor made you school sports and collegiate caps and hats with logos in the latest styles and trends. And for affordable prices. Your speech topics could be about the steps you have to take in getting cool caps for your friends. And the call to action could be: let us get those for us all. If you succeed in convincing and persuading them it would be great. Further I will advice you to spice up your demonstration address with some persuasive arguments topics!

Dirt Pudding For the dirt pudding you will need: 4 cups of milk, 2 packages of instant chocolate pudding, 16 ounces of cool whip, You also need: 32 ounces of crushed oreos, 16-20 clear cups.

Horse Riding Saddle a horse, bridle a horse, clean and scrub a hore back, bath a hore tenderly, feed a horse water, feed a goat or sheep, bottle feed a baby goat nice and slow.

Wedding Planning a wedding: all the preps and the day itself.

• riding a unicycle.
• riding a bicycle.
• making a scarf.
• catching a fish.
• sewing something.
• making origami.
• feeding a chicken.
• cooking a meal.
• using a remote.
• eating really fast.
• making someone or yourself faint.
• using pressure points.
• doing self-defence.

Set a table, build a birdhouse, plant a garden, make a scrap book, make friendship bracelets, any type of food, make a duct tape wallet, make a piece of clothing, blow a bubble with gum, make play dough, make paper beads, write a letter, tie your shoe, make soap, any type of mathmatical method, make a snow globe.

These are just a few demos that I have done or thought about. Make sure when conducting your demonstration to make it fun, catchy, and full of personality. This will make the judges or audience. It can also make it memorable to take first place!

Also, it is important to describe why it is important to know how to do what you are demonstrating or how it can be useful. And also warnings or things to look out for as far as safety goes. This generally comes in the conclusion. Also, if there is something that is inexpensive, than include prices of the supplies.

For example: If you choose for a playdough. You could say that in comes in handy for a craft project while babysitting or it makes a great craft project and take home in vacation bible school. Be sure to not let the children eat the any of the supplies or finished product. Children may need parental supervision.

While it is not always necessary, judges often find it impressive if you list and discuss the nutrition facts in a food talk and point out a positive health benefit.

For example: ‘Peanut butter is a sweet treat the contains no cholesterol, but has a lot of protein in it.’

This shows your judges or audience you have complete knowledge of the subject.

Random Things You’ve Never Thought Of Act like a blind sea horse, bring animals back to life using facial hair, create a dinasour out of burnt pop tarts and ashes, use the three unforgivable spells in harry potter, flex a bust out of a steel box, tame a huge dragon after stealing it from its true master, win a cage match against a sea lion and a goat create a weird odd monster using black magic.

How to write a Demonstration Speech

Determine the specific purpose of your matter in hand. State it in one simple sentence. E.g. I want to demonstrate how to ___ .

Determine the central idea of the text. In other words: a clear factual statement. Construe representing features or delineate the stages by using ppt picture and figure slide sheets.

They see at once what your try on is about and why you want to share it. E.g. It is important to preserve family recipes and this project is the best way in which to do that..

Determine the central idea of the text. In other words, produce a clear factual statement. Explain representing features or delineate the stages by using Powerpoint picture and figure slide sheets.

E.g. It is important to preserve family recipes, and this project is the best way in which to do that. .

Once you have decided on a demonstration topic, write an attractive, effective, and interactive attention-getting introduction. Think about these sample elementary preliminary parts:

• Tell them what you are going to teach – (metaphor for “sell”) – them.
• Why you choose to demonstrate this topic.
• Why your listeners should know how to do it. Give them a sneak peek of a few benefits.
• Tell them that they are going to do it themselves in a couple of minutes and that the only thing your audience has to do is follow your instructions.

Lay out in clear terms the procedure – the particular course of actions. You could consider a series of tactical exercises to help them feel what you mean. Design some kind of an approach for acquiring and applying the knowledge you want to share in class.

Arrange the steps. Show the activities or moves you have to make in a logical chronological order. Describe the details. Be clear.

Do not think the audience will understand your demonstration speech topics immediately. Let them ask you questions after each step before you proceed.

Conclude each step in one uncomplicated phrase. Perform these action checks on the main points before you jump to the next step.

Just show them how to do it, step by step. Have you read my checklist? Okay, let’s move forward:

First and for all, remember this ground rule: think about the rules and time limit of the assignment. Plus apply these eight public speaking tips for delivering your demonstration speech topics:

• Visual aids, such as objects, actual items, models, and drawings all can help your presentation. Do bring them in. For a large object, ask your teacher how to incorporate it.
• Include personal stories and examples.
• Provide each audience member the proper materials and ingredients to practice with.
• Ensure everyone is participating – keep eye contact, laugh, and make some funny remarks in between the lines.
• Look around you and see if your audience is following you. If not, repeat some sections. There are always people who will not understand right away, but are too shy to admit it. Assist them to jump over the hump.
• Ask yourself if someone in the audience would assist you with your demonstration. Stay patient and polite, and help if needed. Do not make a fool of that volunteer: praise their efforts in loud and clear supporting terms. You can do it!
• Close with a memorable summary or with a sharply defined call to action.
• Ask if there are any questions. And leave a handout of the explored information for people who want to know more.

274 Speech Topics for Business [Persuasive, Informative]

78 Agriculture Speech Topics

15 thoughts on “130+ Demonstration Speech Topics”

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example of demonstrative speech about life

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9 Strategies for Getting More Students to Talk

A state Teacher of the Year shares her techniques for increasing the number of students who talk and share their ideas in class.

While it is possible to learn by listening, I’ve found that oral participation leads to greater gains in student literacy and engagement. English language learners in particular benefit from ample talk time, but they are not the only ones.

Yet I’ve also found that without careful planning, a few students do most of the talking while the majority of the class remains silent. My students all have ideas, but only some of them share those ideas on a regular basis. Adding wait time after I ask a question helps more students get into the conversation, but still the more confident students are more likely to raise their hands.

Because of this, I pay close attention to who is participating in my high school English classroom and to the structures I’m using to promote participation. I mix and match from the following strategies depending on the students in the room and my goals for the lesson.

9 Ways to Encourage More Students to Talk

1. Who talks first? When students turn and talk, I decide who talks first. The person on the right? The person whose birthday is coming soonest? The person with the longest hair? Without this direction, some students dominate partner talk time.

2. Write, pair, share: Many of us use the think, pair, share model, but substituting writing for silent thinking can improve both the quality of the conversation and the number of students who contribute. As students write, I walk around, reading over their shoulders and writing things like, “That’s good. Say that!” on the papers of quieter or less confident students. I can also see which and how many students are stuck, so I know if I need to add more scaffolding.

3. Pairs and squares: I assign students a partner (pair) to work with for three weeks, as well as a square (two pairs combined). I promote camaraderie in pairs and squares by having students learn each other’s names (with spelling and pronunciation), gender pronouns, and something people can’t tell by looking at them. They also make up a handshake they use each day to greet each other.

They talk in their pairs from bell to bell between direct instruction about the topics of the day. Currently, my sophomores are engaging in a nonfiction unit on happiness, so today we discussed the correlation between money and happiness, and students worked in their pairs to annotate an article, but when we analyzed some rather complex graphs and charts, they moved into their squares so they could have more brain power.

After three weeks, each student thanks their partner for something they did for them and shares what they think was the pair’s best moment together. By the end of the year, every student has worked with every other classmate—either in pairs or squares—which promotes a strong classroom community and helps students feel more comfortable participating.

4. Nonverbal agreement or disagreement: I have my students use the American Sign Language signs for “yes” and “no” in whole class discussion to show their agreement or disagreement with the speaker. This keeps students engaged, gives the speaker immediate feedback on their ideas, and gives all students a nonverbal voice.

5. Metacognitive goal-setting: Every few weeks, I have students reflect on their participation habits and set goals for a particular discussion. Students get an index card at the beginning of class and write a quantitative and a qualitative goal for their participation for the day. As they set their quantitative goals, I encourage them to think of “stepping up and stepping back”—what would be a healthy number of times for them to speak that day? Should they talk more frequently, or refrain from talking in order to make space for others to talk?

For their qualitative goal, they consider whether they need to ask more questions and whether they should do things like build on others’ ideas or use text to support their points.

Throughout class, students take notes on their own contributions to the discussion, write down what they said (and didn’t say), and tally the overall number of times they talked. They end class by reflecting on their participation. Did they meet their goals? Why or why not? Can they set some new goals for themselves? This card is their exit ticket for the day.

6. Talking piece: For some small group discussions, we use a ball as a talking piece that students pass around—only the person holding the ball can speak. Every student gets the ball once before anyone gets it a second time. This is particularly effective when discussing very emotionally charged topics, like issues of race or gender, when we want to be certain that everyone has the opportunity to share their experiences.

7. Musical give one, get one: When I want students to hear a lot of ideas, I have them write down their thoughts and then stand up, walk around to as many people as they can, and write down one idea of each person they talk to. I usually do this to music—students need to get to as many people as they can before the song ends.

8. Musical shares: This is similar to the last idea but is better for sharing longer, more in-depth answers. I put on a song, and students walk or dance around the room. When the music stops, they talk to the person closest to them about their ideas. I use a timer to ensure equity of sharing here—each person speaks for one minute.

9. Keeping track: I keep a blank grade book roster on a clipboard, and while students are working in pairs, I put a tally mark next to each student’s name every time I hear them speak during class. I’m sure I don’t catch everything, but the act of keeping track forces me to notice the participation patterns in the room and to seek out those who have learned to fly under the radar.

46 Powerful Opening Lines for a Class Presentation

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking

Class presentations can be extremely stressful. The way you open your presentation will determine the way the rest of your presentation goes and how it is accepted by the audience. To make things easier for you, here is a list of powerful opening lines for a Class Presentation.

Before we get into the opening lines, here are some pointers to ensure your presentation has a good structure that will keep the audience engaged.

How to structure a good presentation

State the relevance and purpose to the audience, identify a core message, divide your presentation into three parts, use a simple and clear structure, use engaging and relevant slides, practice and rehearse your delivery, q & a session.

Determine the purpose of your presentation. What do you want your audience to learn or take away from it? Consider the knowledge level, interests, and expectations of your audience. This will help you tailor your content appropriately. Explain why the information is important or relevant to your audience

Identify a single central message that you would like to communicate to your audience. Then build your presentation around that core message. Select a clear and focused topic that aligns with the objectives of the assignment or class.

A presentation can be divided into three parts: an introduction detailing the purpose and structure of the talk; a body covering the main points; and a conclusion summarizing and highlighting the significance of your talk.

A good presentation structure means analyzing the core message of your presentation. Decide on a key message you want to impart to the audience, and then craft an engaging way of delivering it.

Design engaging and suitable slides that support your message and help your audience understand your presentation. Use rhetorical questions, anecdotes, or interactive elements to keep the audience engaged. Incorporate relevant visuals or multimedia to illustrate critical points. Ensure they are clear and legible, and add value to your presentation.

Practice your presentation beforehand to ensure that you can deliver it confidently and effectively.

Invite questions from the audience. Be prepared to respond thoughtfully.

Cite your sources if applicable. This adds credibility to your presentation. In fact, provide any recommended readings or resources for further exploration.

You can divide your presentation in the following manner-

Introduction:.

• Hook : Start with an attention-grabbing statement, question, or anecdote related to your topic.
• Presentation Statement : Clearly state the main purpose or argument of your presentation.
• Preview : Provide an overview of what you’ll be covering in the presentation.
• Each main point should be a separate section or slide.
• Present one key idea per slide or section.
• Provide evidence, examples, and supporting details for each point.
• Use visuals like images, graphs, or charts to enhance understanding.

Conclusion:

• Summary : Summarize the main points.
• Restate Thesis : Remind the audience of your main argument.
• Closing Statement : Provide a clear and impactful closing statement.

Structuring a class presentation effectively involves careful planning and organization. By following these steps, you can create a well-structured class presentation that effectively delivers your message and engages your audience.

Here are some additional tips for structuring your class presentation:

• Keep it simple: Don’t try to cram too much information into your presentation. Focus on the most important points you want to communicate.
• Use a variety of presentation techniques : This could include storytelling, humor, and interactive activities.
• Be clear and concise : Avoid using jargon and technical language that your audience may not understand.
• End powerfully: Leave your audience with a memorable thought or call to action.

By following these tips, you can create a class presentation that is informative, engaging, and memorable.

A powerful opening sets the tone for your class presentation and grabs your audience’s attention. Moving ahead to the main part of the article, here is a list of things you can incorporate to make your opening lines for a class presentation rather memorable.

Opening Lines for a class presentation

Ask a rhetorical question, use a startling statistic or fact, quote someone, make a provocative statement, interactive opening, visual description, make historical reference.

This is a great way to grab the audience’s attention and get them thinking about your topic. For example: “Have you ever wondered how the internet works?” or “What are the ethical implications of artificial intelligence?”

1. “Have you ever wondered why [topic] affects each and every one of us?”

2. “What if I told you that [startling fact or statistic]?”

Stories are a great way to connect with your audience and make your presentation more memorable. For example, you could tell a story about a personal experience related to your topic, or a story that illustrates a key point you want to make.

3. “Let me take you back to [a specific moment in time related to your topic].”

4. “I’d like to share a personal story that illustrates the importance of [topic].

This is a great way to grab the audience’s attention and make them want to learn more. For example: “Did you know that 90% of all data has been created in the past two years?” or “One in three people will experience depression at some point in their lives.”

5. “Did you know that [shocking statistic]?”

6. “It might surprise you to learn that [eye-opening fact].”

This is a great way to add credibility to your presentation. For example: “According to Albert Einstein, ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.'” or “A recent study by Harvard University found that people who meditate regularly are more likely to be happy and successful.”

7. “As [famous figure] once said, ‘ [relevant quote].'”

8. “As Neil Armstrong once said, “That’s one small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind.” I believe space exploration is essential for the development of mankind.”

This is a great way to get the audience’s attention and make them think about your topic in a new way. For example: “The future of work is remote.” or “Artificial intelligence will revolutionize every industry.”

9. “Today, I’m here to challenge how we think about [topic].”

10. “Let’s consider a perspective on [topic] that might be different from what you’ve heard before.”

Other than these, there are certainly other ways of opening your presentation such as:

This is a great way to engage the audience from the beginning of the presentation. This will help keep the audience hooked and trigger their thought process too.

11. “I’d like to begin with a quick exercise. Raise your hand if [question-related to your topic].”

A visual description will help the audience to draw things from their imagination and will keep them engrossed in what you have to say after.

12. “Close your eyes for a moment and imagine [vivid scene related to your topic].”

Humor can never go wrong if you know the audience you are dealing with. A good laugh will always make your presentation go a lot smoother and easier.

13. “They say that [humorous twist on your topic]. But today, we’ll uncover the real story.”

Pick up a historical fact or reference that is quite common or that you can prove happened. This helps engage your audience and they would want to know how is that reference relevant in the context of your topic.

14. “In [specific time period], [relevant historical event] changed the course of [topic].”

Stating something and immediately countering your own statement will confuse the audience into listening to you more keenly. Which is why it serves the purpose of having your audience’s attention.

15. “While most people think [common misconception], the reality is quite different.”

Remember to choose an opening that aligns with your topic and style, and be sure to transition smoothly from your opening into the main content of your presentation. Additionally, practice your opening to ensure you deliver it confidently and engagingly.

Now, let’s look at some examples of opening lines for specific topics of class presentation

Opening lines for specific topics of a class presentation

Climate change, globalization and its effects, mental health awareness, artificial intelligence, gender equality, entrepreneurship, space exploration, cybersecurity, diversity and inclusion, the benefits of reading, the dangers of smoking.

• The challenges of poverty

The importance of recycling

16. “The world is on fire. Or at least it feels that way. The Amazon rainforest is burning, the Arctic is melting, and the Great Barrier Reef is dying. But we can still make a difference.”

17. “Imagine a world where our coastal cities are submerged, and our weather patterns become increasingly erratic.”

18. “In the next few minutes, we’ll confront a reality that demands our immediate attention: the accelerating crisis of climate change.”

19. “Today, our actions in one corner of the globe can have ripple effects thousands of miles away. The world truly is a web of interconnectedness.”

20. “As we discuss globalization, let’s remember that it’s not just about economics. It’s about cultures converging, traditions evolving, and societies adapting.”

21. “We all have mental health. Just like we have physical health. But why is it that we’re so afraid to talk about it? Why is it that we treat mental illness as a taboo topic?”

22. “Close your eyes and think about a time when you or someone you know faced a mental health challenge. It’s more common than you might think.”

23. “Mental health is just as important as physical health, but it is often overlooked.”

24. “One in five adults in the United States experiences mental illness each year.”

25. “Mental health problems can impact anyone, regardless of age, race, or socioeconomic status.”

26. “Imagine a world where machines can think and learn like humans. A world where robots can do our jobs, and self-driving cars can take us anywhere we want to go. This is the world of artificial intelligence.”

27. “From self-driving cars to virtual personal assistants, the rise of artificial intelligence is reshaping the way we live and work.”

28. “Today, we stand on the precipice of an era where machines can not only think but learn and adapt.”

29. “It’s time to talk about gender equality. It’s time to talk about the fact that women still earn less than men, that they are underrepresented in leadership positions, and that they face discrimination and harassment on a daily basis.”

30. “What do Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk have in common? They’re all entrepreneurs who started with nothing and built billion-dollar companies. But what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?”

31. “The cosmos, with its vastness and mysteries, has beckoned explorers and dreamers for centuries. Today, we’re on the cusp of new frontiers.”

32. “As we look up at the night sky, it’s important to remember that each star represents a potential world, waiting to be discovered.”

33. “In an era where our lives are increasingly intertwined with technology, the battleground for our security has shifted to the digital realm.”

34. “Picture this: a breach in cybersecurity can lead to consequences as real and impactful as a physical break-in.”

35. “Diversity isn’t just about ticking boxes on a checklist. It’s about recognizing the richness that comes from embracing different perspectives and experiences.”

36. “In this room, we each bring a unique story and perspective. Together, we have the power to shape a more inclusive world.”

37. “Diversity and inclusion lead to innovation and creativity.”

38. “Reading can improve your vocabulary, grammar, and writing skills.”

39. “Reading can help you to learn about different cultures and perspectives.”

40. “Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.”

41. “Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, and other serious health problems.”

42. “Secondhand smoke is just as dangerous as smoking itself.”

 The challenges of poverty

43. “Poverty is a complex problem that affects millions of people around the world.”

44. “Poverty can lead to hunger, homelessness, and lack of access to education and healthcare.”

45. “We all have a role to play in fighting poverty.”

46. “Did you know that it takes 700 years for a plastic bag to decompose?”

These opening lines can be used as inspiration to create your own powerful opening line for your class presentation. Make sure it sets the tone for the rest of your presentation.

These opening lines are designed to capture attention and provide a strong foundation for your presentation on these specific topics. Remember to follow through with compelling content and a strong conclusion to leave a lasting impression on your audience.

List of other resources for you

As a college student, presentations carry a lot of weight, so How to Give a Presentation in Class as a College Student

As talked about, organizing your presentation is essential, hence Presentation Structures: Everything You Need To Organize Your Talk

Sometimes, you can have a lot of content and not know what to remove, 14 Techniques To Ensure Audience Engagement Through Long Presentations

Doing things at the last minute is not okay, unless and until you know how to get it done effectively. Help! I Have A Presentation Tomorrow & I Am Not Prepared

Sometimes you would not have someone around to practice your presentation, and for that Have A Presentation Coming Up. Here’s How You Can Practice It By Yourself

I hope this is helpful. When choosing an opening line for your presentation, be sure to consider your audience and what you want to achieve with your presentation. You can always try to get in touch with a professional to get advice on your presentation structure and how you present it. For this, check out our personalized coaching services !

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Blog Marketing How To Start a Presentation: 15 Ways to Set the Stage

How To Start a Presentation: 15 Ways to Set the Stage

Written by: Krystle Wong Jul 25, 2023

The opening moments of your presentation hold immense power – it’s your opportunity to make a lasting impression and captivate your audience. 

A strong presentation start acts as a beacon, cutting through the noise and instantly capturing the attention of your listeners. With so much content vying for their focus, a captivating opening ensures that your message stands out and resonates with your audience.

Whether you’re a startup business owner pitching a brilliant idea, a seasoned presenter delivering a persuasive talk or an expert sharing your experience, the start of your presentation can make all the difference. But don’t fret — I’ve got you covered with 15 electrifying ways to kickstart your presentation. 

The presentation introduction examples in this article cover everything from self-introduction to how to start a group presentation, building anticipation that leaves the audience eager to delve into the depths of your topic.

Click to jump ahead:

How to start a presentation introduction

15 ways to start a presentation and captivate your audience, common mistakes to avoid in the opening of a presentation, faqs on how to start a presentation, captivate the audience from the get-go.

Presentations can be scary, I know. But even if stage fright hits, you can always fall back on a simple strategy.

Just take a deep breath, introduce yourself and briefly explain the topic of your presentation.

To grab attention at the start, try this opening line: Hello everyone. I am so glad you could join me today. I’m very excited about today’s topic. I’m [Your Name] and I’ll be talking about [Presentation Topic]. Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by [Challenge related to your topic]. Many of us might have faced challenges with [Challenge related to your topic]. Today, we’ll explore some strategies that’ll help us [Solution that you’re presenting].

Regardless of your mode of presentation , crafting an engaging introduction sets the stage for a memorable presentation.

Let’s dive into some key tips for how to start a presentation speech to help you nail the art of starting with a bang:

Understand your audience

The key to an engaging introduction is to know your audience inside out and give your audience what they want. Tailor your opening to resonate with their specific interests, needs and expectations. Consider what will captivate them and how you can make your presentation relevant to their lives or work.

Use a compelling hook

Grab the audience’s attention from the get-go with a compelling hook. Whether it’s a thought-provoking question, a surprising fact or a gripping story, a powerful opening will immediately pique their curiosity and keep them invested in what you have to say.

State your purpose

Be crystal clear about your subject matter and the purpose of your presentation. In just a few sentences, communicate the main objectives and the value your audience will gain from listening to you. Let them know upfront what to expect and they’ll be more likely to stay engaged throughout.

Introduce yourself and your team

Give a self introduction about who you are such as your job title to establish credibility and rapport with the audience.

Some creative ways to introduce yourself in a presentation would be by sharing a brief and engaging personal story that connects to your topic or the theme of your presentation. This approach instantly makes you relatable and captures the audience’s attention.

Now, let’s talk about — how to introduce team members in a presentation. Before introducing each team member, briefly explain their role or contribution to the project or presentation. This gives the audience an understanding of their relevance and expertise.

Group presentations are also a breeze with the help of Venngage. Our in-editor collaboration tools allow you to edit presentations side by side in real-time. That way, you can seamlessly hare your design with the team for input and make sure everyone is on track. 

Maintain enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is contagious! Keep the energy levels up throughout your introduction, conveying a positive and upbeat tone. A vibrant and welcoming atmosphere sets the stage for an exciting presentation and keeps the audience eager to hear more.

Before you think about how to present a topic, think about how to design impactful slides that can leave a lasting impression on the audience. Here are 120+ presentation ideas , design tips, and examples to help you create an awesome slide deck for your next presentation.

Captivating your audience from the get-go is the key to a successful presentation. Whether you’re a seasoned speaker or a novice taking the stage for the first time, the opening of your presentation sets the tone for the entire talk. 

So, let’s get ready to dive into the 15 most creative ways to start a presentation. I promise you these presentation introduction ideas will captivate your audience, leaving them hanging on your every word.

Grab-attention immediately

Ask a thought-provoking question.

Get the audience’s wheels turning by throwing them a thought-provoking question right out of the gate. Make them ponder, wonder and engage their critical thinking muscles from the very start.

Share a surprising statistic or fact

Brace yourself for some wide eyes and dropped jaws! Open your presentation with a jaw-dropping statistic or a mind-blowing fact that’s directly related to your topic. Nothing captures attention like a good ol’ dose of shock and awe.

State a bold statement or challenge

Ready to shake things up? Kick off with a bold and daring statement that sets the stage for your presentation’s epic journey. Boldness has a way of making ears perk up and eyes widen in anticipation!

Engage with a poll or interactive activity

Turn the audience from passive listeners to active participants by kicking off with a fun poll or interactive activity. Get them on their feet, or rather — their fingertips, right from the start!

Venngage’s user-friendly drag-and-drop editor allows you to easily transform your slides into an interactive presentation . Create clickable buttons or navigation elements within your presentation to guide your audience to different sections or external resources. 

Enhance engagement by incorporating videos or audio clips directly into your presentation. Venngage supports video and audio embedding, which can add depth to your content.

Begin with an opening phrase that captures attention

Use opening phrases that can help you create a strong connection with your audience and make them eager to hear more about what you have to say. Remember to be confident, enthusiastic and authentic in your delivery to maximize the impact of your presentation.

Here are some effective presentation starting words and phrases that can help you grab your audience’s attention and set the stage for a captivating presentation:

• “Imagine…”
• “Picture this…”
• “Did you know that…”
• “Have you ever wondered…”
• “In this presentation, we’ll explore…”
• “Let’s dive right in and discover…”
• “I’m excited to share with you…”
• “I have a confession to make…”
• “I want to start by telling you a story…”
• “Before we begin, let’s consider…”
• “Have you ever faced the challenge of…”
• “We all know that…”
• “This is a topic close to my heart because…”
• “Over the next [minutes/hours], we’ll cover…”
• “I invite you to journey with me through…”

Build connection and credibility

Begin with a personal connection .

Share a real-life experience or a special connection to the topic at hand. This simple act of opening up creates an instant bond with the audience, turning them into your biggest cheerleaders.

Having the team share their personal experiences is also a good group presentation introduction approach. Team members can share their own stories that are related to the topic to create an emotional connection with your audience. 

Tell a relevant story

Start your presentation with a riveting story that hooks your audience and relates to your main message. Stories have a magical way of captivating hearts and minds. Organize your slides in a clear and sequential manner and use visuals that complement your narrative and evoke emotions to engage the audience.

With Venngage, you have access to a vast library of high-quality and captivating stock photography, offering thousands of options to enrich your presentations. The best part? It’s entirely free! Elevate your visual storytelling with stunning images that complement your content, captivate your audience and add a professional touch to your presentation. 

Use a powerful quote

Sometimes, all you need is some wise words to work wonders. Begin with a powerful quote from a legendary figure that perfectly fits your presentation’s theme — a dose of inspiration sets the stage for an epic journey.

Build anticipation

Provide a brief outline.

Here’s a good introduction for presentation example if you’re giving a speech at a conference. For longer presentations or conferences with multiple speakers especially, providing an outline helps the audience stay focused on the key takeaways. That way, you can better manage your time and ensure that you cover all the key points without rushing or running out of time.

Pose a problem and offer a solution

A great idea on how to start a business presentation is to start by presenting a problem and offering a well-thought-out solution. By addressing their pain points and showcasing your solution, you’ll capture their interest and set the stage for a compelling and successful presentation.

Back up your solution with data, research, or case studies that demonstrate its effectiveness. This can also be a good reporting introduction example that adds credibility to your proposal.

Preparing a pitch deck can be a daunting task but fret not. This guide on the 30+ best pitch deck tips and examples has everything you need to bring on new business partners and win new client contracts. Alternatively, you can also get started by customizing one of our professional pitch deck templates for free. 

Incite curiosity in the audience

Utilize visuals or props.

Capture your audience’s gaze by whipping out captivating visuals or props that add an exciting touch to your subject. A well-placed prop or a stunning visual can make your presentation pop like a fireworks show!

That said, you maybe wondering — how can I make my presentation more attractive.  A well-designed presentation background instantly captures the audience’s attention and creates a positive first impression. Here are 15 presentation background examples to keep the audience awake to help you get inspired. 

Use humor or wit

Sprinkle some humor and wit to spice things up. Cracking a clever joke or throwing in a witty remark can break the ice and create a positively charged atmosphere. If you’re cracking your head on how to start a group presentation, humor is a great way to start a presentation speech. 

Get your team members involved in the fun to create a collaborative and enjoyable experience for everyone. Laughter is the perfect way to break the ice and set a positive tone for your presentation!

Invoke emotion

Get those heartstrings tugging! Start with a heartfelt story or example that stirs up emotions and connects with your audience on a personal level. Emotion is the secret sauce to a memorable presentation.

Aside from getting creative with your introduction, a well-crafted and creative presentation can boost your confidence as a presenter. Browse our catalog of creative presentation templates and get started right away!

Use a dramatic pause

A great group presentation example is to start with a powerful moment of silence, like a magician about to reveal their greatest trick. After introducing your team, allow a brief moment of silence. Hold the pause for a few seconds, making it feel deliberate and purposeful. This builds anticipation and curiosity among the audience.

Pique their interest

Share a fun fact or anecdote.

Time for a little fun and games! Kick-off with a lighthearted or fascinating fact that’ll make the audience go, “Wow, really? Tell me more!” A sprinkle of amusement sets the stage for an entertaining ride.

While an introduction for a presentation sets the tone for your speech, a good slide complements your spoken words, helping the audience better understand and remember your message. Check out these 12 best presentation software for 2023 that can aid your next presentation. 

The opening moments of a presentation can make or break your entire talk. It’s your chance to grab your audience’s attention, set the tone, and lay the foundation for a successful presentation. However, there are some common pitfalls that speakers often fall into when starting their presentations. 

Starting with Apologies

It might be tempting to start with a preemptive apology, especially if you’re feeling nervous or unsure about your presentation. However, beginning with unnecessary apologies or self-deprecating remarks sets a negative tone right from the start. Instead of exuding confidence and credibility, you’re unintentionally undermining yourself and your message. 

Reading from Slides

One of the most common blunders in the opening of a PowerPoint presentation is reading directly from your slides or script. While it’s crucial to have a well-structured outline, reciting word-for-word can lead to disengagement and boredom among your audience. Maintain eye contact and connect with your listeners as you speak. Your slides should complement your words, not replace them.

Overwhelming with Information

In the excitement to impress, some presenters bombard their audience with too much information right at the beginning.

Instead of overloading the audience with a sea of data, statistics or technical details that can quickly lead to confusion and disinterest, visualize your data with the help of Venngage. Choose an infographic template that best suits the type of data you want to visualize. Venngage offers a variety of pre-designed templates for charts, graphs, infographics and more.

Ignoring the Audience

It’s easy to get caught up in the content and forget about the people in front of you. Don’t overlook the importance of acknowledging the audience and building a connection with them. Greet them warmly, make eye contact and maintain body language to show genuine interest in their presence. Engage the audience early on by asking a show of hands question or encourage audience participation. 

Lack of Clarity

Your audience should know exactly what to expect from your presentation. Starting with a vague or unclear opening leaves them guessing about the purpose and direction of your talk. Clearly communicate the topic and objectives of your presentation right from the beginning. This sets the stage for a focused and coherent message that resonates with your audience.

Simplicity makes it easier for the audience to understand and retain the information presented. Check out our gallery of simple presentation templates to keep your opening concise and relevant. 

Skipping the Hook

The opening of your presentation is the perfect opportunity to hook your audience’s attention and keep them engaged. However, some presenters overlook this crucial aspect and dive straight into the content without any intrigue. Craft an attention-grabbing hook that sparks curiosity, poses a thought-provoking question or shares an interesting fact. A compelling opening is like the key that unlocks your audience’s receptivity to the rest of your presentation.

Now that you’ve got the gist of how to introduce a presentation, further brush up your speech with these tips on how to make a persuasive presentation and how to improve your presentation skills to create an engaging presentation . 

How can I overcome nervousness at the beginning of a presentation?

To overcome nervousness at the beginning of a presentation, take deep breaths, practice beforehand, and focus on connecting with your audience rather than worrying about yourself.

How long should the opening of a presentation be?

The opening of a presentation should typically be brief, lasting around 1 to 3 minutes, to grab the audience’s attention and set the tone for the rest of the talk.

Should I memorize my presentation’s opening lines?

While it’s helpful to know your opening lines, it’s better to understand the key points and flow naturally to maintain authenticity and flexibility during the presentation.

Should I use slides during the opening of my presentation?

Using slides sparingly during the opening can enhance the message, but avoid overwhelming the audience with too much information early on.

How do I transition smoothly from the opening to the main content of my presentation?

Transition smoothly from the opening to the main content by providing a clear and concise outline of what’s to come, signaling the shift and maintaining a logical flow between topics.

Just as a captivating opening draws your audience in, creating a well-crafted presentation closing has the power to leave a lasting impression. Wrap up in style with these 10 ways to end a presentation .

Presenting virtually? Check out these tips on how to ace your next online presentation . 

Captivating your audience from the very beginning is crucial for a successful presentation. The first few moments of your talk can set the tone and determine whether your audience remains engaged throughout or loses interest. 

Start with a compelling opening that grabs their attention. You can use a thought-provoking question, a surprising statistic or a powerful quote to pique their curiosity. Alternatively, storytelling can be a potent tool to draw them into your narrative. It’s essential to establish a personal connection early on, whether by sharing a relatable experience or expressing empathy towards their needs and interests.

Lastly, be mindful of your body language and vocal delivery. A confident and engaging speaker can captivate an audience, so make eye contact, use appropriate gestures and vary your tone to convey passion and sincerity.

In conclusion, captivating your audience from the very beginning requires thoughtful preparation, engaging content and a confident delivery. With Venngage’s customizable templates, you can adapt your presentation to suit the preferences and interests of your specific audience, ensuring maximum engagement. Go on and get started today!

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• 290 demonstration speech topics
• Demonstration speech topics

290 'how to' demonstration speech ideas 

By:  Susan Dugdale  

What are good topics for demonstration speeches? 

The answer is simple, but frustratingly inconclusive. It depends. These are 'how to', 'show and teach' or process speeches with literally squillions of topic possibilities.

You could spend hours, or even days, considering this 'how to' speech idea against that one, or that one, or that one. However, you don't need to.

The easiest way is to use the guidelines below to help you pick a good demo speech idea relatively painlessly and quickly.

What's on this page

• How to choose a good demonstration speech topic - 6 key elements to consider
• 290 good demonstrative speech topics in themed lists 
• Links to other pages of ' how to' speech topics and help
• The link to an extremely useful printable - a blank demonstration speech outline form

If you already know how to prepare a good demonstrative speech skip the guidelines and either click the link to go to ALL 290 demonstration speech topics or click on a heading to go a themed list.

Animals/Pets

Gardens/yards, games/sports.

• Food & More

Social/Personal

• And then there's...

Choosing a good demonstration speech topic

What makes a demonstration speech topic a good choice depends on 6 essential elements. You'll want to consider each of them carefully. 

1. Your interests

Your choice of demonstrative speech topic needs to be something you are genuinely interested in, and know about or, want to know about.

Without enthusiasm or knowledge, it's incredibly hard to inspire and persuade others that they want to find out more about a subject. And that's your goal!

Ideally when you finish your speech, you'll find yourself on the receiving end of question after question from eager listeners. 

2. Who the speech is for

You need to think about your audience before making your final choice.

• What demonstration speech topics would truly interest them?
• If you're considering a 'how to' topic you know they already know well, is there something new you could teach them about it?
• What would be of value, and appropriate, for them to know?

3. The setting of the speech

Where is the speech to be given? In a classroom? In a public hall? In a living room? In the open air?

Does what you're planning to do fit the venue?

4. The time you've got to prepare the speech

Does the topic you're considering need a long time to prepare thoroughly? Are there visual aids you need to make to accompany it? How much research do you need to do before you can begin to prepare the speech?

5. The time you've got to give the speech

There is no point in choosing something complex with a large number of steps to show and teach if you don't have the time to cover them. What you select needs to fit easily into the allotted time limit. 

If you really want to tackle a big topic, and it's a good fit with your audience, if it's possible, break it down into smaller, manageable pieces. Then choose one or two aspects (sub-topics) you know you can cover well in the time you have available.

For instance, how to knit has many elements: how to hold the needles, how to cast stitches on, how to choose the right wool, how to read a knitting pattern, how to do a specific stitch... Any one of those could become a speech.  

6. The guidelines for assessment ...

... if the speech is part of a public speaking course.

You may find there are restrictions on using varying forms of visual aids: video or power-point presentations for example. Check before you make a final decision.

Return to Top

How to use these demonstration speech ideas

Use the 'how to' topics below to kick-start your own creativity. Think of them as beginnings or starting points.

Rather than pick the first idea that jumps out, build up a short list. Then go through it assessing the positive as well as negative aspects of each idea, keeping the audience members, your interest, setting, time and assessment needs in mind.

290 good demonstration speech topics

• read the clouds
• read the stars
• read the tides
• read tree rings
• recognize differing types of rock
• find fossils
• read and navigate a landscape without a map
• use a topographic map
• water divine
• recognize stars in the night sky
• use the phases of the moon for hunting, fishing, or planting crops
• forage for food safely
• collect wild honey
• take wood for fuel sustainably
• build a fire safely
• recognize the common birds or animals in your area
• identify different types of woods
• ensure water is safe to drink
• use the position of the sun to tell time
• tell if a storm is coming
• track an animal in the wild
• choose a good campsite
• forecast weather
• cross a river safely
• protect yourself from attack by wild animals
• tell if ice is safe to walk on
• tell which way the wind is blowing
• recognize poisonous plants or insects
• survive in the wild without an emergency kit
• prepare a survival kit

• train a puppy
• care for a kitten
• walk a dog on a leash properly
• saddle a horse
• hand milk a cow
• teach a cat to use a litter tray
• tell if your pet dog, cat, rabbit... is happy
• feed a dog, horse, cat...correctly
• carry a dog or cat correctly
• interpret a pet dog's or cat's aggressive behavior
• soothe a frightened dog, cat...
• keep a pet dog or cat in an apartment
• give medicines to your dog, cat...
• care for an injured or sick pet
• teach a child how to care for a pet
• make a cat gym
• dropper feed a fledging that's fallen out of the nest or an injured bird
• groom a cat, dog, cow... for a show
• care for baby chickens
• set up a fish bowl or an aquarium
• choose a pet
• clean an animal's teeth
• pet-proof your home
• re-home a dog safely
• care for an orphaned lamb or calf
• transport a cat, dog, rabbit..., safely
• make healthy treats for dogs
• teach a parrot to talk

• companion plant to protect vegetables from insect pests
• prepare basic landscaping plans
• lay bricks or paving stones
• build a fence
• make a swing
• make a children's play area
• build a compost bin
• make a greenhouse
• make a windbreak
• plant a tree
• build a garden seat
• grow from seed
• graft a plant
• prepare and plant a tub of flowers or vegetables
• plant a window box of herbs
• control garden pests
• mulch a garden
• trim a hedge
• prune a rose bush
• care for garden tools
• choose garden art
• make an ornamental pond
• make a bird feeder
• choose the right plants for the right situations
• plant spring bulbs
• make a no-dig garden
• encourage birds or bees into the garden
• make a patio or deck garden

• design & make a greeting card
• make a scented candle
• make a perfect posy of flowers
• learn to draw, sketch
• learn to paint in water colors
• make paper mache
• work hand or string puppets
• use stencils
• make and use natural dyes
• spin or weave
• create a seasonal center piece for the dining table
• make a Christmas wreath
• press flowers
• design and a friendship bracelet
• up-cycle a piece of clothing
• make attractive face masks
• make your own jewelry from antique buttons
• sew your own clothes
• design your own clothes
• bonsai a plant
• make resin and polymer clay jewelry
• arrange flowers for different uses: for the table, as a corsage...
• make your own soft furnishings
• take a brass rubbing
• make paper flowers
• make and use pom-poms creatively
• make a hand coiled pottery mug
• make a tufted rug or mat
• tie-dye a garment
• carve or whittle wood

• choose the right sport for yourself
• choose the right piece of sporting equipment (bike, surf or skate board, shoes, protective gear...)
• learn to skate board
• learn to surf
• wax a surfboard
• put on, and get off, a wet suit
• score a game of tennis
• serve in tennis
• catch a fish
• make a fishing fly
• cast a fishing line
• prepare and set a fishing net
• tickle a trout
• smoke a fish
• play chess, checkers, dominoes, cards...
• train for a marathon
• use a snorkel correctly
• avoid injury playing football
• learn football skills: pass, block or kick
• improve your golf swing
• care for a set of golf clubs
• set up a pair of ice skates well
• eat well to keep in shape for your sport
• prevent sporting injuries
• stick to a training schedule
• warm up before a game
• do yoga stretches
• be a team player
• hold a baseball bat correctly
• shoot a basketball goal
• practice basketball skills at home: dribble...
• cross country ski
• ski downhill
• set a bike up for yourself: adjust seat height, handle bars...
• fix a flat tire
• learn to ride a bike

Food and More

• make a perfect cup of coffee, tea...
• use chop sticks
• prepare green tea and serve it correctly
• make chocolate
• plan a dinner party
• make a fast summer salad
• store frozen food
• sharpen a knife
• prepare chicken safely
• make your own relish, jam, pastry...
• write a weekly food shopping list
• plan a menu
• organize your pantry
• bake bread, bagels...
• use seasonal vegetables
• dry fruits and vegetables
• make your own wedding cake
• make desserts
• cook economically
• make healthy meals
• carve vegetables
• fold table napkins
• match wine with food
• set a table for a formal dinner
• store fresh fruit and vegetables
• make your own cottage cheese or yoghurt
• make food for a picnic
• make your own baby foods
• use a pressure cooker well
• use an air fryer well
• use a barbecue well
• store and use left over foods safely
• use an oven safely
• select the best fresh fruit and vegetables to buy
• get children to eat vegetables
• train children to try new foods
• serve tasty low calorie meals
• use cutlery (a knife, fork, or spoon) properly
• follow a recipe properly

• read to a child
• use a 24 hour clock
• plan a surprise party
• talk to a deaf person
• buy online safely
• read body language accurately
• understand cultural differences in body language
• travel safely in a foreign country
• play with a small child
• leave a good telephone message
• eat politely
• defend yourself (basic self defense)
• do basic first aid
• take a pulse
• teach a child to read the time
• prepare a baby's bottle
• write a thank you letter
• write a business letter
• read braille
• alter your own clothes...take up a hem etc.
• iron a shirt properly
• take a good photograph
• make a baby sitter's kit
• lift without damaging your back
• apply make-up correctly
• learn French, German, Italian...
• plait or braid hair
• make an effective complaint
• waltz (foxtrot, line dance, dance on point...)
• put on a dancing show
• organize a coffee morning
• run a meeting
• make a presentation
• do a cheap style make-over
• shop at thrift stores
• choose colors that suit you
• choose clothes that suit you
• walk in high heels
• make your own cosmetics, creams, etc.
• start your own business
• recognize sound business deals
• take control of your personal finances
• buy a house
• negotiate a deal
• choose a college
• decide what career you want
• keep mentally alert and fit
• select the right make-up for yourself
• be a good friend
• agree to disagree to maintain a relationship
• say no politely
• do a magic trick
• apologize sincerely
• use the Heimlich maneuver
• handle and store firearms safely
• keep your sense of humor

And then there's these 'how to' ideas...

• fix a blocked sink
• fix a leaking faucet
• replace a cracked tile
• polish wooden furniture
• restore a piece of furniture
• change a car tire
• interpret a modern painting
• read a palm
• burglar proof your home
• use the color wheel
• upcycle old furniture
• break a habit
• build a model airplane
• make and upload a video to YouTube
• become an influencer
• get a baby to go to sleep
• impersonate someone famous
• choose a piece of art
• stack firewood
• to be a good listener

More good demonstration speech ideas & help 

How to put an effective demonstration speech together.

Once you've chosen your demonstration speech topic find out more about how good demonstration speeches are structured. This is an easily followed 'how to' prepare your speech guide.

More interesting 'how to' speech topics!

If you're still looking, try this page of 50 how to speech ideas . These are unique demonstration speech topics focusing on teaching the soft skills that are vital for communicating well, living fully and harmoniously in our world. Two examples are: 'how to apologize sincerely' and 'how to accept personal criticism positively'.

100+ 10-minute demonstration speech topics

If you're still looking for inspiration to strike, you may find your perfect topic here: 100+ 10-minute demonstration speech topics . The list has been carefully curated to make sure the suggestions can be covered efficiently and effectively in ten minutes or less. 

Here's a couple of examples: how to make a friendship bracelet, and, how to give medicine to your cat without being scratched to bits.

And there is this collection of  188 funny how to speech topics .

Who said a demonstration speech needs to teach something practical and be serious? Many of these speech ideas are neither! Instead, they're pure, unadulterated silliness and fun. ☺

(I've included an example speech outline along with a free printable speech outline for your own use.)

Give your speech structure - use an outline

Would using a printable  blank demonstration speech outline   help you with your speech?

This outline will take you through an ordered sequence of  steps to ensure your speech flows well from beginning to end.

If you'd like to see the outline in use, please check this page: demonstration speech sample outline.

You can follow the text of my speech, 'how to leave an effective voice mail message', through each of the sections in the outline. 

I also made a video (audio + slides) so that you can hear, as well as see, how the flow of information from one point to the next works.

I hope both the completed outline and the video help. ☺

How to get top marks!

And if your speech is being formally evaluated why not find out what the judge will be marking you on? Click the link and you'll find a standard speech evaluation form explained and available to download.

• Return to the top of demonstration speech topics

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How To Speech Topics

Here's a list of 100 "how to" speech topics on which you can base your demonstration speech. If you're new to writing this type of speech, then I have some great tips here to help you get started.

10 Web-Related Topics

• build mobile websites
• rank in Google's search engine
• design a Wordpress blog
• unzip a .zip file
• take a ".xml" file and make it a feed
• optimize website graphics
• use an FTP program to upload files to the web
• open a Facebook account
• get set up on Twitter
• sell stuff on eBay

10 How To Speech Topics on Technology

• download from iTunes
• send text messages
• program a GPS tracker
• install more memory into a laptop
• properly clean a computer screen and accessories
• transfer music from an iPhone to a PC
• choose the best computer
• program a TV remote controller
• unlock your Wii console

10 Topics on Health

• lose weight safely
• increase your metabolism
• lift weights properly
• keep your heart healthy
• get rid of lice
• get rid of acne
• keep your teeth healthy
• quit smoking
• improve your eyesight
• exercise your brain

10 How To Speech Topics on Pets

• teach your parrot to talk
• teach your dog to play dead
• saddle a horse
• set up an aquarium
• breed animals to sell
• bathe a cat without getting scratched
• introduce new pets to older pets in your household
• choose the right pet for you
• control the pets on Sims 2
• get rid of fleas and ticks

10 Topics on Fashion

• make your eyes look bigger with makeup
• tie a hair bow
• get rid of static cling in hair and clothes
• shop for clothes on a budget
• curl hair with a curling iron
• apply false eyelashes
• pick clothes that make you look 10 pounds lighter
• care for dry, brittle hair or nails
• remove stains from fabric
• clean a suede or leather jacket

10 How To Speech Topics on Gardening

• design a desert garden
• create a raised bed garden
• grow bigger tomatoes
• compost when you live in an apartment
• attract butterflies to a garden
• attract hummingbirds to a garden
• grow an indoor herb garden
• repel and kill garden pests
• develop humane animal traps
• control mole damage

10 Topics on Jobs

• never work again
• get a job after being fired
• write a resume
• write a cover letter
• ask for a raise
• make money on the internet
• work as a virtual assistant
• deal with office politics
• search for a job online
• add my resume to online job sites

10 How To Speech Topics on Education

develop a photographic memory ace your PSAT, LSAT, MCAT, etc. become valedictorian apply for college financing get an online degree avoid problems with homeschooling get a GED write a speech deal with bullying decorate school books

10 Topics on Holidays

• put on makeup to look like a zombie for Halloween
• make fake vampire teeth
• carve a scary pumpkin
• create a Christmas tree out of wire hangers
• make a pop-up Christmas card
• build a gingerbread house
• make a Thanksgiving turkey out of lunch bags
• make firework fuses
• decorate a cake like a flag
• decorate Easter eggs

10 How To Speech Topics on Sports/Recreation

• do a 360 flip on a skateboard
• improve your golf swing
• knot a climbing rope
• tighten wheels on rollerblades
• put together a wakeboard
• repair a bicycle shifter
• arm wrestle someone more muscular than you
• play ping-pong like a pro
• choose the best paintball gun
• put a spin on a baseball

Phew! There you go, 100 how to speech topics for you to choose. Hopefully, they'll give you some ideas so you can come up with a hundred more!

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Benedictine College Media & Culture

Benedictine College Celebrates Largest Graduating Class in History

A record 485 seniors walked across the stage on Saturday, May 11, during the annual Commencement exercises at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Those at the undergraduate ceremony heard a speech from Harrison Butker, best known as the fantastic placekicker for the World Champion Kansas City Chiefs, but also a very successful entrepreneur and noted philanthropist, who was the event’s keynote speaker.

Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg (ret.) also received an honorary degree during the ceremony, although remotely. He is the first black man and the first living person to have an Army Fort named in his honor. Fort Gregg-Adams near Petersburg, Va., is named for him.

Harrison Butker

Butker held up Benedictine College as an example. “Places like Benedictine, a little Kansas college so high up on a bluff above the Missouri River, are showing the world that a Christ-centered existence is the recipe for success,” Butker said. “You need to look no further than the examples all around campus where, over the past 20 years, enrollment has doubled and construction and revitalization are a constant part of life, and people, the faculty, staff and students, are thriving.”

He told the students to focus on their vocation, whatever that might be. He talked about his wife, Isabelle, whom he has known since middle school.

“She chose to be my wife and embrace one of the most important titles,” he said, becoming emotional. “She’s the primary educator to our children. She’s the one who ensures I never let football or my business become a distraction from being a father and husband. She is the person that knows me best and it is through our marriage that, Lord willing, we both will attain salvation.”

“You are sitting at the edge of the rest of your lives,” Butker said. “Each of you has the potential to leave a legacy that transcends yourselves and this era of human existence. And in small ways, by living out your vocation, you will ensure that God’s Church continues, and the world is enlightened by your example.”

Butker received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Benedictine.

Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg (ret) when he became a 3-star general in 1977.

The other honorary degree recipient, Gen. Gregg, talked about how his career and future were limited without a college degree. He remembered that he talked with Benedictine College (then St. Benedict’s College) administrators and, after examining his academic record, found that he could complete his degree over a summer and fall semester while he was at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, nearby. With that degree in hand, he was able to get additional promotions, attended the Army War College, and ultimately achieved the rank of 3-star General.

“Benedictine College provided me with the path to my continued success,” he said. He also had some words of wisdom on what was his 96 th birthday for the graduates in attendance.

“I want to congratulate my fellow Ravens on their graduation today,” said Gregg. “You have reached a level of personal maturity and academic achievement needed to take on adult responsibilities and to begin successful careers. Like previous graduates, you will help America to be a great country.

“The education and formation you have received from Benedictine College will be critical to your success in life as it has been in mine.”

Dr. Kimberly Shankman, Dean of the College, directed the annual exercise, which began with a prayer from Sister Mary Elizabeth Schweiger, Prioress at Mount St. Scholastica Monastery, one of the founding institutions of Benedictine College.

The 2024 Valedictorians (L-R) Liza Trettel, Levi Streit, Katherine Brandenburg, Shea Nowicki, and Andrew Selness, after being announced at the Senior Brunch on Friday, May 10.

This year featured a record five Valedictorians:  Katherine Brandenburg, a Psychology graduate from Basehor, Kansas; Shea Nowicki, a Theology graduate from Scottsdale, Arizona; Andrew Selness, a Theology and Philosophy graduate from St. Louis, Missouri; Levi Streit, a Biology graduate from Wichita, Kansas; and Liza Trettel, a Graphic Design graduate from Kearney, Nebraska.

President of Benedictine College Stephen D. Minnis announced the annual Fran Jabara Leadership Award winners. Each year, the award is given to select graduating seniors at each private, four-year college in Kansas. The award indicates the high level of ability the recipients have displayed as well as the respect with which their peers and teachers view them. This year, the Jabara Leadership Awards went to Anastasia Adams from Lander, Wyoming, who graduated with degrees in Secondary Education and English, and David Lauterwasser from Overland Park, Kansas, who graduated with a degree in Biology and minors in Chemistry and Psychology.

Benjamin Hoopes, a Theology major from Atchison, Kansas, received the Transforming Culture in America Award for his tireless efforts to bring people together through small gatherings and regular dinners.

“Ben really has the heart of a servant and has helped the college and broader communities in a wide variety of ways,” said President Minnis.

Those graduates who are discerning religious vocations were also recognized. President Minnis called Gabriel Friess, Gerard Remmes, Joseph Stokman, Hagan Stovall, and Christopher Ullrich the “next leaders of the Catholic Church.” The ceremony concluded with Remmes singing the Benedictine College Alma Mater, O Lord of Ev’ry Blessing , followed by the closing prayer from Abbot James Albers, OSB, from St. Benedict’s Abbey.

The day before Commencement featured the traditional photo of graduates around the Benedictine “B” in front of the Haverty Center. That was followed by the March of Light, a procession up the Raven Walk, through the Grotto and into the Abbey Church for Baccalaureate Mass. The Most Reverend Joseph Naumann, Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas, was the principal celebrant and homilist for the Mass.

Benedictine College

Founded in 1858, Benedictine College is a Catholic, Benedictine, residential, liberal arts college located on the bluffs above the Missouri River in Atchison, Kansas. The school is honored to have been named one of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report, the best private college in Kansas by The Wall Street Journal , and one of the top Catholic colleges in the nation by First Things magazine and the Newman Guide . It prides itself on outstanding academics, extraordinary faith life, strong athletic programs, and an exceptional sense of community and belonging. Benedictine College is dedicated to transforming culture in America through its mission to educate men and women within a community of faith and scholarship.

More to Read

This Sunday, Pentecost Is So Powerful, It Transforms Our Past, Present … and Future

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Archbishop to Graduates: Be Not Afraid of the ‘Curse of Living in Interesting Times’

Chiefs' Harrison Butker blasted for commencement speech encouraging women to be homemakers

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has aggravated one of the internet's biggest culture wars by telling a class of college graduates that one of the “most important” titles a woman can hold is homemaker.

During a commencement speech last weekend at Benedictine College, a Catholic liberal arts school in Atchison, Kansas, the NFL player railed against abortion, Pride month and Covid-19 lockdown measures.

Drawing the most viral backlash this week, however, was a section of his speech in which he addressed the female graduates specifically — telling them that it’s women who have had “the most diabolical lies” told to them.

“How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world,” Butker said. “But I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

The criticisms that followed took aim at Butker as well as the NFL.

"Hey @NFL — If you want to continue to grow your female fan base and any other marginalized group (straight white men are already watching your product), come get your boy," wrote Lisa Guerrero, a former NFL sideline reporter and now an investigative journalist for "Inside Edition."

He went on to tell the graduates that his wife would agree that her life “truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.” It is her embrace of this role, he said, that made his own professional success possible.

Butker’s comments share similarities with some of the more extreme ideas around gender roles that have gained traction in communities that promote “ tradwife ” lifestyles or other relationship dynamics that center on traditional gender roles .

“Listen, there’s nothing wrong with his wife being a homemaker. Homemakers are wonderful, that’s not the point,” filmmaker Michael McWhorter, known by his more than 6 million TikTok followers as TizzyEnt, said in a video response. “The point is he seemed to be acting as if you should be ashamed if you don’t want to be a homemaker, or, ‘I know what you really want to do is just stay home and have babies.’"

The speech was the latest incident to add fuel to the flames of this increasingly vocal cultural battle, much of which is playing out online. While many prominent right-wing men have voiced such beliefs before, they’re usually confined to internet forums, podcasts and other online communities where these ideologies thrive.

A spokesperson for Butker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Benedictine College and the Kansas City Chiefs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for the NFL told People Magazine that Butker "gave a speech in his personal capacity" and his "views are not those of the NFL as an organization."

"The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger," a spokesperson told the publication.

Butker, who is teammates with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, further drew surprise and criticism when he quoted Kelce’s girlfriend, Taylor Swift, whose monumental career success as a global pop star has inspired college courses .

“As my teammate’s girlfriend says, ‘familiarity breeds contempt,’” he said, drawing murmurs from the crowd as he used the “Bejeweled” lyric as an analogy for why Catholic priests should not become “overly familiar” with their parishioners.

In the days since his speech, a Change.org petition for the Chiefs to dismiss Butker for “discriminatory remarks” has garnered nearly 19,000 signatures.

“These comments reinforce harmful stereotypes that threaten social progress,” the petition stated. “They create a toxic environment that hinders our collective efforts towards equality, diversity and inclusion in society. It is unacceptable for such a public figure to use their platform to foster harm rather than unity.”

Those who criticized Butker’s speech online include actor Bradley Whitford as well as DJ and rapper (and self-proclaimed Swiftie ) Flavor Flav .

But his speech was also lauded by some on the religious right, including conservative sports media personalities such as Clay Travis and Jason Whitlock , who defended Butker’s statements toward women.

“Not a word Harrison Butker says here should be remotely controversial. He’s 100% correct,” former NFL wide receiver T.J. Moe posted on X . “Those trying to convince women that being assistant VP of lending & intentionally childless at age 40 is more fulfilling than making a family and home are evil.”

Sports and culture commentator Jon Root also posted that Butker “exposed the lies that the world has been telling women.” Women, he wrote, are wrongly encouraged to climb the corporate ladder, view children as a “burden” and see marriage as “not worth pursuing.”

Still, a deluge of viewers online took issue with his attitude toward women and the LGBTQ community. Many women also rejected the premise that they would be happier staying at home in lieu of paid work, even if they do have a husband and children.

“I am moved. I actually had no idea that my life began when I met my husband,” neurosurgeon Betsy Grunch, known as Ladyspinedoc on TikTok, said sarcastically in a TikTok video . “It did not begin when I graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia with honors. It certainly did not begin when I graduated with a 4.0 GPA, Alpha Omega Alpha, from medical school. And I had no idea that it did not begin when I completed my residency in neurosurgery.”

Angela Yang is a culture and trends reporter for NBC News.

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The U.S. Is Easing Marijuana Restrictions. Here’s How It Works.

A new federal rule would reclassify marijuana as a less-dangerous, Schedule III drug. It’s a significant shift, even as it does not legalize the drug.

By Eileen Sullivan

Reporting from Washington

The Biden administration moved on Thursday to downgrade marijuana from the most restrictive category of drugs.

The proposed rule, submitted to the Federal Register, is subject to a 60-day comment period, kicking off a lengthy approval process before it takes effect.

The proposal, which would move marijuana to Schedule III, from Schedule I, signals a significant shift in how the federal government views the substance, even as it does not legalize the drug. Its classification as one of the most dangerous and habit-forming substances has long drawn criticism, and recategorizing the drug is an acknowledgment by the federal government that the drug has some medicinal value and lower potential for abuse.

The categories of controlled substances determine production amounts, access, research and legal consequences. Some experts have argued that cigarettes and alcohol, which are not in any of the five categories of controlled substances, should be included in Schedule I because of their demonstrated high risk of abuse and addiction.

In a recorded video, President Biden praised the step, describing it as “monumental.”

“Far too many lives have been upended because of a failed approach to marijuana, and I’m committed to righting those wrongs,” Mr. Biden said. “You have my word on it.”

Here is a look at the five categories, or schedules, including some of the drugs in each designation. Opioids fall into all five schedules, depending on the exact drug.

The federal government classifies these drugs as having no currently accepted medical use. It also says these drugs pose a high risk for abuse. Marijuana has been in this category, along with drugs like heroin, L.S.D., ecstasy and magic mushrooms.

Schedule II

The government says substances in this category have some medical value, even as they pose a high risk for abuse. This includes cocaine, methamphetamine, painkillers like Vicodin, OxyContin and fentanyl; and Dexedrine, Adderall and Ritalin, which are most commonly prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have sought to push fentanyl into a more stringent classification given that it has become a leading cause of death in the country. But doing so would have a detrimental impact on surgery patients because fentanyl is one of the best anesthetics, said Keith Humphreys, a drug policy expert at Stanford University. It also would not address the illegal production of fentanyl, which is what is fueling the overwhelming number of fentanyl-related deaths.

Schedule III

These drugs are considered to have a low to moderate risk of abuse, such as Tylenol with codeine, ketamine, anabolic steroids, testosterone and, eventually, marijuana. Drugs in this category are not subject to the federal income tax rule that has hampered producers in states where marijuana is legal. By law , producers of drugs in the top two categories cannot take tax exemptions for their business expenses like rent, employee salaries and utility bills that support operations.

Until 2014, hydrocodone combination products, most often prescribed as a painkiller — such as Vicodin — was considered a Schedule III drug. But the Drug Enforcement Administration changed that to try to curb the prescription drug abuse that had been sweeping the country at the time.

Schedule IV

Drugs in this group are considered to have a low risk of abuse and addiction and require a prescription. They include anti-anxiety medicine like Xanax and Valium; muscle relaxants; and low-grade pain killers like Tramadol. The sleeping drug Ambien is also in this category.

These are considered the lowest-risk drugs and still require a prescription. Examples include certain cough medicine, drugs to treat diarrhea, such as Lomotil, Motofen and Parepectolin, and the anti-epileptic drug, Lyrica.

Eileen Sullivan  covers breaking news, the Justice Department, the trials against Donald J. Trump and the Biden administration. More about Eileen Sullivan

Chiefs kicker criticizes IVF, Pride month and 'diabolical lies' told to women in viral graduation speech

K ansas City Chiefs player Harrison Butker is facing backlash after delivering a controversial graduation speech to the class of 2024 at Benedictine College.

The 20-minute speech was delivered on May 11 at the Catholic college’s campus in Atchison, Kansas. The NFL kicker spoke on a range of topics, including reproductive issues, women’s roles in the home, Pride month and more.

“The bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues. Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerate cultural values and media all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder,” the 28-year-old said.

A common theme in the address was the importance of “accepting your lane,” and Butker went on to address the women in the graduating class, saying that they had been told “the most diabolical lies.”

He shared that his wife’s life “really started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.” Butker married his wife, Isabelle, in 2018 and the couple share two children.

“I’ve seen firsthand how much happier someone can be when they disregard the outside noise and move closer and closer to God’s will for life. Isabelle’s dream of having a career might not have come true, but if you ask her today if she has any regrets on her decision, she would laugh out loud without hesitation and say no.”

While speaking about the importance of embracing tradition, Butker referenced Pride month, a month, typically June, dedicated to the LGBTQ community, as a “deadly sin sort of pride.”

Butker encouraged men to be “unapologetic in your masculinity” after addressing reproductive issues during his speech.

“Let’s be honest, there is nothing good about playing God with having children, whether that be your ideal number or the perfect time to conceive,” he said. “No matter how you spin it, there is nothing natural about Catholic birth control.”

The footballer also quoted a line from pop star Taylor Swift’s song “Bejeweled.” Swift is dating Butker’s teammate Travis Kelce.

“Tragically, so many priests revolve much of their happiness from the adulation they receive from their parishioners,” he said. “And in searching for this, they let their guard down and become overly familiar. This undue familiarity will prove to be problematic every time because as my teammate’s girlfriend says, familiarity breeds contempt.”

In a statement to TODAY.com, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer Jonathan Beane said Butker’s comments didn’t reflect the larger organization.

“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer said in a statement. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”

TODAY.com has reached out to Benedictine College for comment on the address, as well as Butker and the Chiefs but has not received any response. TODAY.com has also reached out to Swift for a response on being quoted in the speech.

Online reactions to the speech by Harrison Butker were a trending topic on X by May 14.

“I dare Harrison Butker to tell Taylor Swift that she has no value until she is a wife and mother,” one tweet read .

“You see, this is why we need Pride Month, this is why I continue to say LGBTQ people BELONG,” wrote another .

“This is atrocious,” wrote a third commenter . “As talented as he is, you can find a kicker that’s not (homophobic) and misogynistic pretty easily, I bet.”

Butker was drafted in 2017 by the Carolina Panthers but was signed by the Chiefs in September of the same year. He has since won two Super Bowls with the Chiefs and received accolades after scoring a 27-yard field goal that won the 2023 Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles.

CORRECTION (May 15, 2024, 7:21 a.m. ET):  An earlier version of this article misstated that Harrison Butker quoted lyrics from Taylor Swift's song "Karma" in his speech. He quoted lyrics from her song "Bejeweled."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com

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How to Give a Speech Without Getting Nervous

Last Updated: December 14, 2022 Approved

This article was co-authored by Lynn Kirkham . Lynn Kirkham is a Professional Public Speaker and Founder of Yes You Can Speak, a San Francisco Bay Area-based public speaking educational business empowering thousands of professionals to take command of whatever stage they've been given - from job interviews, boardroom talks to TEDx and large conference platforms. Lynn was chosen as the official TEDx Berkeley speaker coach for the last four years and has worked with executives at Google, Facebook, Intuit, Genentech, Intel, VMware, and others. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, several readers have written to tell us that this article was helpful to them, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 311,736 times.

Do you dread giving a speech, or have an extreme fear of public speaking? It is possible to lessen your nervousness with some advance preparation. Start off by speaking to groups of people as often as you can. Practice your speech with your friends and family. Try to connect with your audience and don’t be afraid to make a few mistakes. Working off your extra energy before a speech will help you to focus as well.

Reducing Stress Beforehand

• Think about people you know who have to give speeches or presentations on a regular basis. Ask them for their input and advice as you prepare.
• Practicing in this way will also help you to become desensitized when speaking in front of groups of people. Do it often enough and it will become habit and nothing to worry about.
• You can also join a local group, such as Toastmasters, to work on your skills. Or, you can even take a public speaking course at a local college or recreation center. [3] X Research source

• Expect that your anxiety level will drop significantly after you’ve completed your introductory remarks and this will help you to relax for the rest of your talk.

• For example, you may find that you speak way too fast at the start of your speech. This is fixable by simply concentrating on slowing down early on.

• It is especially important that you check out the technology, such as the computer and projection screens, to make sure that they are functioning properly and compatible with any equipment that you’ll bring along. [6] X Research source
• If you cannot look at the space well beforehand, try to arrive a little early for your speech and check everything out at that time.

• If social anxiety is not an issue, a therapist can also help you overcome a phobia of public speaking. A therapist or speech pathologist may also be able to work on treating public-speaking-induced speech disorders, if you suspect you suffer from such a problem.

Being Mentally Calm and Confident

• Just be careful that you don’t get overconfident and stray too far off of your prepared script. This can have the effect of making you seem even more nervous and frazzled.

• Some people even find that repeating, “Yes!,” over and over again works wonders to decrease nerves. [12] X Research source
• Take a deep breath and then think of your favorite speaker. Perhaps envision Abraham Lincoln giving a battlefield speech. Be inspired by their poise and try to emulate this as you take the stage.
• Remember, though, not every speech will go exactly as visualized, and that is alright. The purpose of this exercise is to help bolster confidence. You cannot and should not expect to predict an audience's response.

• If you find yourself freezing up, locate a friendly face and then focus your stare right above them. Hold this position as you continue to talk. Move on whenever you feel your nerves lessening.

• If you make an error, don't apologize. No one but you knows your speech! Just keep going, and save apologies for off-stage
• Remind yourself that no one is expecting you to give a flawless speech. In fact, audiences often find small stumbles and other signs of being human relatable and even endearing. Try not to panic if you stumble. Instead, just focus on your recovery.

Projecting Physical Calm and Confidence

• You may also want to do a quick body scan. Close your eyes, breathe in deeply, and focus on any areas where you feel yourself tensing your muscles. Take a deep breath in, and try to soften the tension as you exhale. [18] X Trustworthy Source Greater Good in Action An initiative by UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center promoting science-based practices for a meaningful life Go to source

• Try your outfit on before you give your speech to make sure everything fits well and that you feel comfortable. This helps prevent awkward adjusting during your speech.

• Watch out for jittery behaviors, such as tapping your fingers or twirling a pen. Practicing a good deal will help you to spot these actions and work on eliminating them prior to your final speech. [21] X Research source

Expert Q&A

• Remember that your audience wants to hear you and are interested in what you have to say. They want you to do well. [22] X Research source Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Drink a cup of water about 15-30 minutes before you take the stage. This will keep you hydrated and prevent you from getting dry mouth, a common sign of nervousness. [23] X Research source Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

• Make sure to talk slowly if you are nervous. Don’t rush your words. [24] X Research source Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ Lynn Kirkham. Public Speaking Coach. Expert Interview. 20 November 2019.
• ↑ http://time.com/89814/how-to-overcome-fear-of-public-speaking-and-give-a-great-presentation/
• ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2013/05/16/how-warren-buffett-and-joel-osteen-conquered-their-terrifying-fear-of-public-speaking/#1a4af754352a
• ↑ https://collegeinfogeek.com/public-speaking-tips/
• ↑ http://www.washington.edu/doit/presentation-tips-0
• ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/specific-phobias/expert-answers/fear-of-public-speaking/faq-20058416
• ↑ http://blog.ted.com/a-ted-speaker-coach-shares-11-tips-for-right-before-you-go-on-stage/
• ↑ http://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/body_scan_meditation
• ↑ https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/5-ways-to-immediately-appear-more-confident/

About This Article

Medical Disclaimer

The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, examination, diagnosis, or treatment. You should always contact your doctor or other qualified healthcare professional before starting, changing, or stopping any kind of health treatment.

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To give a speech without getting nervous, try taking deep breaths before and throughout your speech to help you calm down and release tension. During your speech, make sure to keep your back straight and stand tall as this will project confidence and help keep your breathing even. To avoid looking directly at anyone, focus on a spot behind the audience until you begin to feel more relaxed. These tips will help you in the short-term, however, if you often get nervous during speaking, be sure to learn as much as you can about your topic as this will equip you to improvise and answer questions. For more tips from our co-author, like how to establish rapport with your audience, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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