A Message and Some Final Presentation Tips!

Dear Students,

I'm really excited to see your presentations this week! I was really impressed by your work last week! I felt really proud that I was your teacher this semester! Thank you all so much for working hard with each other to create great things! I hope that you have learned something useful this semester and that it hasn't been too hard for you! I was really happy to be your teacher.

Thanks for your hard work this semester! You've made me a really happy teacher! 

I have also learned a lot from your essays and your presentations (the parts I saw so far). That's pretty cool! I want you to remember that you have the power to use English in your life and your future! Remember that being perfect isn't the most important thing - being understood is enough and telling people useful information. I hope you will feel confident to keep doing that in your futures! If you ever need any help from me, too, please feel free to come see me in Office 1! I want to finish up by giving you some reminders on how to do your best in your presentation!

FINAL TIPS!

Before the Presentation:

1. During your preparation time, make sure to: Check your videos, check the volume on the computer, double-check who will change the slides for each student, make sure you have your note cards ready.

2. Open your presentations in Google Chrome, not Internet Explorer (many school computers have old versions of Explorer, which may not open your slides or play your videos).

3. Make sure your notecards have SHORT notes not paragraphs!

4. Practice your advertisement with your group to make sure everyone knows when to speak!

During the Presentation:

1. Breathe deeply. Take a deep breath before starting each section. Pause and take a deep breath if you start to feel nervous or speak quickly. It helps! Trust me! I often do this in class!

2. Remember to speak LOUDLY. Clarity and intonation will also improve when you speak loudly enough. Imagine that you must speak to the people at the back of the classroom.

My friend Peter Starr Northrop with some good advice for parties or presentations! :) 

3. Remember to speak slowly enough. A good rule is to speak a little more slowly than you think you should. Pause after making an important or main point. People will pay more attention to you if you pause sometimes. People will understand you better if you speak slowly.

4. To have good intonation, imagine you are speaking to a friend and giving advice about traveling to your city. When you speak to a friend, you will naturally have more feeling about the facts and information you talk about. You may also decide to change some sentences to be more simple or less formal. That's fine!

5. Remember that EVERY STUDENT IS NERVOUS. Everyone. Everyone will probably make some mistakes, too. That's okay. Even professional presenters make mistakes. To succeed, all you need to do is to keep going!

6. Remember that everyone did a great job this past week. I was really impressed. You're going to be okay! You've achieved a lot this semester. Now, take a breath, slow down and share your great information with me and the class! I'm looking forward to it!