How to practise a presentation before you give it

Why are good slides not enough?

Good slides show what the presentation is about, but they say little about how it will go when you stand in front of other people. Many students only discover on the day that the introduction takes half the time, or that they read the bullet points aloud instead of explaining them. Problems like these are easy to fix when you find them early.

A practice run also gives you real experience to build on. Once you have given the presentation once, you know which transitions work and where you need a better phrasing. It can also make facing the audience easier, because you have tried the situation before.

Which tools should you practise with?

Practise with what you will actually have. If you are going to use slides and a few notes, rehearse with exactly that, not with a full script you are not allowed to bring. That way the practice becomes a realistic test of the presentation itself.

• The slides in the version you will show, ideally saved as a PDF.
• A few cues per slide, rather than full sentences.
• A time target that matches the requirement in your course or assignment.
• A recording or a listener who can give you feedback afterwards.

Cues work best when they remind you of a point, an example or a transition. If you write full sentences, it is easy to start reading them aloud. Three short words can be enough to bring back what you planned to say.

Four steps in a presentation practice session in Aria

1. Give the presentation a title and choose a length: one, three, five or ten minutes.
2. Upload your slides as a PDF and write up to three cues per slide.
3. Give the presentation and move through the slides while Aria records and measures the time per slide. You can show or hide your cues as you go.
4. Read the feedback, the slide map and the questions the audience might ask, then choose what you want to improve.

During the recording you see the time, the status and the sound level, but not the text of your speech. This is deliberate, so that you focus on the audience rather than the screen. The recording is transcribed afterwards, so the session requires microphone access and transcription in your subscription.

What do you get feedback on?

The feedback looks at several sides of your delivery. You get an assessment of the structure, covering the introduction, main part and conclusion, and an overview of the filler words you used. Your pace is measured in words per minute, and clarity is about whether technical terms were explained for the people listening.

Two measures are especially useful. The first shows how much of your talk was read word for word from the slides; a low share suggests that you explained things in your own words. The second is the slide map, which shows the time you spent on each slide compared with an approximate time budget, so you can see where the presentation ran long or short.

You also get an assessment of how you used your cues, and examples of questions an examiner or the audience might ask. Think through an answer before you look at the example. Afterwards you can create a cheat sheet from the session, as a short summary of the points you want to include next time.

From reading aloud to presenting in your own words

The difference is that the second approach tests the delivery itself. You find out whether the timing holds, whether the transitions work and whether you can explain without reading. These are exactly the things an audience notices.

How to use the feedback in the next run

Start with what affects the whole presentation most. If the slide map shows that you spent too long on the background, shorten that part before you polish your wording. If you read a lot word for word, remove text from the slides and move it to your cues, so that you have to explain it yourself.

Filler words are common and do not need to disappear completely. Instead, notice whether they appear at particular transitions, and practise one clear sentence at exactly that point. Do the same with the audience questions: pick one you were unsure about, look up the answer and include it in your next run.

The feedback is based on the transcript of what you said and may contain mistakes, so check subject advice against your syllabus. It does not replace the requirements of your course either; always check which rules apply to your presentation.

Gjør dette nå

• Practise with the same slides and cues you will use.
• Choose a time target that matches your course requirement.
• See which slides took too long or too little time.
• Pick one or two points to improve before the next run.

FAQ

Practise your presentation before you give it

Upload your slides, write your cues and get feedback on structure, pace and delivery. Try Aria free for 7 days; presentation practice requires transcription in your subscription.