Giving a presentation to school kids is great fun but kids can be a tough crowd. This is especially true when the subject matter is difficult. Thankfully, there are several ways to give a great presentation no matter what you’re presenting.
Audiovisual for school halls
First of all, your audiovisual equipment needs to be adequate for your presentation.
Common problems include a projector screen that’s too small, poor speaker placement, unwanted microphone noise, flickering projectors and power problems. These problems are usually caused by outdated audiovisual equipment.
Audio visual for school halls should include a projector, projector screen, microphone and speaker system. You should test the equipment the day before your presentation and again 30 minutes before you give it to confirm everything works.
Know your audience
Different age groups respond to different things. You should consider the student’s knowledge on the subject, how relevant it is to the curriculum, whether they will find what you talk about useful and how they can apply it.
If you can, use technology to your advantage. Bring video to your presentations and use visuals to explain things or demonstrate ideas. School kids respond best to visual stimulus during presentations when the screen is bright.
Involve the kids
You will find it harder to engage kids when you don’t involve them. You can ask for a volunteer during demonstrations, pass out handouts to students individually, and ask students to put their hands up to answer questions. A good tip to get kids to engage with Q&A sessions is to reward them with sweets.
Sometimes, you won’t be able to interact with the kids as much as you’d like to. However, you can always ask kids to put their hands up.
Don’t be afraid to revise
It’s normal to lose half your audience during a presentation to school kids. Kids have short attention spans and unless you’re super creative you will bore a lot of them. You shouldn’t be afraid to revise your approach if this happens.
If your audience starts fidgeting, chatting or messing around while you are presenting, add some unexpected humour and interaction to get their attention. Try shouting “WHO WANTS CHOCOLATE”. That will wake them right up.
Get the seating arrangement right
The seating arrangement for students is important so everyone can see you. Ideally, everyone will be able to see you perfectly, or you will have the ability to move around the school hall so that students see you that way.
Don’t be afraid to ask for the seats in the school hall to be rearranged if you are unhappy with how they are set up by teachers. Teachers move chairs and desks around all the time, and you can use this to your advantage.
General tips:
- Keep a cool head
- Use humour and jokes
- Show your passion
- Keep it simple
- Tell stories
- Get the kids involved
- Use technology
- Ensure your audiovisual equipment is set up properly
Good luck!
