Many young people encounter extensive university presentations for the first time at university. Professors primarily rely on PowerPoint to clearly convey their content.
Not least due to the Corona pandemic, webinars and online presentations have gained particular importance in recent years. Students are increasingly required to create and deliver presentations themselves – whether online or in person.
It's not uncommon for the majority of a student's grade to hinge on a single assignment or presentation. In this article, we want to highlight common mistakes, especially at the beginning of your studies, and show you how to avoid them. We also want to demonstrate to all students that anyone can create an engaging university presentation that will impress both their fellow students and their professors!
From school to university
Many young people receive insufficient preparation for individual presentations and professional presentation skills during their school years. Instead, presentations are often given in groups, with participants taking turns.
Group presentations in school often cause students in their early semesters to struggle with stage fright when they suddenly have to deliver their entire university presentation alone in front of a larger audience . If they also haven't learned how to use PowerPoint effectively in school, creating an engaging presentation can be difficult. This often results in nerves being completely frayed before presentations.
Common mistakes when giving presentations
It is important to remember that a presentation is more than just a set of slides. The delivery of the presentation itself and the skills of the presenter are also essential for creating a good university presentation.
It is quite common for students to focus primarily on the slides at the beginning of their studies and neglect the rest of the lecture.
To give a good presentation that impresses both professors and fellow students, it's essential that the speaker is able to present freely . This requires preparation and practice. In the following paragraph, we'll show you how to do this and which mistakes you can easily avoid.
Mistake #1: Insufficient preparation
Effective presentation skills should be practiced! Often, hours are spent perfecting the content of the presentation while the actual delivery fades into the background. However, rehearsals are crucial to avoid slips of the tongue and stumbles during the university presentation and to prevent unnecessarily lengthy talks.
Especially less experienced presenters often don't know when it's time to move on to the next slide. Because it's not enough to create a good product or a good presentation if you can't sell it just as well!
Going through your presentation two or three times before the actual presentation , or even reading it aloud, significantly reduces the likelihood of errors. Often, more mistakes become apparent when speaking than when reading, allowing you to correct them. Especially when you have a time limit, such rehearsals reveal whether the presentation needs adjustments, such as shortening or lengthening.
If you're having trouble structuring and delivering your presentation smoothly, PowerPoint's presenter view can also be helpful. Find out here how to use presenter view and make your presentation easier.
However, please note that depending on the presentation venue, you may not have a clear view of the laptop. Many seminar rooms and universities do not have a lectern. This makes using presenter view more difficult, as you won't have the laptop directly in front of you.
Mistake #2: Presentation and lecture are identical.
Another mistake that diminishes the impact of your presentation is to cram all relevant and interesting information onto the slides. In this case, the presentation itself offers no added value, and the audience can easily lose focus.
Furthermore, if you already have all the information on the slides, you can simply read from them. In this case, the audience can simply read ahead and then mentally tune out.
To avoid this, you should consider, while preparing your presentation, which part of the information you want to show on your slides and which part you want to include in your presentation. Key information and important figures should be mentioned both on the slides and in your presentation ; otherwise, the slides should reinforce the spoken content and not replace it .
Slides with images and minimal text are particularly suitable for this. In general, you should only use bullet points and keywords on slides, and not write in full sentences. You can find further tips here.
Error #3: No or few interactive elements
Many students focus solely on their presentation and forget how important interaction with their audience is. The results are endless monologues and a bored university audience.
Interactive elements not only increase your audience's attention but are also very well received by your professor. Videos or interactive graphics, for example, help to liven up the lecture, and questions encourage your fellow students to actively participate. Read here and here how you can incorporate these into your presentation.
At the end of your presentation, a discussion round is also a good way to answer questions from the audience and thus involve everyone. However, we recommend providing some structure for your discussion. For example, ask questions about personal experiences with the topic, otherwise, no one might speak up.
For more helpful tips on how to engage your audience in your presentation and keep their attention, please take a look here .
Mistake #4: Lack of eye contact
Eye contact should be a central component of a good presentation . It shows that you are interested in the audience and are addressing them directly. However, it often happens that first-year students are somewhat shy and nervousness takes over.
It's easy to then avoid eye contact with the audience and concentrate on your slides or index cards. This not only suggests insecurity but also a lack of interest in your audience.
To avoid this, there are a few tips and tricks you can follow. For example, at the beginning of your university presentation, you can choose a participant who seems interested in the talk. Whenever you feel uncertain, look to this person.
However, try not to focus on just one person, but consciously let your gaze wander across the room . Mentally divide your audience into four sections and linger your gaze on each section for about five seconds . This way, each section of the audience will feel directly addressed and acknowledged.
For more tips and tricks on eye contact and body language, check out our blog here .
Mistake #5: Too much content and too long a presentation
Many students fear overlooking important content and therefore quickly run the risk of including too much information in their presentations. Consequently, their presentations are long, often exceed the time limit, and thus bore the audience.
When it comes to presentations, less is more. It's important to focus on the essentials and not get lost in the details. As previously recommended, a rehearsal is a good way to determine the actual length of the presentation and whether it's worth cutting any content.
Mistake #6: Overloaded slides
While some effects can be eye-catching in a university presentation, the principle "less is more" still applies. If your slides are too cluttered, your audience may lose track and tune out rather than focus on the presentation.
The text on your slides should be limited to bullet points and keywords , as these are easier for your audience to read. Also, choose a consistent color scheme and font and stick to it on all slides.
Too much color and changing fonts unnecessarily confuse the audience. To learn how to get the most out of your PowerPoint presentation with the right font, check out our blog here .
A slide master can be helpful here, as it helps maintain a consistent layout. In this article, we'll explain how to create and use a slide master correctly.
Mistake #7: Lack of familiarity with technical aspects
We've all been there – technical problems always seem to crop up at the worst possible time. To prevent this, it's worth doing a test run on-site , if possible. This way, you can be sure you have everything you need for your university presentation and know how the various pieces of equipment work.
We also recommend having a backup plan. This could be an extra USB drive or an alternative laptop , which shouldn't be a problem, especially for group work. Particular caution is advised with university laptops. Pay attention to which version of PowerPoint is installed. Different versions can cause headings or tables to shift and effects to disappear.
Avoid this problem by saving your presentation as a PDF. This file type guarantees that your slides will always look the same. However, keep in mind that your PowerPoint effects will be lost in a PDF file.
Overall, it is recommended to conduct a test run on the device intended for the presentation . This will allow you to determine whether any changes or adjustments are necessary.
Mistake #8: Poorly designed handouts
Handouts have many advantages : at their best, they summarize the most important content of the presentations, contain valuable additional information, and offer your audience an excellent overview.
Many students view handouts as an additional burden. However, they are an excellent opportunity to engage the audience and increase their attention.
To find out how to create an engaging handout and offer added value to your audience, check out our blog here .
Conclusion: Practice makes perfect
Even if the thought of your first presentation at university makes you feel uneasy, that doesn't mean the university presentation will automatically go wrong!
Many universities also offer their students design templates and style guides for presentations. This ensures that your slide sets meet the requirements of the respective department and saves you some work in the process.
With our tips on university presentations, you will also be ideally prepared to give a first, excellent presentation to your professor and fellow students.
If you have any questions about university presentations or PowerPoint in general, please don't hesitate to contact us at becker@presentationload.de . We're happy to help!
Feel free to browse our shop . We have numerous templates that can also be used for your university presentation!
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