How to present together?

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How to present together?

An attractive presentation is nice to watch and listen to. The way you prepare your presentation is regardless of the size of your group. Yet giving a group presentation is something very unique. What is the best way to tackle a group presentation and what should you focus on to get your message across successfully? Most people don’t like giving presentations and if you put people who don’t like presenting together, it can feel as if that feeling of reluctance grows exponentially. Yet it is possible to give group presentations in a very fun and convincing way. It could even be the incentive to learn how to present well and with pleasure. But to obtain that effect, you need to focus on a number of things.

Structure your story together

It is definitely a good idea to have every group member prepare a part of your presentation but make sure to determine the bigger picture together first. Don’t just let somebody start, end or cover the middle part of your presentation randomly. Determine your story. What is the message that you want to get across? How will you start? How will you end? Which steps will you take? These things should be determined in your group beforehand. The smaller details such as the slides, examples and words can be left to prepare individually in a next step.

Know each other’s text

Before giving your group presentation, you need to go through everybody’s text. This way, you can avoid overlap or important gaps. Be critical for each other but also don’t be afraid to adjust your own preparations. It is the group presentation that counts and not your individual part in it. Also make sure that you know who speaks when exactly and especially how the speaker before you will end. This way, you can start your part of the presentation as soon as the person that comes before you stops talking. Passing the floor to each other always sounds a bit silly.

Make a template for the slides

Although everybody will make slides, they should all have the same style. There is nothing that disturbs the listener more than an overload of different styles. This is why it is a good idea to choose a template (font, font size, colours, etc.) together beforehand. This doesn’t mean that you must choose a ready-made PowerPoint design but simply that you have agreed on a layout. You should always make sure that your slides are stylish, simple and elegant.

Also make sure that the general layout of your slides is consistent throughout the presentation. You should have about the same amount of text on every slide, as well as the same type of images and illustrations. It should seem like the slides were made by only one person.

Focus on body language

During group presentations, the funniest things happen when it comes to body language. There are general guidelines, but there are also specific points to focus on during group presentations.

Where and how to stand?

Make sure to think about how and where you will stand as a group during your presentation beforehand. Many groups stand together too closely or hide behind the lecturer’s desk. Use the space that you have. Make sure that every speaker has the same space as if you would give the presentation alone.

Even if you don’t speak

Also pay attention to your body language when you don’t speak. You are still standing in front of an audience and that audience is still watching you. If you start acting a little weird during the presentation parts of your group members, such as wiggling and fiddling or looking out of the window uninterestedly, the attention of the audience will be drawn towards you instead of towards the person speaking. Make sure not to distract anybody when you are not speaking.