Best Practices and Strategies
As an educator you have to present every day to your students or colleagues. It may be informal, it may be your daily lesson or it may be a very important lecture where the audience has to buy into the message.
No matter the type of presentation, it needs to be engaging so that your audience remembers the message and its main points.
Get some ideas by viewing this presentation: Creative Ways to Use Google Slides in the Classroom (23 slides) by Jennifer L. Scheffer, or if you use Microsoft 365 watch this video PowerPoint - 15 Ways it can be used in the classroom (19:31).
There are best practices and strategies that can be followed to ensure a GREAT presentation. After learning these it will make it easier to choose the presentation piece of software to use with your audience.
You may have been creating presentations for years, but are they dynamic and engaging? Are there ways that you can create a better presentation to get your ideas across so that they are clear and memorable? You are going to go through the steps below to learn best practices and strategies for creating an inspiring and master presentation.
Steps:
1. The first thing is knowing your audience. Most likely your audience is going to be your students, but it may be a group you have never worked with before. If you don't know your audience, do some research ahead of time.
Think about two to three characteristics of your audience:
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What does your audience MOST likely want to know about
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What kinds of media will most likely appeal to your audience
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How long a presentation will your group likely sit through without fidgeting or tuning out
2. Choose your message and/or goal for your presentation. Read this blog post from Brian Tracy a reknown author and public speaker. He outlines 16 ideas to create an excellent presentation. Your message needs to be
clear
CONCISE
and COMPELLING
3. Watch this short video. The creator states the same thing as Tracy. Your message needs to be clear, concise and compelling and should be like a story with a
Beginning miDDle and enD.
There are also excellent tips for designing your presentation.
4. Your message should have a hook. 
No matter the topic, find something that will evoke interest immediately. It could be an image, a joke or an anecdote.
5. As you are completing the presentation, make sure to leave your audience with something to do with what they have learned. 
This is especially important if you are presenting to your students. There should be a clear task for them to complete or action to carry out.
6. You will want to make sure your presentation is organized as you begin putting it together. Begin by creating an outline of your presentation so that your presentation is well structured. 
Try one of the graphic organizers from the Visual Learning resources in 21 Things 4 Students Bubbl.us, Popplet, Gliffy , or Padlet or your own favorite diagram or outline tool. In Digital Artifact there are resources for creating infographics if you prefer.
7. The final thing you must be aware of once again is your audience.
As you choose the application for your presentation, you need to know your audience and how you are going to CONNECT with them.
8. You have your message and/or goal, you have created an outline and now you need to choose the right application to connect with your audience.
Getting SEL Audience Feedback
Social Emotional Learning - SEL - is an important part of the learning environment and may be a valuable tool with your audience, whether in person or in a virtual setting.
To get you thinking about this aspect, get some ideas from the free slide deck resources from Friendzy such as:
the Guess Who Game
Move on to Choosing the Application
Addressing the ISTE Standards For Educators
Learner
1a. Set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical approaches made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness.
1c. Stay current with research that supports improved student learning outcomes, including findings from the learning sciences.
Leader
2b. Advocate for equitable access to educational technology, digital content and learning opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students.
2c. Model for colleagues the identification, exploration,
evaluation, curation and adoption of
new digital resources and tools for learning.
Collaborator
4b. Collaborate and co-learn with students to discover and use new digital resources anddiagnose and troubleshoot technology issues.
4c. Use collaborative tools to expand students' authentic, real-world learning experiences by engaging virtually with experts, teams and students, locally and globally.
Designer
5a. Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs.
5b. Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning.
5c. Explore and apply instructional design principles to create innovative digital learning environments that engage and support learning.
Analyst
7a. Provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate competency and reflect on their learning using technology.