How to Prepare for Senior BoardsDos and Don’ts

THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Think Visually• Prezi is an option—if you know how to use it well• High contrast, high visibility is key • If the audience can’t read it, it has no purpose• Be careful with font colors and font styles

• No sounds, animated transitions, flying letters, etc. • Only use sound if your presentation requires it

• Use bullet points only• No full sentences• Absolutely NO paragraphs

Consider: • This slide is difficult to read because the colors

are too bright and the font is hard to decipher. You don’t want to give your judges a headache! Instead, choose something fairly simple. Your judges should be focused on your content, not thinking, “This presentation looks terrible!”

• Have you noticed that there is too much information presented on this slide? Bullet points should serve as your notes, not as a speech you will read to the judges. If you know your material, you won’t have a problem.

WHAT SHOULD I PUT IN MY PRESENTATION?

• Use the outline provided!• Outline follows rubric• Following the outline exactly isn’t required• Following the outline exactly prevents judges from

questioning whether or not you included everything

Introduction (Slide 1)• Hook your audience immediately• Tell a story to explain WHY you chose the topic• Consider:

• “Have you ever eaten a pie and wondered how difficult it would be to prepare?”

• “Sixty-seven percent of Americans say their favorite dessert is pie.”

• “When I was eight years old, I wandered into the kitchen where my grandmother was baking a pie. I watched her work without ever consulting a recipe, and I was so impressed with how she knew exactly how much of every ingredient to include, seemingly by instinct. Her peach pies were my favorite, but every pie she ever baked turned out perfectly, and I always wondered how she did it.”

• Introduce yourself and your topic• “My name is _____ and for my Senior Project, I _____.”

Research (Slide 2)• Give the topic of your research paper• Relate your paper to the overall project• Minimum: one interesting fact you learned from your

research that ties into your presentation

• How to introduce your paper:• “For this project, we were required to write a research paper,

and I chose to write about _____.” • “I chose this topic because _____.”• “From my research, I learned _____.”

Product and Process (Slide 3)• This is the bulk of your presentation• Answer the following:• What is your product?• Why did you choose it?• How did you create it?

• Best plan is to go step-by-step

Project Facilitator (Slide 4)• Who was your PF?• Why did you choose this person?• How did he/she help you?

• Discussion of PF may need to be inserted BEFORE discussion of process• Best if your PF gave you sustained instruction

Challenges (Slide 5)• What challenges did you face?• How did you overcome them?

• Judges expect a discussion of challenges (nothing is perfect)• Don’t be negative—put a positive spin on things

What did you learn? (Slide 6)• Could focus on the topic• A new skill specific to your topic• You really like/dislike an aspect of the topic (explain why)• Something that surprised you

• Could focus on yourself• A new skill you could use in other areas• A skill you knew you needed to work on that the project

helped you improve• You’ve changed your mind about something you’d planned

Would you pursue the topic? (Slide 7)• Yes• Why? • Any changes? (Redirection of focus)

• No• Why not? • What would you choose instead?

Conclusion (slide 8)• Sum up what you’ve learned• Give a statement about how you feel about the process• Be mature and polite

• Thank the judges for their time

Visual Aids

• You must have 2• Product or tangible evidence of product• Power Point/Prezi is a visual aid• Other options:• Video—there are restrictions!• 2 minutes if video explains itself• 4 minutes if student explains video• DO NOT embed video into Power Point/Prezi

• Photographs/scrapbook• Trifold board

Think Technologically

• Have at least one reliable flash drive• Have everything backed up• On your wiki• On another flash drive• On your email

• TEST the technology beforehand! • If the school has the program, your creation should

work• Be prepared for any emergencies• Even if everything crashes, you still have to present

HOW DO I PRESENT?

DeliveryMove; don’t stay locked in placeMake significant eye contactGesture; don’t fidgetUse Power Point/Prezi for notes only; know your material

Audience can read faster than you can speakDon’t worry about mistakes; correct yourself and move onProject your voice, regardless of the size of the speaking

environmentPractice, practice, practice! 8-10 minutes EVERY time

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

Senior Boards• April 23 and 24• 8-10 minute presentation• 8:00 card• You will be cut off at 10 minutes• Judges may ask questions (not part of the 8-10 minutes)• Judges will be 1-2 teachers/administrators and 1-2

community members

How should I dress? (S&D and SB)OK

Guys:• Shirt should have a collar• Tie?• Jacket?

• Dress pants or khakis• Dress shoes

Girls:• Dress or skirt• Dress pants• Blouse or sweater• Dress shoes• You must be able to walk!

Not OK

• Jeans• T-shirts• Sneakers• Ripped or dirty• Doesn’t follow dress

code• Has a logo• Low-cut or too short• Related to a profession

Don’t Forget…• Have everything ready before you begin• Clicker• Computers logged in • Hair• Lanyards / keys• Watches• No podium

• The show must go on!