Powerful Presentations: Seven Steps to Successful Speaking.

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Teachers preparing secondary school students to make simple presentations will find this booklet serves as the core for a series of lesson plans.

The work touches on the usual public speaking topics of planning, setting objectives, drawing on personal experiences, and using humour and visuals in presentations. There are a few tips for building confidence and for drafting an effective introduction and conclusion for the presentation. The example used throughout — volunteering — is appropriate for a high school audience.

A section on self and peer evaluation of the presentation’s content, delivery, and effectiveness will be appreciated in the school environment as it gives charts (“rubrics”) for describing levels of competence in language teachers will be comfortable using.

The booklet includes five forms that may be reproduced for classroom use.