Presentation Skills Workshop

Overview

In this fifteenth lesson of Representations of Australian Youth, students develop and rehearse a short presentation based on ideas explored in the unit. They analyse how audience, purpose, language, visual choices and vocal delivery shape meaning, then use peer feedback to improve clarity and engagement.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• develop and organise ideas for a clear, audience-aware presentation
• select visual aids that support, rather than replace, spoken ideas
• use volume, tone, pitch and pace to engage listeners
• rehearse, give and apply specific peer feedback
• use evaluative language to explain the effectiveness of presentation choices

Success criteria

• I can organise my ideas into a clear beginning, middle and ending.
• I can use a visual aid that adds meaning and is easy to read.
• I can adjust my volume, tone, pitch and pace for my audience.
• I can use feedback to improve my presentation.

Curriculum links

• Creating and delivering presentations for different purposes and audiences using text, visual and vocal features.
• Using comprehension strategies to identify, summarise and analyse information and ideas.
• Analysing how language features vary according to audience and purpose.
• Evaluating visual and multimodal texts using evidence from the text.
• Exploring points of view and issues relating to Australian youth in literary and other texts.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and learning goal. Teacher displays two contrasting presentation openings using the hook and learning-goal slides: one rushed and difficult to hear, and one purposeful and clear; students identify which speaker they would rather listen to and justify their response using one feature of delivery.

2. 5–15 min · Notice effective choices. Teacher introduces the four vocal features—volume, tone, pitch and pace—and reads the short passage below twice, changing the delivery; students annotate the presentation skills workshop sheet by recording how each version changes meaning and engagement.

Reading passage: “Young people are often described as distracted or disinterested. However, many are informed, creative and active in their communities. When we listen to their experiences, we gain a more accurate picture of Australian youth.”

Teacher briefly models useful vocabulary: audience, purpose, emphasis, engaging, credible, relevant, visual aid, evidence, persuasive and evaluate. Students use two words in spoken responses.

3. 15–25 min · Explicit teaching and model. Teacher models a 45-second presentation about a youth issue, using one uncluttered image and three keywords, then thinks aloud about the structure: attention-grabbing opening, key idea with evidence, and concluding message. Using the presentation features and model slides, the class identifies an effective language choice, a visual choice and a vocal choice. Students complete the planning section of the presentation skills workshop sheet, choosing an idea from the unit such as youth identity, belonging, stereotypes, community action or online representation.

4. 25–37 min · Plan and create. Teacher explains that students will prepare a one-minute presentation for classmates and directs them to use the planning template on the presentation skills workshop sheet. Students draft a clear claim or message, select two supporting details from unit texts or class discussion, plan an opening and conclusion, and sketch or design one visual aid. Students who need an alternative may plan an audio presentation, recorded presentation, captioned slides or a supported pair presentation.

5. 37–50 min · Rehearse and peer coach. Teacher forms pairs and displays the rehearsal instructions and feedback prompts in the rehearsal and peer-feedback slides. Students present once while their partner listens for clarity, visual usefulness and vocal delivery, then complete the feedback box on the worksheet using the prompts: “A strength was…”, “I understood your main idea because…”, and “One change that would improve the presentation is…”. Partners swap roles and rehearse a second time, applying one suggested improvement.

6. 50–60 min · Share and reflect. Teacher invites three or four volunteers to present, then leads a brief discussion using the sharing and reflection slides: Which choices helped the audience understand the message? Students complete the final self-assessment on the worksheet and submit an exit response: “The most effective presentation choice I made was ___ because ___.” Collect plans and feedback for the next lesson’s presentation development.

Resources

• the Presentation Skills Workshop slide deck
• the presentation skills workshop sheet
• Unit texts or notes about Australian youth
• Projector or interactive display
• Student devices or paper for designing visual aids
• Timer
• Presentation planning examples
• Whiteboard and markers

Assessment

• During modelling and discussion, check whether students can identify how vocal, language and visual features affect audience understanding.
• Review planning sheets and peer feedback for a clear message, relevant supporting details, purposeful visual aid and specific evaluative comments.
• Use the exit response and rehearsal observations to identify students needing additional support with organisation, reading fluency or delivery before the next lesson.

Differentiation

• Provide a partially completed planning template, a model presentation, sentence starters and a word bank for students who need support. Allow students to rehearse privately with the teacher or a trusted partner before presenting.
• Offer dyslexia-friendly copies of the reading passage and worksheet using a clear sans-serif font, generous spacing, short lines and highlighted keywords. Permit text-to-speech, audio recording, coloured overlays or a student-selected readable background.
• For EAL/D learners, pre-teach the vocabulary with brief explanations and visuals, allow rehearsal of key sentences, and accept labelled visuals or bilingual planning notes before the final English presentation.
• Students requiring an alternative format may present with a partner, submit a captioned recording, deliver an audio presentation with visual support, or use cue cards. Students ready for extension can adapt the same message for a different audience and explain how their language, visual and vocal choices would change.