Once all the preparation and structuring is over and you feel your presentation is ready, it’s time to practice it a few times. Below is a list of methods you can use to polish your performance. For body-language and vocal tips, see Stage presence.

• Time yourself. Manage the time you need per slide and for the whole presentation. It is very important to respect the time allotted for your presentation since exceeding the given time affects broader schedules (e.g. a lecture or a conference).
• Record yourself.
• Practice with a small group of people you know. Think housemates, family, friends, classmates. This helps build confidence, enhance the natural flow of your narrative, and can highlight sections that still need a bit of editing.
  • You may need to adjust your slides a few times to make the presentation run more smoothly. This is an interactive process between preparing and polishing your slides, so make sure you have enough time for this section!
• Practice with a larger audience. You can try creating a study group with classmates with the same assignments so you can get internal feedback on your presentation style as well as content.
• Write down key words if you find you need prompts but refrain from reading whole sentences from a paper while presenting.