My problem...Making my presentations too long.

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Today I had a project on my disability in my social skills class and it did not go over very well. Now I had the project all nice and well created, it was a powerpoint presentation. In fact why other people where not wanting to make the presentation about their disabilities, I was very enthusiastic about my project. The problem is when I stood up in class today I made the project too long and I ran out of time, then I had a flare up at my teachers. How can I train myself to make my presentations short for collage?

Some people are very open about their disabilities, some people are not.

Some people consider their disability a part of their identity, some do not.

Neither approach is wrong, it's just a personal choice.

As for time, the best thing to do is practice your presentation beforehand so you can make sure you are hitting the allotted time.

Assuming that you hadn't made the actual presentation file too long, I'd assume that was because of nervousness. What I do is write down a few bullet points on a few pieces of small paper to make sure that I'm actually moving through them, more or less in order, at a good rate. Having the presentation itself automatically timed would also probably force you to keep moving ahead with it. You have to make sure to not linger and not repeat yourself as much as you possibly can.

When I do presentations, I practice what I'm going to say to make sure I fall reasonably close to the allotted time frame. It also helps if I go in there knowing what I'm going to say, because I'm not as likely to forget what I needed to say or get off track.

Having the main points on a piece of paper, overhead, or powerpoint presentation is important, as is going through the talk first by yourself to make sure the timing is roughly right.

When you are giving the talk/presentation and you can see that you are going go overtime, don't rush, stay calm and just leave parts of your talk out. Remember no one knows what you are going to say, so they will be none the wiser. Also if you leave parts out you remain in control, rather than being pressured to finish quickly.

You also may be very nervous, but that is generally not visible to other people, or they will be understanding.

You will get better at it over time. I know I stuffed up my first presentation really well.

The main thing is to be well prepared, you will still be nervous but that is to be expected.

Cheers

It's a bit like writing an essay with a word limit - if you're over you either remove sections or elaborate less on some parts. Also rehearse beforehand so you know how long your presentation is currently at.

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