Presenting Your Board: a survival guide

07/15/2021

A list of do's and don'ts to stand out from the crowd with a superb project presentation! 

Presenting your project is the final and often the most intimidating step of a math fair project. It's hard to do right, but can be the most effective tool to impress the judges if executed well, especially if done by young kids.

A good presentation is articulate, organic, strategic, and relaxed. Let's break down each of these points individually.

Articulation

Starting with the most important attribute. Everyone talks too quietly, to fast, and too blandly. Your presentation could be flawless, but if no one can understand you, that's no good.

Do:

  • Speak loudly, at our competitions a few projects near by are presenting at the same time, the judges need to hear you through the background noise

  • Slow down more than you think you need to. Your brain thinks you're speaking slower than you are, which makes speaking too fast really easy. Take long breaks between sentences and pause at commas.

  • Anunciate, hit those t's and r's and s'!

  • Cut out distractions, especially for young kids. Articles of clothing with buttons or ties, objects on the table. The recitation hand clasp (see below) is excellent for keeping your hands still.

  • Use inflection in your voice, keep it interesting!

  • Project some confidence, even if it's artificial it goes a long way

Don't:

  • Mumble.

  • Drone on and on, 5 minutes is enough to say what you need to.

  • Let the judges prompt you too much, start when it's clear to start, and when you're finished, ask the judges if they have questions.


Organicism
The line between knowing what to say and having a presentation memorized is fine, but an important one to not cross.

Do:

  • Use your board to guide you from 1 point to the next, refer to it quickly, then continue.

  • Summarize tricky sections of your board

  • Have a conversation with the judges, they're curious about your project, not deciding your fate at doomsday.

  • PRACTISE. Know what you're going to say, and say roughly the same thing every time.

Don't:

  • Read your board. Before they called you in, the judges read your entire board and know what it says. They don't need to hear you say it all again, and that demonstrates to them that you don't understand the topic enough to put it in your own words.

  • Memorize a speech. Reciting a speech can also make it look like you don't understand your project, and it's very obvious that you've practiced the same words a lot. Instead, choose the points you want to cover, put them in the right order, and talk about your project candidly as you move from point to point.

  • Wing it. Practising is very important, and if you don't know what you want to cover going in, your presentation can come off as unorganized and may drag on.

  • Change it up every time. Keep your points in the same natural order so you get familiar with the flow and don't accidentally skip something.

  • Let yourself get stuck. Use your board to guide you to the next point, and you can always add anything you forgot back in at the end, without the awkward pause.

Strategy

It's important to put yourself in control of your own presentation, and be smart about how you answer questions and structure your time with the judges.

Do:

  • Answer the judges' questions as thoroughly as you can.

  • Use a question to say what you want to. Answer the judges question, then segway back into the most important points you want to drive home. It takes practise, but can be a very effective strategy.

  • Be prepared for the judges to ask you about how you would further your study on your topic and formulate an answer. It's one of the most common questions asked.

Don't:

  • Panic if you don't know the answer to a question. If the question is irrelevant to your area of study, ex. "This work could have been done like this, what made you do it this other way?" you could either suggest that idea could make an interesting continuation project or simply state that question isn't particularly relevant to the research you did do and move on. If you have forgotten the answer to the question, restate what you already said about the topic in a different way, then segway into a key point.

  • Let the judges railroad your presentation. Occasionally, you'll find a judge that asks questions in the middle of your presentation or wants you to talk about your project in a specific order. You can either ask them to hold questions until the end or mention that you'll be answering their question shortly, and continue giving your presentation the way you want to. If they cut you off before you're done, you may have to abridge the rest of your presentation or ask for a little more time to finish up.

Relaxation

Finally, do your best to relax while you're presenting. We know it's very nerve racking to to present, but try not to let that get keep you from delivering the awesome presentation you prepared.

Do:

  • Make eye contact with the judges. None of them have lasers eyes (as far as we know) It also displays confidence and personability.

  • Remember that you got this. You know it all because you did it all, and now you have the chance to share it with someone who is genuinely interested. Good luck, and we know you'll crush it!