To give a successful oral presentation, you must prepare adequately in advance. When preparing an oral presentation, consider the following tips:

• Oral presentations usually have time limits, so practice giving your presentation beforehand – either to a friend or out loud by yourself – to make sure that your remarks are not too long or too short.
• Determine all of the major points that you will be able to make in the time allowed.

• It is usually best to speak from a batch of note cards.
• Write each major point in large letters at the top of a different note card.
• Be sure that your points follow logically one after another. Number your cards in the corner so that they will not get out of order.
• Under each point, in smaller print, list a few of the reasons for making that point. These reasons should be short phrases, not long sentences.
• Write each phrase on a separate line, and skip a line between phrases. Writing your main point and the supporting phrases this way will make them easy to see and to distinguish from one another.
• A good speaker's eyes move from audience to notes and back again. With only a moment to glance at your current card, it needs to be easily and quickly read.

If you expect to use visual aids, especially digital ones, make certain you and the classroom are prepared to use them. Your audience will need time to absorb what you are presenting in this way. Visual aids usually lengthen a presentation.