Since classrooms have transitioned into an online learning setup, most of the discussions, reports, and presentations were done online in any video conferencing websites like Zoom, Google Meet, Discord, and so much more. This has been the reason the old and traditional forms of presentations have been out of style! There is no room for chalk, markers, and boards. You, as a student, must take every step to advance the presentation you have been planning for a while!

However, since not all students are techy and have a lot of options, some of you just stick to using the very common Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. Though this is also a great format for a student like you, it will not take you one step ahead of the ladder. Aside from that, PowerPoint presentations can mess-up — they can easily be corrupted if an unwanted virus attacks your file. You do not want that to happen, especially if your most important presentation is happening soon. If you are interested, we will show you some tips on how to avoid those types of incidents and how to level up your presentation!

Use a more secure format for your presentation like PDF format

Since your PowerPoint format can be corrupted at any second, we highly suggest that you convert your PowerPoint presentation into a more secure and stable format like PDFs. Portable Document Format or PDF can maintain your slide pages on how you originally formatted them. Plus, you do not have to worry that your presentation will mess up a few seconds before your presentation starts because PDFs offer the best graphic identity among all file formats. Aside from that, if ever that your PDF gets corrupted, you can easily restore it using any readily available free repair PDF file online tool!

Another advantage is that if you use PDF, you can easily scroll it from up to bottom while presenting — not unlike your PowerPoint that is in a slide deck format that will take time to fully load (especially if your computer processor is not high-end). This will allow you to stay focused and never lose your train of thought! You can also convert your PowerPoint into PDFs through its built-in MS-saving features or any online converters.

Use a more interactive platform like MS Sway!

This is perfect for presenters who want to make their presentations highly engaging and creative. It is an online application that you can use to create interactive sliding pages while uploading videos, links, text, and pictures to your slides. You can also try to embed interactive Padlets on it or links into different websites with interactive games, fluid motions, and so much more! Do not worry because this is a secured platform with an autosave feature.

If this is an important presentation, your professor will also be impressed with the designs and layouts MS Sway offers. What you have to do is just insert your contents in their interface and it will be automatically formatted according to the theme and color palette you have chosen. You can also choose to format it from top to bottom or left to right. This is undeniably more convenient than MS PowerPoint presentations because it allows collaboration with your classmates. Just make sure that you have logged-in to your MS account. Other than that, you can enjoy this quick and easy Cloud-based site for all your presentation needs!

Prepare an ice breaker before you report!

Before presenting your highlights and important parts, it is important that you have set the mood of your classmates for it. Admit it or not, we are all tired of this kind of remote learning setup. So, to make your classmates feel a little more relaxed and excited about what you have prepared for them, make sure to give a quick game (better if it is a collaborative game). You can use any platform for this game like Padlets, or the zoom features like annotate. Just be creative and fun!

If you are anxious about your presentation skills, record your presentation!

As long as your professor does not tell you to do your presentation in a live session and he does not give any limitation, it is better if you record yourself while presenting. Why? Aside from it will lessen the pressure on you, having an MP4 file or video recorded file of your presentation will save you in case that your internet connectivity is messed up during your class hours. You can just opt to send your video-recorded presentation to your professor and classmates beforehand.

On the other side of the coin, if ever your professor allows you to just display your recorded presentation, well good for you! Not to mention that MP4 is almost compatible with any devices and less likely to mess-up and be corrupted. Make sure to review your presentation design a day before your presentation. In this technique, you are less likely to commit any mistake and aside from that, you can add a little more aesthetic to your video by putting background music, transitions, and themes.

In a Nutshell

Since the horrid COVID-19 pandemic stated, we have forcibly transitioned our ways of learning into online modalities; we are all forced to have at least little ideas on how to present online. Probably, in presentations, the first format that comes to our mind is through using PowerPoint which is quite inconvenient if you have a low-processor computer prone to lagging. It is also unsafe in a way that it can easily mess-up and get corrupted. Good thing, there are other platforms and formats that you can use to spice up your presentations while making sure of its file security.

The first format in the list is through the use of Portable Document Formats (PDF) or video formats (MP4). You can also try to explore new platforms like MS Sway! For additional tips, always prepare an icebreaker! Whatever option you would like to use, always remember to add a little uniqueness to it — the more personalized, the better! Good luck and do well!