They say money, time and quality are both essential components to ensure the success of a project or product. Take one away, the end result may not be as great as it seems. However, some may not have gotten the memo and I have been made to present papers or run a workshop with very little time to prepare. The fastest I prepared for one was within 20 minutes.
How I did it was through a toolbox of different items that every teacher and presenter should have. Once you have enough of this, presenting becomes not as daunting as it is. I should note though that this is for teachers, lecturers and presenters who are required to engage an audience. As always, good preparation is important, but in the event that you are not, at least you would have enough materials to lessen the stress faced when entering into a class or workshop completely unprepared.
Videos/Ice-breakers/Stories
This of course is an obvious one. I have a a few gigabytes worth of funny videos and ice-breakers ready for any class. An example is the video Oktapodi which makes for a great introduction to a speaking or writing activity. The video also has no dialogue, so one is free to use the video for some really fun role playing activities.
I also love using commercials that are really fun such as the advertisement on the Xbox 360 where everyone starts pulling out a make-believe gun to 'shoot' at each other. Such advertisements have been used by me as great introductions to activities and concepts, such as opening strong in any classroom situation. YouTube is a great place for such materials, all you have to do is look.
Of course, you may be teaching in an environment where technology may not be available. You may not have an LCD projector in the class nor internet connection. A great way to prepare is to have as many ice-breakers or games as possible. Scattergories and running dictation are great activities for this. I have included a link to how to execute these activities and these are some really high energy activities that can help you in keeping up the enthusiasm of your audience.
If all else fails, tell them some interesting stories about an experience or maybe even a mistake that you have made. However, if you don't have any stories to tell, well, there are always dad jokes. Speaking of which, what did the buffalo say to his son before leaving for work? Bison.
I like running these activities either at the start of my presentation or when I see that dreamy look in my audience's eyes. You know, the 'I'm bored but I'm looking at you' look. Every teacher and presenter knows that look. However, if you prefer to get your audience to compete with each other, I totally recommend the next activity.
Kahoot
Kahoot unfortunately requires an internet connection, a laptop and each member of your audience to own a smartphone. It basically turns a simple quiz into a highly competitive and fun activity. Of course, you will need to have some questions ready on Kahoot. That being said, if you have used it long enough, you will likely have questions from other classes or presentations already available on Kahoot. All you have to do then is get the audience to sign in and start the quiz.
What makes Kahoot fun is that it grades the audience by how fast they answer the question as well as how correct they answer them. The audience will also get to see where they are ranked at after every single question. I have tried this on every level except for preschool (I think the children will likely end up fighting) and it has been really fun. I would have two sets of questions. The first set is given just so the audience can get a taste of how fun it is going to be. The second set is the quiz that is used to assess your audience's understanding. Kahoot also allows you to export the results in the form of an excel sheet. This is helpful if you are keeping a record of your audience's performance.
Conclusion
Last but not least, don't try to talk the whole three hours away. Group activities and brainstorming activities are essential in gauging your audience's understanding. It also helps give ownership to the audience, making it not just the presenter's session but everyone's as well.
This also allows you, the presenter to gather your thoughts and modify your game plan. If you are reading this and you will be presenting for the first time in the near future, always remember that your audience will react to how you teach. If you are enthusiastic and energetic, so will your audience. However, if you indicate that you are nervous and are constantly apologizing for every single mistake, your audience will likely not respond well to your session, especially teenagers.
I hope this has been helpful, do drop me a comment below if you think there are other skills or items that should be in the survival kit. Until then, happy teaching and Steem on!