any tips? to help people understand information? and make it interesting? some people have that art and i want it, too. I want people to feel what I feel and understand it…but I can think it..my words don’t convey it..
i know one:
- practice
Keep them involved. Make them feel part of the presentation. Bring little humor. Try to connect with them at one on one level. Don't always assume that you know more than them, but remain confident
Re: Effectively teaching and presenting
but some people know how to simplify information and convey it to students, which gets them hooked
i can't imagine having no words on my slides and speaking :S
Speaking of teaching without slides, i recently started teaching an engineering software at our local community college. The text book that i recommended to the engineering department had the author saying that he would email the instructor notes and presentations to the teacher. Piece of cake i thought. Guess what. Yesterday was the first lecture and no email from the author. TLK had to improvise on the spot. Tomorrow is the second class. I have highlighted areas of the text book and that is my lecture now.
This is the software i know very little about and never used, and now i have to teach it, so you can imagine how heavily i was relying on the notes from the author. Bewaqoof aadmi 
Re: Effectively teaching and presenting
Haven't taught at Uni level. Lots of prep time I would imagine.
What happened to blackboard and chalk? Are those days gone? Is it lappy season only?
Projector and laptop, but white board and markers are also there
Re: Effectively teaching and presenting
So education has become one big power point presentation. Did we lose something somewhere?
No its not power point presentation. Projectors and slides are just tools. Nothing can replace a human teacher
Youre on the right track id say.
The main issue is speaking in a language they understand. Use your jargon carefully. Simplify where you can.
If its just a presentation and you want to get your ideas across, powerpoints with white back ground and black text is good. Dont go for pretty or flash. You dont want people to marvel at the pretty colours but focus on the content.
If you have to teach try and explain your points in different ways because different people absorb information better in different ways. Text, images, short clips, etc. It keeps boredom away and keeps audience entertained. Also, must get them involved. Think up of some 5 min activity or something that'll keep them engaged.
Above all, smile and confidence. Make your body language seem like youre running the show. Because for that brief period, you are.
Re: Effectively teaching and presenting
Record a video while practicing your lecture and then view it from your student's perspective. You might be a bit surprised and want to improve because sometimes you see, we are so full of knowledge about the subject and it's hard to put it down for the beginners. Agreeing with CoughCough, if you are into technical subjects go for simple slide layouts with a few choice of colors. Do not hesitate in using the board and illustrating examples. I also use a Wacom tablet sometimes. It is handy and works like a board on your laptop.
PS: I have been teaching in a university alongside my studies so yes, I do have bit of an experience.
Re: Effectively teaching and presenting
You’d probably find a lot of pointers for effective presentations, but let me share my ONE tip for teaching based on my experience in academia.
There’s really no substitute for preparation! Regardless of how many times I’ve taught a course, I always spend adequate time before every session to review and refresh both content and delivery. Doing so shows that you have respect for your students and you’re not taking their inexperience or unawareness for granted, you’re not offering stale or outdated content, and you’re not treating teaching as a casual mundane activity.
At the back of your mind, you need to think of ways to engage and inspire students to "learn". Everyone can read the book and/or your lecture slides… you need to think about adding value and advance student learning by offering a clear, contextualized and relatable narrative.
Re: Effectively teaching and presenting
A lot of good advice
Depending on the subject but mostly I think it works if
You show you're motivated - Don't stand in a corner. Speak clearly. If you don't know something they're asking about, tell so and say you'll figure it out for next time. You will gain lots of respect.
Keep them motivated
Don't just show a lot of slides or something - Write on the board etc.
Quiz them
I think the above helped when I used to teach. I use to draw a lot on the board - mostly my own notes and they would all write/draw it down so that way they were forced to be active and think instead of sitting back and 'sleeping'