I need advice on presentation

[erwin1978]

I need to give a 15 minute presentation in front of the class about computers and stuff? I'm terrified as I don't know how I can talk for that long. I need advice on how to present. I have no experience. I can't talk too much in detail coz that will bore the audience but then again I do need to kill 15 minutes.

I'll be using powerpoint to help with the visuals. Is joking appropriate since it is an informal audience. Should I encourage my audience to ask questions or should I just do a straight talk?

[Darthtanion]

Re: I need advice on presentation

I take it this is for a speech or public speaking class? If so then I wouldn't recommend using a Q&A time as part of your presentation as you'll likely get docked by the teacher. As for the topic, there are thousands of facets to computing that can be talked about for 15 minutes. You just need to find an area that you are familiar with and go from there. Usually a well placed joke within a presentation is perfectly acceptable, but don't make your whole time block like that or the topic won't be taken seriously. If the class you'll be talking to isn't computer literate, stick with some basic knowledge of how a computer works or even what computers can be used for. Between gaming, productivity, science, research, SETI... well, you get the idea... you should be able to enlighten your audience without having to go into depth about the internals of a machine and chance losing them.