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As a team, we’ve spent a lot of time perfecting the craft of a presentation for various audiences—young kids at a school, other FTC teams, and adults we want to engage in FIRST. Below, we’ve curated our best tips and tricks for creating a presentation that’s engaging, fun, and informative.
GENERAL TIPS
Let your team tell the story, not the slide
Try to keep text as minimal as possible, and avoid any large chunks of text in favor of bullet points
When possible, aim to include images, graphics, and any other visual indicators. Bonus points if you reference it during the presentation
Use common branding and a template
You don’t want to distract your audience by using a million different colors, fonts, or shapes. We recommend making a simple template with a neutral background and easy-to-read font to serve as a starting point for all your slides.
This also assists in collaboration, as multiple people can make similar looking, consistent slides.
ELEMENT 1: ENGAGING TITLE
As a team, we spend a lot of time brainstorming the title of our presentation. You want something that is both interesting (think fun adjectives) that is also informative (make sure you can tell what your presentation will be on just from the title).
ELEMENT 2: A QUICK INTRODUCTION
You want to introduce your audience to who you are, even if it’s a fellow FIRST team. We typically include our team and number, our school/where we’re based out of, our age, and some of our accolades/accomplishments. For any audience that is not a FTC team, make sure to explain what the award is.
For example, we’d say “Think Award 2024 Regionals | “Documentation Award”
Our team also likes to include a picture or two of us! This helps humanize you to your audience and they can connect. It also helps people to laugh if you include a silly picture.
ELEMENT 3: EXAMPLES
Where possible, include as many examples of whatever you’re talking about. It’s much easier to understand things when you can see them in front of you, especially for more complex topics. This also gives you a place to walk your audience through an image and ensure they are following along. We often use sub-bullets and images to do this.
ELEMENT 4: SCRIPTS
As a team, you can choose between a full script or an outline. We would highly recommend having some sort of outline, even if it's just a couple words per slide of what you’re going to say. This gives presenters clarity on what they need to hit when speaking, ensures you’re not becoming repetitive, and allows for an overall smoother presentation. Personally, we sometimes will write out a full script if there’s a lot of information not on the slides we want to hit, we have more than three members presenting, or if it’s a topic we haven’t talked about at length.
ELEMENT 5: PRACTICE
This is our #1 tip for any type of presentation: practice makes perfect! Rehearsing multiple times helps you internalize your talking points, smooth out transitions between speakers, and build confidence. Pay attention to your cues for when to speak, which words feel natural versus which ones trip you up, and adjust your phrasing accordingly.
Practice out loud, not just in your head, and ideally in front of someone who can give you feedback. Time your team to make sure you’re not rushing or running long. If you’re using slides, rehearse with them so you’re familiar with when to click (we recommend having 1 person in charge of clicking!) and how to use visuals effectively. The more you practice, the more polished and natural your delivery will be. This is what elevates a good presentation to a great one.
ELEMENT 6: PRESENTATION SKILLS
Have fun with it! Smile, and be expressive when you speak. Just like we recommend using selective bolding in your portfolio, we apply the same principle when presenting by clearly emphasizing key words we want our audience to remember. Don't be afraid to over-enunciate or add energy to important phrases; it makes your message more engaging and memorable. And if you make a mistake, laugh it off and keep going. Confidence isn't about being perfect, it's about staying composed and connecting with your audience.
ELEMENT 7: YOUR CONTENT
This section will vary depending on what you're presenting, but a good rule of thumb is to keep your slides minimal and clean. Use images whenever possible—they help convey your message more effectively, especially if you can reference or point to them during your talk. Make sure your presentation is easy to follow for someone who isn't familiar with your team or region, as regional context often isn’t widely known. This is especially important when presenting to non-FTC audiences, who may not understand FTC-specific terms or concepts.
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