Crafting your presentation

1. Be prepared: Don’t memorize it, but practice! – You might be tempted to write your presentation on cue cards or practice it over and over like lines for a play. But the best judging presentations are like conversations – they flow back and forth between the finalist(s) sharing information and the judge asking questions. Identify the key highlights of your project, prepare answers to some possible questions you might get asked, and remember to speak directly with the judge rather than just reading off your poster. Extra tip: Practice having conversations about your project with friends and family to get comfortable with people asking questions during your presentation. 
2. Be engaging: Your presentation should be engaging and interactive and showcase your passion and enthusiasm for STEM. Use examples, anecdotes, and stories to illustrate your points and make your presentation memorable. Start with an introduction that captures the judges’ attention and outlines the purpose and scope of your project. Speak clearly and steadily while you paint a picture of the problem you were trying to solve or the issue you investigated – remember to say why it is important (to them as an individual, to your community, to the world)!
3. Don’t worry if you don’t know the answer to a question – This happens to everyone! Judges want to understand what you know and the depth of your knowledge. They may ask increasingly more challenging questions to find the limit of your understanding because this helps them evaluate your work and what you learned. Answer with the information you know (e.g. “My understanding is…”), openly admit if you don’t know (e.g. “I didn’t look at that for my project, so I am not sure.”), and honestly talk about the next steps for your project (e.g. “While that is outside of the scope of my project, I would be interested in looking into that further as part of my next steps.”). And you can always ask a judge to re-ask the question if you need clarification.
4. Remember: You know your project better than anyone! – While it can be hard to talk with experts in STEM about your project, you are the one who knows the most about your specific project. You came up with the idea, mapped out how you would do it, worked through all the steps, made observations, and tracked your results. Be confident in your work, be honest about your challenges (STEM is full of trial and error – this is a good thing!) and be excited to share your discovery or innovation. You’ve got this! 
5. Extra tip for both judging days & public viewing days: Know your audience – Not everyone who comes by your project will have time or want to engage in a long conversation about your project. A good rule of thumb is 30 seconds, 3 minutes, 10-20 minutes, which looks like: 
1. You should be able to sum up your project, results, and its importance to anyone in 30 seconds (also called an “elevator pitch”). If they seem interested or ask more questions, expand your conversation to other important highlights, covering roughly 3 minutes. This is not a set amount of time you need to practice; it is just an estimate to keep in mind. Finally, if you are being judged, that is when you will want to share the most detail and focus on telling the full story of your project. Judging sessions could be 10-20 minutes, depending on the day, but you should be prepared to treat it like a conversation with questions throughout (not a memorized script!). Start with your key points and let the following questions and answers flow naturally in conversation with the judges. 
6. Most importantly, have fun! – You’ve poured hard work and long hours into this project, so this is your chance to share the story of your efforts and your genuine passion for your project. You deserve to have fun, and by doing so, your enthusiasm for your project will naturally shine through!