Everybody can write a speech but can everybody deliver a speech? NO. So many people will tell you how christiano Rolando missed a sitter and what he should have done but can they do it themselves? No. why? Because everyone is not designed or bred for everything. You can be a jack of all trades but not a master. Same is the case with dissertation defense presentation. For some students it’s a walk in the park and for some it’s an uphill climb.

There are a number of reasons for that. Some students are not confident about their research and knowledge. Some students are not familiar with the methodology and some students simply fear the judges. Here are some guidelines to help such students handle the pressure and make their dissertation defense presentation easier.

PRELIMINARY EFFORT

There are a number of things students can do prior to their dissertation presentations which can help them a great deal when they are facing the judges.

Logistics check

Inform the concerned people about the date and time of your dissertation defense presentation a few days prior to the big day. Go to the university and get familiar with the instruments or machines you have to use and see if they are in order. Check the written or electronic material which you have to use in the presentation. Consider every little thing important, you never know how luck can dodge you on a big day like this.

Preparation

Look for prior knowledge about the board members if you don’t have it already. Visit someone’s presentation to see if there are certain things the judges don’t like. Practice your presentation in front of the mirror. If this doesn’t help, use some good friends. Tell them to cross question you and try to answer them.

PRIMARY EFFORT

Students tend to drop their bags when they are contradicted or cross questioned during their dissertation presentations. Don’t do that. Your Knowledge is your power. Believe in yourself and keep telling yourself that you can answer all the questions. They shoot questions at you like bullets, you knowledge is your armor. You are the one who did all the hard work; you know everything about the topic.

WHAT YOU KNOW IS RIGHT

Be confident about the things you know, even if you are not completely right. This will build an impression that you are competent and qualified enough to argue. But that doesn’t mean you start telling gibberish. You should be at least 50 % sure that you can prove what you are saying. This can be very effective if you can convince people and you know how to play with words.

DISPLAY YOUR CONFIDENCE

Something which most students do is they look everywhere but at the examiners or they start fidgeting. Keep an eye contact with the board members. Psychologists recommend looking straight into the eyes of the examiner if you want to leave a good impression. It would be like a hypnosis which you are inducing. Whatever you say, say in clear words with a normal pitch. Keep telling yourself you are doing fine and rest assured, you are getting good grades.

TAKE IT LIGHT

Remember the fact that the judges were in your shoes some years ago and it’s given that they also faced the same situation, you are in right now. An examination is like a theatre where everyone has to play his role. You focus on your role and script i.e. your defense dissertation presentation and guess what you are playing the lead role.

Keep the above mentioned guidelines in your mind for your dissertation defense presentation and always remember “you achieve it when you believe it”