Photo courtesy of Dylan Ferniany

Whether you’re playing a sport, learning a musical instrument or putting together a presentation, the old adage rings true: practice makes perfect. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to figure out what to practice first! In this TED-Ed Club workshop, Victoria Hollis showed TED-Ed Club members how she prepared for her TEDxBirmingham Talk.

Photo courtesy of Dylan Ferniany

The goal of a TED-Ed Club is for club members to give their own TED-style presentation, so Hollis asked students if they had concerns about speaking in front of other people. Students shared fears about everything from forgetting their prepared statements to being laughed off the stage. To ease their concerns, Hollis shared a few tips on how to prepare for a presentation, including:

• In the days leading up to the presentation, talk about your idea to anyone who will listen.
• It’s never too early to practice in front of a live audience, even if you’re still making edits.
• The more human you are, the more interesting your presentation will be.
• If you make a mistake when you give your presentation, don’t react! Only you will know a mistake was made. The audience won’t have a clue.
• It’s even a good idea to practice not reacting when you make a mistake.

Watch Hollis illustrate each of these tips and more in the full recording of this TED-Ed Club workshop below.