Creative Tips To Help You Survive Your Geography Dissertation Defense

A dissertation defense involves standing up and delivering a presentation in front of a commission of people who will review your work, as well as potentially an audience of classmates, and possibly even some strangers. As a result, it can be particularly stressful, especially for individuals who do not consider themselves to be particularly good at public speaking.

As a result, many students wonder if there is anything that they can do to help them survive any presentation that they need to make as part of a defense. For example, if you are studying geography, and you need to make a presentation about an essay that you have written, then you may be wondering what you can do to make the process more bearable.

Knowing how long you have and practicing your defense

It is important that you know exactly how much time you have to present your work. In fact, not only does this mean knowing how many minutes it might take, but how long that really feels. Therefore, in order to get a true understanding of how long you have, you have to practice your defense. For example, whilst speaking, you may think that you are spending far longer or shorter reciting what you need to say than you actually are and, therefore, you should time yourself when practicing.

Practicing for any questions that might be asked

Once you have given your presentation, you will probably be asked a range of different questions, by the commission, as well as by people from the audience. Therefore, it is a good idea to try and think of any questions that might be asked.

There are some likely responses that you might expect, but you should also try and think of some of the more obscure questions that might be asked. Of course, you can’t guarantee to guess every question that you might be asked; however, if you have prepared answers for a range of different questions that you can reasonably expect to hear, then it can make the process much less stressful, and ensure that you come up with a good answer.

Watching other people

Just as your fellow students will have the opportunity to watch you, you will most likely have the opportunity to watch your fellow students as well - unless you are first. Therefore, it is advisable to go and watch other people, so as to get an understanding of what to expect when it is your turn.