How to Create Your Forensics Presentation

Here are some guidelines for putting together a forensics presentation for your student (please see the previous post to find the category your student has been assigned to). The key element to keep in mind is that your student will be feel more comfortable and do a better job performing their presentation if they have a hand in choosing and crafting it, and if it is material that they genuinely enjoy. If you are still stumped, the coach has plenty of good material that has been used in the past; please just ask.  You may also find some good material online – and a good place to start can be found on the right-hand side of this blog page under the heading, “Blogroll”.

We need to stay in touch with one another throughout the process of selecting and finalizing a presentation. Initially, the coach will attempt to guide students to a category that best suits their level of ability; the coach also must balance the entire team across the six categories to optimize the chances of allowing all students to participate at as many competitions as possible. Once a category has been chosen, the coach will approve draft and final versions of the presentation.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the SJS Forensics coach if you have any questions: Alan Veeck (412-215-9028 or aveeck@mbvc.com).

Here are the guidelines:

1. An INTRODUCTION must be prepared for each presentation. An introduction must be less than 60 seconds in length, but should be long enough (say, 30 seconds) so that it adequately introduces the selection and makes it interesting for the judge. An introduction should include the name of the selection, the author/speaker/composer of the selection; it may also include background on the selection or author, the date and era written, and generally any other information that will help illuminate the selection for judges.
2. Each presentation, including the introduction, should last between 5-8 minutes when spoken in a slow, relaxed manner.  In my experience, this means between 700 – 1400 words total; the MAGIC NUMBER is around 900 words.
3. Please transcribe selections to an electronic file (Microsoft Word, etc) with 18 pt simple font (nice and large to make it easy to read!), with adequate spacing and margins, and email it to Mr Veeck (aveeck@mbvc.com) for review. Once approved, your student will be given blue construction paper to attach each individual page to make the selection more attractive and easier to handle, and your student will be given a folder with their name for safe keeping. An extra copy will be made and kept by the coach in case your student loses their primary copy.

Please closely follow the rules outlined above for each selection. The judges can be sticklers!

Once the presentation is finalized, we will work with your student as much as possible during the one-hour weekly practices. Given the large number of students (we have swelled to 31 students – I love it!), and often very tight time frames, it is imperative that you work with your student at home, providing some guiding and coaching . We really appreciate all the work you do to make your student and the whole team a success!

To help, I have posted a sample presentation (including introduction) to give you an idea of what is needed. Thank you!