How can I learn my oral presentation by heart?

So, you've written a great presentation for your oral exam but (like most of us!) you're terrified of messing up on the day. The best way to be sure of delivering a presentation to the best of your ability is simply to know it inside out. Here are some steps to help you on your way:

1) Understand what you're saying.

It's no good just learning a long string of French words by heart, because if you forget one link in the chain, the rest will fall apart. You need to be able to translate every part of your presentation into English. 

It may help to have a glossary that you can refer to for advanced vocabulary. 

2) Learn the structure. 

The ultimate goal of knowing the structure is to give you flexibility. If you forget something but know the gist of what you should be saying, you can improvise. This might mean moving onto the next bit or using a slightly different phrase. 

Make cue cards or a poster dividing your presentation into short sections. Start with a sentence summarising each paragraph. Then choose one word as a title for each paragraph, which can be used to prompt you during the memorisation process. 

3) Repetition, repetition, repetition. 

Hopefully the first two steps will have already kick-started the process of memorising your text, but there is no way out of the final stage of rote-learning. In order to make sure your presentation is word-perfect, you need to go over and over it until you're hearing it in your sleep!

Don't just re-read it: use active learning techniques. Write it out multiple times, summarise it from memory, and read it aloud over and again. Then test yourself to see how much you can say from memory, and repeat!