The need to create and deliver a presentation, whether it’s for a class, a conference, or a student club, is an experience that can cause almost universal concern among students. To provide assistance, Rutgers Learning Centers and the SC&I Department of Communication have teamed together to offer a new Presentation Skills Tutoring Program.
SC&I alumna and Teaching Instructor of Communication Erin Christie Ph.D.’14 helped create the program, and she now serves as the program’s co-adjunct coordinator.
“The overarching goal of the collaboration and program,” Christie said, “is to provide free presentation skills tutoring that is available in person or virtually, to any interested student enrolled in the undergraduate or graduate level at Rutgers University.”
“We strive to meet students where they are in terms of the skills they are trying to develop, and then provide continuous support, guidance, and coaching so they can improve in the areas they choose. Whether the student needs to prepare for public speaking, create a PowerPoint deck, or is involved in any number of other scenarios involving presentations skills, we can help.”
The program offers training in these topics:
Students can book tutoring appointments through their free Penji accounts, and appointments are available at any time during the day, up to 15 minutes before the start of the hour. Each session lasts 45 minutes. Learning centers are located across all four Rutgers campuses (locations and hours are posted here).
After the first tutoring session has taken place, Christie said students can set up a follow up appointment for another session with the same tutor or with a different tutor, either later that week or the following week, so they can continue to improve upon one specific skill or select a different area of focus.
“We strive to meet students where they are in terms of the skills they are trying to develop, and then provide continuous support, guidance, and coaching so they can improve in the areas they choose. Whether the student needs to prepare for public speaking, create a PowerPoint deck, or is involved in any number of other scenarios involving presentations skills, we can help.”
Students can book tutoring appointments through their free Penji accounts, and appointments are available at any time during the day, up to 15 minutes before the start of the hour. Each session lasts 45 minutes. Learning centers are located across all four Rutgers campuses (locations and hours are posted here).
SC&I ‘s involvement in the new program also expands beyond Christie’s role: Communication majors are being hired and trained to provide peer tutoring.
“All SC&I Communication majors are eligible to apply to become paid peer trainers,” Christie said. “Working as a presentation skills tutor will enable SC&I Communication majors to assist others and build valuable professional skills.”
Students hired as tutors are first onboarded by the Rutgers Learning Center and then trained by Christie, and Christie is available to assist the tutors during training sessions if needed.
“It’s been interesting and fun to be in my position, where I’ve been interviewing our students and asking them to essentially describe and support why they feel their past experiences, or their field of study, could assist in making them effective in this role. It’s been wonderful to connect with these new students and to see them becoming young professionals right in the moment,” Christie said.
When the program first launched, Christie said, many of the students who sought presentation skills training came from the SC&I course Public Speaking 380.
“We did a lot of advertising of the new program through 380 by asking the instructors to support the endeavor, and so far, many of the students who have obtained our services have come from the 380 class, telling us they are struggling with preparing their persuasive speeches, or need help clarifying their topics. Now, we are also trying to encourage participation outside of 380 by conducting promotional efforts across other campuses with the program directors and the deans to make it known that these services are available.”
Christie said the Presentation Skills Tutoring Program originally came together through a series of interesting synchronicities.
Last spring, Christie said, she and Nick Linardopoulos, SC&I public speaking course coordinator and associate teaching professor, had begun to create a smaller version of a presentation skills tutoring program to assist students enrolled in 380.
Then, in August, Stacey Blackwell, the executive director of Rutgers Learning Centers, contacted the SC&I Office of Student Services to inquire about collaborating with SC&I to establish a formal presentation skills training program within the Rutgers Learning Centers, because the centers had begun to receive so many inquiries from students seeking training in this area.
Student Services connected Blackwell with Christie and Linardopoulos, and the new tutoring program was founded soon after.
“This is a very exciting opportunity for both the Rutgers students who seek presentation skills tutoring and the SC&I Communication majors who provide the peer training. We are ready to assist every Rutgers student who requests our services,” Christie said.
All through the fall of 2023 Christie developed the training materials and resources for the trainers. In October she began to interview and hire SC&I Communication majors as peer trainers. On November 1 the program was officially launched in Penji, and by January, Christie said, they were starting to get booked, and in February 2024 the program officially appeared on the Rutgers Learning Centers website.
“This is a very exciting opportunity for both the Rutgers students who seek presentation skills tutoring and the SC&I Communication majors who provide the peer training. We are ready to assist every Rutgers student who requests our services,” Christie said.
Sign up for a tutoring session or learn more about the program on the Rutgers Learning Center website.
To inquire about becoming a peer trainer, contact SC&I faculty member Erin Christie.
Learn more about the Communication major at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information website.
Photo: Courtesy of the Presentation Skills Tutoring Program website.
