This was the biggest change between the presentations I had to give in high school and the ones in college and above. In high school, the topic was usually given to us, whereas in college and later, I got to choose the topic I was most knowledgeable about. The latter meant I was more passionate, more able to answer audience questions and more able to tailor the delivery to the audience.
One piece of advice I heard was that if you absolutely have to talk about a topic you're not familiar with, talk about being a beginner in that topic. Talk about your perspective as an outsider learning that topic in the first place.