Michael Allardice Academic Skills Centre Scottish University of the Year 2017 Academic Skills Week Workshop 4B: Poster Creation and Presentation Giving Michael Allardice Academic Skills Centre 12th October 2017

DUSA & CASTLE This is a partnership between DUSA and CASTLE and each workshop will have a member of the DUSA Exec involved.

Workshop Plan To consider the purpose of Poster Presentations To consider the process of creating a poster To emphasise the important of planning and time- management for creating posters To offer some advice on presentation-giving To answer your questions

Purpose of Academic Posters Often a useful vehicle for early-career researchers or Postgraduate Students to get the opportunity to attend and/or present their ideas at conferences Sometimes the chance to get publicity when you can’t get to a conference A good alternative to actually having to present a paper!

Poster Design Key Elements: Clarity of purpose Clarity of Design Clarity of Production What was your brief/what are the requirements of the Conference Organisers? Size of poster Size of print/font Any other requirements?

An example of a Good Poster design Look at the overall design features See the sense of movement/flow from top to bottom Introduction/Main Body/Conclusion Think about the amount of text and the level of detail required Focus only of the essential information – don’t try to include everything you would want to write! Remember a poster takes many iterations to produce

Dr Gordon Spark, Student Services, September 2017

The keys to a good presentation Preparation Planning Presenting

Preparation What are you going to present? How will you present it? What visual aids will you use?

Visual Aids ‘The genius of [PowerPoint] is that it was designed for any idiot to use. I learned it in a few hours.’ David Byrne (lead singer, Talking Heads)

Beyond the PowerPoint? When people talk about ‘visual aids’ in the context of a presentation, they invariably mean a PowerPoint presentation. But there are numerous other forms of visual aid, from the old- fashioned to the hi-tech.

Types of visual aid… Beyond PowerPoint – e.g. Prezi Handouts Props Multimedia (TV/Film/Music etc.) YOU!

Power Point – Do’s & Don’ts Use lots of animation and/or sound effects unless they make a point Cram lots of text onto the screen Just read out what is on the screen Do’s Keep it clear Keep the text to a minimum Use the text as a guide Use minimum of 16-point font Use good quality graphics

‘Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.’ Benjamin Franklin Preparation ‘Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.’ Benjamin Franklin

Good preparation means asking… Who will your audience be? What are they expecting from you? How long do you have? Where’s it taking place? What equipment is available? Does it work? If not, do you have a back-up? Can you rehearse in the room prior to the real thing?

‘It pays to plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.’ Planning Ahead ‘It pays to plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.’ Anon

Planning what you want to say… Identify the main points you want to make Focus on those main points Place them in a coherent order Are you including all the important points? Have you excluded any irrelevant material? How long will this presentation take?

Planning ahead – visual aids What visual aids will you use, if any? What order will they be in and when should they be deployed? Where are you going to be as you use them? Will your audience see them clearly?

‘You the presenter’ ‘The human brain starts working the minute you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public.’ George Jessel (actor)

‘You the presenter’ Think back to a presentation (or lecture) you saw that you particularly liked. What did the speaker do to engage you? Now consider a presentation (or lecture) you saw that didn’t grab you. What could the presenter have done to make it more interesting to you?

Presenting your research: some key ingredients… Voice Appearance Confidence Script vs notes (vs ad lib) Dealing with nerves/putting aside fears Being/Staying in control

‘Every crowd has a silver lining’ P.T. Barnum Your Audience ‘Every crowd has a silver lining’ P.T. Barnum

What will your audience expect? A confident, knowledgeable presentation Clarity of voice and clarity of argument A well-structured, well thought out presentation Engagement and eye-contact

What will your audience expect? Positive body language Enthusiasm A good combination of visual and oral information They will not necessarily expect a ‘professional presentation’! You know the script, they don’t!

Beginnings and Endings ‘Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.’ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (American poet)

Beginnings Introduce your subject in an interesting and engaging (and enthusiastic!) manner Signpost your presentation – tell your listeners where you are going to take them, and how Never, EVER, EVER begin with an apology or a disclaimer

Endings Make a strong ending Summarise your arguments/discussion points Bring everything together Hint: the last thing you say is the first thing your audience remember  can influence the questioning which follows Never, judder to a sudden, abrupt halt.

Thank you

What are your questions? RLF Writing Fellows

…And finally Tomorrow’s Academic Skills Workshops on Data Analysis will be in: 1pm – Harris Lecture Theatre 4pm – T.9 of the Tower Building (Second Floor)

Contacts The Academic Skills Team can be contacted through: www.dundee.ac.uk/castle E-mail: castle@dundee.ac.uk For other issues go to: www.dundee.ac.uk/studentservices