Creating a Good Presentation A guide to presenting at Science for Transformation

Keep Your Audience In Mind What do they know? What do you need to tell them? What do they expect? What will be interesting to them? What can you teach them? What will keep them focused? Answer these questions and boil your slides down to the very essentials – A slide for each of the criteria is a good aim! The presentation should only last 5 minutes!

Criteria Originality If you have time, choose your own topic - The hypothesis being tested should be something tangible and relevant Understanding What are you proving/disproving? What factors that may affect this? Design What is your reference/control? What techniques will you choose?

Criteria Iteration Have you reviewed your approach in light of unexpected findings? Can the results be replicated? Interpretation Can you demonstrate your understanding clearly and concisely? Presentation This document aims to guide you through some good practice

Where to start? Write a script Don’t just read out what’s on screen! Like a story, have a beginning, middle and end

Keep it simple 1 One thing at a time, please!

Be succinct No paragraphs Limit bullet points & text The more text you put on a page, the smaller the text becomes and the more difficult it becomes to read at the back of the auditorium; this isn’t an eye exam! 10 lines of text per slide is more than enough!

Images speak 1000 words Good Presentation

Animation Limit transitions & builds (animation) A slick presentation cannot hide deficiencies in the work but … a poor presentation can conceal a sound piece of research

Communicate clearly Use charts/graphs where appropriate

Conclusion Always express a Take Home Message It’s your message, a summary of your data or story Make it a highlight that stands out

Practice – Practice – Practice! A well-prepared and enthusiastic talk will help you convince your audience and maintain their attention Here are some key points that define a good talk: Know your slides inside out Speak freely Speak with confidence – loud and clear Don’t speak too fast Maintain eye contact with the audience

- there are far too many slides in this presentation! Remember! Less is more - there are far too many slides in this presentation!