How to Structure a Geofluids Presentation by Colleen Morgan © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Outline Styleguides Structure of a Talk Graph Guidelines Creating Clear Slides © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Style guides © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Style Guide The style guide is available on SharePoint, under Templates (same folder this is on) Titled “Geofluids Style Guide Feb 2014” Specifies what colors, symbols, and names to use for each mudrock (RBBC is blue, RGoM-EI is red, etc.) Specifies specific ways we plot data (permeability curve, compression curve, etc.) Gives standard symbols and acronyms that we use (porosity is n, not !) © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Structure of a Talk © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Structure of a Talk Students are required to use this template to prepare their presentation Standard presentation format includes: Title slide Info about student Outline Key observations Introduction Content Conclusion Text must be clearly written, thoughtful, and well formatted Graphs must be clear, easy to read, and well-laid out © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Title Slide Instructions Talk title (centered) Title Slide Instructions Font should be 36 pt Calibri by Colleen Morgan Presenter name One author only! © 2016 UT GeoFluids

About the Speaker Slide Instructions Tell us about yourself What you are studying Where you are from Relevant interest to Geofluids crew A picture to remember you by! © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Outline Slide Instructions This slide gives a broad outline of your presentation. Use a few bullets to outline your presentation. © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Key Observations Slide Instructions Text only slide Focus on one to three important ideas of the talk Big picture concepts – don’t get lost in the details Maximum two levels © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Introduction Slide Instructions Slide should answer 3 key questions WHAT you are talking about Define it, describe something about it, etc. WHY do we care? WHY do we need to study it further / why are YOU studying it? Don’t just answer the above questions blindly as if you were answering a questionnaire! Some cool, relevant picture would help, but not necessary © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Content Slide Instructions Title font should be 32pt Calibri, reduce to 24pt if required Title formatted as shown, or may be centered if necessary Title is descriptive. Bad title: “Results” Good title: “Formation factor measurements on RBBC” Slide contains text and supporting images as necessary Text should be clear, concise, and well-spaced Follow parallel structure and spacing / placement guidelines (information about these on later slides) © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Image and Text Example Text Some more Little text Image is big and can be seen and read by audience, does not cross blue line at bottom Text Little text Some more Parallel format little text © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Image Only Example © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Image Full Slide Example Add text and data as required in separate boxes as appropriate © 2015 UT GeoFluids

Conclusions Slide Instructions This slide will have your conclusions from your talk. Summarize your presentation. A few bullet points should work. © 2016 UT GeoFluids

References Select 2 – 4 key references or relevant readings The purpose of this is two fold: To help the audience read or learn further To allow you to properly reference works you cited © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Graph Guidelines © 2016 UT GeoFluids

General guidelines for graphs Graphs should be clear First, think about what point you’re trying to get across Next, design your graph with this point in mind Make sure to get rid of any superfluous data / labels that will confuse your point Axis titles: “What, symbol (Units)” What: Identify the quantity in ENGLISH Symbol: Provide the symbol, if any Units: Provide the units, if any Units: Should be clear, and use consistent formatting: Pick 1 or 2 decimal places; don’t use both, like 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, etc. Rule of thumb: Don’t copy and paste graphs from papers, re-plot them and cite as “After so and so” Make sure colours you use are legible and don’t hurt eyes © 2016 UT GeoFluids © 2013 UT GeoFluids

Bad Graph Example Move Axis to right or left as required, not middle. What’s this? Give the plot a border to make it look nice Only 1 decimal place Make line thicker Tell me what e is, does it have units? Add major gridlines at minimum. Minor gridlines can be useful for LOG scales only to visually emphasize that it is a log scale Numbers hard to understand, change to “General” vs. “Scientific” Think about whether the range of data you plot is actually meaningful Make all axis labels and titles bigger © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Good Graph Example Note: Since there is only one series, there is no legend. Slide title will tell me what material. NO title on graph © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Creating Effective Slides © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Parallel Structure Bad (non-parallel) structure combines 2 or more dissimilar sentence structures together, requiring more effort for the reader to understand: Every bullet’s subject is such that it is not in the same place The verb of each sentence is not in the same place The level of complexity of each bullet is not the same Good (parallel) structure formats everything similarly (like subject-verb placement), making the sentences flow and requiring less effort for the reader to understand: The subject is in the same place in each bullet The main verb is in the same place in each bullet Each bullet is written at the same level of complexity © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Active vs. Passive Voice Wherever possible, use active voice Active: Something is doing something Passive: Something was somehow done to something in some way that we don’t know Why active voice? Easier to understand, less words, more memorable Often forces the subject of the sentence to be at the beginning of the sentence. This helps readers know what you’re talking about as they read the sentence Examples: Bad: Following extrusion of the clay specimen, trimming of the specimen into a cube occurred. Good: The clay specimen was extruded and trimmed into a cube. Bad: With the rise of the nearby salt dome, there is significant increase in the nearby sediment stresses. Good: The stresses in the nearby sediment increase significantly as the salt dome rises. Add a slide with I vs. We © 2016 UT GeoFluids © 2013 UT GeoFluids

Bad Spacing I only have a little bit to say I’m going to put it all up here My slide now looks blank But what I have to say is really important © 2016 UT GeoFluids

Good spacing I only have a little bit to say I’m going to move it to the middle I’m going to space it out to take up more room What I have to say now looks important! © 2016 UT GeoFluids

How to create effective slides Clear and concise Not too busy, not too empty Speak to the audience Use colors and pictures as necessary Simple, not over animated Incorporate: Parallel construction Active voice Effective spacing © 2016 UT GeoFluids

In Conclusion Every presentation follows the structure outlined in this slideshow Your presentation should be clear, concise, and apply the style guide Every slide should be designed to help the audience understand Graphs should be labeled clearly, with font big enough to read Bullets should be constructed using active voice and parallel structure © 2016 UT GeoFluids