How to Make a Good Scientific POWERPOINT Presentation The key is “SOD” Simplicity 1. Simple, but interesting, pictures 2. Little or no text 3. Simple & easily read fonts 4. No fancy slide transitions 5. No sound Organization 1. Make your presentation flow 2. Right number of slides Delivery 1. Polished performance

Pictures must be sharp & clear Good Slides Showing Pictures Pictures must be sharp & clear Like this Not fuzzy & out of focus Like this

Good Pictures can make Effective Backdrops for Text As long as: the content of the picture relates to the content of the presentation (e.g. swamp ecology in this case) The text is clear ( like this, not this) C. There is not much text on the screen

SO YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT EASY TO UNDERSTAND Graphs & Charts must be Simple & Clear Here’s an example – the graph is simple, but it is still not immediately obvious what it shows SO YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT EASY TO UNDERSTAND

Collecting Localities Effect of Fishing Pressure on Nautilus with major shell breaks Fished Populations Collecting Localities Unfished Populations Nautilus with major shell break

Here’s an example of a “bad” graphic slide Graph is: A. Too “busy”, i.e, complicated, to quickly explain Hard to read because text is fuzzy and small Too many unfamiliar terms Too many lines

* This is about as complicated a table as can be used Tables Must Also Be Clear and Simple* * This is about as complicated a table as can be used

A Table that is too detailed to be useful in a slide presentation

DELIVERY 1. Don’t read lists from the slides – talk to your audience not to the projector screen 2. Speak slowly and clearly – enunciate Accents are ok, but don’t use slang 4. Know when to change to the next slide 5. Practice your Presentation before you actually give it

Planning Your Presentation How many slides – you have 15 minutes 2. What parts of thesis project need slides 3. What should each slide show 4. How can a slide be made as simple as possible 5. How should the slides be ordered