Advice on giving a presentation Anna Christodoulou SEPnet/ Ogden Physics Outreach Officer

What do these people have in common? FEAR of public speaking to the point of stuttering

Why are we afraid of public speaking?

How to overcome presentation fear?

Definition: A natural speaker chooses a topic that excites a passion greater than the fear of speaking This way you have content that interests you

Content Clarity Charisma

Tips on Content: Do your research Make a plan Have key points Answer all the questions2

Tips on Content: Strong opening line / powerful closing sentence The “So what?” factor Structure (Stepping stones)

Tips on Clarity:

Tips on Clarity: Who is your audience? Visualise One message to rule them all

Tips on charisma: How to be BORING Long introduction Read from your slides Avoid visuals Monotonous voice Presentation is TOO LONG Repeated use of “uhm” Make things complicated Text everywhere! Keep it cold and impersonal All slides look (and feel) the same Use tons of data and do not explain figures and graphs Do not conclude Ignore the audience (e.g. never make eye contact) Move frantically up and down the stage Talk too fast

Find your personal style Share your passion Be creative Tips on Charisma: Find your personal style (if you are humourless, make no jokes) Share your passion Be creative Pay attention in the body language Rhythm, flow, voice Build on your virtues

What do you think of this presentation? What stands out? What works well? How would you judge it? Give marks (1= terrible 5= excellent) for Content, Clarity and Charisma

Have an interesting point of view Tips on charisma: Have an interesting point of view JACK, a penniless young man, sails to America to seek a better future. During the trip, he falls in love with ROSE, an upper class girl. They try to stick together despite societal disapproval and plan to elope when they arrive in NY. The ship they travel on is RMS Titanic.

Storytelling in Science

MYTHOS ETHOS SCENERY Write down your favourite film (we will break it down later)

The Plot

The Slides

Chilean Exports Fresh fruit leads Chile's export mix - Chile emerges as major supplier of fresh fruit to world market due to ample natural resources, consumer demand for fresh fruit during winter season in U.S. and Europe, and incentives in agricultural policies of Chilean government, encouraging trend toward diversification of exports and development of nontraditional crops - U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service Report Chile is among the developing economies taking advantage of these trends, pursuing a free market economy. This has allowed for diversification through the expansion of fruit production for export, especially to the U.S. and Western Europe Chile has successfully diversified its agricultural sector to the extent that it is now a major fruit exporting nation. Many countries view Chile's diversification of agriculture as a model to be followed. Meanwhile, the U.S. remains the largest single market for Chile's fruit exports. Η Δυτική Ευρώπη δεν μπορεί να ανταγωνιστεί το κλίμα της Χιλής, μπορεί όμως να προσφέρει τις ίδιες υπηρεσίες πιο οικονομικά στην Ευρωζώνη. However, increasing demand from the EC and Central and East European countries combined may eventually surpass exports to the U.S., spurring further growth in Chile's exports. If you’ve read this far, your eyes probably hurt and you’ve been reading this tedious long-winded text instead of listening to me. I’m insulted- can’t you see I’m doing a presentation up here? Look at me! Congratulations, however, on having such good eyesight. Don’t put large blocks of text in your presentation. Emphasize the main points. The “Six-by-Six” Rule. Use pictures- PowerPoint is multimedia! Use a large font…at least 24-point or more.

What could go better? Delete large blocks of text Emphasize the main points The “Six-by-Six” Rule Use pictures correctly Use a large font (24-point or more)

Dark text on light background is best. Avoid text colors that blind Avoid color-blind combinations: Red and green Blue and yellow

What could go better? Dark text on light background is best. Avoid text colours that blind Avoid colour-blind combinations: Red and green Blue and yellow Take into account dyslexia

Racquetball Fundamentals 2, 3, or 4 players. 1 player serves, other “returns.” Only serving player can score. Served ball must land past serving line and cannot hit back wall. Ball can only bounce once before striking front wall…but ball does not have to bounce. Again, keep slides simple! Apply one Slide Transition style and one Animation Scheme to ALL slides. Don’t change between styles- a single style makes a presentation look unified. “Busy” presentations divert audience attention from content.

What could go better? Keep slides simple Reasonable use of Slide Transition and Animation Scheme Don’t change between styles “Busy” presentations divert audience attention from content

What could go wrong? Test your presentation before you show it. Always have a backup of your presentation on hand. Printing hand-outs for the audience can be useful when the technology let’s you down.

General tips: Do talking, not reading Practice Stay on time Less is more Perfect is the enemy of the good

They want you to succeed Your Audience They want you to succeed Do not turn your back to them

Why is your audience here? There are only a few reasons people want to listen: 1. education 2. inspiration 3. entertainment 4. social networking 5. they’ve been forced

Why are you here? 1. Have a strong position (know your subject) 2. Know why your audience is there (know you audience) 3. Make your points concise (know your points) 4. Make good arguments (know your counter points)

(Some) references Confessions of a Public Speaker, Scott Berkun, O’Reily Logline Library – the script lab Academic Skills for All – Essential Presentation Skills Centre for Development of Academic Skills (CeDAS)

Practice slots available  https://doodle.com/poll/c2e6ccafzugkbzci