Some Advice on Giving Scientific Talks Dr. Trees Dr. Kaye Goal: Communicate interesting scientific information to an audience in the most effective way. Right? (Original slides courtesy of Dr. Trees)

Talk preparation: Be aware of the expertise of your audience. Be aware of your time constraint—DON’T EXCEED IT! If possible, acquaint yourself with the layout and acoustics of the room. (Large room with microphone? Smaller room—then project your voice.) 4. Prepare a written outline of your talk. Other students in class, Dr. Kaye, Dr. T.-R., physics and astronomy faculty 12 minutes + 3 minutes for questions CWSC 149 (Advanced Lab room) or 130 (intro. lab) Make a numbered list of the slides, putting them in the order that you will present them. Refer to each slide by its title.

The mechanics of your presentation: Make eye contact with your audience. Speak loudly enough for those in the back of the room to hear. Enunciate words clearly. Don’t speak too rapidly or too slowly. Show enthusiasm about your topic! Use a pointer. Beware of laser pointers! Don’t prepare a script and then read the script to the audience. Avoid mumbling. At first, practice the talk by saying it aloud to yourself! Practice the talk in front of someone else. You have some interesting results to share! Your audience won’t care about your results if you don’t! (But avoid saying, “These results are great!”)

Strive for efficient information transfer: Start with a simple title slide. Include your home institution. Acknowledge your collaborators and funding sources. 2. Plan your talk as if you were telling a story. What are the key plot points? 3. Average about one or two slides per minute. 4. Use graphs, figures, and pictures more than words. Spending the time to make good graphs and figures can pay off! Don’t get too fancy with PowerPoint! Include an informative title, and label axes clearly (with units if applicable). Use symbols large enough to be read from across the room. Use colors that are visible from across the room. Define all symbols. PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!