Planning and Delivering a Professional Presentation Charles R. Ward Department of Chemistry University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Several Types of Presentations 4 Sales Presentation –10 to 15 minutes –high impact, usually “flashy” 4 Progress Report –15 minutes to 1 hour –format varies 4 Professional Meeting –15 to 45 minutes –conservative combination of text & graphics

Selecting the Format 4 Overhead Transparencies (foils) –rapid preparation –some modification possible –speaker notes can be written on boarders –equipment almost always available –equipment always reliable or easy to repair rapidly –not suitable for large rooms –lacks flexibility (no audio, video, animations)

Selecting the Format 4 Computer-based Presentations –rapid preparation –easy to modify –suitable for all size rooms –equipment almost universally available –equipment can be difficult to repair –compatibility issues (Apple vs PC) –extremely flexible (audio, video, pictures, animations)

Presentation Layout 4 Title Page –Title –Name –Organization 4 Outline (research presentation) –Introduction –Methods –Data –Discussion –Conclusion(s) –Acknowledgements

Things to Consider 4 Old Presentation Maxim –Tell them what you are going to tell them. –Tell them. –Tell them what you told them. 4 Convince the audience that your topic is important and explain why you are interested in it. 4 Tell a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end.

15 Ways to Get Your Audience to Leave You 1. Cover too much material. 2. Include too many details. 3. Start with too much small talk. 4. Run over the allotted speaking time. 5. Avoid telling the audience why your research has been done. 6. Overestimate, or at least fail to assess, the audience’s level of knowledge. Peter Sigmund, University of Odense, Physics Today, August, 1988, p. 86.

15 Ways to Get Your Audience to Leave You 7. Fail to make eye contact with the audience. 8. Ignore the inherent difference that exists between oral and written communication. 9. Waste time searching for a specific overhead foil somewhere in your pile. 10. Use unexplained terminology, abbreviations, and acronyms. 11. Use unexplained symbols in text or equations. Peter Sigmund, University of Odense, Physics Today, August, 1988, p. 86.

15 Ways to Get Your Audience to Leave You 12. Use unexplained graphics. 13. Present visual aids that are unreadable. 14. Read extensively from projected transparencies. 15. If the moderator has just introduced you to the audience, alienate both parties by opening your presentation with such details as your name, your affiliation, and the title of your talk. Peter Sigmund, University of Odense, Physics Today, August, 1988, p. 86.