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Outline There is a saying about giving an effect presentation that goes: Tell them what you are going to tell them Tell them Tell them what you’ve told them It is good to start off with a brief outline to orient the audience to what you are going to cover during your brief talk

Planning Your Presentation In planning your presentation: –Identify an interesting topic (e.g., the influence of peers on the development of alcohol use) –Research the topic First do a PubMed or PsychInfo search Then get and read 7-10 articles on the topic Include a mix of reviews and empirical research papers –Generate your thesis (e.g., peers have a strong influence on the development of excessive alcohol use) –Outline your talk (e.g., thesis, background & significance, review of evidence, any challenging evidence, any work on mediators/moderators of relation, future questions/directions, conclusions) –Create your slides

Tips on Creating Slides Keep the color scheme simple and professional –Think ‘simple elegance’ (like the little black dress) Use Arial font ( Times New Roman can be difficult to read when projected on the screen ) Be consistent in font size and color scheme throughout the presentation, otherwise people will be distracted –I recommend font size of in the body, for the header Text should summarize points Don’t write out full sentences on your slides. If you write it, people will read it (and so will not be listening to you!). There should be a few words on each bullet point summarizing the point for the reader (and you!) Pictures and animation can be useful for introducing concepts in sequence and highlighting key points, but be careful not to over do it

Tips on Structure Have clear thesis that guides your talk and is relevant to a topic covered in class. Outline the main points to convey, and build your talk around those points. Figure out how much time you would like to spend on each point, and then create the slides according to this. You should plan on *1 slide per minute* as a rule of thumb. You have 20 minutes and so should have approximately 20 slides Make sure to include sufficient time for conclusions and future directions (at least one full slide) Conclude with 1-3 main points (rule of thumb: if quizzed after class, each person in the audience should remember these 1-3 points) DO NOT GO OVER YOUR TIME LIMIT. Going over your time in professional meetings will have negative consequences.

Tips on the Presentation Before you give your talk: practice, practice, practice –This will give you confidence about the material, clarity about what you are going to say, and will make sure that your timing is right You can write out what you are going to say before hand, but don’t read it (or your slides) during your presentation Humor is ok, but like pictures/animation, use conservatively and appropriately Don’t swear (would seem obvious, but you would be surprised by how often this happens) Make eye contact with the audience, speak slowly and clearly, and smile!

Conclusion Do thorough background research and preparation Generate a clear thesis and supporting talk Create clear, simple, easy to follow slides Practice, practice, practice Speak slowly & clearly, and have fun!

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