Making a Presentation Discussion Points Masters-Doctoral Seminar

Basics Level of talk –Cover Background? How long to talk –Number of slides? 1 slide per minute? Any practice needed for talk? 2

Slide Preparation Complexity of slide content Outline needed for talk? –How many major topics How busy should your slides be? –Lots of Clip art, color, text disappearing, etc How full should your slides be? –Key works, short phrases, long sentences? –Fill each slide full? 3

Slide Preparation (cont) Is use of pictures good? Is use of graphs good? –Simple or complex? How to use equations Font size to use –20, 24, larger than 24? –Ensure can be seen from back of room 4

Slide Presentation (cont) Quick summary from DAC slide preparation guide link on course webpage –Use landscape layout –Dark background with lighter content favorable for large room –Use 24 font or larger for regular text and 20 points for details –Avoid red lines or text on dark blue background Hard to read Impossible for color blind to read 5

Presentation of Slides Read slides or only glance at next topic? How to stay on time in presentation? Speed of oral presentation? At what time should you finish your talk? How to ensure key points are understood? –Mentioning key points in introduction? –Ordering discussion of key points? –Reminder of key points in summary? 6

Slide Presentation (cont.) Face audience or screen? –Maintain eye contact with audience Pointing to items on Screen –Point to large screen or laptop? –Point to screen with hand or Laser pointer? Avoid blocking audience view of screen Asking questions during talk? How to overcome accent problems? 7

Selecting Talk Content Few key ideas or all important ideas? In-depth presentation or overview? –Provide full details for your work? –Try to explain key points and motivate audience to read your paper? How to handle a mixed audience where there are 2-3 levels of understanding? –Give talk to least knowledgeable –Give talk to most knowledgeable –Try to talk to all levels 8

Several Summary Slides 9

Importance of Presentation Skill Presentations made for –Thesis and dissertation committees –Conference talks –Course lectures –Interview talks –Presentation to employers Your ability to communicate will impact your success 10

Verbal Presentation Style (Summary) Speak clearly Speak slowly and loud enough to be heard –Especially important for non-native speakers Speak to the audience, not the screen, white board, or computer Point to screen – NOT to the computer –Walk over to board and point to emphasize Repeat important points several times Give audience time to think about material. 11

Summary on Use of Slides Slides should be simple without distractions Make moderate use of color Have high contrast between letters, figures, etc and the background Slides should be –Terse (not verbose) –Highlight key points –Have meaningful titles –Be focused 12

Use of Repetition Repeat important parts –At least 20% of audience are thinking about something else at any given time –At conferences, this is sometimes 80% or more near end of talk Material is not as obvious to audience as to you –Normally they have not thought about topic as much as you 13

Know your material There may be someone who knows the material as well or better than you in audience Do not include material or slides that you can’t explain If you do not know the answer to a question, then admit it –Guessing or trying to fake it is inappropriate and may cause embarrassment. –Scholars are expected to be honest in their presentations. 14

Use of Summary Slide Summarize problem and solutions identified Emphasize contributions or major results –Focus on a few key ones Briefly mention open problems and future work plans –Future work could also be needed work that remains to be done Stop in time to leave time for questions 15