1 How to Give a Good Presentation? Cliff C. Zou CAP /07/08

2 Outline How to Read a Research Paper Prepare Presentation Slides Give a Presentation Follow up Online Resource

3 How to Read a Research Paper Find papers in high-quality conferences/journals  There are too many conferences/workshops!!  Security research conferences:  IEEE Security & Privacy, ACM CCS, Usenix Security  NDSS, RAID, ACSAC, SecureCom…  Conference papers are grouped into sections according to topics  Security research journals:  ACM Transactions on Information and System Security  IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing  IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security

4 How to Read a Research Paper Glance through abstracts to find interesting ones Read introduction and one more section to get the big picture  Understand the novel idea(s) provided by a paper  Read “related work” and glance over several related papers if not familiar with the topic Read the whole paper if the paper is worth it

5 How to Read a Research Paper Ask questions actively when reading:  What is the novel idea(s)?  Can I do this research, too?  Some research are not doable by yourself E.g., require specific hardware, software, data  A bit frustrating, but keep you motivated  What are the weaknesses of the paper?  Which point(s) can I do further research on?  Important to conduct your own research

6 Outline How to Read a Research Paper Prepare Presentation Slides Give a Presentation Follow up Online Resource

7 Prepare Presentation Slides Create examples/figures/animations to explain  May not in paper, create by yourself  Animations or step-by-step figures are best in explaining a system, architecture, algorithm  Not in paper, must be done by yourself Do not only put words in slides  Boring, too abstract

8 Prepare Presentation Slides Be focused  Success if you pass ONE single central idea of a paper  Audience cannot understand everything in 30 minutes!  If you cannot explain a point clearly, skip it  Some ideas/algorithms are complicated to explain Only use a sentence to say the name, and results  In most case, a complicated idea is not the novel point of a paper Not too colorful Powerpoint template  Readable text: big font, clear color  e.g., no green/yellow text on white background  Readable figures  A project usually has fewer color, smaller resolution than a computer screen!

9 Prepare Presentation Slides Concise, self-explanation text  Not too abstract, contain concrete information  No need for complete sentences  Some people prefer to read slides than listen! Good acknowledgement  For others’ papers, put author names, publication place, time in the first page  Then, “presented by: your name”  Copying others’ slides must have acknowledgement

10 Outline How to Read a Research Paper Prepare Presentation Slides Give a Presentation Follow up Online Resource

11 Give a Presentation Dry run before presentation  Test timing  Get familiar (bad impression if you do not know what you talk!!)  Remember important words to say, be concise  But do not recite every word in speech! Monotone, no personal attachment to what you say  Especially important to non-English speaker Less grammar error, fluent, clear and concise  Intense dry run for important presentation  Write down talk notes for each page and remember them  Video tape yourself: body language, wasted words (tag)  Ask friends to listen your dry run, get feedback

12 Give a Presentation Speak loud  Force you to speak slow, looks confident  Force you to remove murmur, be clear & concise  Most murmur are wasted words, not confident words  Audience cannot hear your murmur Emphasize  Pause after an important point  Even slower, louder on important point Do not read slides  Slides are for audience to read

13 Give a Presentation Figures  Need to explain X/Y-axis; Don’t rush Timing  Pay attention to time (put a clear clock in front)  Prepare to jump slides for timing Don’t be frustrated for questions or your mistakes  Be friendly, confident  Your mood affects audience’s mood!

14 Outline How to Read a Research Paper Prepare Presentation Slides Give a Presentation Follow up Online Resource

15 Follow Up In job interview, always send “thank-you” notes to interviewers  A brief is good  Online tutorial: google “thank-you notes”  Thank, acknowledgement  Explain unanswered questions  Provide paper, reference information promised by you For this class, send your ppt file to me!

16 Online Resource How To Give A Great Presentation  Presentation Skills  Advice on Research and Writing  Western New England Editorial Freelancers' Network   For copyediting your thesis, paper Google: “resume”, “job hunting”, “give presentation”, …  You can find tutorials, samples for any topics through web search