How to Give a Talk Amy Bruckman Georgia Institute of Technology

2 © 1997 by Georgia Institute of Technology and Amy Bruckman. All rights reserved. Start with a Story Not a joke If you can’t think of a good one, don’t use one Should be evocative of broader themes

3 © 1997 by Georgia Institute of Technology and Amy Bruckman. All rights reserved. Outline Next, give an outline of the rest of the talk Outline: – Preparation - Considering the audience - Making good overheads - Practice talk – Delivery - Answering questions – Demos

4 © 1997 by Georgia Institute of Technology and Amy Bruckman. All rights reserved. Consider Your Audience Different talks for different people – Level of knowledge – Reason for being interested Humanities vs. engineering

5 © 1997 by Georgia Institute of Technology and Amy Bruckman. All rights reserved. Structure This is what I’m going to say – Introduce the problem – Why the problem is important This is what I’m saying – What you did – What results you got This is what I just said – Remember to summarize the main point

6 © 1997 by Georgia Institute of Technology and Amy Bruckman. All rights reserved. Beware of Technical Problems Projectors will generally work now – Not true a few years ago – Backup transparencies still good idea If you use their machine, how will you get your file onto it? – Often no floppy drive – Putting a copy online is a good backup Getting a local Internet connection often won’t work Do technological setup in advance!

7 © 1997 by Georgia Institute of Technology and Amy Bruckman. All rights reserved. Overhead Preparation Use consistent capitalization Check spelling Separate with paper Include small page numbers for your reference Don’t cram too much on each slide – Include general talking points, not complete content

8 © 1997 by Georgia Institute of Technology and Amy Bruckman. All rights reserved. Use a Big Font This is 24 point. I almost never use smaller than this. This is 18 point. You can get away with it sometimes, but don’t go any smaller. This is 14 point—way too small. Why put it up if no one can see it?

9 © 1997 by Georgia Institute of Technology and Amy Bruckman. All rights reserved. Do a Practice Talk Ask your friends to be critical Check your timing – Two minutes/overhead is usually right – Don’t try to cram in too much Videotape yourself

10 © 1997 by Georgia Institute of Technology and Amy Bruckman. All rights reserved. Delivery: Overhead Don’ts Don’t read your overheads verbatim – Your audience can read Don’t block the projector/sight lines Don’t fumble with your overheads – Check for a comfortable place to put them down Don’t cover up part of the overhead because Your audience will be distracted

11 © 1997 by Georgia Institute of Technology and Amy Bruckman. All rights reserved. Answering Questions Make sure you understand the question Pause before answering Don’t know? – Suggest how you would investigate – Ask questioner his/her ideas Too complicated? – Suggest the beginning part of an answer Put slides back up to help answer

12 © 1997 by Georgia Institute of Technology and Amy Bruckman. All rights reserved. Dealing with Hostile Questions Don’t pick up on their tone – Don’t be intimidated – Don’t barbecue them

13 © 1997 by Georgia Institute of Technology and Amy Bruckman. All rights reserved. Demos Set up in advance, on the actual hardware to be used If it’s really important, have backup transparencies of screen shots Rehearse – Check timing Narrate what people can’t see

14 © 1997 by Georgia Institute of Technology and Amy Bruckman. All rights reserved. Acknowledgments Summarize the main point Thank appropriate people – People at practice talk – Users – Collaborators