1. Presenting Your Research Paper
US Association for Energy Economics
September 23, 2018
Adam Sieminski

2. What is the point of this presentation?
You invested an enormous amount of work writing a very good paper on energy economics…
But you only have a few minutes to explain it
Selling your idea is as important as the idea itself
There are some basic rules you should follow
Source: Adam Sieminski

3. Speech, Paper, or PowerPoint ?
What is the one best graphic that conveys the main point of your paper?
Graphics add impact and interest to a presentation and add to understanding
Retention of information is greater when it is presented using both visual and oral methods
Retention of Information
(three days after the event)
Source: Source: US Department of Labor, Presenting Effective Presentations with Visual Aids, May 1996

4. Five rules for effective public speaking
Never open your talk with a joke
Unless it is really very funny
Be yourself and play to your strengths
If you don’t have a strength, turn down the invitation
Understand your topic
Remember, you are the expert
Don’t be afraid to improvise
Talks and life seldom go as planned
Practice, practice, practice
Delivery matters
Source: Ethos3 Communications; Adam Sieminski

5. Generic conference presentation framework
...15 slides (or fewer) for a 20-minute talk
Title Page / Presenter’s Details (1 slide)
Conclusion / Forecast (1-2 slides)
Give the core of the issue studied and insights found
What are the key ideas you want people to leave with?
Outline / Agenda (1 slide) Do this is you have a lot of slides
Background (3 slides)
Motivation and Problem Statement (1 slide)
Related work (1 slide) Optional
Methods (1 slide)
Results (4-6 slides) Present key results or insights
Summary / Future Work (1 slide)
Backup Slides The ones you think are good but not critical... an appendix
This slide is too wordy, but it can work as a “take-away” visual
Source: Mark D. Hill, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Computer Sciences Department

6. Formula for a good slide
Determine the key point that you want the audience to remember
Put the conclusion in the slide title
(try to make it compelling)
Speak to one main idea per slide
(even if you have more info than that;
you can always save some for Q&A)
When in doubt – leave it out (put the formulas in the appendix)
Use page numbers on your slides
Source: Adam Sieminski

7. Save formulas for backup, but this one was a critical part of the paper… and handled well
Source: Energy Information Administration

8. Brevity is your friend
Good speakers average one minute per slide, maybe two minutes
Don’t linger on your title slide
Look at the audience, not the screen
Don’t read every word on the slide
Cut non-critical words and slides
Aim to finish in half the time allotted
Source: Adam Sieminski
Note: For some interesting tips see:

9. Keep your audience engaged
Make your point and move on
Speak clearly
Don’t hug the lectern
Be enthusiastic and smile
Use notes but don’t read them
Vary the tone of your voice
Ask the audience a question
Source: Photo at

10. This slides works well in a big room
Source: Adam Sieminski; DB Global Markets Research; How to Make a Good Presentation, USAEE / IAEE Conference; Houston, TX; 19-Sep-2007

11. This slide is too hard to explain in a minute

12. A good graphic… but the font is too small

13. Too many bullets and the text is too small
Source: DB Global Markets Research

14. Price per barrel of selected commodities
Source: Adam Sieminski; DB Global Markets Research; How to Make a Good Presentation, USAEE / IAEE Conference; Houston, TX; 19-Sep-2007

15. Crafting a memorable presentation
Headline - Attention grabbing main point
Hook - Why should I listen to this?
Reasons - Key messages with adequate support
Recap - Tell them what you told them
Finish - Tell them how to get hold of you
Source: Adam Sieminski

16. For more information
With compliments to Prof. dr. Erik Dietzenbacher, University of Groningen
King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center