1. Title of Presentation with Font Sized Adjusted to Fit Available Space
Presenter Name, Collaborator Name, Collaborator Name, Collaborator Name, Advisor Name
Department and College Affiliations
Research
Group
Logo

2. What is the Context for this Talk?
This slide needs to provide background / context
What is the field / application of the presented research?
What need / opportunity is driving work in this area?
The goal is go motivate the audience to pay attention
You need to engage the audience where they are!
Try to identify some application they might care or know about
The audience for this work is smart people from very diverse backgrounds (you cannot just start on the tech without background)
Identify a problem being addressed
What is holding back the field from meeting the need / opportuniuty
Nanoscience Institute for Medical and Engineering Technology (NIMET)

3. Context Slide Continued
This may require more than one slide
Some additional background to educate a smart but non-expert audience may be needed
Regardless, the context slides should not take a long time to present
They are not why you are talking, but without them people are more likely to tune out or not fully appreciate your work – in which case, why give the talk?
The point is to successfully transfer knowledge / ideas
Nanoscience Institute for Medical and Engineering Technology (NIMET)

4. How is it Done Now?
If there is a substantial need / opportunity, clearly there must be prior attempts to meet it
Identify these prior attempts / methods / approaches
Attempt to quantify their success / failure
What are the limits of existing methods
If there is a compelling need and existing approaches cannot meet it, this fact will motivate people to hear how you are going to solve it
Nanoscience Institute for Medical and Engineering Technology (NIMET)

5. What New with Your Approach?
Finally, now you talk about your new approach
In the context of the prior work, what is new about your approach?
How will you overcome the barriers and limitations addressed in the prior slides that are limiting existing methods?
This will be the the bulk of your presentation
You need to convince them that you methods will be able to overcome the barrier limiting existing methods
Nanoscience Institute for Medical and Engineering Technology (NIMET)

6. Background on Methods Used
If your approach requires the combination of a few different methods / technologies / approaches
You may need to provide a background slide on one or more of these methods being combined
Nanoscience Institute for Medical and Engineering Technology (NIMET)

7. General Slide Guidelines
Each slide should only have one main idea, concept, or result being conveyed
Resist the temptation to cram more than one into a single slide…
Each slide should have a clear take-home message
What is the primary point / lesson / message the audience should take away from this slide
Often it is a single / concise text statement at the bottom
Nanoscience Institute for Medical and Engineering Technology (NIMET)

8. Graphics and Text A good graphic is worth many words
But should be supported by some annotations to help the audience grasp its meaning / significance immediately
Do NOT use the default Matlab graphic format
Axis titles and labels are dismally small
Change the default to make them easier to read
Text should not be overly verbose
Do not show all the words you will say
Bullets should show keywords and phrases that flow logically
As you get more comfortable with the talk you remove more words
Nanoscience Institute for Medical and Engineering Technology (NIMET)

9. What Difference Will it Make
Even if your work in only still in process (not completed)
Attempt to project into the future and describe its potential for impact
Try to think of an answer to the question:
“What difference will it make?”
Impacts can be in a few ideas
Impact on fundamental knowledge
Impact on human / environmental health and well being
Impact on economy
Etc.
Nanoscience Institute for Medical and Engineering Technology (NIMET)

10. Conclusions
Summarize the take-home messages conveyed in the prior slides
Start with reminding them of the motivation,
And the inability of existing methods to address need,
And the novelty of your new approach
And the feasibility of your approach to address need
And any major outcomes of the work
And the potential for impact projecting forward
Nanoscience Institute for Medical and Engineering Technology (NIMET)

11. Acknowledgement This can be a very quick slide to identify
Funding sources for the work (agency, program, program manager)
People not on author list that contributed
Staff members that helped out in any significant way
Research facilities that provided support or access to equipment that resulted in any of the work presented (e.g., the RSC)
Etc.
You do NOT need to talk through them all
You could end on this slide while you take questions
Nanoscience Institute for Medical and Engineering Technology (NIMET)

12. Thank You / Question? Slide
Some like to make a final visual summary slide
Consisting of an array of key graphics from the prior slides
Perhaps a few key super concise bullets with major takeaways and impacts
This can remain on the screen as you take questions
Can help prompt people to ask questions
You do NOT talk through this slide at all
Nanoscience Institute for Medical and Engineering Technology (NIMET)