1. The Do s and Dont s of Presentations and Powerpoint m.p.mcguigan@bath.ac.uk

2. Aim of the presentation Presentations need to be given for many reasons and in many different situations Formal Informal Research Concept pitch Sales Make sure you know your audience and the aim of the presentation is very clear

3. Plan the presentation Know how much time you have and plan the presentation accordingly Research presentations usually 15mins: 10–12min presentation & 3-5min questions 20mins: 15min presentation & 5min questions Aim for no more than one slide per minute of presentation. Do not over-run

4. Slide Design A balance between Interesting Informative Nice to look at Easy to read

5. Slide Design: Background Your choice of background has a huge influence on your slides Plain backgrounds boring but very easy to read –Dark text on light background

6. Slide Design: Background Your choice of background has a huge influence on your slides Plain backgrounds boring but very easy to read –Dark text on light background

7. Slide Design: Background Your choice of background has a huge influence on your slides Plain backgrounds boring but very easy to read –Dark text on light background –Light text on dark background

8. Slide Design: Background Your choice of background has a huge influence on your slides Plain backgrounds boring but very easy to read –Dark text on light background –Light text on dark background Be very careful of your colour combinations

9. Slide Design: Background Your choice of background has a huge influence on your slides Plain backgrounds boring but very easy to read –Dark text on light background –Light text on dark background Be very careful of your colour combinations –Need contrast between background and text

10. Slide Design: Background Your choice of background has a huge influence on your slides Plain backgrounds boring but very easy to read –Dark text on light background –Light text on dark background Be very careful of your colour combinations –Need contrast between background and text –Some colours just dont work!

11. Slide Design: Background Can make background more interesting by

12. Slide Design: Background Can make background more interesting by Adding shading

13. Slide Design: Background Can make background more interesting by Adding shading Adding shading Powerpoint background template Powerpoint background template – Can be restricting with colours and fonts, but easy and quick to use

14. Slide Design: Background Can make background more interesting by Adding shading Powerpoint background template Background design

15. Slide Design: Background Can make background more interesting by Adding shading Powerpoint background template Background design –Be very careful that background does not distract from slide content

16. Slide Design: Background Can make background more interesting by Adding shading Powerpoint background template Background design –Be very careful that background does not distract from slide content –Feint designs can be good But audience can spend whole presentation trying to figure out what your background is!

17. Slide Design: Background Can make background more interesting by Adding shading Powerpoint background template Background design –Be very careful that background does not distract from slide content –Feint designs can be good –Good to use plain background with simple picture or motif to personalise your slides

18. Slide Design: Font Which of these lines do you find easiest to read?

19. Slide Design: Font Times New Roman - Which of these lines…. Arial - Which of these lines…. Verdana – Which of these lines…. Tahoma - Which of these lines…. Comic Sans - Which of these lines…. All 32 pt

20. Slide Design: Font Size 32 pt font is easy to read 28 pt font is still fine 24 pt is ok but if you just use this you are likely to have too much text on the slide 20 pt is getting small and difficult to read 18 pt should only be used for small details Never use anything smaller that 18pt

21. Slide Content: Outline Many people recommend starting with an outline of the contents and structure of the presentation Structure Slide design Presentation Skills Example research presentations Discussion and feedback Conclusions

22. Slide Content: Structure Introduction –Background and work that has lead to the current study –Hypothesis/Question Methods Results –Unlike a research paper you should discus your results as you present them Conclusions –Implications, take home message and further research

23. Slide Content Try not to cover too much information on each slide: one point per slide. Dont have too much text! Try not to have large blocks of text Where appropriate use diagrams and pictures to illustrate your point –Schematic diagram of experimental set up –Picture of data collection Make sure pictures are relevant

24. Slide Content: Tables and Graphs In most research presentations the results are presented in the form of Tables and Graphs MAKE SURE THE AUDIENCE CAN READ THEM

25. Slide Content: Graphs If you paste a graph straight from Excel –The lines are too thin –The lines are often colours that you cannot see –Axis titles are too small

26. Slide Content: Graphs Title Axis labels Font too small Lines too thin Grey background shows pasted straight from Excel

27. Slide Content: Graphs

29. Use contrasting colours Dont use light blue

30. Slide Content: Graphs

31. Dont try to fit too much on one slide

32. Slide Content Results Start by describing the graphs and tables –What the axis are –What each of the lines represents –What the graphs shows What does it all mean? Discuss the results in relation to your hypotheses and previous research

33. Slide Content Conclusion Arguable the most important part of the presentation Make sure your take home point is very clear What are the implications of this research?

34. Slide Content Remember to… Cite the sources of your information –The author(s) and date of the reference are usually sufficient Acknowledge any assistance you have been given

35. Presentation Skills Dont go too fast Remember to breathe and take pauses Try to engage your audience – eye contact Try not to read from notes PRACTICE!!!! The more you do the easier they will become