1. Presentation Tips April 7, 2015 Alissa Agnello North Seattle College

2. Types of Oral “Presentations” Job interviews “Elevator” talks Informal talks with collaborators Formal presentations

3. Keys to a Great Talk 1.Know your audience 2.Organize your information 3.Practice 4.Animate your talk 5.Be prepared for the unexpected

4. Tip 1. Know your audience Gary Cook, USAID http://www.flickr.com/photos/blmurch Talk at their level about their interests Involve audience in talk Solicit answers to questions Wait for answers!

5. Tip 2. Organize your information 1.Intro – what you’ll talk about 2.Talk about it 3.Conclusion – what you’ve talked about Thank you Always better to go under than over! If appropriate, present multi-modally: print, picture, graph, talk “I feel like I’m being held prisoner by a person who couldn’t prioritize.” — Erica Ollmann Saphire, Scripps Research Institute

6. Tip 3: Practice Know key message for each situation – Even “spontaneous” presentations Get feedback – Mirror – Friends/colleagues – Videotape Solve “ums”, “likes” Plan explanations for hard-to-describe concepts Practice relaxing

7. Tip 4: Animate yourself Never read directly Talk to audience, not to screen! Project your voice! – Vary pitch, volume, rate – Include pauses Personality – Facial expressions, Gestures, Movements – Eye contact

8. Tip 5: Be prepared for the unexpected Technology failures Rude audience members

9. PowerPoint Basics Avoid aggressive animations, unreadable colors, unusual fonts, distracting backgrounds, etc.

10. Check readability from back of room – This is size 22 font – This is size 16 font Proof-reade When presenting data, introduce audience to graphing scheme Never read directly For every 5 minutes of talk, no more than 2-3 slides Limit words Reference your sources

11. Conclusion 1.Know your audience 2.Organize your information 3.Practice 4.Animate your talk 5.Be prepared for the unexpected

12. For more information: How to answer questions appropriately / what annoying mannerisms to avoid: http://www.casca.ca/ecass/issues/2002-js/features/dirobertis/talk.html (“How Not To Give a Scientific Talk” by Michael De Robertis, York Univ.) Special thanks to: North Seattle College Microsoft Clip Art YOU!