Creating Your 20.109 Presentation Atissa Banuazizi 25-26 September 2007 Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Presentation Basics According to The Book of Lists, public speaking is the Number One human fear.Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Outline • Before you begin … • Structuring the presentation • Principles of effective visual support • Delivering the presentation Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Before you begin… Oral vs. written communication • Challenge for the presenter: • Time constraint on information presented • Challenge for the audience: • Can’t control rate of presentation to match their comprehension • Can’t re-read sections Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Before you begin… Ask yourself: • What is the main point I want to make to my audience? • Why is this interesting or important? • How do the data support my main point? • What part of my story can I tell with the data in the allotted amount of time? Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Before you begin… Content is the Key! • If there is no content, there is no presentation Know your material and its message • Collect more information than you will use • Review the experiment • Review graphs and charts • Anticipate problem areas Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Structuring the Presentation Tell a story • Narrative Structure • Beginning: introduction • Middle: data • End: summary • Show how each section relates to and builds upon the one before it • Engage the audience’s interest as they follow the narrative Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Structuring the Presentation Introduction • Introduce yourself • Give the title (and author) of your talk • In one sentence, introduce the central question or problem of the experiment • State significance of experiment; why should we care? • Briefly explain necessary background • Give audience a preview of approach to problem Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Structuring the Presentation Data • Forms bulk of presentation • Drawn from Methods, Results and Discussion of paper • keep explanation of methods to a minimum - -only as much as needed to understand results • integrate discussion as you go • Data are only worth presenting insofar as they relate to your central question Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Structuring the Presentation Summary • What do you want your audience to remember about your talk? • Remind your audience of primary findings • Explain what these findings contribute to the field Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Structuring the Presentation Q & A • Anticipate questions not covered in the presentation • OK to bring extra slides • OK to acknowledge gaps in expertise • Explain what you do know Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Structuring the Presentation Arrange ideas in a logical sequence • Most important point first • Emphasize key points as you make them • Provide explicit transitions between points Guide your audience through the logic of the scientific process! Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Structuring the Presentation Preview and Review • Map out goals of the talk in advance • Use topic sentences in body of the talk • Summarize • at end of each section • at end of your talk Audience Attention Span Time Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Principles of Visual Support Or: Why use slides at all? Disadvantages: Advantages: • disruptive -- pull • can convey a point quickly audience’s attention away from the speaker and onto • add variety and interest the screen • audience recall increases dramatically when the speaker uses effective slides Ask yourself: What specific message are you trying to convey with your visual? Cite as: Drew Endy. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MITOpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].Direct the audience’s focus Title all slides • Headings should clarify the main point of each slide Use graphics