Creating Your 20.109 Presentation Atissa Banuazizi Lecturer, Writing Across the Curriculum 23-24 February 2010Presentation Basics According to The Book of Lists, public speaking is the Number One human fear.Outline • Before you begin … • Structuring the presentation • Principles of effective visual support • Delivering the presentationBefore you begin… Oral vs. written communication • Challenge for the presenter: • Must communicate in “real time” • Challenge for the audience: • Can’t control rate of presentation to match their comprehension • Can’t re-read sectionsAsk yourself... • What is the main point I want to make to myaudience? • 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 inthe allotted amount of time?Know your material and its message Content is the key! • Collect more information than you will use • Anticipate problem areas • Research unfamiliar words, methods, etc. • If possible, get a broader context • Read a review of paper • Read later paper by the same groupKnow your audience • Who are they? • What do they know? • What might some of them not know? • What do they want to know more about?A journal club has a distinct audience and purpose Audience Purpose • Fellow researchers • Get acquainted with (peers) research project • Similar (not identical) • Understand research in technical backgrounds context • Not experts on this • Consider limitations of particular research research project • Learn how it might apply to future projects, work in 20.109Structuring 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 narrativeStructuring 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 your talk • at end of each section Audience Attention Span TimeGuide your audience through the logic of the scientific process Arrange ideas in a logical sequence • Most important point first • Emphasize key points as you make them • Provide explicit transitions between points Photo courtesy of cdine on Flickr.Introduction • Introduce yourself • Give the title (+ author, journal) of your article • 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 problemData • 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 questionSummary • 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 • Emphasize the potential interest/utility of findings to your specific audienceQ & A • Anticipate questions not covered in thepresentation • OK to bring extra slides • OK to acknowledge gaps in expertise • Explain what you do knowPrinciples of Visual Support Or: Why use slides at all? Disadvantages: Advantages: • disruptive -- pull audience’s attention away from the speaker and onto the screen • can convey a point quickly • add variety and interest • audience recall increases dramatically when the speaker uses effective slides Ask yourself: What specific message are you trying to convey with your visual?Direct the audience’s focus Title • HeapoiUse the• Aveper Image by MIT OpenCourseWare.all slides dings should clarify the main nt of each slide graphics liberally, keepm simple rage attention span slide is 8 seconds Use clear, explanatory labels for charts and diagrams • Make sure to label axes!Less is More Limit number of slides Say more than you show • show primary points on slide; flesh out secondary points verbally Minimize text Avoid potentially annoying animation • Really. • Don’t crowd your slides with a lot of text. Especially, avoid using complete sentences -- or worse, complete paragraphs. Either the audience will become engrossed in trying to read the text, and will stop paying attention to you, or else they’ll wonder why you didn’t just give them a handout already and save yourself the trouble of reading to them.More Design Principles Color • Be easy on the eyes; don’t distract from content • Avoid low-contrast combinationsMore Design Principles Color • Be easy on the eyes; don’t distract from content • Avoid low-contrast combinationsColor • Be easy on the eyes; don’t distract from content • Avoid low-contrast combinations More Design PrinciplesMore Design Principles Color • Be easy on the eyes; don’t distract from content • Avoid low-contrast combinations Type• Sans serif headings• Serif bullets (serif “feet” make lines forease of reading)• Type at least 20-24 pt• Limit upper-case type AUsing graphics in a presentation What story does this picture tell? “As shown in Fig. 2, the loss of neuraminidase activity from the super-natant coincides with the disappearance of this 66-kDa protein. This indicates that neuraminidase activity is precipitated via the 66-kDa protein.” This research was originally published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry. Van der Horst, G. T., et al. Lysosomal Neuraminidase from Human Placenta." J Biol Chem (1989): 264: 1317-1322. © The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. "Identification and in Vitro Reconstitution ofNeuraminidase activity is precipitated via 66-kDa protein immunoblot analysis of supernatants Neuraminidase activity ceases with disappearance of 66-kDa protein! . This research was originally published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry. Van der Horst, G. T., et al. "Identification and in Vitro Reconstitution ofLysosomal Neuraminidase from Human Placenta." J Biol Chem (1989): 264: 1317-1322. © The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.Delivering the Presentation Rehearse! • Practice at least 3 times • Practice with a colleague for feedback • Is your content clear? • Do you