Creating Your 20 109 Presentation Atissa Banuazizi Lecturer Writing Across the Curriculum 23 24 February 2010 Presentation 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 presentation Before 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 sections 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 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 group Know 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 peers Get acquainted with research project Similar not identical technical backgrounds Understand research in context Not experts on this particular research project Consider limitations of research Learn how it might apply to future projects work in 20 109 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 Structuring the Presentation Preview and Review Map out goals of the talk in advance Summarize at end of your talk at end of each section Audience Attention Span Use topic sentences in body of the talk Time Guide 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 problem 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 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 Emphasize the potential interest utility of findings to your specific audience 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 Principles of Visual Support Or Why use slides at all Disadvantages disruptive pull audience s attention away from the speaker and onto the screen Advantages 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 all slides Headings should clarify the main point of each slide Use graphics liberally keep them simple Image by MIT OpenCourseWare Average attention span per 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 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 Avoid potentially annoying animation Really More Design Principles Color Be easy on the eyes don t distract from content Avoid low contrast combinations More Design Principles Color Be easy on the eyes don t distract from content Avoid low contrast combinations More Design Principles Color Be easy on the eyes don t distract from content Avoid low contrast combinations More 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 for ease of reading Type at least 20 24 pt Limit upper case type A Using graphics in a presentation What story does this picture tell As shown in Fig 2 the loss of neuraminidase activity from the supernatant coincides with the disappearance of this 66 kDa protein This indicates that neuraminidase activity is precipitated via the 66kDa protein This research was originally published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry Van der Horst G T et al Identification and in Vitro Reconstitution of Lysosomal Neuraminidase from Human Placenta J Biol Chem 1989 264 1317 1322 The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Neuraminidase activity is precipitated via 66 kDa protein immunoblot analysis of supernatants Neuraminidase activity ceases with disappearance of 66kDa protein This research was originally published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry Van der Horst G T et al Identification and in Vitro Reconstitution of Lysosomal 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 rock squirm gesture too much Is there room for improvements adjustments Time yourself What 3 questions will your audience likely ask On Presentation Day Arrive early Check equipment and voice projection Bring a backup of your presentation How to Connect with the Audience Put yourself in the audience s place Explain novel ideas terms or references Use everyday language and terms Clarify connections that may be obvious to you but not them Engage the audience Establish eye contact look at people Convey