Presentations All researchers should be able to present their work - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

06-06991 – Research Skills Presentations All researchers should be able to present their work to an audience. There are some basic skills which should not be neglected. These can be summed up as: preparation; structure and evaluation and improvement .

06-06991 – Research Skills Know … Your topic – decide: what you are going to say – decide: what you expect people to take away – consider: how much do you remember of a book you’ve read? – consider: how many points can people be expected to remember? 6 - Presentations 1

06-06991 – Research Skills Know … Your audience – decide: how knowledgeable they are – decide: what they expect to get from your talk 6 - Presentations 2

06-06991 – Research Skills Prepare … The obvious – find out where the talk is – find out when the talk is – find out the facilities to be used – find out how long your session lasts 6 - Presentations 3

06-06991 – Research Skills Prepare … Your talk – work out the structure of your talk – prepare any audio-visual aids (e.g. slides) The questions – work out likely question topics Practise – on a friend – using the audio-visual aids 6 - Presentations 4

06-06991 – Research Skills Structure Be structured Make sure your talk has a structure Ensure you can summarise the structure without thinking about it 6 - Presentations 5

06-06991 – Research Skills Structure Structure your talk to have: – Introduction - length and content depends on your audience – Several parts - usually three – corresponding to the takeaway message – Conclusion - usually gives conclusions and future work – Questions 6 - Presentations 6

06-06991 – Research Skills Structure in more detail Introduction You need to motivate your listeners to be interested • explain what the problem is • why it is worth solving (or at least investigating) Give an outline of your talk – if you have to – but no one will remember it 6 - Presentations 7

06-06991 – Research Skills Structure in more detail Middle Present your main points: • in a logical order • explain that you are moving from one point to the next • explain how the next point relates to the previous point(s) 6 - Presentations 8

06-06991 – Research Skills Structure in more detail Conclusion – you must have an ending – don’t leave your audience to guess you have finished – revise the main points of your talk – perhaps say something about work in progress – thank your audience for listening 6 - Presentations 9

06-06991 – Research Skills Structure in more detail After you have finished – if you want to give a list of references, have a handout – answer questions • paraphrase the question – show understanding • however stupid or irrelevant – always be polite • avoid getting into long discussions/answers 6 - Presentations 10

06-06991 – Research Skills Structure Make your structure clear through your audio-visual aids Keep to your structure when you are talking (What is the important word on this slide?) 6 - Presentations 11

06-06991 – Research Skills The evils of presentation packages You will feel you have to use a presentation package – e.g. PowerPoint. The medium shapes the message – PowerPoint leads people into (usually) 3 bullet points per slide. Always try your presentation out on the machine which you are going to use in the talk. If possible, practise with the VBP you will use. 6 - Presentations 12

06-06991 – Research Skills Designing slides Good slides – have one idea per slide , relatively little text and aren’t overcrowded – use simple diagrams/pictures where possible – use a good, clear typeface e.g. 36 24 18 14 12 10 36 24 18 14 12 10 – look prepared 6 - Presentations 13

06-06991 – Research Skills Pitfalls of PowerPoint Line spacing: set to 0.85 lines. Use animation to guide you through your talk. Use animations and sounds carefully. Think carefully about any diagrams you use and make sure they are readable from the back of the room. Don’t forget to use the spelling chekker. 6 - Presentations 14

06-06991 – Research Skills Diagrams, charts, graphs, pictures … Text is very good at giving a summary but pictures can tell a story much better … “Old Joe”, the clock tower of the University of Birmingham, was inspired by the red-brick Torre del Mangia, a medieval clock tower that forms part of the Town Hall in Siena. 6 - Presentations 15

06-06991 – Research Skills How to annoy your audience 6 - Presentations 16

06-06991 – Research Skills Giving the talk Obvious and less obvious points: – be calm! – don’t speak quickly – use your audio-visual aids to help you – don’t try to learn your talk off by heart – think about where you stand – think what people can see – especially the screen – talk to the people at the corners of the room – keep control! 6 - Presentations 17

06-06991 – Research Skills Evaluate to improve Evaluate – evaluate your own talk – ask for an evaluation from a trusted friend – ask for your supervisor’s evaluation – evaluate other people’s talks 6 - Presentations 18

06-06991 – Research Skills Evaluate to improve Be critical – don’t assume that famous people always give good talks Be charitable – don’t expect miracles from other people Be realistic – don’t expect miracles from yourself. 6 - Presentations 19