10 hints for improving presentations for the three minute ... · pdf file10 hints for...
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10 Hints for Improving Presentations for the Three Minute Thesis Competition
By Danielle Fischer
1. Forget everything you know about giving scientific presentations: You must tailor your talk
to your audience (“an intelligent but non-specialised audience”). Don’t introduce yourself,
don’t acknowledge your lab members or funding bodies and don’t show data! We really
don’t care about the intricacies of your results. Your audience for this presentation wants to
know the bigger picture. By all means, explain what you’re doing, but leave out the detail,
thanks!
2. Start your talk by introducing your little pocket of research in the grander scheme of things,
thinking about why this topic would be of interest to any person off the street (eg. does this
help with finding a cure for cancer? Will it solve global warming? Will it help our
understanding of the universe). Even if your little bit of research is a far stretch from curing
cancer, for example, it is important to make it relevant to your audience, so that they will be
bothered to listen in the first place.
3. Carefully think about what you should include on your PowerPoint slide. Only include things
that are relevant and ensure that any images you use are of good quality (don’t use images
with watermarks – they are copyright protected). Don’t overcrowd your slide as this looks
unprofessional and confusing, and avoid distractions like flashing lights or super brightly
coloured backgrounds.
4. Analogies are great, but make sure your analogy is something that everyone will be able to
identify with, otherwise it’ll just end up complicating the matter further. Keep it simple.
5. Speak in an engaging manner. If you don’t sound like you’re interested in the topic, why
would we be? Most people aren’t very confident when they do public speaking, but you
need to get over yourself and fake it until you make it! It’s only 3 minutes of your life!
6. I hate to say it, but physical appearance does matter – but only so far as to ensure that you
don’t wear anything distracting, otherwise people will focus on that instead of your talk.
7. Body language is really important. Keep in mind if your hands are flailing around, as this can
distract your audience. Don’t stand behind the safety of your lectern staring into the
computer, praying for the three minutes to pass! Get out and about, engage with your
audience, look each of them in the eye (but don’t stare at just one person the whole talk –
this is a pet hate of mine!). And smile!
8. Finish your talk by summing up what you do in the greater scheme of things. How will your
research contribute to the grander goal?
9. Now practise, practise, practise! Practise on your lab friends, practise on your grandmother.
And get feedback and advice. If both parties can understand it and are interested in it,
you’re on to a good thing.
10. Make sure you use your time, but don’t go over it.
Your audience is there because they what to hear about what you do. Inspire them, and enjoy the
opportunity you have been given to share your research with people… Have fun and good luck!
How to win the 3 minute thesis
Dr Inger Mewburn (aka @thesiswhisperer)Director of research trainingThe Australian National Universitywww.thesiswhisperer.com
In this presentation we will
Talk about bad presentations
Look at some examples of the 3MT in action
Go through some steps to help you make one
What other students have said
Too technicalToo much on each slide No structure to talkReading from notes Unclear speech Nervous speakerToo simple Weird body languageSmall font / wacky fonts / yellow font on white backgroundBusy backgrounds
Let's look at some 3MT contestants in action
Barlarka Banerjee
Jack Midalek
Sumaiya Ahmed
Jamie Flynn
Daniel Crabtree
A good 3MT presentation...
Doesn't try to say too muchIs delivered slowly.Has expression (pauses, rises, falls and stresses)Includes a story, metaphor or emotional elementGives concrete examplesDoesn't ‘telegraph’ Tells you things you didn't expect to hear about the topic
Anything else?
A framework for action
In "Made to Stick" Chip and Dan Heath claim that thisformula makes information rich presentations unforgettable:
SimpleUnexpectedConcreteCredible (we won't deal with this)EmotionalStories
Let's work on Simple
Complete the following sentence.
"The purpose of my research is..." (add max 50 words)
Share your sentence and we'll workshop some of them.
Let's work on Unexpected
Tell us an interesting fact about your research!
All of you will know something that has probably ceased being of interest to you, but is new to us.
For example:
● Silver turns your tongue blue.● The chemical that makes bananas go brown probably causes
alzheimer disease.● Watering a plant is good because you are giving it electrons.
Take a few minutes to think about it, then share one if you can.
Emotions
In research writing we are told not to resort to emotional arguments, but in the 3MT it is essential. Here's some emotions you can work with:
"What's in it for me?" (WIFM)"Oh, how sad :-(""Interesting!""That's mysterious..."
You need to convey your passion for your work too, but be aware of the possibility of 'topic fatigue' in the audience.
Story
Including a story can help you work in an emotional angle
Good stories include the following elements:
Characters (they don't have to be human)A beginning, middle and end (not necessarily in that order)Some kind of change or transformationA "call to action"
Read this blog post "Story telling in business" for more ideas.
What should go on the slide
Resist temptation!
Don't rely on it as a presentation aideChoose one 'hero' image or diagramTitle can be a question, or your actual titlePut your name and contact details on it
May the force be with you!
For more advice and ideas head to the Thesis Whisperer blog which has a section on presenting