Presentation skills

Dr S. A. Pope

Overview

• When will you be required to give a presentation?

• The purpose of presentations

• General guidelines

• Overcoming your fears

When will you be required to give a presentation?

• Conferences

• Research group meetings

• Seminars

• Industrial collaboration meetings

• PhD upgrade

• Your viva?

The purpose of presentations

• To communicate your research

oWho is the most important person?

• An opportunity to solicit feedback

• It is not an opportunity to show people how much you know!

General guidelines: Level

• Know your audience – i.e. pitch your presentation at the correct level

• Highlight/emphasise important points

• Once you lose an audiences attention it can be difficult to get it back

General guidelines: Media

• Usually PowerPoint or pdf

• Some conferences will have templates

o Colours?

General guidelines: Media

• Usually PowerPoint or pdf

• Some conferences will have templates

o Colours?

o Animations?

• Laser pointer – sometimes available

• Slide clicker – sometimes available

• Check the guidelines before

General guidelines: Timing

• Conference presentations are usually 15-20 minutes (this may include questions and changeover)

• Speed – don’t be afraid to pause (and think) – gives the audience time to process information

• Length – 1 slide every 1-3 minutes as a general rule.

General guidelines: Structure

• Title + authors + affiliations

• Overview (personal choice)

• Background (Context – Related work)

• Contribution (Theory – Sim/Exp – Results)

• Summary/Conclusion

General guidelines: Content

• What is the purpose of an oral presentation?

o Don’t include too much information - its not a poster

o Emphasis should be on describing and explaining your work with the help of aids

o The audience can’t usually fully take in written and oral information at the same time.

Pictures/figures can get peoples attention

Videos can be a useful way to explain some ideas

Chimpanzee riding on a Segway

General guidelines: Content

• Diagrams

• Graphs

• Tables

• Equations – be careful

• Text - short bullet points

Describe what they show

General guidelines: Content

General guidelines: Content

• Emphasise/highlight important points

• Try to stimulate the audiences interest

• Keep on topic and be concise

• Summarise – at the end and mid way through if needed

General guidelines: Delivery

• Talk to your audience (not the floor or board)

• Prepare/practice

• If possible don’t use notes – should be ok for 15 minutes.

• Speed

Over coming your fears

• Some people are naturals – a lot are not

• Practice

oOn your own

oWith friends/family

• You will improve with each presentation

• Ask for feedback from colleagues

Summary

• Know your audience

• Present to your audience

• Engage your audience

• Practice

• Structure your presentation

• Don’t include too much