Mastering Presentation Skills: Preparing for Engaging Chemistry Talks

1. English presentation skills: seminars in chemical biology Giving Talks:Preparing for a lecture

2. Overview • The presenter • The audience • The talk: structure

3. Reduce nervousness: Rehearse & Prepare • Rehearse your talk: • Rehearsal reduces fear by 75% • (but don’t memorize it) • Prepare: • Familiarize yourself with seminar room • Make sure you have notes, extra copy of talk • Anticipate the unexpected

4. What unexpected things can happen? • You black out/loose your text • Solution: • Stay calm • Look up in your notes

5. What unexpected things can happen? • Laptop doesn’t work/not compatible with projector • Solution: • Bring USB key • Bring overhead slides

6. What unexpected things can happen? • Picture doesn’t show up • Solution: • Draw on whiteboard (if chemical structure) • Describe image • Explain conclusion

7. What unexpected things can happen? • Remote control doesn’t work • Solution: • Use keyboard on computer • Or (if computer out of reach) • Ask friend in audience to switch slides

8. Reduce nervousness: Other techniques • Acknowledge that you are nervous • But DON’T apologize for it • Breathing: • Practice deep breathing can reduce fear by 15% • Exercise: diaphragmatic breathing • 1. breathe slowly in through nose • 2. hold breath for 4 seconds • 3. breathe out through mouth

9. Reduce nervousness: Other techniques • Mental relaxation: • Listen music • Talk to audience members • Smile • Physical relaxation: • Exercise: hand clenching • 1. form fists with your hands • 2. push arms away from body • 3. slowly open hands

10. Getting in front of the audience • Generally, you will be announced as a speaker • Sit down, feet flat on floor • Stand up and walk forward confidently

11. Starting your talk • Without someone introducing you: • Get people’s attention & welcome them • Introduce yourself • Mention purpose of presentation • Mention how to deal with questions • With introduction: • Thank person who introduced you • Do NOT read the title of your presentation

12. Timing of talks • Long talks: 1h talk should be 45-50 minutes ~ 1 slide/minute • Short talks: time it well • Talk slow! • Respect your audience’s time!

13. Overview • The presenter • The audience • The talk: structure

14. Know your audience! • What do they want? • Connect with their expertise

15. Learning styles • Active vs Reflective (doing ↔ thinking it through) • Sensing vs Intuitive (facts ↔ relationships) • Sequential vs Global (steps ↔ big picture first) • Visual vs Verbal (pictures/diagrams ↔ text) • http://www.jcu.edu.au/office/tld/learningskills/learningst/questionnaire.html

16. Visual vs verbal: it’s not black and white • Mixed learning style: a bit of both

17. How to satisfy everyone • Make use of both diagrams AND text

18. How to satisfy everyone • Make use of both diagrams AND text

19. Exercise

20. Attention span = short • 10 minutes: Audience attention <50% • BUT: attention floats away every 30 seconds! Mills, H.R. (1977) Techniques of Technical Training, 3rd Ed. Macmillan, London

21. Keep audience’s attention: voice • Vary volume, pitch, pace • Pausing • Repeat main points • Draw special attention to major conclusion

22. Voice • Articulation: • Pronounce consonants (b, c, d, f, g…) well • Open mouth for vowels (e, i, o…)

23. Keep audience’s attention: other tricks • Start strong: something surprising, provocative • Gaucher disease • Use humor: • Only if you feel comfortable doing it • Not at the cost of others

24. Keep audience’s attention: other tricks • Use metaphors/stories for illustration Collagen VII TANGO1 Malhotra et al., Cell 2009

25. Overview • The presenter • The audience • The talk: structure

26. Preparation • Misconception: ‘good science speaks for itself’ • What is the message?

27. Preparation • Read & understand the paper(s)! or • Understand your own work

28. The talk: structure • Attention span of the audience

29. The structure of a talk • Start broad, end broad! • Begin with the ‘big questions’ • Gradually zoom in on specific topic

30. The structure of a talk • In general: • Introduction: tell what you will say • Main part • Conclusion: tell what you’ve told

31. The structure of a talk • Gradually go in depth • Return to non-technical level -> regain general attention Nontechnical General technical Specialist

32. Short lectures: similar structure • For example: • first a schematic picture, then more complicated data Activity-based Probe (ABP) Tag Spacer Warhead

33. Give audience time to join back in • Make informative slide titles • Audience may loose attention, but still gets message blabla blabla blablabla

34. Give audience time to join back in • Make informative slide titles • Audience may loose attention, but still gets message blabla blabla blablabla

35. Give audience time to join back in • Make informative slide titles • Audience may loose attention, but still gets message • Make ‘overview’ slide that comes back • Clear transitions

36. Give audience time to join back in Blank out the topics that have passed

37. Give audience time to join back in • Make informative slide titles • Audience may loose attention, but still gets message • Make ‘overview’ slide that comes back • Clear transitions • Use pictures / clip art Something to look at

38. End of the talk • Acknowledge people (research talk) • Thank the audience • Take questions

39. Next part • Communication