Guidelines for giving Effective Presentations

1. Guidelines for giving Effective Presentations Elliot Tonkes Source: "How to Deliver Effective Presentations by Terry R. Grimmond"

2. Introduction • Marking scheme for your talk • Tips on talks • Structure of your talk • How to present technical content • Answering questions • Checklists

3. Your Honours Talk • 30 minute timeslot: • 20 minute talk • 5 minutes questions • Your seminar is marked according to: • 4: Content (technical competence) • 4: Presentation (delivery of technical material) • 2: Responses to questions • It counts 10% of your honours project

4. The Top 6 Turnoffs • Poor visuals • Unclear structure • Repetitive habits • Monotone voice • Reading verbatim • Disorganised

5. Talk Structure Tips • Give your talk a snappy title! • All talks should have: • Introduction – tell them what you're going to tell them • Main Body – tell them • Conclusion/Summary – tell them what you’ve told them

6. Introduction • The opening should grab attention

7. Main Body Level of detail should be appropriate to the audience • tell them so that they will understand. • Give signposts when you go from one point to another so audience can follow. • Involve the audience • mentally (interesting and effective visuals) • verbally (questions and comments) or • physically (activities or discussions)

8. Audience of Mathematicians • Mathematics is quite area-specific • Audience from general backgrounds • 80/20 rule: • 80% general • 20% specifics • Motivation and comprehensive introduction helps

9. Conclusion/Summary • Is the "take-home" message clear? • Perfectly valid to flag future work or possible extensions

10. Slide Design Tips • KISS • No more than 6 words per line, 6 lines per slide is a good guide • Visual clarity is essential • Use big and bold text • Use all of screen • Ensure consistency of headings, design, colour, font size.

11. Slide Use Tips • Talk to audience, not screen. Do not "read" slides • Do not block the audience view • Point to the screen, rather than the OHP • You should have about 1 slide per minute (20 slides) • Do not change the slides too quickly

12. Mathematics on Slides • Long complex equations are impossible to read from the back of the room. • Give a feel for complex mathematical equations with • animation • uncovering or • clumping

13. Expected increment from a hit Value upon dismissal Value in declaring Sample Slide Dynamic Program • Let V = E(P|t,S,NA,NB) • Suppose A is batting, so NB=10, 1<NA10, dSi  0

14. Sample Slide Expected Payoff NA=1

15. Rehearsing • Run through at least once before approaching your supervisor • Preferably present a practice run in front of your supervisor • Provide a set of notes to your supervisor in advance

16. Answering Questions • Thank the questioner • Repeat the question so that the people at the back know the question • Professional ethics imply “don’t know” is a valid response • Answer confidently and with a definite conclusion to the response

17. Structure Checklist • ·        Clear introduction and intent • ·        Logical flow • ·        Clear message • ·        Clear summary • ·        Confident answers to questions • ·        Finish on time

18. Visual Checklist • ·        Complement not compete • ·        Bullet points not paragraphs • ·        Clear in meaning • ·        Legible, large font • ·        Impactful design/colour

19. Voice Checklist • ·        Clear, confident, interesting • ·        Enthusiastic inflection • ·        Minimal uhmms • ·        No monotone • ·        No reading verbatim

20. Body Checklist • ·        Good position, posture, language • ·        Eye contact (even, regular) • ·        Facial expressions match verbals • ·        Conveys enthusiasm/warmth/confidence • ·        No distracting mannerisms

21. Equipment Checklist • ·Knowledge of use • ·        Audience sited not blocked • ·        Visuals high on screen • ·        Visuals occupy width of screen

22. Remember • Be prepared • Don’t cram in too much • Remember the 80/20 rule