Academic Presentation Skills

1. Academic Presentation Skills 8 November 2011 Sources: Comfort, Jeremy. 1997. Effective Presentations. Oxford University Press, Sweeney, Simon. 1997. English Business Communication. Cambridge University Press and http://www.iasted.org/conferences/formatting/Presentations-Tips.ppt [accessed 13.10.2008]

2. Contents • Before the presentation • The structure • Introduction • Main body • Conclusion • Bad manners • Slides – some tips • Outlines • Slide Structure • Fonts • Color • Background • Graphs • Spelling and Grammar • Conclusions • Questions • In conclusion

3. Before the presentation • Audience • What are their expectations • What do they know  knowledge of your field • How many to expect to be present • Questions and discussion • Clear objective • Your knowledge of the field • Presentation technique • What to include • Length and depth • Number of key ideas

4. Before the presentation 2 • Structure • Sequence (introduction, main body, conclusion) • Repetition, summarizing • Delivery • Style (formal / informal; enthusiasm / confidence) • Voice (variety, speed, pauses, emphasis) • Body language (eye contact, gesture/ movement, posture) • Language: simple and clear, sentence length, structure signals

5. Before the presentation 3 • Visual aids • Type / design / clarity; • Relevance to the topic • Check spelling • Simple and clear • Practice • Time yourself • Use a tape recorder • Script or notes? • Check equipment beforehand (if possible)

6. The structure: introduction • Introduction • Have a strong introduction to your presentation • Give your audience a reason for listening • Do not start with crucial information  your listeners might not be ”tuned in” yet • Points in your introduction: • A greeting • Your name (and position) • The title of your presentation / your objective (make sure your title is informative) • The purpose of your presentation • The main parts or points to be covered

7. The structure: main body • Main body of the presentation • Organize your main points in a logical order; the way you do it can differ • Choose 2-4 main points, which you can divide into smaller sections of information • Link your ideas by using linking words and phrases

8. The structure: conclusion • Summarize your key points • Conclude your presentation with a dramatic statement or a recommendation, do not just trail off • Distribute support information if needed • Invite and anticipate questions; be ready to answer them • Thank the audience

9. Bad manners • If your presentation lacks structure, you haven’t practiced and show poor slides, the audience won’t understand you and will become impatient with you • Do not read directly from your papers or your slides • Do not turn your back to the audience

10. Slides – some tips • Outlines • Slide Structure • Fonts • Colour • Background • Graphs • Spelling and Grammar • Conclusions • Questions

11. Outline • Make your 1st or 2nd slide an outline of your presentation • Example: previous slide • Follow the order of your outline for the rest of the presentation • Only place main points on the outline slide • Example: Use the titles of each slide as main points

12. Slide structure - good • Use 1-2 slides per minute of your presentation • Write in point form, not complete sentences • Include 4-5 points per slide • Avoid wordiness: use key words and phrases only

13. Slide structure - bad • This page contains too many words for a presentation slide. It is not written in point form, making it difficult both for your audience to read and for you to present each point. Although there are exactly the same number of points on this slide as the previous slide, it looks much more complicated. In short, your audience will spend too much time trying to read this paragraph instead of listening to you.

14. Slide structure - good • Show one point at a time: • Will help audience concentrate on what you are saying • Will prevent audience from reading ahead • Will help you keep your presentation focused

15. Slide structure - bad • Do not use distracting animation • Do not go overboard with the animation • Be consistent with the animation that you use

16. Fonts – good • Use at least an 18-point font • Use different size fonts for main points and secondary points • this font is 26-point, the main point font is 30-point, and the title font is 42-point • Use a standard font like Times New Roman or Arial

17. Fonts – bad • If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written • CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ • Don’t use a complicated font

18. Color - good • Use a colour of font that contrasts sharply with the background • Ex: blue font on white background • Use colour to reinforce the logic of your structure • Ex: light blue title and dark blue text • Use colour to emphasize a point • But only use this occasionally

19. Color – bad • Using a font colour that does not contrast with the background colour is hard to read • Using colour for decoration is distracting and annoying. • Using a different colour for each point is unnecessary • Using a different colour for secondary points is also unnecessary • Trying tobe creativecan alsobe bad

20. Background - good • Use backgrounds that are attractive but simple • Use backgrounds which are light • Use the same background consistently throughout your presentation

21. Background – bad • Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from • Always be consistent with the background that you use

22. Graphs – good • Use graphs rather than just charts and words • Data in graphs is easier to comprehend & retain than is raw data • Trends are easier to visualize in graph form • Always title your graphs

23. Graphs – bad

24. Graphs - bad

25. Graphs – bad • Minor gridlines are unnecessary • Font is too small • Colours are illogical • Title is missing • Shading is distracting

26. Spelling and grammar • Proof your slides for: • speling mistakes • the use of of repeated words • grammatical errors you might have make • Have someone else check your presentation, if you cannot see your own mistakes!

27. Conclusion • Use an effective and strong closing • Your audience is likely to remember your last words • Use a conclusion slide to: • Summarize the main points of your presentation • Suggest future avenues of research

28. Questions ?? • End your presentation with a simple question slide to: • Provide a visual aid during question period • Avoid ending a presentation abruptly

29. In conclusion • Prepare yourself well (both your oral part and your visuals) • Practice out loud  that is the only way to check how long your presentation will last (trust me) • If you experience stage fright  relax, breathe deep and remember that you are not alone!