Talks and Presentations

1. Talks and Presentations • What to say • How to say it • Structuring the material • Delivering the presentation • Visual aids • Choosing them • Using them

2. What to say • Know your audience • their background knowledge • their interests • Focus on main points • identify basic message you want to get across • make sure this is emphasised and re-emphasised (introduction, conclusion) • don’t try to cover too much

3. Introduction Body Conclusion How to say it • Structuring the presentation • Introduction • What is this about? • Why is it important? • Background information • Body • How we did it • Results • Conclusion • Did it work? • Significance of results

4. How to say it • Delivering the presentation • look at the audience! • (not the screen, your notes…) • speak clearly and naturally • ensure you are audible (rehearse) • keep natural rhythms of speech (avoid monotone) • use visual aids • graphical if possible • try to relax

5. Managing your script • Aim: • maximise eye contact with audience • sound relaxed and natural • Options: • read from script • risk of losing eye contact • less audible (looking down) • less natural (most people read badly) • read from cue cards • usually not much better • use transparencies/data projector as cue cards • have script as backup, but try to avoid using it (leave on desk) • best combined with above; requires rehearsal!

6. Vital! convey pictorial information (much easier to assimilate) help hold audience attention act as cue cards for you Options OHP data projector 35 mm slides blackboard/whiteboard/flip chart Requirements legibility including graph scales and legends! check colours (avoid low contrast) clarity check layout don’t try to include too much give audience time to read slides (don’t just flash them) use graphics where possible avoid large blocks of text Visual aids

7. DO use layout to emphasise main points present graphs, diagrams and pictures check for legibility use as cue cards use a pointer to help audience navigate around slide DON’T just copy your script on to transparencies! present large tables of data (impossible to assimilate) expect audience to read 12-pt type or graphs with 20 lines on spend all your time looking at screen instead of audience stand in front of screen, or between OHP and screen Using visual aids

8. Using a data projector • Advantages • offers additional possibilities (animations etc.) • what you see (on your screen) is what you get (on projector screen)—but see below • Disadvantages • setting-up time (audience fidgets) • easy to get carried away with technology (content gets lost in gimmicks) • temptation to flash slides too fast • hard to do real-time editing (e.g. skip slides) smoothly • resolution can be a problem if projector only 800x600

9. Holding a dress rehearsal • Aims: • check audibility/legibility • check timing • check content • reduce nerves • become familiar with script • Try to: • use room of similar size to the one you expect to give your talk in • have an audience (rehearsing in front of mirror doesn’t work!) • use the technology you intend to use (e.g. data projector) • ask for (constructive) criticism, and respond to it

10. Summary • Set level appropriate to your audience • explain motivation, significance, specialist terms • Focus on main points • have a clear “take-home message” and emphasise it • Have a clear structure • introduction, body, conclusion • Maintain eye contact with audience • minimise time spent looking at notes, screen, etc. • Use visual aids • graphical wherever possible (1 picture = 1000 words!)