Preparing a Scientific Presentation

Laura Raney, MSc Operations Research Proposal Development Workshop May 2006

Why Give a Presentation?

Communicate to inform motivate

Common Causes of Ineffective Presentations

Failure to motivate audience Confusing structure Gaps in logic Excessive details Poorly designed slides Poor delivery

How Do You Prepare a Scientific Presentation?

1. 2. 3. 4.

Message Organization Visuals Delivery

1. What is Your Message?

Why are you giving presentation? What is your desired outcome? What does the audience already know about your topic? What are their interests? What are key points?

2. Organization
Determine amount of time for delivery List the 1-3 key points first Match the audiences technical level

Organizing a Presentation
i. ii. iii. iv. v.

Outline Problem and background Design and methods Major findings Conclusion and recommendations

Organize your information

Let your audience know up front what you have planned for them Use a top down structure for your presentation: General to more specific

Making Slides
Main points only One idea per slide Short words, few words (5 per line) Strong statements: active voice

Outline

Let audience know what they are going to hear Let them know how the presentation will be organized

Problem and background

Context Study question Relevant knowledge on issue

Design and Methods

Case study of Qualitative methods

Key informant interviews (n=10)

Quantitative methods
Survey Cost analysis

Major Findings
Text and or table/graph One slide for each Message should be unambiguous

Conclusion and Recommendations

Key points Implications One slide for each message

3. Visuals: How Does it Look?

Choose style that supports the tone Apply the same style to each slide

Be consistent!
Make

sure font size is legible. Can you read 16 point?

Dont Say It, Show It

Charts and graphs help you by: Increase understanding Save time Enhance attention Help control nervousness

Participation in Community, School and Clinic Activities by Parents and Adolescents in Kenya
82% 65% 39% 20% 5% Adolescents (n=742) Com m unity 14%

Parents (n=251) School Clinic

4. Tips for Delivery

Preparation is key! Know the material well Prepare an outline and notes Practice your presentation out loud with coworkers Respect your time limits

Time Yourself
Outline Problem/Background Design/Methods Major findings Conclusion and Recommendations 1 2 1 3-5 1-2 4 min
Impact

Impact

Good Public Speaking

Speak

slowly and clearly Project to the back of the room Do not read entire presentation Pause for emphasis Do not fidget

Remember to
Relax Smile Breathe!

Preparing a Scientific Presentation

1. 2. 3. 4.

Message Organization Visuals Delivery

The following slides are from an unknown source but are also useful in understanding what is needed for an effective presentation.

PowerPoint Presentation Guidelines

The following 37 slides present guidelines and suggestions for the use of fonts, colors, and graphics when preparing PowerPoint presentations for Sessions and Seminars. This media (PPT) is designed to ENHANCE your presentation, not BE the presentation. Remember, only you can prevent Death by Pow erPoint

PowerPoint Slide
Highlight key points or reinforce what the facilitator is saying Should be short and to the point, include only key words and phases for visual, reinforcement In order for your presentation to fit on most screens, text and images should be placed within 95% of the PowerPoint slide. This action safe area is seen in the next slide.

PowerPoint Layout
Layout continuity from frame to frame conveys a sense of completeness Headings, subheadings, and logos should show up in the same spot on each frame Margins, fonts, font size, and colors should be consistent with graphics located in the same general position on each frame Lines, boxes, borders, and open space also should be consistent throughout

Fonts
Font Style Should be Readable
Recommended fonts: Arial, Tahoma, Veranda

Standardize the Font Throughout

This presentation is in Tahoma

Do !

Font Size
The larger, the better. Remember, your slides must be readable, even at the back of the room.

This is a good title size Verdana 40 point

A good subtitle or bullet point size Verdana 32 point
Content text should be no smaller than Verdana 24 point
This font size is not recommended for content. Verdana 12 point.

Font Size
Combining

small font sizes with bold or italics is not recommended:

What does this say? Garamond Font, Italic, Bold 12pt.

This is very difficult to read. Times Font, Bold, 12pt. This point c ould be lost. C e ntury G othic Font, Bold, Ita lic , 14pt.
No one will be able to read this. Gill Sans Font, Condensed Bold, 12pt

Dont !

Small fonts are okay for a footer, such as:

TIPS Presentation: 3/8/2004

Dawn Thomas, CRM

Fonts

Dont !

Dont Sacrifice Readability for Style Dont Sacrifice Readability for Style

Dont Sacrifice Readability for Style

Dont Sacrifice Readability for Style

Caps and Italics

DO NOT USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
Makes text hard to read Conceals acronyms Denies their use for EMPHASIS

Italics
Used for quotes Used to highlight thoughts or ideas Used for book, journal, or magazine titles

Use a Template
Use a set font and color scheme. Different styles are disconcerting to the audience. You want the audience to focus on what you present, not the way you present.

Use the Same Background on Each Slide

Do !!

 Dont

use multiple backgrounds in your presentation the style is distracting Dont!

Changing

Colors
Reds and oranges are high-energy but can be difficult to stay focused on. Greens, blues, and browns are mellower, but not as attention grabbing. Reds and Greens can be difficult to see for those who are color blind.

Avoid These Combinations

Examples:

Green on Blue Dark Yellow on Green Dont ! Purple on Blue Orange on Green Red on Green

Colors
White on dark background should not be used if audience is more than 20 ft away.
This set of slides is a good example. You can read the slides up close. The further away you get, the harder it is to read. This is a good color combination if viewed on a computer. A dark background on a computer screen reduces glare.

Colors
Large Hall Events
Dont

Avoid White Backgrounds The white screen can be blinding in a dark room Dark Slides with Light Colored Text Work Best

The Color Wheel

Colors separated by another color are contrasting colors (complementary) Adjacent colors harmonize with one another (Green and Yellow) Colors directly opposite one another are said to CLASH Clashing colors provide readability Orange on Blue

Do !

Background Colors
Remember: Readability! Readability! Readability!

This is a good mix of colors. Readable!

This is a bad mix of colors. Low contrast. Unreadable! This is a bad mix of colors. Avoid bright colors on white. Unreadable!

This is a good mix of colors. Readable!

Graphs and Charts

Make sure the audience can read them!

Graphics and Charts

Avoid using graphics that are difficult to read. In this example, the bright colors on a white background and the small font make the graph hard to read. It would be very difficult to see, especially in the back of a room.

Dont !
8

This graph contains too much information in an unreadable format.

Dont !

10

Good Graph
These are examples of good graphs, with nice line widths and good colors.

Do !

Charts and Graphs

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

M ode A
Mode B Mode C

North America

Europe

Austrailia

Dont

Charts and Graphs

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
Europe North America Australia

M ode A
Mode B Mode C

Do !

This is a good, readable table. Tables, especially large ones, should be placed on a separate slide.
4/19 Fri 4/22 Mon 4/23 Tue 4/24 Wed 4/25 Thur 4/26 Fri 109 112 134 155 165 174

NICMOS restarted, Ne-loop control continues Change to mountingDo cup!control Return to Ne control, Filter wheel test begins Increase control temperature to allow for +2 K variations Begin darks every 3rd orbit DQE test visit 1; Control temp +0.5 K

Illustrations
Use only when needed, otherwise they become distracters instead of communicators They should relate to the message and help make a point Ask yourself if it makes the message clearer Simple diagrams are great communicators

Do !

Dont !

Limit Each Slide to One Idea

Use Bullet Points to Cover Components of Each Idea

Bullets
Keep each bullet to 1 line, 2 at the most Limit the number of bullets in a screen to 6, 4 if there is a large title, logo, picture, etc.
This is known as cueing You want to cue the audience on what youre going to say
Cues are a a brief preview Gives the audience a framework to build upon

Bullets

(con.)

If you crowd too much text, the audience wont read it

Too much text looks busy and is hard to read Why read it, when youre going to tell them what it says? Our reading speed does not match our listening speed; hence, they confuse instead of reinforce

Do not do this! Points to Remember Limit Bullet Points

To a few words

Limit each slide to 1 idea Limit each bullet point to only a few words to avoid long sentences that go on and on! Limit animation Too much animation can be distracting. Be consistent with animation and have all text and photos appear on the screen the same way each time. There are many animation modes to choose from, but it is best to use just one throughout.

Points to Remember
Keep bullet points brief Use the same background for Do ! each slide Use dark slides with light colored text in large hall events

Dont

Avoid the All Word Slide

Another thing to avoid is the use of a large block paragraph to introduce your information. Attendees do not like to have what is on the screen, read to them verbatim. So, please use short, bulleted statements and avoid typing out your whole presentation on to the slides. Also, it is difficult for some to listen and read a large amount of text at the same time.

 To make a slide stand out, change the font, background, or add animation.

Limit Animation !
Use the same animation throughout the entire presentation Using more than one can be very distracting
The audience will only see the animation and not the message youre trying to get across Dont

Bam!

Limit Animation !
Use the same animation throughout the entire presentation Using more than one can be very distracting
The audience will only see the animation and not the message youre trying to get across

Do !

YOU
Do not use the media to hide you The audience came to SEE you The media should ENHANCE the presentation, not BE the presentation If youre only going to read from the slides, then just send them the slides! Remember, only you can prevent Death by P ow erP oint