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EffectivePrelimFinalPresentations FA20

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8 views

EffectivePrelimFinalPresentations FA20

Uploaded by

nyuatajsnlafuqrzfs
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Oral Presentation for the Prelim or Thesis

How Do You Start Drafting Your Presentation?

First, draft an outline for


your presentation!!
Example organization of ~30-minute prelim talk
Background and Introduction (7–9 minutes)
 5–6 slides
~1 Title slide - Your name, advisor’s name, research title
~1 Outline slide – Organization of talk
~1 Overview slide – Why is this research important?
~2-3 Background slides – Provides essential background
for non-experts

Methods and Preliminary Results (7–9 minutes)


 5–6 slides
~2-3 Methods slides – Theoretical/experimental methods used
~0-3 Preliminary results slides – Proof-of-principle results
Example organization of ~30-minute prelim talk
Proposed Research (10–12 minutes)
 5–6 slides
~1-2 slides per proposed project

Summary and Acknowledgments (1-2 minutes)


 2 slides
1 Summary slide - Review the main points
1 Acknowledgment slide – Acknowledge collaborators, funding
agencies, helpful colleagues/staff, etc.

Questions
 3–N back-up slides – Anticipate questions that might arise
Tips for preparing your talk
Adjust the presentation to your audience! Your
committee are not all experts…make sure you have
sufficient background to orient all members

You don’t have to tell the committee everything


about your research: Identify the 2-3 main points
you can reasonably convey in a 30-minute talk

Create an outline of your talk, i.e., have a logical


organization: You can use the same outline as
used for your prelim paper

Make sure each slide has one key idea and that
idea is important to your message
Write the key point to make for each slide (often
the heading)
If the slide doesn’t have a point, eliminate it!!!
Tips for preparing your talk (cont.)
Have only 1 idea per slide

Use the header to state


the main idea of the
slide, and use the body
of the slide to support
that idea
Use well-labeled graphs
and figures to illustrate
your key points…this
makes the slide more
real and interesting to
the audience

Avoid too much text….


Tips for preparing your talk (cont.)
Have only 1 idea per slide

Use the header to state


the main idea of the
slide, and use the body
of the slide to support
that idea
Use well-labeled graphs
and figures to illustrate
your key points…this
makes the slide more
real and interesting to
the audience
….or too many distracting
images
Label all elements in a figure
 Point out important features
 Label both axes of graphs and show units
 Provide a brief caption
 Give credit to source

The Nike laser system


uses discharge pre- Sample normalized
amplifiers. signals from the two-
(Courtesy US Navy) beam optical drive.
(Courtesy C. Michael)
8
Presenting data is your most important and
challenging task
 Avoid copying a graph from a formal article – they have a
different style, e.g., labels are too small
 Use color and make lines thick, labels legible
 Label axes and annotate important points with arrows and
add words
 Use tables sparingly – if used, highlight important parts
 Remove unnecessary information from graphs/figures

9
Explain and don’t overemphasize
equations
If you use equations
Define parameters

Provide physical explanations


of different terms in equation

Provide an intuitive
explanation of what the
equation means

Combine the equation with a


picture that illustrates the
physical principle involved

10
Remember, your goal is to convey
your ideas, so avoid distracting text
and effects!
Don’t overuse PowerPoint animations and sounds!

Make sure there is good contrast between text and


background

Use simple (or no) backgrounds on slides

11
Use “normal” colors
DON’T use red/green or red/blue as contrasting colors
Make sure colors looks the way you expect using an LCD
projector!
Avoid neon colors and pastels
Don’t use many random colors; people expect color
to mean something

Strive for easy reading


Strive for easy reading
Strive for easy reading

12
Tips for presenting you prelim/final talk

13
Pointers for giving the best possible talk:
Maintain eye contact with audience
Don’t stare at screen or monitor
Do not read your talk!
Avoid nervous mannerisms
Pacing, bobbing, waving arms, jingling coins
Use laser pointer or stick directed at screen
Don’t point directly at overhead on projector
Don’t block the screen
Train yourself to speak slowly and distinctly—practice!
Avoid “fillers”: “uh”, “like”, “um”, “okay”
Be enthusiastic!
If you don’t act excited by your results,
don’t expect the audience to be!
14
Pointers for giving the best possible talk:
Don’t show any material on slides (e.g., figures,
equations, text, etc.) you can’t explain!! This will
invite questions you don’t want!!
Rehearse how you’ll end your talk
Don’t end with “Well, I guess
that’s it…”
Don’t just stop and let the committee guess that you’re
done
Thank the audience!

15
The best way to prepare for a talk is to
Know Your Material It takes three
weeks to prepare
Practice, practice, practice a good ad-lib
speech
Practice in front of friends and/or group
members, encourage them to ask questions
so you can get used to being interrupted
Focus on communicating,
not performing
Humor is good, but don’t overdo it
Keep explanations simple
Emphasize the physics and intuitive
explanations
Prepare key phrases and words
If you notice you have trouble saying a
physics phrase or term, practice saying it
so you don’t stumble over the term
during your presentation 16
Check everything just before your talk
Check the projector
Make sure you know how to turn it on
See that it is plugged in
Check which way to position your slides
Adjust the focus
Check microphones, pointer, other tools
Arrange your slides, notes, and other materials
Be able to reach everything without moving
Be able to go through your slides without fumbling
Have a “clock” handy to check the time

17

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