This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Your use of this material constitutes acceptance of that license and the conditions of use of materials on this site.

Copyright 2006, The Johns Hopkins University and Sabra Klein. All rights reserved. Use of these materials permitted only in accordance with license rights granted. Materials provided “AS IS”; no representations or warranties provided. User assumes all responsibility for use, and all liability related thereto, and must independently review all materials for accuracy and efficacy. May contain materials owned by others. User is responsible for obtaining permissions for use from third parties as needed.

Survival Skills in Academia

Lecture #4: preparing GREAT conference presentations

Types of Oral Presentations

1. Standard seminar talk = 45-50 min with 10-15 min of questions/discussion

2. Job talk = 45-50 min with 10-15 min of questions3. Invited meeting talk = 25-40 min with 5 min of

questions4. Voluntary meeting talk = 10-15 min with 5 min of

questions

What Should I Wear?

Men Women-- tie and jacket -- suit or dress-- white or blue shirt --conservative

(long-sleeve) accessories-- well groomed -- well groomed-- minimal jewelry -- minimal make-up

and cologne and perfume

Other Points:1. be comfortable in what you are wearing2. some conferences are very casual…others are not

Good Practice

1. Speak slowly2. Use visual aids3. Face the audience (not the screen)4. Make eye contact5. Verbalize ALL visual aids6. Summarize frequently

Behaviors to Avoid1. Pacing2. Hand gestures 3. Covering your mouth4. Playing with hair5. Fidgeting with pointer6. Slouching7. Using Para-language

• …umm…• I mean• Like• So…• Right?

General Considerations1. Presentations should be entertaining and educational2. Good ‘story tellers’ get their points across better and

their data are remembered longer3. Just show your BEST data4. Slides should be simple and visually appealing5. Become a student of presentations (take notes on what

you like and don’t like about other talks)6. An effective presentation has all the parts of a good

paper or poster (i.e., why we did it?, what we did?, what we found? so what?)

7. Master the materialPractice, practice, practice

Organization of a Presentation

1 hr 15 minIntroduction 5-10 min 1-2 minData 30-40 min 8-9 minClosing 5-10 min 1 minQuestions 10 min 3-5 min

Pre-IntroductionStart your talk with one of the following statements:

“I am very pleased to be here.”“I would like to thank…”“Today, I will talk about…”

Immediately after you are introduced, show your first slide* Title slide, art or quote related to your data,acknowledgements, but not DATA and not a joke

Paraphrase the title of your talk…don’t read it directly fromthe slide (e.g., “today I am going to discuss recent datafrom our laboratory that examine the effects of…”)

Introduction• This is the set-up for your story• This is not the place to leave out details (if you lose the

audience here, they will be lost for the entire talk)• Use very general statements about the context of your

research and then work (slowly) into your specifictopic

• Assume you are speaking to semi-intelligent non-experts(make things simple, but don’t patronize)

• Don’t use jargon and define ALL terms• Convince the audience that what you are studying is

VERY important (state why you use a species, orpopulation, or measure)

Introduction

• For added organization, present an outline* can repeat this slide to show the audience where

you are in your talk• End the introduction with a slide with your experimental

question(s) explicitly stated in the form of a question:EXAMPLE:“What are the effects of sex steroid

hormones on hantavirus infection in Norway rats?”

Methods and MaterialsThese should NOT be detailedIf you are using standard measures or assays you can

briefly describe these when showing resultsEXAMPLE: point to y-axis (dependent variable)and briefly describe the measure

If these are new methods or a complicated experimentaldesign, explain to ensure that the audience understands what you did

Use pictures to show species, geographical location, apparatus, and the steps of an assay

ResultsThis will be the longest sectionMake no more than 2-3 points for a 1 hr talk and 1-2

points in a 15 min talk and show that many data slides (graphs) for each point

Use the same format as for your posterexperimental question slidedata slide(s)interim summary slide

(reiterating points helps the audienceunderstand and remember your data)

ResultsFinishing touches:1. Tell the audience what is being measured (i.e., what is

on the y-axis)“This slide/graph shows…”

2. Describe the x- and y-axis of each graph“We examined responses (y-axis) at various time points (x-axis) after manipulation”

3. Describe the observed relationship between the IV and DV4. Give all details needed to understand a picture or graph

EXAMPLES: if histology, give orientation and landmarksif geography, give specific locationif there is an asterisk, explain what this signifies

Discussion/Closing

Avoid Prefer-- Are there any questions? -- Summaries-- I guess I will stop here. -- Conclusions-- This will only take a few more -- End on a VERY

min. strong note-- I am sorry that I didn’t get to…

Summary Slides• Use bulleted, short statements, not paragraphs• Don’t reiterate every point that you made for the

data slides• Think BIG PICTURE, what are the take-home messages?• Return back to points that you made in the introduction

* Make a full circle!

Acknowledgements1. Include both the people who helped you and the funding

that made this research possible2. Only note key people (e.g., advisors, collaborators at

other institutions)3. Don’t over do it…the audience doesn’t want to hear about

every single person who helped (although their names should be on the slide)

Timing is EverythingRules of Thumb:1. Never go over the allotted amount of time2. Always leave time for questions Rule: for a 10 min talk,

speak no more than 12 min3. Rehearse your talk and have (at least) the first 3-4 slides

memorized (result: smooth start, regardless of nerves)

The Dreaded Q & A1. “I don’t know” is not an answer

Don’t make something up…but follow up ‘I don’t know’ with something intelligent (‘we could speculate that… or future studies should address…’)

2. Repeat questions (buys time and ensures that everyone can hear)

3. Make sure that you answer the question asked4. If you don’t understand the question, ask for clarification5. If the questioner is way off base, rude, asking too

many questions, or persistent, then tell the questioner that you would be glad to discuss this further after the session

Be Prepared1. Know your audience

• Job talk: research the departmental faculty• Invited talk: know the departmental interests• Conference talk: know the other speakers, who attends

2. Outline the talk, then make slides• Organization is the key to success

3. Rehearse your presentation• Practice makes perfect• Practice out loud• Start practicing at least one week before the talk• Practice with a timer• Visualize your slides

Disasters Do Happen

1. Slides loaded upside down

2. Top not secure on carousel3. Screen saver not turned off4. Slide advance not working (or you aren’t working)5. Microphone not on (or you aren’t speaking into it)

R

RRRInitial slide in carousel

towardscreen

Good Slides1. It is better to have lots of slides that each make one point,

than to have one slide that makes many points2. Only one idea per slide3. Use large, simple font4. Use a simple color scheme5. Graphs are better than tables6. Include text slides to avoid using notes7. Your audience only can retain 7+2 pieces of info8. Make slides interesting, not distracting9. Check for typos (spelling and grammar)10. Only use a horizontal format (ensures everything will fit

on the screen)