Transcript SCI10010 Principles of Scientific Enquiry

SCI10010 Principles of
Scientific Enquiry
Making Presentations
Prepared by Prof. Mark Rogers
Objective
 To address the question
“What makes a good presentation?”
 To provide tips and illustrate good
and bad practice
Outline
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Target audience
Preparation
Planning
Key points
Use of slides
Define the audience
 Who is the audience?
 Why are they there?
 Are they knowledgeable in the
subject?
Preparation
 Source the information
 Literature
 Internet – reliable sources
 Keep a record of where you found the
information
 Source the presentation aids
 Pictures, charts, graphs
 Aid explanation
 Maintain interest
Searching for information
 What’s known about your problem?
 What’s not known about the
problem?
 Use appropriate sources
 Text books
 Research papers
 Sources that are reliable, independent
and reviewed
 Can include web sites
Searching for Information
 Huge amount of information
 Learn how to read to find key articles
and points
 Use Databases effectively
 Workshop to come
 Can use text books and reviews to
find primary work
 Where possible go to the original work
http://www.ucd.ie/library
http://www.ucd.ie/library/students/information_skills
Online Information Sources
 Good
 Libraries
 Databases
 Catalogues
 Journals
 Text books
 Books
 Journals
 Websites from reputable societies
 Universities
 Government
 Charities
http://www.ucd.ie/library
Online Information Sources
 Bad
 Wikipedia
 Readers can edit entries
 Limited control on accuracy of information
 Beware of Google or other search
engines
 Often get commercial sites / uncontrolled sites
with their own agenda
Search Strategy
 Define the topic
 Develop key search terms
 What sources of information are appropriate?
 Obtain search materials
 Quickly scan initial information
 Does it contain relevant information?
 Does it provide further material in its references?
 Read, take good notes, copy and print
material
 Keep track of all sources as you use them
 Organise the information
 Organise your thoughts and interpretation
 Prepare report and presentation
Using Information
 Don’t
 Plagiarise
 Copying text as ones own
 Using others ideas without proper reference
 Use information without purpose
 Just because you know it or find it interesting
doesn’t make it relevant to your presentation
Using Information
 Do:
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Use relevant information
Identify key studies
Critically evaluate the material
Justify your analysis and discussions
Use illustrations and figures where
appropriate
Source the Presentation Aids
 Will you talk without visual aids?
 Not typical in science
 Gather
 Pictures
 Plan and prepare
 Figures and Charts
 Usually need to be prepared or adapted for
slide use
 Ensure you reference your sources
Plan the talk
 What are the key points?
 List in order of importance
 What background information is
required to provide the context
The Structure
Time line (20 Min talk)
 Introduction
2-5 mins
 Body
3-8 mins
 Summary
1-2 mins
 Conclusions
1-2 mins
 Acknowledgements
 Questions
30 seconds
5 mins
Oral Presentations for Tutorials & Seminars. The learning
Centre, The University of New South Wales © 2010
Introduction
 An introduction is like a road map
that tells your audience the direction
your presentation will take.
 State your topic and tell the audience
what your presentation will cover.
 Outline the main points.
 A good introduction will capture an
audience’s attention
 Ask questions – personalise the subject
Oral Presentations for Tutorials & Seminars. The learning
Centre, The University of New South Wales © 2010
Body
 Develop main points and present
examples and evidence
 The information needs to be well-structured
 Decide on an organising principle. It could be by
chronological order, theme or order of importance
 Provide clear links between main points,
explanations and examples
 Use visual aids to engage the interest
 Emphasise important information
Oral Presentations for Tutorials & Seminars. The learning
Centre, The University of New South Wales © 2010
Summary and Conclusion
 Chance to draw arguments together
 Summarise up to 3 main points
 State conclusion
 Should be strong
 Draw the talk to an end
 Refer back to introduction
 Covered all main points
Oral Presentations for Tutorials & Seminars. The learning
Centre, The University of New South Wales © 2010
Questions
 Be prepared for questions
 Do:
 Think about the questions you may be asked
 Get friends to ask questions
 Don’t:
 Panic if you don’t know the answer
 You can’t know it all
 Assume the questioner knows the answer
 Assume the question is a test of your
knowledge
 The question may come out of interest
Visual Aids
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They
They
They
They
They
increase understanding.
save time.
enhance retention.
promote attentiveness.
help control nervousness.
Types of Visual Aids
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Physical objects, props and models.
White boards.
Charts and posters.
Flip charts.
Overhead transparencies.
Computer presentations, e.g. Powerpoint.
Using Visual aids
 Illustrate something that is difficult
or time consuming to describe
 Show reality in ways that words
alone cannot (photographs, plans,
maps)
 Summarise information
 Add colour and interest to a ‘dry’
topic
 Visuals can include PowerPoint slides,
OHTs, white/black boards or videos.
Using PowerPoint in Oral Presentations. Tracey-Lee Downey, The
Learning Centre, The University of New South Wales © 2007.
Making Powerpoint
Presentation
Tips for Using Powerpoint Effectively
Tips to be Covered
 Outline
 Slide Structure
 Text (Font and Colour)
 Background (Colour)
 Data Presentation (Graphs)
 Spelling and Grammar
Outline
 The first or second slide should be an
outline of your presentation.
 Eg.: Previous slide.
 Follow the order of your outline for the rest
of the presentation.
 Use only main points.
Slide Structure – Good
 Use 1-2 slides per minute of your
presentation.
 Write in point form, not complete
sentences.
 Include maximum 5-6 points per slide.
 Avoid making slides too wordy, i.e. use key
words and phrases only.
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.
Slide Structure
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Do not use distracting animation.
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Do not go overboard with the animation.
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Be consistent with the animation that you
use.
Text Font - Good
 Use at least a 20-point font.
 Use different size fonts for main points and
secondary points.
 Eg.: this font is 24-point, the main point font is
28-point, and the title font is 32-point.
 Use a standard font like Arial or Times New
Roman.
 Font used here is Verdana
Text Font - Bad
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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
Text Colour - Good
 Use a font colour that contrasts sharply
with the background.
 Eg.: blue font on white background.
 Use colour to reinforce the logic of your
structure.
 Eg.: light blue title and dark blue text.
 Use colour to emphasize a point.
 But only occasionally.
Text Colour - 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 to be creative can also be bad.
Slide Background - Good
 Use backgrounds such as this one that are
attractive but simple.
 Use backgrounds which are light.
 Use the same background consistently
throughout your presentation.
Slide Background – Bad
Avoid
backgrounds that are distracting or
difficult to read from.
Always
be consistent with the background
that you use.
Data Presentation Good
 Use graphs rather than raw data.
 Data presented in graph format is easier to
comprehend and retain.
 Trends are easier to visualize in graph form.
 Always title your graphs.
Data Presentation
January
Blue Balls
20.4
Red Balls
30.6
February
27.4
38.6
March
90
34.6
April
20.4
31.6
Bad
Items Sold in First Quarter of 2008
100
Blue Balls
80
Red Balls
60
Good
40
20
0
January
February
March
April
Graphs - Bad
100
90
90
80
70
60
Blue Balls
50
Red Balls
38.6
40
34.6
31.6
30.6
27.4
30
20.4
20.4
20
10
0
January
February
March
April
Graphs - Bad
 Minor gridlines are unnecessary.
 Small font – is hard to read.
 Illogical colours – make hard to
interpret the data presented in the
graph.
 Missing title.
 Shading is distracting.
Spelling and Grammar
 Proof your slides for:
 spelling mistakes,
 the use of of repeated words,
 grammatical errors you might have make.
made.
 Always have someone else proof read your
presentation
Recommendations I
 Rehearsal:
 Rehearse the presentation out loud at
least four times and at least once in front
of live audience, e.g. friends, family,
partner.
 Rehearse against the clock.
 Word perfect.
 Video or voice record yourself.
Recommendations II
 How to engage audience:
 Draw the audience into your
presentation, eg. ask questions, create a
discussion.
 Use active phraseology, eg. I, We, You.
 Include relevant examples.
 Body talk:
 communicate; eye contact and facial
expressions,
 interested, clear, well modulated voice,
 active body movements.
Recommended Reading and
Websites
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Reading:
1.
Siddons Suzy, 1942, “Presentation Skills”, Institute of personnel and development, c 1998, ISBN
0852927436. UCD Library, Location: James Joyce, Shelfmark: Pamphlet Collection 656.3/IPD.
2.
Tierney Elizabeth P., 1996, “How to make effective presentations”, Thousand Oaks, Series
Survival Skills for Scholars, volume 16, ISBN: 0803959575. UCD Library, Location: James Joyce,
Shelfmark: Development Studies 658.452/TIE, GEN 658.45/TIE, SLC 658.45/TIE.
3.
Chivers Barbara and Shoolbred Michael, 2007, “A student guide to presentations: making your
presentation count”, Los Angeles, London, SAGE essential study skills, ISBN 9780761943686
(hbk), 0761943684 (hbk), 978076193693 (pbk) and 0761943692 (pbk). UCD Library, Location:
James Joyce: Shelfmark: GEN 808.51/CHI, GEN 808.51/CHI.
4.
Van Emden Joan and Becker Lucinda, 2004, “Presentation skills for students”, Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmilian study guides, ISBN 1403913463. UCD Library, Location: James Joyce,
Shelfmark: Development studies 658.452/VAN and GEN 658.452/VAN.
5.
Hart, C., 1998, “Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination”,
Published by SAGE, ISBN 0761959750, 978076195975.
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Websites:
http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/mb/2722 (this link contains a video lecture)