Presentation Skills David Baker (IT Services) Adrian Taylor

Department of Materials University of Oxford

• • • • • • •

Aim of course

To teach you some of the more advanced elements of PowerPoint for use in your presentations (DB) To teach the basics of ‘Smartboard’ and visualiser use (DB) To give you a chance to practise the use of PowerPoint and modern audio-visual aids (DB & OUCS team) To introduce the basics of poster preparation using PowerPoint (DB)

To explore what makes a good talk (AOT) To discuss what you need to think about when preparing and giving a talk (AOT) Remember, you already have a lot of experience……..

Department of Materials University of Oxford

PREPARING & DELIVERING A GOOD TALK (Practical Tips, AOT)

See Materials WWW http://www.materials.ox.ac.uk/teaching/ pg/pgskills.html

Department of Materials University of Oxford

• • • •

Aim of a presentation

Remember you want to COMMUNICATE Try to tell a story – Make sure the audience follows you – Cover a moderate amount well, rather than a lot badly Think about your message – What do you want to say, at what level –

What is the exciting new science & why does it matter

Think about your audience – Are they physical scientists, 6 th formers, politicians, modellers, experimentalists...........?

Often a mixed audience.

– – What do they want to know (their expectations of the talk) What do they

need

to be told (in order to understand and take away your message)

Department of Materials University of Oxford

• •

Structure of a talk A clear structure helps the audience to follow your story

– – – beginning: what you are going to say middle: saying it end: what you have said

Get the timing right

– how many slides can you use (rule of thumb = 1 slide per two minutes) – – – how fast can you talk, how fast

should

get the

main

message across (rest is optional) have a plan in case you run out of time you talk

Department of Materials University of Oxford

Structure of a talk

• • • • • •

Title Outline Introduction: Background, Context, Relevance, Definitions, Technique(s), Novelty

MAIN STORY – Your Work

: Results, Data, Analysis, Interpretation, Significance, Discussion Conclusions and/or Summary Acknowledgements and Questions Department of Materials University of Oxford

• • • • • • • • • •

Taking the audience along

Tell a story - explain the links between points Face the audience Don’t just read out the

whole

screen Don’t be too casual

eye contact is very important

talk directly from notes or Allow a degree of spontaneity if possible Use the slides -

lead

the audience through them Point out and speak to

main

features on figures & plots Perhaps give a demo or pass round artefacts (1 or 2 only) Avoid distractions (e.g. irritating habits – ask your friends!) Communicate your enthusiasm and enjoyment and explain the importance/relevance/applications of your work, but avoid exaggeration.

Department of Materials University of Oxford

• •

Taking the audience along

Avoid standing in the projector beam or blocking the view of the screen Use of pointers: – If possible use a proper pointer and point on the screen

clearly to the relevant part of the slide

enough for the audience to register the feature being identified (ie. a few seconds).

. Keep the pointer in place long If you have to use your finger, which is not recommended, then take care not to block the view.

– If using an overhead projector or visualiser then a pencil or biro makes a good pointer for use on the original slide, but again take care not to block the screen – – – Data projectors often have a built-in pointer function DO NOT shine a laser pointer

1

towards the audience!

Forgotten to cover a point you had planned to include? Usually not critical, only if essential skip back to earlier slide to cover.

1

= anxiety amplifier!

Department of Materials University of Oxford

How to make your slides

• • • • • • • Keep style and layouts consistent Avoid too much complexity Combine text with figures to highlight main points Check room size / projection facilities and make sure size of features and text (including that on figures, scale bars & captions) is clear enough to be seen by the whole audience (Helvetica 24, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10) Avoid unnecessary details – – too much decoration too much numerical information in tables (

use of highlighting

) Use colour wisely and avoid distracting animations

Sans serif fonts such as ‘ Arial ’ or ‘Helvetica’ are clearer than ‘ Times Roman’ Department of Materials University of Oxford

Table 1 ACTIVITY DATA FOR Bi-Mo-O/TiO 2 CATALYST

Anatase (TPA) 1Wt% A/TPA 4Wt% A/TPA 10Wt% A/TPA Alpha Bi 2 Mo 3 O 12 Bi 6 MoO 12 1Wt% Mo-O/TPA 4Wt% A/RPA Alpha Bi 2 Mo 3 O 12 5.5

0.6

1.8

-

ML TEMP K

0 773

But-1-ene %C

81 0.5

1.8

773 773 46 51 773 773 773 773 673 673 54 89 8 12 77 64

Buta-1,3-diene %S

13 71 77 73 77 0 62 60 47

Butadiene + but-2-enes %S

19 82 83 83 82 0 100 88 63

Department of Materials University of Oxford

How to deal with nerves

• • • • • • Remember nerves are good!

– actors know nerves help a performance Use text slides to summarise main points – helps audience follow you too!

Run through talk in advance (ask supervisor for advice) – but don’t learn it like a speech Have a good start to get you going Imagine yourself talking to a friend in place of the audience and remember that everyone empathises Check room size & A/V facilities in advance and take back-up version of presentation (eg. on visualiser slides)

Department of Materials University of Oxford

Reminder of key points

• • • • • • • • Tell a coherent and structured story, at an appropriate level for your particular audience Lead the audience through your slides Do not use too many slides for the time available – choose your key messages carefully Do not overload slides with too much detail Choose clearly legible font sizes and colours If possible test your presentation in advance using the PC that will be used for the real event – be extra careful if using features such as animations or video clips Keep regular eye contact with the audience and project your voice clearly Communicate your enthusiasm for your subject

Department of Materials University of Oxford

How do your slides look to someone who is colour blind?

http://colorlab.wickline.org/colorblind/colorlab

Other resources:

https://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers-professional development/engagement-influence-and-impact/communication-and dissemination/giving-oral-presentations-quick-tips

‘How to Succeed as a Scientist’

From Postdoc to Professor BJ Gabrys & JA Langdale (CUP, 2012) – Chapter 2

Department of Materials University of Oxford