Transcript Slide 1

Some Advice on Giving Scientific Talks
Dr. Trees
Dr. Kaye
Goal: Communicate interesting scientific information to an audience
in the most effective way.
Right?
(Original slides courtesy of Dr. Trees)
• Talk preparation:
1. Be aware of the expertise of your audience.
Other students in class, Dr. Kaye, Dr. T.-R., physics and astronomy faculty
2. Be aware of your time constraint—DON’T EXCEED IT!
12 minutes + 3 minutes for questions
3. If possible, acquaint yourself with the layout and acoustics of the room.
(Large room with microphone? Smaller room—then project your voice.)
CWSC 149 (Advanced Lab room) or 130 (intro. lab)
4. Prepare a written outline of your talk.
Make a numbered list of the slides, putting them in the order that you will
present them. Refer to each slide by its title.
• The mechanics of your presentation:
1. Make eye contact with your audience.
Don’t prepare a script and then read the script to the audience.
2. Speak loudly enough for those in the back of the room to hear.
Avoid mumbling. At first, practice the talk by saying it aloud to yourself!
3. Enunciate words clearly. Don’t speak too rapidly or too slowly.
Practice the talk in front of someone else.
4. Show enthusiasm about your topic!
You have some interesting results to share! Your audience won’t care about
your results if you don’t! (But avoid saying, “These results are great!”)
5. Use a pointer. Beware of laser pointers!
•
Strive for efficient information transfer:
1. Start with a simple title slide. Include your home institution. Acknowledge
your collaborators and funding sources.
Don’t get too fancy with PowerPoint!
2. Plan your talk as if you were telling a story. What are the key plot points?
3. Average about one or two slides per minute.
4. Use graphs, figures, and pictures more than words. Spending the time to
make good graphs and figures can pay off!
• Include an informative title, and label axes clearly (with units if applicable).
• Use symbols large enough to be read from across the room.
• Use colors that are visible from across the room.
• Define all symbols.
PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!