department of materials university of oxford presentation skills david baker (it services) adrian...

Department of MaterialsUniversity of Oxford

Presentation Skills

David Baker (IT Services)

Adrian Taylor


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……..


PREPARING & DELIVERINGA GOOD TALK

(Practical Tips, AOT)

See Materials WWW

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


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, 6th 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)


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 you talk

– get the main message across (rest is optional)

– have a plan in case you run out of time


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


Taking the audience along

• Tell a story - explain the links between points• Face the audience - eye contact is very important• Don’t just read out the whole talk directly from notes or

screen• Don’t be too casual • 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.


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 . Keep the pointer in place long enough for the audience to register the feature being identified (ie. a few seconds). 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 pointer1 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!


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’


Table 1 ACTIVITY DATA FOR Bi-Mo-O/TiO2

CATALYST ML TEMP

K

But-1-ene

%C

Buta-1,3-diene

%S

Butadiene +

but-2-enes %S

Anatase (TPA) 0 773 81 13 19

1Wt% A/TPA 0.5 773 46 71 82

4Wt% A/TPA 1.8 773 51 77 83

10Wt% A/TPA 5.5 773 54 73 83

Alpha Bi2Mo3O12 - 773 89 77 82

Bi6MoO12 - 773 8 0 0

1Wt% Mo-O/TPA 0.6 773 12 62 100

4Wt% A/RPA 1.8 673 77 60 88

Alpha Bi2Mo3O12 - 673 64 47 63


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)


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


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 presentation skills david baker (it services) adrian...

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