Presentations: The Art of the Stand-Out Talk

1. Presentations:The Art of the Stand-Out Talk by Chris McKitterick

2. Preparing Presentations • Audience. • Analyze the speaking situation. • Use effective and appropriate organization. • Choose effective language: Concise and clear. • Outline or note cards. • Prepare presentation graphics. • Put together the slide show or posters. • Rehearse. Use others interested in topic; peer-review opportunity. • Prepare for the unexpected and questions.

3. Presentation Design • Templates. • Slide construction. • Graphics, movies, music, and so on. • Animated slides. • Graphics, movies, music, and so on. • Transitions. • How much content per slide?

4. Giving Presentations • Introduce yourself and the presentation. • Provide an agenda or overview. • Control your voice: volume, speed, pitch, pronunciation, and verbal crutches. • Don’t read slides – use as notes. • Maintain eye contact. • Avoid distracting mannerisms. • Announce the presentation’s conclusion. • Address the audience's questions.

5. Making Your Presentation Stand Out Involve the audience • People are more interested in their own concerns than in yours. • Talk to the audience about their problems and their solutions. • In the introduction, establish a link between your topic and the audience's interests.

6. Making Your Presentation Stand Out Refer to people, not abstractions • People remember specifics and concrete information; they forget abstractions. • To make a point memorable, describe it in human terms or how it affects actual people.

7. Making Your Presentation Stand Out Use interesting facts, figures, and quotations • Do your research and find interesting information about your subject. • A brief quotation from: • An authoritative figure in the field. • A famous person not generally associated with the field (Abraham Lincoln on waste management).

8. Making Your Presentation Stand Out Make it relevant • What does your topic contribute to your field? • Does it address an important topic related to the conference or publication? • What is your topic’s significance?

9. Making Your Presentation Stand Out Emphasize novelty or uniqueness • What is new or unique in your topic? • Do you present a new concept, perspective, or approach? • How broadly might this interest people? • How timely is it? • How can you make your presentation reflect your subject’s novelty, uniqueness, timeliness, and so on?

10. Making Your Presentation Stand Out Show how your topic is realistic • Can others use this in other contexts? • Does it scale up or down? • Is it economically, culturally, or geographically dependent? • Does your approach solve the stated problems? • Is it sustainable?

11. Making Your Presentation Stand Out Address social impact • How broad an effect do the problems or solutions have on people or places? • How would they benefit from your solution? • Did you consider broader issues such as political, human rights, gender, language, disability, or so on?

12. Making Your Presentation Stand Out Look to the future • What happens next? • If this goes on…. • If we are fully funded…. • Recommendations. • Requests.

13. The Art of the Stand-Out Talk Sample presentations