How to give a scientific presentation?

1. How to give a scientific presentation? Uwe Stilla

2. Outline • Preparing for your presentation • Giving the presentation • Performing the discussion • Formal aspects • Evaluation

3. 1 Preparing for your presentation • Collecting material • Reading publications • Sorting topics • Selecting facts and figures • Forming the story • Transforming content • Designing slides • Estimating presentation duration • Practice your presentation Takes time to prepare a prentation

4. 1.1 Collecting material • Contact your supervisor • Search in Internet • Which search engine ? • Check different material • Journals, proceedings, newspaper ... • Books, reports, theses (PHD, MSc) ... • Publicity material • Videos • Make a list of your references • Note all required information for citation • What is required ?

5. 1.2 Reading publications • Read title • Read abstract • Check images and figures • Read introduction • Read conclusion • Read entire text, ignore formulas • Read entire document (with formulas) • Read again

6. 1.3 Sorting topics • Identify the abstraction level • Overview ? • Detailed description ? • Identify the type • Method ? • Application ? • Identify the impact • Nice to know ? • High impact ?

7. 1.4 Selecting content, facts and figures • Consider your audience • Think about following questions • Who am I addressing? • What do I have to say? • What do I want my audience to know? • What would my audience want to know? • Which facts are important in context of your topic? • Which figures support very strong your arguments?

8. 1.5 Forming the story • Tell a story ! • Make a logical structure that is similar to a good story. • Beginning: context of presentation • Body: develop main points. • Conclusion: summarize main points, take home message.

9. 1.6 Transforming content • Talk in “spoken English” style, not in “written English” style

10. 1.7 Designing slides (1) • You do not need to use full or wordy sentences because they can become very, very long and make it much hard for the audience to follow. They also make it much for difficult for you to quickly look at if you need a reminder of where you are at. • Don’t use full or wordy sentences. • Harder for the audience to follow. • Harder for you to use as a reminder. • Starting with the verb can help. • Layout, • see: 4 Formal aspects

11. 1.7 Designing slides (2) • Make sure tables, pictures, and graphs can be read. • Titles on graphs and tables must be readable at back of room. • Number must also be readable

12. 1.7 Designing slides (3) • Tables/Pictures • You can make them inside PowerPoint. • You can make them in excel and copy and paste. • You can bring them in as an object. • You could scan them, then make a hyperlink to the document.

13. 1.8 Estimating presentation duration • Split the presentation in 2-4 blocks • Present actively your talk (loud, standing) • Measure the time you need for each block • Redesign the presentation (hide slides) • Note the time for 1-2 key slides • Insert emergency jumps

14. 1.9 Practice your presentation • Present parts of your presentation multiple times • Improve formulation and wording • Present the entire final presentation • in front of some class mates ... or ... • in front of a mirror

15. 2 Giving the presentation • How to speak • Communicate with audience • Body posture

16. 2.1 How to speak • Speak slowly and clearly. • Try not to say “äh”, “so”, “ummm” “jagenau” or other time fillers too much. • We all do it, it takes practice • Try to avoid reading directly from your slides • Speaking instead of just reading enables you to involve the audience

17. 2.2 Communicate with audience • Look at the audience • Try to look at everyone, not just one corner of the room. • If you are nervous pick some spots at the back of the room above people’s heads. • Be enthusiastic • Vary the tone of your voice. • Use humor if it suits you, but don’t force it or over do it. Content is what matters.

18. 2.3 Body posture • Look friendly • Stand open • What not to do ? • Turn your back on the audience • Put your thumbs in your pockets • Hit yourself or a table • Cross your arms and take a star pose • Tab your pen • Stand on one leg or sit on the table • Make a laser show with the pointer

19. 3 Discussion • Why is a discussion needed? • Be prepared to answer questions from audience • Don’t rate the quality of a question • What to do • when you haven’t understand the question? • when you don’t know the answer? • when a question allows answers in different directions?

20. 4 Formal aspects • Layouthttp://www.pf.bgu.tum.de/edu/ggs/tum_psc_17_name_pre_nn_YYMMDD.ppt • Citation • Original statements ? • Figures ? • Images ? • Maps ? • Methods ? • Math ?

21. 5 Evaluation (2016 WS) (1)

22. 5 Evaluation (2016 WS) (2) enlarged

23. 5 Evaluation (2016 WS) (3) enlarged

24. Evaluation form – PSC (1)

25. Evaluation form – PSC (2)

26. Evaluation form – PSC (2)

27. References • wikiHow to Give a Presentationhttps://www.wikihow.com/Give-a-Presentation • Preparing a Good Presentationwww.colorado.edu/ibs/hs/barham/.../PreparingPresentations.ppt[access: 2017-OCT-23]