Secrets of Effective Presentations

Dave Wilson

The most memorable talk…

Outline

• motivation• content• presentation

Motivation

Start by finding your motivation.

Why talk (for others)?

• communicate a discovery• presentation: critical final step of

research

Why talk (for you)?

• obtain feedback• advertise yourself • understand your own work better

Talks vs writing• faster • greater potential for impact• immediate response

• speaker’s pace vs reader’s pace• repetition required• less complexity allowed

Content

…if you want to improve your talk, start by

improving the content

Starting out

• identify the audience• choose your main point • build your talk around it• work within your available time

Talk structure

• create a backbone (framework)• describe it early• refer to it often• be explicit and specific

Pitfall: the travelogue

• No one cares about what you’ve done until you explain why you’ve done it.

Rather, describe:• discoveries • improvements

Classic Structure(hard to beat)

• Introduction• Methods• Results • Discussion

Introduction

• purpose: motivate and build interest• describe general problem-provide evidence• what is known• what is not known• specific research question

• If they don’t buy the question, they won’t buy the talk!

Research Questions

Bad:• “Can we develop a model of the rat tibia

that includes trabecular and cortical bone?”

Good: • “Does a model of the rat tibia predict

fracture incidence more effectively than the current technique (physical exam)?”

Methods

• be brief• focus on the overall picture• don’t dwell on the details• plenty of illustrations • point form descriptions

Results

• link each result to a research question• describe the message of each graph• summarize key results

ResultsBad:• “S/Q increased as a function of RST in

experiments 2, 4 and 7 but not in experiments 3, 5 and 6”.

Good:• “Cementing fractured vertebrae

increased their stiffness by 28%, but they were still 20% less stiff than unfractured vertebrae”.

Discussion

• answer research questions explicitly• rarely time for exhaustive discussion • sensible?• contribution?• implications?

Conclusions

• two or three• concise

Presentation

A great secret to great talks

“Get your audience out of the puzzle solving business”

The Medium

• choose the most advanced available, but don’t break new ground…

• computer• slide• overhead• chalkboard

Timing

• aim to be under time• rehearse, rehearse, rehearse• get feedback• leave time for modifications

Problems: Talks

Frequent• too technical • too long• unstructured

• unrehearsed• figures unclear• poorly motivated

Rare• too simple• too short• inappropriate

structure• overly polished• insufficient figures• insufficient detail

Slides

Don’t have anything to apologize for!

Slides• as legible as possible• use established colour combinations • aim for 1 slide per minute• estimate visibility: distance from

monitor/monitor height = distance from back row to screen/screen height

Slides

Avoid distractions:• cluttered backgrounds• audio/visual effects• illegible text• unclear figures

Text Slides• clear from the last row• minimum text• paragraphs are for papers• don’t mix up different fonts• avoid overly ornate fonts• avoid slide margins• check for errors!

Text Slide Problems

• Multiple colours are distracting• Text too small

• ALL CAPS ARE HARDER TO READ• Fancy fonts are distracting• Here’s the problem with too much text. Do

you really want to read this? Of course you don’t. The text should enhance the talk rather than replace it. Nobody wants to read a paragraph of text on the screen-they’d rather hear you talk. So don’t do it, okay?

Figure Slides• message must emerge clearly • simple, simple, simple• one graph or figure per slide• eliminate extraneous elements• highlight key elements• thick lines• high-contrast colours• label axes• use legends• fill the slide

Do tables work well?

Stiffness

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Stif

fnes

s (N

/mm

)

25542

1832017939

22834

25750

2388929936

20939

a

a b c d e f g h

0 20 40 60 80 100-20

0

20

40

60

<-

exte

nsio

n

flexi

on -

>

Flexion (degrees) t310 20 40 60 80 100

-10

0

10

20

30

<-

exte

rnal

in

tern

al -

>

Flexion (degrees) t31

0 20 40 60 80 100-5

0

5

10

<-

late

ral

tilt

med

ial -

>

Flexion (degrees) t310 20 40 60 80 100

-100

-50

0

50

<-

dist

al

prox

imal

->

Flexion (degrees) t31

0 20 40 60 80 100-10

-5

0

5

<-

med

ial (

mm

) la

tera

l ->

Flexion (degrees) t310 20 40 60 80 100

-40

-20

0

20

<-

post

erio

r a

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ior

->

Flexion (degrees) t31

Intact Deformed Realigned

Problems: Slides

Frequent• distracting• too much text• too much colour• cluttered

Rare• too plain• insufficient text• bland colour• overly simple

The speaker’s job:• arrive early• figure out the controls• prepare well - let the talk happen• don’t read• find and project your enthusiasm• make eye contact• tell a story

Questions

• anticipate questions• make sure that you understand the question• restate the question• if you don’t know, say so• be brief • this is your time (don’t put up with

aggressive or rude questioners)

Dealing with anxiety

• it’s normal• Why are you anxious?• rehearse, rehearse, rehearse

Problems: speakers

Frequent• boring reading • dwell on a question

• overuse pointer• use acronyms/jargon• bored

Rare• forget the talk• don’t answer a

question well• underuse pointer• language too

simple• overenthusiastic

Talk tests• Can you read it from the last row?• Abbreviations and acronyms eliminated?• Does it stand alone?• Are questions deep?• Have you spent enough time?

Summary

• find your motivation• use a backbone• eliminate puzzles• work hard

…wouldn’t it be nice?