Making a scientific presentation

Author: Alex Hardman

MHS Graduate Training Team

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Introduction Oral communication is crucial and is often an overlooked and under practiced

skill in scientific and academic endeavours. These online resources have

been developed to serve as an introductory guide and general reference for

use when formulating a talk.

These principles should be applied whenever you are faced with making a

public presentation, whether it's a journal club presentation, a group or

departmental talk or a more formal talk, such as conference presentations, job

talks, and invited seminars.

There are few people that have a natural talent for delivering excellent

presentations. However, with initial planning, hard work, and practice most

people can develop very good presentation skills. The standards for public

speaking in the scientific and academic realms are relatively low, so a good

presentation is often memorable. This package contains a short summary of

the skills required to make a clear and concise presentation. You can learn

these skills with a little effort and practice, then apply them in professional

settings.

Contents

INTRODUCTION 2

1 PLANNING A PRESENTATION 5

1.1 INITIAL PLANNING QUESTIONS 5 1.1.1 TYPE OF TALK YOU WILL BE GIVING. 5 1.1.2 AUDIENCE COMPOSITION. 5 1.1.3 TIME ALLOCATED FOR THE TALK. 5 1.1.4 EXPECTATIONS ABOUT THE CONTENT. 5 1.2 DEFINING THE PRESENTATION PURPOSE 6 1.2.1 THE SCIENTIFIC PURPOSE OF YOUR PRESENTATION 6 1.2.1.1 Exercise in defining your message – “The train journey” 7 1.2.2 THE GENERAL PURPOSE OF YOUR PRESENTATION 7 1.2.2.1 Informative 7 1.2.2.2 Instructional 7 1.2.2.3 Arousing 8 1.2.2.4 Persuasive 8 1.2.2.5 Decision-making 8

2 PREPARING A PRESENTATION 9

2.1 STRUCTURING AND DRAFTING YOUR TALK 9 2.1.1 DETERMINING THE SEQUENCE 9 2.1.2 HOW MUCH MATERIAL IS APPROPRIATE? 10 2.2 ESSENTIAL POWERPOINT SKILLS 12 2.2.1 TEMPLATES - STYLING YOUR PRESENTATION 12 2.2.1.1 The Graduate Training Team (GTT) template 12 2.2.1.2 Downloading the GTT template 12 2.2.1.3 Creating a new document that applies the GTT template 13 2.2.1.4 Modifying the appearance of your presentation 14 2.2.1.4.1 About The Slide Master 14 2.2.1.4.2 Accessing and closing the Slide Master 15 2.2.1.4.3 Working with the Slide Master 15 2.2.1.5 Modifying the GTT Template 16 2.2.2 CREATING YOUR SLIDES 18 2.2.2.1 About Slide Layouts in PowerPoint 18 2.2.2.2 Creating a new slide and adding content using the slide layout pane 19 2.2.2.3 Adding content manually 19 2.2.2.4 Modifying pictures 20 2.2.2.5 Working with one or more pictures and objects 23 2.2.2.6 Adding tables and graphs created in Excel 25 2.2.2.7 Adding video 26 2.2.2.8 Adding hyperlinks 27 2.2.2.9 Animating items in your slides 28 2.2.3 DELIVERING WITH POWERPOINT 32 2.2.3.1 Producing and printing speaker notes 32 2.2.3.2 Printing handouts 33 2.2.3.3 Putting your presentation on the World Wide Web 36 2.2.3.3.1 Saving your presentation as a webpage 36

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2.2.3.3.2 Using a 3rd party company to display your share your presentation over the internet. 36

3 DELIVERING A PRESENTATION 37

3.1 PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT 37 3.1.1 HINTS FOR EFFICIENT PRACTICE 37 3.2 USING NOTES 39 3.3 LAST-MINUTE PREPARATION 40 3.4 THE MOMENT OF TRUTH 42 3.5 HANDLING QUESTIONS 45

4 TIPS, TRICKS, DO’S AND DON’TS 47

4.1 TOP TIPS FOR TOP SLIDES 47 4.2 IMPORTANT ELEMENTS 48

Table of figures FIGURE 1 - THE 'NEW PRESENTATION' PANE............................................................................................13 FIGURE 2 - THE BROWSE BUTTON ON THE SLIDE DESIGN PANE................................................................13 FIGURE 3 - CHOOSING THE TEMPLATE FOR A NEW PRESENTATION ..........................................................14 FIGURE 4 - ACCESSING THE SLIDE MASTER..............................................................................................15 FIGURE 5 - CLOSING THE SLIDE MASTER VIEW.......................................................................................15 FIGURE 6 - CLOSING THE SLIDE MASTER VIEW........................................................................................16 FIGURE 7 - THE SLIDE LAYOUT PANE.......................................................................................................18 FIGURE 8 - THE CONTENT ICONS..............................................................................................................19 FIGURE 9 - THE DRAWING TOOLBAR........................................................................................................19 FIGURE 10 - THE PICTURE TOOLBAR .......................................................................................................20 FIGURE 11 - THE DRAWING TOOLBAR DROP DOWN LIST .........................................................................24 FIGURE 12 - THE INSERT OBJECT WINDOW..............................................................................................25 FIGURE 13 - START OPTIONS FOR VIDEO IN POWERPOINT........................................................................26 FIGURE 14 - THE HYPERLINKS OPTIONS WINDOW ....................................................................................28 FIGURE 15 - THE ADD ENTRANCE EFFECT WINDOW...............................................................................29 FIGURE 16 - THE CUSTOM ANIMATION WINDOW....................................................................................30 FIGURE 17 - THE TIMINGS TAB................................................................................................................31 FIGURE 18 - THE NOTES PANE IN NORMAL VIEW .....................................................................................32 FIGURE 19 - SELECTING NOTES PAGES FROM THE PRINT DIALOGUE BOX ................................................33 FIGURE 20 - SELECTING PRINT OPTIONS FOR PRINTING HANDOUTS..........................................................34

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1 Planning a presentation The most crucial part of giving a presentation is to tailor your talk to the

situation or audience.

1.1 Initial planning questions

You will need to identify the following key points:

1.1.1 Type of talk you will be giving. • Is the talk an informal chat, seminar discussion or formal presentation?

• Different talks have different purposes

1.1.2 Audience composition. • Will you be speaking to a general audience or a group of specialists?

• Expected audience size.

• Is the audience likely to be:

o Friendly?

o Critical?

o Interactive?

1.1.3 Time allocated for the talk. • Longer talks allow more freedom to explore topics

• Shorter talks need to be clear and direct.

• Also think about whether question time is included in the time slot – if

not you will have to think about how you will allocate time for questions.

1.1.4 Expectations about the content. • Will you be presenting novel concepts to the audience or building upon

their existing knowledge?

• You need to ensure that you cover the basics early to avoid losing the

audience.

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• If the environment and audience are unfamiliar to you, you may want

to:

o Visit (if possible) the location of the presentation to establish if

there are features of this environment that will need to account

for in your talk (e.g. availability of internet access, size of room

etc).

o Do a literature search on potential audience members to identify

areas of common interest or potential questions that may arise.

Begin the preparation stage early – more lead time for

preparation provides greater opportunities to identify novel

approaches to the topic and improve the interest and substance

of the presentation.

1.2 Defining the presentation purpose

The primary purpose of a presentation is to provide information that the audience will understand and remember at a later date.

However you can also describe the purpose of a presentation in several ways

Specifically it is important to identify:

1.2.1 The scientific purpose of your presentation • What is your hypothesis?

• You should spend to time to develop your theme (key message) into a

clear, jargon free sentence that you can state in 25 words or less.

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1.2.1.1 Exercise in defining your message – “The train journey” Imagine you are on a train on your way to a conference and you get talking to

the passenger next to you. During the conversation you tell this person that

you are a MHS PhD student at The University of Manchester. She responds

by, “Wow how interesting. What exactly do you study?” How would you

answer this question using a short and simple statement, in a language that

your passenger will understand and won’t glaze over at? If you can do this,

removing ALL of the jargon and get to the essence of your research, then you

have defined your central message.

• Once you have established your key message what are the supporting

statements? Look critically at these statements and only include those

that directly reinforce your theme or key message.

• Be ruthless and include only the information that relates to your

hypothesis. Continually ask yourself “Does each supporting statement

relate to your hypothesis?”

1.2.2 The general purpose of your presentation At the same time you consider the scientific purpose of your presentation, you

may want to consider the generic purpose too.

Thinking about the generic presentation purpose can help you in the design of

your presentation.

The main presentation purposes include:

1.2.2.1 Informative An informative presentation is brief and to the point. Present the facts and

avoid complicated information. Present the information using either: a logical,

temporal, geographical or cause and effect structure.

1.2.2.2 Instructional An instructional presentation leaves the participants with a new skill. You may

have to cover the topic thoroughly and design activities for the participants to

attempt to use their new knowledge and new skills.

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1.2.2.3 Arousing An arousing presentation makes people think about a problem or situation.

You may be trying to get their active support or just their understanding.

Arousing presentations use vivid language and visuals, they are often

emotional and a bit manipulative. But never cold hearted

1.2.2.4 Persuasive A persuasive presentation attempts to convince the audience to accept your

proposal or solution to a controversy, dispute, or problem. You must convince

the audience that you have fully examined the problem and all solutions, and

have selected or produced the best solution possible. You may need to

directly address alternative solutions. You may need to use logic, evidence

and emotion.

1.2.2.5 Decision-making As with persuasive presentations, in a decision-making presentation you have

a suggested action that you want your audience to take. However, they could

decide to do nothing. You must convince them to carry out your requests, and

how to do so. You should also tell them the consequences of doing nothing.

While scientific presentations tend to be either informative or instructional, they often include elements of the arousing, persuasive and decision-making

presentation purposes.

For example, why is the problem (and solution) you are presenting

interesting?

Why should your audience accept your solution? Given two alternatives,

which should they choose to solve problem X?

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2 Preparing a presentation

2.1 Structuring and drafting your talk

Once you have a general idea of what you want to say, you should decide

how to say it. Oral presentations present certain challenges that must be

considered when deciding structure:

• Unlike a conversation or a written document, a scientific talk is

predominantly a one-shot and one-way attempt to communicate

complex ideas.

• By contrast, a conversation consists of repetitions and clarifications

based on questions and immediate feedback, while a written paper can

be reread as often as is necessary to gain understanding.

• It is essential that your talk is well constructed, with ideas presented in

both a logical and unambiguous sequence.

• This requires a lot of preparation and it is essential that you start early.

The primary purpose of a presentation is to provide information that the audience will understand and remember at a later date. With this in mind it

is important:

• Think about the most appropriate sequence for your talk

• To develop a realistic view of how much material is appropriate.

• To be ruthless in eliminating non-essential material.

These abilities vary widely among presenters, and are important factors in

determining the quality of the presentation.

2.1.1 Determining the sequence In defining the scientific purpose you should have come up with:

• A jargon free theme.

• Some jargon supporting statements.

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You should arrange these topics in a logical sequence (which may change as

you develop the talk). The most logical sequence will not, in all cases, follow

the chronological sequence of when each piece of evidence was obtained.

Your talk should not be a diary of your research, but rather a logical sequence

of evidence supporting your overall hypothesis. This process is easier if you

use index cards or a computer-based program (PowerPoint) to organise your

talk, with one idea per slide/card.

2.1.2 Deciding how much material is appropriate Pre-determining the content of a presentation in relation to length is always a

problem. The magnitude of the task will become more obvious as you begin to

practice. As you practice, you will need to make allowances for a new setting

and being interrupted by questions. For many people the practice talk will be

about 20% faster than the real presentation and for others the actual talk will

be faster than in practice.

Two ways people try to reduce the length of a presentation are:

• to speak more quickly,

• to reduce the number of words used.

Both produce a false economy - the practice talk will fit in your time frame,

but the final product won't.

One good strategy is:

• to be very selective about what you need to say,

• then say only that,

• then say it clearly with slightly longer pauses between words than

normal.

Increasing the length of inter-word pauses will force you to enunciate the

ending of one word and the beginning of the next word. This will make it

easier for the audience to follow what you are saying. This is a particularly

good strategy for people giving a presentation in a language that is not their

native language. Fewer words, spoken clearly....

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Try the following suggestions:

• Estimate a rate of about 100 words per minute (this is slow -

conversation occurs at about 150-175 words/minute)

• Each statement you make will require an average of 12 words

• Each idea will need to be supported by roughly 3 - 4 statements

That means for a 50 minute talk, you should expect to cover only about 90

ideas, and for a 10 minute talk, you should cover only around 18 ideas.

One way to aid the process is to develop slides that illustrate your points

clearly. Once again, if you possess idiosyncratic pronunciations (e.g., an

accent) then place the troublesome word in the slide's text and point to that

word as you say it - make it easy for the audience.

By speaking rapidly, you will loose your audience (imagine a scientific talk

given by an auctioneer) as they will not have sufficient time to take in the

information. Although it seems slow, a rate of about 100 words per minute is

optimal for a presentation. By contrast, conversation rates run around 150 -

175 words per minute.

Work on speaking slowly and clearly, and pause frequently to allow your

audience time to process information. For instance, give the audience a few

seconds to look at a slide after you project it. Do not start speaking right away,

since they will still be looking at the slide and not listening to you.

By removing words from your practice talk, your notes will be shortened, but

the real talk won't be any shorter. That's partly because you shouldn't be

reciting your practice notes verbatim in the final talk (i.e., reading your notes),

so your word choices will be different. You will probably also speak in a more

conversational manner, so it will be difficult to remain restricted to a script as

you interact with the audience.

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2.2 Essential PowerPoint skills

Using Presentation software such as PowerPoint can save you time and

provide tools for organising your presentation. The time invested in learning to

use this program is rewarded by the speed with which a presentation can be

created, even by a moderately-skilled user.

Using the following techniques will enable you to create a professional

presentation.

2.2.1 Templates - Styling your presentation Using templates will save you time setting up presentations. Templates

contain information that sets the appearance of your slides. Once you have a

template that you like, you can simply create a new presentation, apply the

template and go straight to adding content rather than working on the

appearance.

2.2.1.1 The Graduate Training Team (GTT) template The Graduate Training Team have developed a template that complies with

University of Manchester visual style; using the corporate blue as a

background, white text and the logo on the title page. This template can be

downloaded and applied to your presentations in seconds. You can also

customise the template to suit your own requirements.

The template is only a recommendation and you are advised to seek advice

from your particular supervisor, research group or school about any bespoke

requirements for visual style.

2.2.1.2 Downloading the GTT template To download the GTT template to your P:\ drive, do the following:

1. Right click on the template link

2. Select Save Target As (‘Save Link As’ in Firefox)

3. Navigate to your P drive1

4. Create a folder called templates.

1 By default PowerPoint will look for templates in the following place on your hard drive: C:\Documents and Settings\Your User Name\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates. You will not be able to save here unless you have administrator rights. We recommend that you save all work, including templates to your P:\ drive.

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5. Save the file ‘ManchesterUniversityTemplate.pot’ to this folder.

6. Click Save.

2.2.1.3 Creating a new document that applies the GTT template 1. Open Microsoft PowerPoint

2. From the Menu bar click File > New

3. On the ‘New Presentation’ pane, under the ‘New’ heading click ‘From

design template’

Figure 1 - The 'New Presentation' pane

4. In the ‘Slide Design’ pane that appears click ‘browse’ at the bottom

Figure 2 - The Browse button on the slide design pane

5. Navigate to the folder on your P drive where you stored the template

6. Select the file ‘ManchesterUniversityTemplate.pot’

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Figure 3 - Choosing the template for a new presentation

7. Click Apply.

2.2.1.4 Modifying the appearance of your presentation If you have followed the instructions above you should have a new

presentation that is styled by the GTT template. You may want to customise

the appearance of your slides, for example by adding a footer containing your

name or presentation details.

NOTE: The following instructions relate to changing the appearance of your

current presentation. If you want to change the settings in the template itself

you would have to work on the actual template file, which is covered later on

in the tutorial 2.2.1.5.

About The Slide Master The template that you have applied to your presentation defines the look of

every slide (i.e. each slide has a blue background and white text). This

information is set in the slide master. It is good practice to make changes to

your presentation appearance in the slide master rather than individually on

each slide as this helps you to maintain a consistent and professional look.

Within the slide master you can set many presentation attributes including:

• Font styles for the title, body and footer

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• Text Placeholder positions for text (e.g. set exactly where your

headings and main text will be located)

• Bullet styles

• Background design and colour scheme

Accessing and closing the Slide Master To access the slide master:

1. From the menu click View > Master > Slide Master

Figure 4 - Accessing the slide master

2. In slide master view you make the changes that you require 3. To continue to work on your presentation you need to close the slide

master.

To close the slide master:

1. Click ‘Close Master View’ on the ‘Slide Master View’ toolbar.

Figure 5 - Closing the Slide Master View

Working with the Slide Master When you access the slide master (in presentations based on the GTT

template) you will notice that there are two master slides:

1. The slide master itself – which applies to all slides bar the title slide.

2. The title master – which applies to the title slide of your presentation.

When you are in the Slide Master View you could:

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1. Change the fonts used in the slides

a. Select a text place holder

b. On the menu bar click Format > Font

c. Make the required changes (e.g. font, font size, colour) – (Note:

ensure that you have not reduced the font to a size that cannot

be read.

d. Click OK

2. Add text to the footer

3. Change the background colour

a. On the menu bar click Format > Background

b. Make the required changes

c. Click OK

d. Note: backgrounds should be exactly that ‘in the background’. If

you do change the background, keep it subtle and check that

your text can still be seen from the back of the room that you will

be presenting in!

Remember to close the Slide Master View after your changes and before you

continue to add slide content.

Figure 6 - Closing the slide master View

2.2.1.5 Modifying the GTT Template You might decide that you want to modify the GTT template to include

changes that are used in every presentation you apply it to. To do this you

would have to open the template itself (i.e.

ManchesterUniversityTemplate.pot).

PowerPoint presentations have a file extension of ‘ppt’ (as in presentation.ppt)

whereas templates have a file extension of pot (as in template.pot).

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To open and modify the template from within PowerPoint:

1. Close all presentations that use the GTT template.

2. From the menu select File > Open.

3. Navigate to the folder on your P drive where you stored your template.

Select the file ‘ManchesterUniversityTemplate.pot’.

4. Open the Slide Master.

5. Make your changes.

6. Close the Slide Master

7. Save the template by clicking File > Save.

8. Close the template.

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2.2.2 Creating your slides

2.2.2.1 About Slide Layouts in PowerPoint When creating a new slide, it is good practice to use the built in Slide Layouts

wherever possible, as they keep the appearance of your presentations

consistent. When you add a new slide you will see the slide layout pane.

Figure 7 - The slide layout pane

Clicking on a particular layout in this pane will apply that layout to your slide.

There are numerous layout options including:

• Text layouts – including title slides and one or two columns of text.

• Content layouts – from blank slides to slides that contain four pieces of

content such as images, charts, tables, organisational diagrams and

multimedia such as video.

• Text and content layouts – combinations of text and content.

• Other layouts - including more bespoke diagrams.

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2.2.2.2 Creating a new slide and adding content using the slide layout pane

1. From the menu select Insert > New Slide (or use the keyboard

shortcut Ctrl M)

2. Apply a slide layout from the Slide Layout pane.

3. Click on one of the content icons to add content

Figure 8 - The content icons

Note: Adding charts and tables using this feature does not let you add objects created in other applications such as Excel. To do this you will need to follow

the instructions in the “Adding tables and graphs created in Excel” tutorial (2.2.2.6).

2.2.2.3 Adding content manually The GTT recommend that you use the slide layout features above. However

you might find that you can’t quite get the effect you want using these or you

may need to add additional content manually (e.g. shapes or arrows).

The drawing toolbar provides many of the facilities to do add content. To view

the drawing toolbar select View > Toolbars and ensure that ‘Drawing’ is

selected.

Figure 9 - The drawing toolbar

You can manually add the following content using the drawing toolbar:

• Auto Shapes.

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• Lines.

• Arrows.

• Rectangles (hold the shift key to get a square).

• Ovals (hold the shift key to get a circle).

• Text boxes (you will need to format the appearance of these text boxes

as the default font will be too small for your audience to view).

• Word Art (not recommended as it doesn’t look professional).

• Clip Art.

• Images.

• Many of these objects can be formatted using the formatting tools.

2.2.2.4 Modifying pictures You have already seen how to insert pictures into a presentation by:

a) Using Slide Layout Features

b) Using the Drawing toolbar to manually insert an image

You can also insert a picture using the menu; select Insert > Picture > From File.

To modify pictures: 1. Ensure that you can see the ‘Picture’ toolbar; Select View > Toolbars

and check that ‘Picture’ is selected.

Figure 10 - The Picture toolbar

2. Click on the image you wish to modify

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3. Use the icons on the picture toolbar to make one of the following

modifications

• Insert picture

• Colour; which allows you to choose from:

o Automatic; the default setting for a picture

o Greyscale; removes the colour from a picture

o Black and white; changes the picture to black and white

o Washout; makes the picture wash out and become faint.

• More contrast; this increases the contrast between light and dark

areas of a picture.

• Less contrast; this decreases the contrast between light and dark

areas of a picture.

• More brightness; this increases the overall brightness of a picture.

• Less brightness; this decreases the overall brightness of a picture.

• Crop; this allows you to hide unwanted regions of a picture.

• Rotate Left by 90 degrees

• Line style; adds a line around your image at a thickness you specify

• Compress picture; reduces the file size of the picture which you

may consider if you post your slides on the internet

• Re-colour picture; allows you to change colours in a picture.

• Format picture

• Set transparent colour; which allows you to make one colour in your

picture transparent

• Reset picture; removes any of the above changes from your picture.

You can also make the modifications to pictures using the drop down list on

the ‘Drawing’ toolbar:

• Nudge; moves a picture slightly.

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• Rotate.

• Flip.

Using Grid and Guides You can use the Grid and Guides features of PowerPoint to accurately

position images and objects on a slide.

To view Grid and Guides:

1. On the menu click View > Grid and Guides

2. On the Grid and Guides window you can:

a. Snap objects to grid; which aligns objects to the grid.

b. Snap objects to other objects; which aligns objects to other

objects on the screen.

c. Alter the spacing of the grid.

d. Display guides; which can be moved be dragging with the

mouse.

3. When you have the settings you require click OK.

Figure 11 - Grid and Guides window

Using the Format Picture Window Finally you can use the Format Picture window to set picture attributes such

as size and position. To use the format picture window to set the size and

position of a picture:

1. Double click on a picture

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2. Select the Size tab and set the height, width and/or rotation angle of

the picture

3. Select the Position tab and set the vertical and horizontal positions

Figure 12 - The Format Picture window

2.2.2.5 Working with one or more pictures and objects The drop down list on the Drawing toolbar provides you with tools to allow you

to work with combinations of pictures and other content items such as text

boxes etc.

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Figure 13 - The Drawing Toolbar drop down list

In order to work with combinations of pictures and content items you need to

‘multi –select’.

To multi select more than one picture or content item:

1. Press and hold the shift key on the keyboard

2. Select a picture or content item

3. keeping the shift key held select other objects.

With content items multi selected you can use the drawing toolbar drop down

list to:

• Group and ungroup items.

• Change the vertical order items appear on the screen, i.e. send items

to the back or bring them forward.

• Align or distribute items

o Align

Left

Centre

Right

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Top

Middle

Bottom

o Distribute items on the page

Horizontally

Vertically

The above features may seem a little complicated at first but they are worth

exploring as they allow to position items with great detail.

2.2.2.6 Adding tables and graphs created in Excel You can add items to a presentation that have been created in other

applications such as tables and graphs from Microsoft Excel.

Note: Graphs are usually a better medium for delivering statistical data in

presentations than tables, as they have a better visual appearance.

It is important to consider how these items look in your slide and then

consider how they might appear from the back of the room. It is also important

not to present too much data on one slide.

If imported tables and charts don’t present well CHANGE or REMOVE them.

To import a table or chart from Excel

1. On the menu select Insert > Object.

2. On the Insert object window select ‘Create from file’

Figure 14 - The Insert Object window

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3. Click the Browse button

4. Locate, on your system, the file that you want to include

5. Press OK

2.2.2.7 Using video

To add video to a presentation: 1. Click Insert > Movies and Sounds > Movie from file

2. Select a video from your computer

3. Click OK

4. In the popup window choose how you want the movie to start (tip:

choose when clicked to have more control)

Figure 15 - Start options for video in PowerPoint

5. Using your mouse, position and resize your video

Note – If you move your presentation to another computer then your link to a

video file will be broken. Please see the tutorial – ‘Packaging your

presentation’ for details of how to ensure that all the links in your presentation

are preserved.

Changing your video options You can set certain properties of your movies to change the way they behave

in a presentation. The most useful of these is the ‘Zoom to full screen’ option

which will resize the movie to the size of a slide when it is playing.

To do this:

1. Right click on your movie

2. In the ‘Movie Options’ window select the ‘Zoom to full screen’ option.

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Figure 16 - The 'Movie Options' window

2.2.2.8 Adding hyperlinks Hyperlinks can be added to various objects within PowerPoint including:

• Text

• Action buttons (see user guide 1 setting up)

• Images

1. To add a hyperlink to text:

2. Select the text you wish to make a hyperlink

3. Click Insert > Hyperlink

4. You can make your link:

a. Link to existing files or web pages

b. Link to a place within the current PowerPoint presentation

c. Create a new document

d. Create an email

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Figure 17 - The hyperlinks options window

(These instructions are based upon linking to an external webpage)

5. Select ‘Existing File or Web Page’

6. In the Address box type in the URL of the website you wish to link to

7. Click OK

Note – Before you rely on internet links you should ensure that they venue

has an internet connection. It is often safer to use a screen shot of a website

instead of linking to the website itself.

2.2.2.9 Animating items in your slides PowerPoint allows you to animate your slides and add sounds etc. The GTT

strongly recommend that you keep your animations to an absolute minimum

as they can distract your audience and cause you to lose track in your

presentation. We don’t recommend using sounds full stop, unless on the rare

occasion it adds some value to a presentation.

The GTT advise you to animate only to hide certain bits of content until you

want your audience to see it.

Even when animating for this purpose we would recommend that you use a

subtle animation (no spiral entrances please!) and that you are consistent

using the same animation throughout.

To add animation:

1. Select the object (text, image etc) that you wish to animate

2. Click Slide Show > Custom Animation

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3. Click the Add Effect button

4. In the Add Entrance Effect window choose a (subtle) effect

Figure 18 - The Add Entrance Effect Window

5. Click OK

6. In the Custom Animation window you can modify the animation by

selecting the drop down list next to an animation.

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Figure 19 - The Custom Animation Window

7. Depending upon what it is you are animating you can alter the effect

settings by clicking Effect options

8. It is important to set the timing of your animation by choosing how the

animation starts:

a. On Click, or

b. With previous

c. After previous animation

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Figure 20 - The Timings tab

9. With Text Animation is also important to determine how the text is

animated by setting the ‘Group text:’, which will make the entire

sentence appear at once rather than each word at a time.

10. When you are finished click OK

Preview your animations and change accordingly.

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2.2.3 Delivering with PowerPoint

2.2.3.1 Producing and printing speaker notes You can use the notes pane, in normal view to make notes on each slide.

Figure 21 - The Notes pane in normal view You can type and format your notes whilst in normal view, but to see exactly

how they will look when printed you will need to look at them in Notes View.

• To switch to notes view, select View > Notes Page from the menu.

• To switch back to normal view, select View > Normal from the menu

To print your notes:

1. From the menu select File > Print.

2. In the ‘Print What’ drop down list select ‘Notes Pages’.

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Figure 22 - Selecting Notes Pages from the print dialogue box

3. Ensure that your printer setting are as required

4. Click OK.

2.2.3.2 Printing handouts PowerPoint provides you with the facility to print handouts. There are various

printing options and you should familiarise yourself with the layout options and

select the most appropriate for your needs.

To print handouts:

1. Select File > Print from the menu.

2. In the ‘Print What’ drop down list select ‘Handouts’.

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Figure 23 - Selecting print options for printing handouts

3. From the ‘Slides per page’ drop down list select the number of slides

you want to appear on the print out. If you choose 3 slides per page

then PowerPoint will include an area next to each slide that can be

used by your audience to write notes.

4. Once you are happy with your print options click OK.

2.2.3.3 Packaging your presentation This is a really important step to make before you use your PowerPoint slides

at the actual talk.

Let us call the computer on which you create the presentation the practice

machine and the computer upon which you deliver the presentation the live

machine.

If your presentation has multimedia such as video or sound, then transferring

your presentation from the practice machine to the live machine will affect the

links between your PowerPoint file and the multimedia files. This means that

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your multimedia files won’t work on the live machine as the links will refer to

files located on the practice machine. To avoid this happening you can do one

of two things:

1. Create your presentation on the same machine that you will deliver the

final talk on, e.g. on a laptop.

2. Package your presentation so that it will work on any machine.

In reality option 2 is most likely to avoid the embarrassing situation of files not

working, for reasons such as: not being able to use personal laptops at the

event, or not having access to a laptop etc, etc.

How to package your presentation 1. From the menu click File > Package for CD

2. On the ‘Package for CD’ window, write a name for your presentation

Figure 24 - 'Package for CD window'

3. Then click copy to folder

4. In the ‘Copy to Folder’ window select a Location to save your files

Figure 25 - 'Copy to Folder' window

5. Click OK.

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Once you have packaged your presentation you can copy the folder

created in step 4 to any computer and your media will be included.

2.2.3.4 Putting your presentation on the World Wide Web There maybe circumstances where you wish to share your presentation over

the internet or convert it into a website.

Saving your presentation as a webpage To save your presentation as a webpage:

1. From the menu select File > Save as Web Page

2. Click the ‘Publish’ button to review the settings

3. Click OK.

Your presentation will be saved as a single web page with the file extension

.mht. This file can now be previewed in a browser or uploaded to the internet

or an intranet.

Using a 3rd party company to distribute and share your presentation over the internet. There are now facilities on the internet to host your presentation. One such

service is www.slideshare.net. If this is something that you would find useful

please see their website for further details.

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3 Delivering a presentation

3.1 Practice makes perfect

You have probably heard this before, but that does not diminish its

importance.

Practice is the single most important factor contributing to a good

presentation.

No matter how rushed you might be, make time for at least a few practice

runs. The effects of practice will be apparent, and a poorly presented talk

reflects upon both you and your attitude towards the material and audience.

Do not be fooled by people who claim to be able to throw together a talk at a

moment's notice. Generally, their talks fall into two categories - talks which are

disjointed and awkward, and talks which have had the rough edges removed

by numerous prior presentations (i.e., dull and unexciting).

One problem is that you can waste a tremendous amount of time by practicing

all the wrong parts of your talk. It is necessary to run through the talk a few

times to get an idea of how the talk will flow. After that, seek some outside

feedback to make sure you are on the right track. Finally, practice all parts of

the talk equally. If you always start at the beginning and work until you run into

problems, the beginning of the talk will be great, but the final portion of the talk

will be relatively weak. Begin one out of every few practice runs in the middle

or at the end of the talk.

Yes, that means running through the talk once or twice is not enough,

particularly if the material is new to you. If the presentation is important, treat it

that way.

Practice. A rule of thumb is a minimum of 10 practice runs for any one

presentation. This can be a big commitment of time, but consider what is

riding on a successful job, international conference, or research reputation.

3.1.1 Hints for efficient practice Read through the text before you begin. For the first few tries, and again for

the last few, stand in front of a mirror, or video yourself, so that you can see

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your head and feet. Work at being relaxed. Stand with feet slightly apart and

one foot slightly forward this will prevent swaying and weight shifts. Hold your

pointer in one hand, with the other held naturally at your side. This posture will

seem awkward, but looks natural and relaxed. Practice it.

Breathe slowly and deeply, and speak from your diaphragm; project your

voice. Practice making eye contact with your imaginary audience, but do not

single out one individual (a real person eventually will notice your attention,

and end up squirming in their seat). Also, if you are not happy with eye

contact then look at the top of their heads and make sure that you look around

the room.

Do not procrastinate when you actually are ready to practice. Take two deep

breaths and then begin. Watch your reflection in the mirror as you speak,

looking for odd and distracting habits.

Your words will probably be different each time you practice, but do try to stick

to the general outline of your notes. Do not attempt to memorise your text; use

your notes only as reference points to keep you on track. Think about the

ideas, and your words will follow naturally. Speak slowly and clearly, and use

gestures.

Audio and video recording or videotape, are the most useful tools for feedback. Look for variations in speed or tone, or for the dreaded “ums” (and

their cousins, the “ers”, “likes” and “you knows”). Again, look for distracting

mannerisms - do not pace, twirl your hair, or adjust your clothing. Make sure

you are speaking to your audience, not to the floor, ceiling, or projection/

computer screen. Do not hide behind the lectern.

What you say should be readily understandable by the audience. It is

essential that you speak clearly, distinctly and audibly. If you have a regional

or foreign accent you should be careful to speak even more slowly. Check

often to be sure that your audience understands and is following what you are

saying. It is not necessary to attempt to eliminate your accent. On the other

hand, rightly or wrongly, there is little room in professional presentations for

regional or cultural dialects or phrases.

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Listen carefully to the words you use, not to what you think you are saying.

Are these the best words for making your point? Are they unambiguous?

Avoid using jargon whenever possible and avoid clichés.

3.2 Using notes

A prepared series of notes can be useful, particularly if you get off track during

a presentation. Keep in mind that most people find that the notes are not

really needed once you get to the final talk. Poorly constructed notes, on the

other hand, can impede a presentation. Here are some hints on preparing

effective notes.

Begin by determining ‘the key message statement’ of the talk and then

decide on the minimum essential material needed to support that concept.

Working from an outline, write out the talk and practice it once or twice.

Reorganise the material so the talk flows more evenly, rephrase your

statements as needed, and use a pencil to highlight key phrases.

Run through the talk again with a pencil and paper nearby. Refer only to the

key phrases to recall the talk's content. If you run into problems, jot down the

problem with the pencil and paper, then continue. When finished, review your

notes and comments. Rework the talk by incorporating your comments,

removing unneeded words (or entire sections), and include comments or

symbols to remind yourself of upcoming items (a new slide, a joke, an

important item).

Run through the talk again, writing comments as you go. Transcribe the

keywords, etc. onto index cards. Write out the first few sentences of your

introduction only. If necessary, you can then use these sentences as a

springboard to get into the rest of the talk. Otherwise, the cards should

contain only the keywords and reminders you have developed for this talk.

Note – if you feel it necessary to use cards then do so, but remember it gives

the audience the impression that you don’t know your research.

Write across the short dimension and on only one side of each card, keeping

the bottom 1/3 of the card blank. Use the blank space for later comments or

references, and for numbering the cards in a final sequence. Use a subdued

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colour of card instead of a conspicuous white card; they will be less distracting

for the audience during the real talk. Practice again a few times making

modifications, then punch a hole through the bottom left corner of the card

and string the cards in sequence onto a clasp ring, tape the clasp ring closed!

If you have practiced your talk sufficiently you should not require index cards

and can use the information on the slides as a prompt.

3.3 Last-minute preparation

Having spent all that time preparing the talk itself, there are still a few things

you can do at the last minute that will help ensure a successful presentation.

Or, if you are the nervous type, help fill time . . .

1. Before the day begins, or last thing the night before, run through your

talk once more. Use a mirror or visualise standing in front of an

audience as you practice.

2. If possible, take a tour the room you will use for the presentation early

in the day. Look for potential problems with line of sight due to

furniture, dark spots due to dead overhead lights, intruding sound from

ventilation - these all can be fixed with a bit of prior warning and a

polite request.

3. If you need specialised equipment, make sure it is available ahead of

time - do not spring that information on your host at the last minute.

Alternatively, take it with you.

4. It is your show, so ask for help with the equipment if you need it; it is

better to ask for help then fumble around during the presentation.

5. Computer presentations introduce a whole host of potential issues -

see the ‘Packaging your presentation’ topic in the ‘Essential

PowerPoint Skills’ section about overcoming some of these. Here are

a few to consider:

• Is the host software compatible with your presentation? Are the

fonts, bullets, colours, etc. the same? Do they contain the same

versions of the software? This can be highly important when

using animation sequences.

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• Is there a sound card in the host computer? Is the sound system

operational - but not too painfully loud?

• Back-up your presentation before you leave using an alternate

medium, then bring it with you separately from the one you plan

to use (e.g., packed in a different suitcase), or e-mail it to

yourself as an attachment - you may be able to access it from

your destination if needed.

• Alternatively, e-mail it to your host and ask that they download

the file and test it on the computer you will be using - BEFORE

you depart for the trip!

• Did you include all the required files and resources for your

presentation (see the ‘Packaging your presentation’ topic)?

• If you are concerned about the venue having technical issues,

you may take along a laptop computer and the necessary

cables/leads to connect to the projector. Alternatively you could

print handouts or transparencies of your slides for use on an

OHP.

• Keep in mind that failures of technology can be devastating, but

that 1) the embarrassment is greater on the part of the host if

their equipment is at fault, and 2) the host is usually impressed if

you provide an alternate solution to the problem - suggesting

you are a proactive and prepared person ....

6. Irrespective of what your presentation medium might be, letting your

presentation slides, disk, CD, etc. out of your sight before the

presentation begins can lead to disaster.

7. If the room is large, or your voice small, use a microphone. Try it out

before the audience arrives (blowing into the mike or counting '1-2-3'

when they have arrived is off putting).

8. Check to see that accessories are present; chalk, eraser, markers, and

especially a pointer. If it is a laser pointer, does it have fresh batteries

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loaded? Keep in mind that green wavelength lasers DEVOUR

batteries!

9. Avoid standing behind a lectern or desk during the presentation. Stand

to one side of the projection screen or blackboard, and closer to the

audience if possible.

10. Moderate movement and hand gestures are OK, but avoid pacing and

flapping (you should be aware of this from your practice and/or video

feedback).

11. Do not be afraid to insist on a few minutes to yourself prior to the talk. If

you have an itinerary, check to see that you have had time allotted for

preparation. If you are running behind, see if someone is willing to

meet with you after the talk and then use that time to prepare instead.

Use this time to double-check your materials, and your introductory and

summary statements. Do not allow yourself to be distracted by

audience members coming up to chat.

12. Do not wait until the very last minute to make that run to the bathroom,

and remember to check carefully your appearance - including zips,

buttons and other closures - before you reappear.

3.4 The Moment of Truth

Gulp. So you are sitting there, about to be introduced. Now what?

1. Take several deep breaths as you are being introduced (but do not

sigh!). Visualise your rehearsed opening statement; do not improvise at

the last moment.

2. If appropriate thank them for inviting you and introduce yourself, unless

this has already been done for you.

3. State your objectives at the start of your talk, then restate them again

at the end of the talk. In between, discuss how your material relates to

these objectives.

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4. Unless you intentionally have had experience as a stand-up comic,

avoid making jokes. The results can be disappointing, and may

suggest an unprofessional attitude.

5. Choose a natural, moderate rate of speech and use automatic,

moderate gestures.

6. Monitor your behaviour, and avoid habitual behaviours (pacing,

fumbling change in pocket, twirling hair).

7. Laser pointers are wonderful pointing devices, but remember not to

point them at the audience. They are best used by flashing the pointer

on and off, so that the place you are indicating is illuminated briefly. Do

not try to keep the pointer still as this will probably shake on the screen

and make you look nervous. A small circle or underline of the area you

wish to highlight is more acceptable. However, avoid swirling the laser

around and around one place on the projection screen, or sweep it

from place to place across the screen. This can be very distracting for

the audience, and they will end up watching the pointer and not

listening to what you are saying.

8. Likewise, and for the same reasons, avoid using the cursor as a pointer

in your computer presentations.

9. Also try to avoid pointing things out on the computer's monitor at the

podium - although the presenter's natural tendency is to concentrate on

the monitor's screen, the audience will be looking over your shoulder at

the projection screen and will not be able to see where your finger is

pointing. If you find yourself doing this, power-off or disable the monitor

to force yourself to concentrate on the projection screen!

10. Enthusiasm for your topic is contagious, but do not overdo it - you will

alienate the audience.

11. Converse with your audience. Involve them in the process of the

presentation by posing questions and making eye contact. Be patient if

you ask a question - answers sometimes take time to formulate.

12. Keep an eye on your time, and do not run over your limit. Ever.

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13. Be prepared for interruptions (late arrivals, cell phones or pagers,

burned out projector bulbs, fire drills, etc.). If you wish to avoid some of

these then you can ask for cell phones to be put on silent and for

questions to be asked at the end.

14. If you must turn down the room lights, do not turn them off entirely. Do

not leave the lights down any longer than necessary - remember to turn

them back up! Of course, the snores from the sleeping audience may

remind you to turn the lights back on if you have forgotten.

15. Do not apologise for any aspect of your presentation. This should be

your very best effort; if you have to apologise, you have not done your

job properly.

16. Do not criticise aspects of the trip, city, facilities, etc. during your talk.

This is another way to alienate your audience quickly. For instance,

they may or may not have chosen to live in this horrible climate, but it is

not your place to remind them how horrible it is. Remember that you

are a guest and it is impolite to exhibit your prejudices publicly.

17. Strive to have a prepared and memorable summary. If nothing else, the

‘take-home’ message is what the audience will remember after you

leave.

When you reach the summary and are about to finish, resist the temptation to add a few last impromptu words. They will be unpractised, and will be the last thing many of your audience will hear you say. End your talk with the insightful, firm summary statement you have prepared.

18. Do not be afraid to give yourself credit for your own work, but do

remember to give others credit where due. Some prefer to do this early

in the talk, others prefer to do it later. If planned for later in the talk, do

not forget to acknowledge these people's efforts, even if you have to

skip a statement or two to remain within your time frame. The best

friend of one of these contributors may be in your audience! If you

include slides borrowed from other people, or slides which include

other people's data or figures, always give credit to these people right

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on that slide. This shows a professional attitude, and (better yet) can

save you many words of explanation.

3.5 Handling Questions

Your presentation does not end once you have finished what you have to say.

The question period often is the part of the talk which influences the audience

the most. After all, you have had time to practice the rest of the talk. This is

the part of the presentation where your ability to interact with the audience will

be evaluated. Since you cannot always predict what you will be asked, how

can you prepare for the questioning? Here are a few guidelines:

1. Always repeat each question so the entire audience knows what you

have been asked.

2. Before you answer, take a moment to reflect on the question. By not

rushing to give an answer, you show a degree of respect for the

questioner, and you give yourself time to be sure you are answering

the question that actually was asked. If you are unsure, restate the

question or ask for a clarification.

3. Above all, wait for the questioner to finish asking the question before

you begin your answer! The only exception is when it becomes

necessary to break in on a vague, rambling question; this is your show,

and you have only a limited time to make your presentation. It is

essential, however, that you break in tactfully. Say something like "So,

are you asking ....?" This will focus the question and give you a place to

begin an answer. Remember that your ability to interact with an

audience also is being evaluated.

4. If a question is asked during the talk, and it will clarify an ambiguity,

answer it immediately.

5. Postpone questions aimed at resolving specific problems (or arcane

knowledge) until the end of the talk, or private discussion. This is

particularly important if the answer will distract either you or the

audience away from the flow of your presentation.

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6. Avoid prolonged discussions with one person, extended answers, and

especially arguments.

7. If you cannot answer a question, just say so. Do not apologise. You

may:

• offer to research an answer, then get back to the questioner

later

• suggest resources that would help the questioner to address the

question themselves

• offer what you know about a related issue, but make sure that it

provides insight into the original question

• ask for suggestions from the audience.

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4 Tips, Tricks, Do’s and Don’ts

4.1 Top tips for top slides

1. Keep your slides simple. A slide is a tool to support the message you

are making and not the message itself.

2. Keep your slides consistent. Using the template will go a long way

towards achieving this. If you add features to your slides such as

animating text then don’t use every animation in the palette. Stick with

subtle effects if you use them at all.

3. Prepare thumbnail sketches of the slides, and run through the talk

again. Re-work the most appropriate and essential slides and discard

the rest.

4. Text on slides should always be broken down into succinct bulleted

points. You will confuse and lose your audience (and yourself) if you

describe concepts in long sentences or paragraphs of text.

5. Determine which elements are best presented as a graphic rather than

text. Spending time to work out the best way to present material is a

good investment, which can simplify delivery of the talk.

6. Do not forget to proof read your slides! The more familiar you are with

your slides, the less likely you are to spot a glaring typo. As a final

quality control step, ask a colleague to proof read your slides, as well.

Don’t rely solely on the ‘spell checker’ function in PowerPoint.

7. The earlier you start on the slides, the better they will be. On the other

hand, avoid fine tuning each slide endlessly; if you find yourself doing

this then go on to do something more productive instead.

8. When in doubt about which presentation medium to use

(transparencies, slides, videos, multimedia, etc.), choose the format

which is the least complex and remains consistent in terms of both

clarity and content of the presentation. For certain presentations you

may not be given the choice, therefore, it is always advisable to check

with the conference website as to the type of medium available. For

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most international conferences, PowerPoint compatible systems are

the only methods available. Keep in mind that the more technology you

use, the more things there are that can go wrong. These technological

difficulties may develop into a gruesome presentation experience,

particularly if you are giving the talk in an unfamiliar setting!

9. If you must use multimedia technology in your presentation, call ahead

to make sure the technology is supported where you will be speaking!

4.2 Important Elements

When preparing and rehearsing the presentation, keeping the following

elements in mind will reduce the amount of re-working you will have to do and

lead to a more streamlined and effective end product.

1. Rate: The optimal rate for a scientific talk is about 100 words per

minute. Any faster and the audience will miss key information. Use

pauses, and repeat critical information.

2. Opening: The opening should catch the interest of the audience and

describe the broader picture of your research. You should avoid filler

phrases (Thank you for having me) and technical jargon. In

3. Transitions: The link between successive elements of the talk should

be planned carefully, smoothly, and logically. You should make the

relation between successive ideas clear to the audience.

4. Conclusion: Summarise the main concepts you have discussed, and

how your work relates to issues you have raised. Aim to help your

audience achieve high retention of this final information. Signal that the

summary is beginning ("In summary, ..."), but do not begin the

summary too soon or else the audience will start to leave before you

finish!

5. Length: Do not run over! Ever! Shorten your talk by removing details,

concepts, and information, not by eliminating words. If it becomes

absolutely essential to supply details, supplement your presentation

with a handout. Make about 10% more handouts than you think you will

need. Always leave time for a few questions at the end of the talk.

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