Tips: Presentations

1.   DO NOT READ from a prepared paper. Have some notes or an outline to keep you on track, if necessary. But the ideal is to be familiar enough with your slides and what you want to say that you can speak directly to the audience for most or all of your talk. Remember: people find it VERY difficult to follow someone reading from a prepared script, so if you read from a paper it’s almost like not giving a presentation at all.

2.   PowerPoint slides should have plenty of non-verbal, empty space. Short sentences and phrases!

3.   Use graphics wherever possible - photographs, diagrams, charts. Avoid presenting tables of data unless it’s impossible to present it any other way.

4.   Remember that your audience is filled with fellow human beings, most of whom want to learn something – and they’re more welcoming than you think. Have a conversation with them. Express concepts in simple terms without dumbing down the material.

5.   Give examples to illustrate your points and anchor what you are saying in a meaningful way. Metaphors can be helpful (e.g. “The positive ions rush through the ion channel like people trying to get into a hip club.”)

6.   Read through your presentation out loud beforehand, and time yourself. (If you follow the “minimal text, maximal space per slide” rule, you can estimate one minute per slide.) Assume you will ALWAYS take longer in front of an audience, when you will add details and inevitably digress. It is your responsibility as the presenter in a scientific meeting to fit the time allotted – otherwise you may be cut off and not allowed to reach your conclusions.

Good luck, and have fun with your presentation!