Presentation Skills

The ability to give effective presentations is essential and a distinct form of oral communication worthy of special attention. Scrutinizing not only the outline and visual presentation of material but also one’s style and tempo of delivery can pay significant dividends in creating convincing and enjoyable presentations. Just like any performance, investing time into preparation and practice builds confidence. And the more often one presents and gets positive feedback from good performances, the easier and less time-consuming the preparation becomes. In contrast, when a presentation is assembled at the last minute with little time structuring the thoughts that will be used to engage the audience and describe the importance of the scientific work itself, the effectiveness of the presentation is likely to be diminished.

Presentation Tips

• Avoid composing slides that include whole paragraphs of text; some argue that there should be as little text as possible.
• Provide visual "breaks" for your viewers to shirt their attention and jar them from the regular tempo of your presentation.  Depending on your audience, consider promoting "real time" interactions at key moments of your presentation to drive home key points.
• Motivate and draw your audience into the presentation through curiosity--for example, pose leading questions or state or hint at your conclusions early in the talk to whet their appetite.
• Provide the context and motivation for the subject you are presenting; do not assume prior knowledge or appreciation for why you bothered to undertake the work you are presenting.
  
• Take the time to explain charts and figures; again, do not assume prior knowledge.
• If you tend to get nervous when presenting, practice your talk out loud either by yourself or with a friend; provide yourself with useful visual cues to remind yourself of key material to explain. Rehearsing the material will make a difference!

Additional Resources

• The Craft of Scientific Presentations: Critical Steps to Succeed and Critical Errors to Avoid by Michael Alley.
• “A 12-Step Program For Running Meetings,” by James T. Heires. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 44, No. 3, May/June 2000, pp. 21-22.
• “Developing Effective Presenters I: Tips for Managers,” by Jason Palmeri and Paul Tuten. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 47, No. 6, pp. 12-13.
• “The Twists and Turns of Effective Presentations,” by Jason Palmeri and Paul Tuten. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 16, 18.
• “How to Give Technical Presentations to Non-Technical Audiences: Part 1: Five Ways to Beat Stage Fright,” by Cheryl and Peter Reimold. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 14-15.
• “How to Give Technical Presentations to Non-Technical Audiences: Part 2: Pitfalls in Preparation,” by Cheryl and Peter Reimold. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 48, No. 3, p. 14.
• “How to Give Technical Presentations to Non-Technical Audiences: Part 3: Magic Questions,” by Cheryl and Peter Reimold. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 5, 11.
• “How to Give Technical Presentations to Non-Technical Audiences: Part 4: Telling the Story in Their Language,” by Cheryl and Peter Reimold. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 48, No. 5, p. 9.
• “How to Give Technical Presentations to Non-Technical Audiences: Part 5: A Fail-Safe Structure for Your Ideas,” by Cheryl and Peter Reimold. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 48, No. 6, pp. 5-7.