Give Presentations

Another important step in the professional development of a scientist is the ability to give good presentations. Typically scientists are working on their technical projects until a deadline (conference deadline or proposal deadline) and put the presentation of the material together at the last minute. While this may be an efficient use of time in the lab, the actual language used in the oral component of the presentation may suffer. Specifically, when a presentation is assembled at the last minute, the scientist spends little time structuring the thoughts that will be used to engage the audience and describe the importance of the scientific work itself. The purpose of this chapter is to provide free available resources in these areas.

Presentation Tips

Describe the conclusions in 1-2 minutes at the beginning of your talk

Practice! Practice!

Read “A 12-Step Program For Running Meetings,” by James T. Heires. http://www.ieeepcs.org/pdfs/may_jun00.pdf. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 44, No. 3, May/June 2000, pp. 21-22.

Read “Developing Effective Presenters I: Tips for Managers,” by Jason Palmeri and Paul Tuten. http://www.ieeepcs.org/pdfs/nov_dec03.pdf. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 47, No. 6, pp. 12-13.

Read “The Twists and Turns of Effective Presentations,” by Jason Palmeri and Paul Tuten. http://www.ieeepcs.org/pdfs/mar_apr03.pdf. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 16, 18.

Read “How to Give Technical Presentations to Non-Technical Audiences: Part 1: Five Ways to Beat Stage Fright,” by Cheryl and Peter Reimold.  http://www.ieeepcs.org/pdfs/may_jun04.pdf. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 14-15.

Read “How to Give Technical Presentations to Non-Technical Audiences: Part 2: Pitfalls in Preparation,” by Cheryl and Peter Reimold. http://www.ieeepcs.org/pdfs/may_jun04.pdf. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 48, No. 3, p. 14. 

Read “How to Give Technical Presentations to Non-Technical Audiences: Part 3: Magic Questions,” by Cheryl and Peter Reimold. http://www.ieeepcs.org/pdfs/jul_aug04.pdf. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 5, 11. 

Read “How to Give Technical Presentations to Non-Technical Audiences: Part 4: Telling the Story in Their Language,” by Cheryl and Peter Reimold.  http://www.ieeepcs.org/pdfs/sep_oct04.pdf. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 48, No. 5, p. 9.

Read “How to Give Technical Presentations to Non-Technical Audiences: Part 5: A Fail-Safe Structure for Your Ideas,” by Cheryl and Peter Reimold.  http://www.ieeepcs.org/pdfs/nov_dec04.pdf. IEEE PCS Newsletter, Vol. 48, No. 6, pp. 5-7.