1 06-06991 Research Skills 06-06991 Research Skills Structure - PDF document

06-06991 – Research Skills 06-06991 – Research Skills Know … Your topic Presentations – decide: what you are going to say – decide: what you expect people to take away – consider: how much do you remember of a book All researchers should be able to present you’ve read? their work to an audience. There are some – consider: how many points can people be basic skills which should not be neglected. expected to remember? These can be summed up as: preparation; structure and evaluation and improvement . 6 - Presentations 1 06-06991 – Research Skills 06-06991 – Research Skills Know … Prepare … The obvious Your audience – decide: how knowledgeable they are – find out where the talk is – find out when the talk is – decide: what they expect to get from your talk – find out the facilities to be used – find out how long your session lasts 6 - Presentations 2 6 - Presentations 3 06-06991 – Research Skills 06-06991 – Research Skills Prepare … Structure Your talk Be structured – work out the structure of your talk – prepare any audio-visual aids (e.g. slides) Make sure your talk has a structure The questions – work out likely question topics Ensure you can summarise the structure without Practise thinking about it – on a friend – using the audio-visual aids 6 - Presentations 4 6 - Presentations 5 1

06-06991 – Research Skills 06-06991 – Research Skills Structure Structure in more detail Structure your talk to have: Introduction – Introduction - length and content depends on your audience You need to motivate your listeners to be interested – Several parts - usually three – corresponding to • explain what the problem is the takeaway message • why it is worth solving (or at least investigating) – Conclusion - usually gives conclusions and future work – Questions Give an outline of your talk – if you have to – but no one will remember it 6 - Presentations 6 6 - Presentations 7 06-06991 – Research Skills 06-06991 – Research Skills Structure in more detail Structure in more detail Middle Conclusion – you must have an ending – don’t leave your Present your main points: audience to guess you have finished • in a logical order • explain that you are moving from one point to the – revise the main points of your talk next • explain how the next point relates to the previous – perhaps say something about work in progress point(s) – thank your audience for listening 6 - Presentations 8 6 - Presentations 9 06-06991 – Research Skills 06-06991 – Research Skills Structure in more detail Structure After you have finished Make your structure clear through your audio-visual aids – if you want to give a list of references, have a handout Keep to your structure when you are talking – answer questions • paraphrase the question – show understanding (What is the important word on this slide?) • however stupid or irrelevant – always be polite • avoid getting into long discussions/answers 6 - Presentations 10 6 - Presentations 11 2

06-06991 – Research Skills 06-06991 – Research Skills The evils of presentation packages Designing slides You will feel you have to use a presentation package Good slides – e.g. PowerPoint. – have one idea per slide , relatively little text and aren’t overcrowded The medium shapes the message – PowerPoint leads – use simple diagrams/pictures where possible people into (usually) 3 bullet points per slide. – use a good, clear typeface e.g. 36 24 18 14 12 Always try your presentation out on the machine 10 36 which you are going to use in the talk. 24 18 14 12 10 – look prepared If possible, practise with the VBP you will use. 6 - Presentations 12 6 - Presentations 13 06-06991 – Research Skills 06-06991 – Research Skills Diagrams, charts, graphs, pictures … Pitfalls of PowerPoint Line spacing: set to 0.85 lines. Text is very good at giving a summary but pictures can tell a story much better … Use animation to guide you through your talk. “Old Joe”, the clock Use animations and sounds carefully. tower of the University of Birmingham, was Think carefully about any diagrams you use and inspired by the red-brick make sure they are readable from the back of the Torre del Mangia, a room. medieval clock tower Don’t forget to use the spelling chekker. that forms part of the Town Hall in Siena. 6 - Presentations 14 6 - Presentations 15 06-06991 – Research Skills 06-06991 – Research Skills How to annoy your audience Giving the talk Obvious and less obvious points: – be calm! – don’t speak quickly – use your audio-visual aids to help you – don’t try to learn your talk off by heart – think about where you stand – think what people can see – especially the screen – talk to the people at the corners of the room – keep control! 6 - Presentations 16 6 - Presentations 17 3

06-06991 – Research Skills 06-06991 – Research Skills Evaluate to improve Evaluate to improve Be critical Evaluate – don’t assume that famous people always give – evaluate your own talk good talks – ask for an evaluation from a trusted friend – ask for your supervisor’s evaluation Be charitable – don’t expect miracles from other people – evaluate other people’s talks Be realistic – don’t expect miracles from yourself. 6 - Presentations 18 6 - Presentations 19 4