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

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06-06991 – Research Skills

Presentations

All researchers should be able to present their work to an audience. There are some basic skills which should not be neglected. These can be summed up as: preparation; structure and evaluation and improvement.

06-06991 – Research Skills

6 - Presentations 1

Know …

– decide: what you are going to say – decide: what you expect people to take away – consider: how much do you remember of a book you’ve read? – consider: how many points can people be expected to remember? Your topic

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Know …

– decide: how knowledgeable they are – decide: what they expect to get from your talk Your audience

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Prepare …

– find out where the talk is – find out when the talk is – find out the facilities to be used – find out how long your session lasts The obvious

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Prepare …

Your talk – work out the structure of your talk – prepare any audio-visual aids (e.g. slides) The questions – work out likely question topics Practise – on a friend – using the audio-visual aids

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Structure

Be structured Make sure your talk has a structure Ensure you can summarise the structure without thinking about it

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Structure

– Introduction - length and content depends on your audience – Several parts - usually three – corresponding to the takeaway message – Conclusion - usually gives conclusions and future work – Questions Structure your talk to have:

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Structure in more detail

Introduction You need to motivate your listeners to be interested

• explain what the problem is
• why it is worth solving (or at least investigating)

Give an outline of your talk – if you have to – but no

• ne will remember it

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Structure in more detail

Middle Present your main points:

• in a logical order
• explain that you are moving from one point to the

next

• explain how the next point relates to the previous

point(s)

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Structure in more detail

Conclusion – you must have an ending – don’t leave your audience to guess you have finished – revise the main points of your talk – perhaps say something about work in progress – thank your audience for listening

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Structure in more detail

After you have finished – if you want to give a list of references, have a handout – answer questions

• paraphrase the question – show understanding
• however stupid or irrelevant – always be polite
• avoid getting into long discussions/answers

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Structure

Make your structure clear through your audio-visual aids Keep to your structure when you are talking (What is the important word on this slide?)

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The evils of presentation packages

You will feel you have to use a presentation package – e.g. PowerPoint. The medium shapes the message – PowerPoint leads people into (usually) 3 bullet points per slide. Always try your presentation out on the machine which you are going to use in the talk. If possible, practise with the VBP you will use.

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Designing slides

Good slides – have one idea per slide, relatively little text and aren’t overcrowded – use simple diagrams/pictures where possible – use a good, clear typeface e.g. 36

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– look prepared

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Pitfalls of PowerPoint

Line spacing: set to 0.85 lines. Use animation to guide you through your talk. Use animations and sounds carefully. Think carefully about any diagrams you use and make sure they are readable from the back of the room. Don’t forget to use the spelling chekker.

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Diagrams, charts, graphs, pictures …

Text is very good at giving a summary but pictures can tell a story much better … “Old Joe”, the clock

tower of the University

• f Birmingham, was

inspired by the red-brick Torre del Mangia, a medieval clock tower that forms part of the Town Hall in Siena. 06-06991 – Research Skills

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How to annoy your audience

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Giving the talk

– 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! Obvious and less obvious points:

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Evaluate to improve

– evaluate your own talk – ask for an evaluation from a trusted friend – ask for your supervisor’s evaluation – evaluate other people’s talks Evaluate

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Evaluate to improve

Be critical – don’t assume that famous people always give good talks Be charitable – don’t expect miracles from other people Be realistic – don’t expect miracles from yourself.