Conference Presentation Best Practices We created the following document to provide all WSPHA conference presenters with concrete actions they can take to maximize their effectiveness. This guidance incorporates actual feedback we received from participants, our observations during past conferences, and global best practices. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE WSPHA’s conference attracts a diverse audience of public health professionals and students from across Washington. A little over half of our attendees come from our local, state or federal governmental public health systems. The remaining portion includes participants from academia, non-profits, advocacy organizations, professional associations, tribal health, other government branches, hospitals, and healthcare providers. When developing your presentation, assume that you will have both audience members early in their careers (i.e. 1-2 years of general public health experience), as well as those with decade/s of experience in your specific field. Please aim to make the presentation as participatory, inclusive and as useful as possible for your diverse audience. ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE Adults learn best when they actively participate in their learning and understand how they can apply what they have learned in a practical way. We recommend all presenters consider the following questions carefully when planning their presentations: Why should your audience care about this topic and why now? Addressing • this question generates urgency and the need for your audience to learn. It hooks your audience and sustains their attention for the duration of the presentation. How can your audience apply what they’ve learned in your session to • their work? In public health, it can be easy to get deep into the weeds when we have a lot of evidence or knowledge on a particular issue. For subject matter that is more nebulous, we may default to discussing the theoretical level without providing any concrete details. Aim to strike a balance between providing both the broader context and tangible takeaways. Are there best practices that can be applied to other regions/contexts? Consider asking your audience to reflect or share how they will apply what they have learned. How can you reduce passive learning and increase active/participatory • learning? Lots of research supports the notion that people learn more when they actively participate, instead of just watching and listening. Remember that your audience members will be attending up to 8 hours of learning activities on the day of your presentation. They will greatly appreciate a chance to reflect on their experiences and apply what they’ve learned. For workshops and breakout sessions, we recommend no more than 15 minutes of lecture in a single block. By mixing up the presentation format, the learners will retain more. Examples of active learning techniques: Small group discussion o Group brainstorming o Problem-solving or analysis o Question the audience o Role-play o We are here to help! If you would like assistance brainstorming active engagement strategies, feedback on your presentation, don’t hesitate to reach out (206-454-9453).
PowerPoint Best Practices MAKE THE SLIDES SELF-EXPLANATORY AND EASY TO UNDERSTAND Make the slides instantly intelligible and reusable by the listeners so that they can later communicate the message to others. If a slide can’t be absorbed by the audience in a couple of seconds, it should be clarified and simplified. The slides will be available on WSPHA’s website after the conference. ELIMINATE JARGON AND ACRONYMS Acronyms are not too difficult individually for mentally alert technical specialists to understand. However, the cumulative effect of acronyms and jargon can add onto the mental effort to follow the argument and can make the presentation sound like a blur. For some, jargon and acronyms may become a total turnoff. For others, they may be unfamiliar with them, or have a different use for them altogether. Thus, slides should be submitted to the grandmother test: would your grandmother understand them? USE LARGE LEGIBLE FONTS One rule of thumb is to never use anything smaller than 24-point font. Most presentations contain significant content in small fonts that cannot realistically be read or absorbed by an audience. If you wish to convey a lot of information with smaller font, create supplemental handouts for your audience instead of including it in the Powerpoint. SIMPLIFY! SIMPLIFY! SIMPLIFY! The overriding motto for slide construction and indeed for all communication: less is more. There is great temptation for presenters to include everything single thing that they know in the slides. As a result, the slides generally become far too complex and the audience easily gets lost. Slides are meant to streamline communication, but in this situation, the slides can become the problem. General recommendation: 3-4 single lined bullet points per slide (5 maximum). ADD STRIKING, RELEVANT IMAGES Make sure that the image fits and reinforces the message. Vague general images of smiling faces or people using computers are often just distracting. They may create a vague warm glow in the presenter, but for the audience, they often merely add to the cognitive overload. Every “drop of ink” on the slide needs to be justified. If it isn’t adding to the message, delete it. AVOID ANIMATION Random explosions, zooms, fade and so on should be scrutinized as to whether they are adding to the meaning or simply making the audience dizzy. USE GRAPHS AND TABLES OF FIGURES WITH CARE Most make the mistake of using too many graphs and tables that are not relevant and actually detract the audience from the main message. Often, they are illegible and require a significant mental effort to understand them. Decide if a table, figure, or graph is absolutely necessary and then highlight findings or significant data for the audience to anchor their attention and remove irrelevant content. Label the axes, legends, column headings, and row headings clearly. GUIDE THE AUDIENCE WITH AN AGENDA OR TIMELINE Keep the audience’s attention and focused on the big picture with a visual agenda or timeline. Audiences can get lost in the details of content heavy presentations and they can lose sight of the big picture. Start your presentation with a list of learning objectives or an outline for your audience. Then tie their focus back in with the use of a visual agenda or timeline.
Presenter Checklist OVERALL, YOUR PRESENTATION… o Achieves the learner objectives listed in your abstract o Provides usable ideas or techniques that can be applied elsewhere (check all that apply): o Lessons learned o Best practices o New skills o Call to action o Other ________________________ o Incorporates active learning techniques. Examples: o Small group discussion o Group brainstorming o Problem-solving or analysis o Question the audience o Role-play o Other ________________________ o Includes sufficient time for Question & Answer (~10 minutes for 45-minute presentations; ~15 minutes for 60-minute sessions) o Is clear and easy to understand o Incorporates an element of fun or humor o Has been practiced out loud o Presentation length matches the time allotted o (If more than one presenter) Practiced together to ensure integrated messaging and smooth transitions IF YOU ARE USING POWERPOINT, YOUR SLIDES… o Begin with the required conflict of interest disclosure slide o Include an agenda or timeline o Are self-explanatory and easy to understand o Do not contain jargon and acronyms o Use large legible fonts (No smaller than 24-point) o Contain no more than 5 bullet points per slide o Include only images that are relevant and reinforce the message o Avoid distracting animation o Contain only graphs and tables that are relevant o Findings and significant data highlighted o Irrelevant content removed o Axes, legends, and headings clear
We encourage attendees to complete the session evaluation below to provide feedback on individual sessions. This form is optional and is available both electronically and in hard copy at the conference. The evaluation responses are available to presenters upon request after the conference. WSPHA Annual Conference Session Evaluation Which conference session are you evaluating? (Enter full session title): _____________________________________________________________ For the benefit of the presenters and planning committee, please answer the following by circling one rating. 1. The speakers presented effectively Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree 2. The information provided is timely & useful Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Agree 3. I will be able to apply what I learned in this session in my work. Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree 4. Please rate the session: Excellent Good Fair Poor Comments/Recommendations for the future:
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