CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: Good Research Talk How to Give a Good Research Talk Stephen Scott Introduction Goals Stephen Scott Planning Structuring (Adapted from Sally Goldman) Slide Prep At the Talk Conclusion Questions sscott@cse.unl.edu 1 / 24
Why Are We Here? CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a Good Research Talk For your work to have significant impact, it is essential Stephen Scott that you can convey results to your community Introduction Your technical reputation depends on colleagues’ Goals reaction to your talk Planning When on the job market this skill will be crucial in Structuring getting a research position in academics or industry Slide Prep At the Talk Giving a good talk is a skill you can learn Conclusion I will give you guidance and tips on giving a good talk Questions 2 / 24
Goals of a Talk CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: Goals: How to Give a Good Keep audience’s interest (and attention) Research Talk Convey technical material Stephen Scott Communicate a key idea of work Introduction Provide intuition Goals Convince audience to read your paper Planning Non-Goals: Structuring Show people how smart you are Slide Prep Expect audience to understand most key details of your At the Talk work Conclusion Will focus on giving conference presentation or job talk Questions Other scenarios (e.g., teaching) have different contexts, goals, and approaches 3 / 24
Outline CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a Good Goals of a talk Research Talk Planning stages Stephen Scott Structuring your talk Introduction Slide preparation Goals Planning What to do Structuring What to avoid Slide Prep At the talk At the Talk What to do Conclusion What to avoid Questions Concluding remarks 4 / 24
Planning Stages CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a Good Research Talk Know your audience: Stephen Scott What is their background? Introduction General CS (or math, or EE) Goals Somewhat specialized audience Highly specialized audience Planning Structuring If someone has spoken before you: Slide Prep Look at paper/abstract of relevant talks that preceeded At the Talk yours Conclusion Prepare to use context provided Questions 5 / 24
Scheduling (if you can) CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a Good If possible, schedule your talk at 10:00 Research Talk Stephen Scott Most people are awake Few have gone back to sleep Introduction Bad times to schedule talk: Goals Right before lunch since the audience is thinking about Planning food Structuring After lunch since the audience is more likely to be Slide Prep sleepy At the Talk Late afternoon since people will be running out of steam Conclusion Best to have room that will be comfortably crowded Questions 6 / 24
Structuring Your Talk CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a Good Research Talk Stephen Scott Use a top-down approach: Introduction Introduction: define problem, present a “carrot”, put in 1 Goals context, and give outline at end of introduction Planning Body: high-level summary of key results 2 Structuring Technicalities: more depth into a key result 3 Slide Prep Conclusion: review key results, wrap up, give future 4 work At the Talk Conclusion Questions 7 / 24
The Introduction CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: Define the Problem How to Give a Good minimize use of terminology Research Talk use pictures/examples/props if possible Stephen Scott Motivate the audience (give a “carrot”) Introduction Why is problem important? Goals How does it fit into larger picture? Planning What are applications? Structuring Discuss related work Slide Prep At the Talk Table useful (mention authors and dates) Conclusion Succinctly state contributions of your work Questions Provide a road-map (outline) at the end of the introduction 8 / 24
Concept Class of One-Dimensional Patterns CSCE The instance space X n consists of all configurations of 496/896 Lecture 8: n points on the real line How to Give a Good A concept is set of all configs. from X n within unit Research Talk distance under Hausdorff metric of some “ideal” Stephen Scott configuration of k points, where Hausdorff distance between configs. P and Q is Introduction Goals � � � � �� H ( P , Q ) = max max min q ∈ Q { d ( p , q ) } , max min p ∈ P { d ( p , q ) } Planning p ∈ P q ∈ Q Structuring and d ( p , q ) is distance between p and q Slide Prep If P is any configuration of points on R , then concept At the Talk Conclusion corresponding to P is C P = { X ∈ X n : H ( P , X ) ≤ 1 } Questions X is a positive example of C P if X ∈ C P and is a negative example otherwise Concept class of one-dimensional patterns is C k , n = { C P : P is a configuration of ≤ k points from R } 9 / 24
Concept Class of One-Dimensional Patterns CSCE 496/896 A concept c is set of fixed-width intervals on real line Lecture 8: How to Give a A example X is set of points on real line Good Research Talk Example X is positive if and only if: Stephen Scott Each of X ’s points lies in an interval from c 1 Each interval of c contains a point from X Introduction 2 Goals Planning concept Structuring Slide Prep At the Talk positive X 1 Conclusion Questions X negative 2 X negative 3 10 / 24
The Body CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a Good Research Talk Abstract the key results Stephen Scott Focus on a central, exciting concept Introduction Explain significance of your work Goals Sketch methodology of key ideas Planning Keep it high-level, emphasizing structure Structuring Use pictures/diagrams if possible Slide Prep Provide intuition At the Talk Helpful when someone later reads your paper Conclusion Gloss over technical details Questions 11 / 24
The Technicalities CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a Good Research Talk Take key result (or part of it) and go into some depth Stephen Scott Guide audience through difficult ideas Introduction Give overview Goals State result Planning Show an example Structuring Review Slide Prep It is this portion that typically grows when you give a At the Talk Conclusion 50-minute talk Questions 12 / 24
The Conclusion CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a Good Provide a coherent synopsis Research Talk Stephen Scott Review key contributions and why they are important Introduction Discuss open problems/future work Goals Planning Indicate your talk is over (for example, “Thank you. Are Structuring there any questions?”) Slide Prep Be ready to answer questions At the Talk If there are points you glossed over that you think will Conclusion interest the audience, you may want to prepare some Questions slides (just in case) 13 / 24
Slide Preparation—Do CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a Good Research Talk Decide what you want to say and say less! Stephen Scott Allow an average of 1.5–2 minutes for each slide Introduction Exact amount of time determined by practice Goals Use Repetition Planning “Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. Structuring Then tell them what you told them.” Slide Prep Realize that 20% of your audience at any given time is At the Talk thinking about something else Conclusion Use pictures/diagrams whenever you can Questions 14 / 24
Slide Prep—Do (cont’d) CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a Good Use a large font (at least 20 pt) Research Talk Stephen Scott Make neat/orderly slides Use overlays or other “scaffolding” Introduction Goals Use color/animation (in a meaningful way; not just to Planning attract attention) Structuring You need not use full sentences Slide Prep At the Talk Number your slides Conclusion Write reminders, key phrases, etc. on paper or in Questions PowerPoint’s notes 15 / 24
Slide Prep—Do (cont’d) CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a Good Check your spelling Research Talk Stephen Scott If you use a slide more than once, duplicate it PRACTICE! Introduction Give a practice for your colleagues, advisor, friends, Goals pets, etc. Planning Be ready to redo all your slides Structuring Practice again Slide Prep Be sure that all your material projects on the screen and At the Talk contrast is good Conclusion Make sure it does not take too much time Questions Beware PowerPoint’s timer! 16 / 24
Slide Preparation—Don’t CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a Good Research Talk Stephen Scott Overload slides Introduction Intend to use too many slides Goals Put some detail on the slide that you do not want to talk Planning about Structuring Get bogged down in details Slide Prep At the Talk Try to give a core dump Conclusion Questions 17 / 24
Slide Preparation—Don’t (cont’d) CSCE 496/896 Lecture 8: How to Give a Show complex equations Good Research Talk Show complex code (even pseudocode) Stephen Scott Have a slide that introduces a point that you are unsure Introduction of Goals (Unless you want to give the audience a chance to Planning attack you) Structuring Present last-minute results Slide Prep (They are probably wrong) At the Talk Have slides that you are not using mixed in with the rest Conclusion Questions Write messy, write (or use a font that is) too small, misspell words 18 / 24
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