What you will do Have maximum of 12 minutes to give a Giving a - - PDF document

11/18/2009 1

Giving a research presentation

Kevin Paterson University of Leicester

What you will do

• Have maximum of 12 minutes to give a

verbal report of your study, with 2-3 minutes for questions.

• Use powerpoint slides to support that

verbal presentation.

• You can supplement this with handouts if

you wish.

• You will peer assess each presentation

(apart from your own).

Why are you doing this?

• To impress your peers with your research

acumen (and, by extension, get a good mark).

• To establish yourself as a respected

researcher in your field.

• But 12 minutes is too short!

– Some conferences allow only 10 minutes. Most allow 20, but usually for multiple studies.

What’s your research about

• Usually best to begin with a clear outline of

what your research is about.

• Keep this as short and punchy as

possible.

• Keep your reader interested.
• Would using examples make the point

most clearly?

Give relevant background

• Don’t attempt to provide a comprehensive

review of the area.

• Instead point out the key studies and key

issues in the research.

• Use this to lead up to the description of

your study.

• That is, what you are doing show follow

seamlessly from your introduction.

Describe your method

• You should be able to describe what you

did.

• This doesn’t have to read like the method

section in a journal article though.

• Report key information: what you did, what

you manipulated, timing of presentations etc., number of participants.

• Use an example to illustrate your methods.

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Describe your results

• Summarise what you found.
• Use graphs if possible.
• Usually this will involve displaying mean

and variance data (e.g., use confidence intervals).

• Talk the reader through your graph,

indicating what it shows, what each axis represents, what effects are visible.

Discuss your results

• Summarise your findings.
• How do these findings fit with previous

research?

• Were there obvious problems with your

study that affected your findings, or that merit further investigation?

• What’s the next step?
• Reach a clear conclusion.

Answering questions

• Be polite and non-aggressive (even in face
• f criticism).
• Try to answer questions, but it is fine to

say you don’t understand a question, or that you don’t know an answer (unless, of course, it is something you should have known!).

Tips

• Don’t try to write in full sentences.
• Use short, snappy, bullet points.
• Don’t include large chunks of text (except

if this is an example of your materials).

• Don’t assume that readers either read or

understand.

• Read over your points, and explain and

elaborate those points.

Tips

• Use examples wherever possible.
• These will clarify the points you are

making.

• In particular, use examples to illustrate the

methods you used.

• Use graphs to illustrate results.

Tips

• Keep your text visible.
• Font size

– Use point 18 as a minimum.

– Point 24 or 28 is better.

• Best also to use sans serif, e.g., Arial, Tahoma.

Avoid heavy serif fonts, e.g., Baskerville old face! New century schoolbook.

• Adjust text size on graphs (especially axes) to

make these readable.

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Tips

• Keep things simple.
• Don’t use fancy animation on your text!
• By all means include video or animation if

this is relevant but remember your time limit.

• Stick to dark text on light background or

light text on dark background.

Tips

• Practise your talk many times beforehand.
• You wouldn’t expect an actor to perform a

role without rehearsing properly.

• The best talks are well-practised, to the

point where they appear effortless!

• Practise your talk aloud – any problems

will become apparent when you do this.

Tips

• Be careful with self-criticism.
• By all means acknowledge problems and

limitations.

• But do this without undermining the

credibility of your study (and yourself!).

• Remember that you are promoting the

quality of your work (and, by extension, yourself).

Tips

• Dealing with anxiety –

– Practise your talk! – The more practised you are, the less anxious you will feel. – Try not to rely on notes. – If you know your talk well, you will be more relaxed and confident.

Tips

• Use humour if you can (but keep it

relevant! And don’t overdo it).

• Make good eye-contact with your

audience.

• Be confident about yourself and your work.

Summary

• Say why your research is important,
• utline what you have done, what you

have found, and what this shows.

• Keep it lively, but always informative.
• Be clear, concise, and precise!
• Be confident and articulate.