11 May 2009
CREDIT TO MY PHD FRIEND IN UQ,BRISBANE
Conferences - The Three Ps
i. Preparation - the conference context
ii. Planning - what to present (and what to leave out)
iii. Performance - How to present
Making an Impact
Impact = Content (what) + presentation skills (how)
The Conference Context
Rule #1: Oral communication is different from written communication
your task
-to entice the audience to read your paper
-to engage, excite, provoke
*A presentation should be a spoken presentation on the same topic as the written paper
*A presentation cannot simply be a short version of the written paper
*To sound natural, you will need to be natural,to use shorter sentences, less detail, expressive language, memorable examples. In other words, you do need to perform
Key Idea
*Identify the key issue(just ONE!) and use it to organise your talk
*identify no more than 4 main points that relate to it
*be very specific: make sure your audience knows what you want them to remember
*be ruthless: remove everything not relevant to it
*avoid digressions: plan to tell (and sell) one story
*focus on your examples rather than making a general case
*refer to, nut do no present, relaled work (but make sure you know it thoroughly for question time)
Presentation Structure
An oral presentation will have a familiar structure:
- introduction: outline what you will be talking about
-main body: your findings and arguments
-conclusion: summary and conclusions
But the format requires different strategies from the written paper
To PowerPoint or not to PowerPoint
-there is probably no longer a choice to opt out of PowerPoint on the academic conference circuit
-don't be a slave to it. You do not need to have your entire presentation flashing before the audience's eyes
-keywords, dot points, images work well
Rule #2: If you have 15 minutes, plan and prepare a 15-minute presentation
First, do the sums: 15 minutes+ 1-2 minutes per slide = MAXIMUM of 10-12 slides
+ title slide (1 slide): author, affiliation,acknowledgemen
+rationale (1-2 slides): key idea and why it is interesting
+where it fits (1-2 slides): i.e. theory, wider disciplinary
+what your discovered and what it means (2-4 slides)
+summary (1 slide): one thing you want the audience to remember
To Outline or Not to Outline...
Presentations typically begin with an overview or outline: How to manuals usually insist:
-tell them what you will be telling them, tell them about it, and then tell them what you have just told them
But beware: A quick snapshot if fine, but if you spend five of your precious 15 minutes talking about, here does that leave you...?
*it is extremely difficult to juggle nerves, a mouse, ppt slides on the screen behind you,engage your audience and read from a written text
*let your ppt presentation double as your notes
*use written notes only if you must, and if you do, restrict them to a list of key words or dot points
*never use your written paper - it will be the wrong genre for the task ahead of you, and rifling through the pages will be a distraction you don't need
Pace
-remember, liestening is more difficult than reading
-material must be logical and well structured
-avoid information overload
-restrict yourself to no more than four key points
-don't try to the the audience everything you know
-don't present all the technical details of your work
-never try to show the audience how clear you are
Using Slides
-keep them simple -one idea per slide works best
-avoid distracting or overly detailed visuals
-use animation sparingly
avoid putting your spoken text on slide - the audience will read instead of listen
-don't leave your audience to read a whole slide of dense text, the timing is always wrong.if the information is crucial incorporate it into your talk
-don't expect your audience to absord a dense slide in a few seconds
Rule #4: Never, ever, go over time
-watch your time. Exceeding the time limit is discourteous to both other panel members and the audience
-audience stop listening as soon as the time allocated is past
-It is always conterproductive to continue (in a rush) to the end
-plan your presentation so that you can stop when the clock does
Q&A
-don't be frightened> Questions are good!
-be prepared: if detailed data or arguments are involved and you can anticipate discussion, prepare extra slides with elaborations on key issue (as long as you know how to locate them readily)
-paraphrase the question before you respond (gives you time to think, and ensures the audience members have all heard the question)
-don't be afraid to say you don't know
Presentation Tips
1. Be enthusiastic: if you are not, then who will be?
2. Be confident: never apologise for real or imagined shortcomings in preparation, knowledge, gaps in data, inexperience, lack of time etc etc
3. Be seen and heard:
+ make eye contact
+ project your voice: speak to someone at the back of the room
+ locate and encouraging "nodder" and speak to them
+ talk to the audience not the screen or computer
Rule #5: Remember to perform
-speak slowly
-speak loudly and clearly
-use short simple sentences
-avoid jargon and abbreviations
-vary pict, tone, volume, speed and pauses
-use gesture, body movement, be animated
-make sure you have everything you need
-don't slug from a water bottle!
Rule #6: Practice...and then practice again!
-this rule is the most important one, so if you do nothing else-do this, preferably 'live' to a group of friends or family
-reading silently wont be enough. Presentations, especially their timing, transform when spoken aloud
-go through the entire presentation exactly as you plan to present it to make sure it works
RELAX...remember to breathe! and enjoy the experience!
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