Presentation tips

Know your audience

  • In order to give an understandable and engaging talk, you have to know your audience.

  • Your audience will be scientists from other disciplines, high school students (Maturandenklasse) and the public.

  • Put yourself in the shoes of the audience. Keep in mind that most people in the audience do not share your expertise.

  • Avoid using scientific jargon and explain your topic in terms that everyone will be able to understand who is not an expert in your discipline. If something is difficult to explain, provide context.

Prepare your slides

  • Create an outline on paper/sticky notes before you make your slides. What message do you want to convey? How do you structure your talk? How do you start your talk? Maybe you have a question for the audience? Or you make a statement that catches everone´s interest?

  • Use a title that the audience can understand and remember!

  • What is important about your research?

  • What do you want the audience to learn about your research and take away from your talk?

General advice for slides

  • The presentation slides should visually support your talk. They are not meant for you to read from.

  • Number of slides: Rule of thumb is one slide per one minute of talk.

  • Limit the amount of information on each slide. Use visuals. Too much information will distract your audience.

  • Font size: 24 points should be the minimum.

  • Keep diagrams and tables simple. Use captions. Explain what your data signifies and why it is important.

  • MFG, ARD, and ZDF: Explain acronyms and abbreviations.

Practice your talk

  • Practice your talk and time it. It is a good idea to record your talk (audio and video) on your smartphone. You can listen to your recorded talk when you go for a walk to practice it. You can also recite it to your friends. Articulate well, consider how fast or slow you talk, and consider your tone of voice. You can use pauses and intonation to get the attention of the audience. Maybe you notice that you use filler words (ehm, uhm, like, you know) or make gestures (touching you hair, face) that you want to avoid. Check for scientific terms that might need explaining. Wear clothes that make you comfortable during your talk.

  • Make sure your presentation fits the allotted time limit. Talk: It may help to determine which slide marks the middle of your presentation.

Enjoy your talk!

Learn from good examples

Check out the talks from the 3MT competition: https://vimeo.com/threeminutethesis/. You will have more time to give your talk, but the 3-minute talks offer good insights on presentation techniques.

Links

Links last accessed on September 17, 2024.