Oral Presentations

Listed below are some points you might consider as you prepare an oral presentation. It’s a good idea to practice your presentation with the same visual aids you will use in your talk, and preferably in the same room.

Content and Organization

	Begin with a clear statement of the purpose of your talk.
	Powerpoint slides are now the usual way to illustrate most professional presentations. A thoughtfully prepared set of slides can serve as the outline for your talk and free you of depending on written notes. See the next section on tips for preparing and using slides.
	Keep your audience in mind at all times. As a general rule, you should aim for a level understandable to your peers.
	Organize the presentation according to some logical progression. Try to make it easy for the listener to follow your logic and understand your main points.
	Try to let your audience know where you are going. When switching from one point to another, aim for a smooth transition: let your listeners know that you have finished with one topic and are moving on to the next one.
	Summarize your main conclusions at the end of the talk. Leave your audience with a "take-home" message.

Preparing Effective Visual Aids

Visual aids that are most effective for a seminar are not identical to the tables, graphs, and illustrations suitable for a written paper. In a written paper the reader can spend more time absorbing information, and figuring out how it is organized. In a talk, you must get your key points across quickly and clearly.

AMOUNT OF MATERIAL PER SLIDE

	Less is better. Remember that your talk is the main attraction: the visuals are there to support your talk, not the other way around.
	Limit outlines and tables to 8 - 10 lines of text. If you have more than this on one slide, ask yourself if it is all necessary. If it really is, divide the material onto several slides. If it isn't, CUT!
	Do not write full sentence outlines. Your audience should be listening to you, not reading the slides. An outline with key phrases and terms is sufficient.
	For each slide, ask yourself "What point do I want to make here?" and then design it so that it helps you make this point.

READABILITY

	Use fonts large and bold enough for all the text to be easily readable, even from the back of the room.
	On graphs, make sure axis labels and values are large enough to read, and symbols are large enough to be differentiated.
	Table headings and axis labels should be brief.
	Use easily understandable abbreviations.

PREPARING SLIDES ON A COMPUTER

	Plan ahead. If you are not adept with PowerPoint, don’t wait until the week before your presentation to learn it.
	Fight the temptation to put in too many "bells and whistles." You don’t want glitzy backgrounds and fancy slide transitions to distract your audience from the content of your talk. Turn off any sound effects.
	Use good taste in selecting backgrounds, colors and fonts, and apply them consistently throughout the presentation.

Presentation

	Find an appropriate rate and level for speaking. Try not to speak too fast or too slow, too loudly or too softly.
	Maintain good eye contact with the audience.
	Project enthusiasm about your subject --- this is one of the best ways to engage the audience's interest.
	Do NOT read your presentation Keep in mind that written sentences are very different from spoken sentences. Use an outline of main points rather than a written text to prompt you during the talk.
	Do NOT read the contents of each slide to your audience! This is pretty insulting, not to mention bo-o-o-o-ring. . . .
	When giving a computerized presentation, use the mouse to point out the specific regions of a slide as you discuss them. Insufficient explanation of slides is a common weakness.
	Avoid distractions such as giggling or using fillers such as "um."
	Answer questions clearly and stick to the point. If you aren't sure about something, say so. It is perfectly acceptable to speculate if you explain your reasoning. ("I don’t know, but I’d guess blah, blah,. . . . , because . . . .")
	In general, compare good lectures with poor ones in classes you have taken, and try to emulate the qualities of the former while avoiding the mistakes of the latter!

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http://www.biology.sbc.edu/handbook/oralpres.htm This page is maintained by Linda Fink: lfink@sbc.edu Last updated July 2006