Powerpoint & MultimediaThe Art of Presenting Research

Robin Chin Roemer

March 19, 2012

This is a real PowerPoint slide.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/world/27powerpoint.html

“PowerPoint is Evil.”

Imagine a widely used and expensive prescription drug that promised to make us beautiful but didn't. Instead the drug had frequent, serious side effects: It induced stupidity, turned everyone into bores, wasted time, and degraded the quality and credibility of communication.

Edward Tufte. Wired (September 2003)

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html

“PowerPoint is NOT the Problem.”

“PowerPoint is NOT the problem. The problem is bad talks …

… it is difficult work to give a good talk, and to do so, the presenter has to have learned how to give talks, has to have practiced, and has had to have good feedback about the quality of the talks - the better to improve them.”

Don Norman. Sociable Media (2004)

http://www.sociablemedia.com/articles_norman.htm

Best Practices for Presenting Research

• Keep it simple.

• Limit bullet points & text.

• Use color & fonts appropriately.

Aa Bb CcAdapted from http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/slides.html

Best Practices for Presenting Research

Best Practices for Presenting Research

Overstructured design, confusing to follow

Excessive use of text, complex visual pairings

Tiny font choice, witheye-searing color scheme

http://www.seas.ucla.edu/ms/posters/posters.html

Best Practices for Presenting Research

Simple design, yet entertaining to examine

Judicious use of text, balanced with visuals

Clean font choice, withconsistent color scheme

http://swellbell.tumblr.com/post/274801752/design-research-poster

Best Practices for Presenting Research

• Limit effects & animations.

• Use visuals & media.

• Choose charts wisely.

Best Practices for Presenting Research

Best Practices for Presenting Research

Generic-looking visuals,

abstract-looking from afar

Heavy use of text, minimal visual use

Tiny font choice, withmonochrome theme

http://www.seas.ucla.edu/ms/posters/posters.html

Best Practices for Presenting Research

Evocative, unique visuals,

informative from afar

Strategic use of text, appropriate visual use

Tiny font choice, butClear & consistent theme

http://www.grida.no/images/polar/ipyposters/nb/research_poster.jpg

Best Practices for Presenting Research

• Know your content & audience.

• Practice your delivery.

• Strive to inform & intrigue.

http://prezi.com/pvk1t5erqfrh/make-it-work/

Best Practices for Presenting Research

http://callandsocialmedia.wordpress.com/2010/05/15/poster-presentation/

Best Practices for Presenting Research

Humanities & Social Science Research Day 2010

“… a poster session illustrating the work of researchers in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and DCU Linked Colleges…”

Sample Audience Fields• Communications• Education• Law and Government • Applied Language• Intercultural Studies

http://callandsocialmedia.wordpress.com/2010/05/15/poster-presentation/

is this a catchy title?

Best Practices for Presenting Research

NSF annual IGERT conference

“… IGERT is the National Science Foundation's flagship interdisciplinary training program, educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers by building on the foundations of their disciplinary knowledge with interdisciplinary training. “

Sample Audience Fields• Engineering• Computer Science• Sciences

http://depts.washington.edu/bioenrgy/research.html

Useful Links

“Presentation Tips.” Garr Reynolds.

http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/index.html

“SlideFest: Slide School 101.” Microsoft Corporation.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/powerpoint-slidefest/slide-school-101.aspx

“Unleashing the Power of PowerPoint.” University of Oregon Teaching Effectiveness Program.

http://tep.uoregon.edu/technology/powerpoint/powerpoint.html

TED Talks. Technology, Entertainment, Design.

http://www.ted.com/talks

Topics: PowerPoint. Mashable.

http://mashable.com/follow/topics/powerpoint/

Prezi: the Zooming Presentation Editor. Prezi.

http://prezi.com/Robin Chin Roemer

Communication Librarianrobincr@american.edu