Scientific Presentation Skillshalllab/grad_resources/CAPES04_Presentation... · Scientific Presentation Skills ... Most science is transmitted orally ... • Aim your presentation

Scientific Presentation SkillsMelissa A. Hines, Dept. of Chemistry

You need a job (and maybe tenure)• Academic hiring (and postdoctoral, national labs, …)

• The tenure tour

Most science is transmitted orally• 55% of scientific papers receive no citations

within 5 years of publication

Why is Public Speaking Important?

Planning a Scientific Presentation

Know your audience• Why should they care about your work?

• Never overestimate your audience(or their attention span)

• Aim your presentation at the median person,not the expert

Tell a story, don’t present a report• Plan your take-home message first

The Structure of the Talk

• Title slide

Memorize the first 3 sentences of your talk!

• Introduction (and title)Most important slide (everyone is paying attention)

Should introduce the take-home message

Must pass the “parent test”

Give “the big picture”

Silicon Etching: Atomic-scale NanofabricationMelissa A. Hines, Dept. of Chemistry, Cornell University

Can we use chemistry to control surface morphology?

Potential application: Integrated frequency standards & filters (e.g., cell phones)

Requirement: f ~ few GHz & Q ~ 105

Problem: Quality (Q) plummets with increasing f


• Introduction (and title)• Outline of talk

The Odyssey (starring Odysseus)Homer, Poet in Transit

• Finish Trojan war

• Travel for 10 years– Visit Lotus Eaters– Blind the Cyclops– Shack up with Circe– Pass between Scylla and Charibdis– Listen to Sirens

• Return to Ithaca– Kill wife’s suitors– Live happily ever after


Keep it simple!

No gratuitous photos

• Introduction (and title)• Outline of talk

• Experimental/Computational

The Chemistry of Etching: An Atomic Scale View

Silicon


• Introduction (and title)

• Body• Experimental/Computational

Tell a story, don’t give a report

Logical, not chronological, order

A series of questions and answers is effective

Typical Structure of the Body

Results of #1Conclusion from #1

Experiment #1(e.g. Synthesis) Question raised by #1


Experiment #2(e.g. Characterization) Question raised by #2


Experiment #3(e.g. Testing) To Conclusions


Keep it simple! Reiterate take-home message

Out of time: Let the audience read

• Introduction (and title)

• Body• Experimental/Computational

• Conclusions & Acknowledgments

Handling Questions

• Make sure you understand the questionIf necessary, repeat or rephrase the question

• Watch out for ringers

• Keep your answer short and to the pointDon’t be arrogant or hostile

• Useful answers for awkward situations“That’s an interesting point. I’ll have to thinkabout it.”

“Maybe we should discuss this off-line.”

The Intangibles

Presentation style is important• Speak firmly, slowly and confidently• Look at the audience• Learn to use pointer & microphone

Practice! Practice! Practice!

Expect the unexpected• Use your own laptop if possible

• Bring back-up media and pointer• Check equipment right before the talk

Planning your slides

Only one concept (or experiment) per slide

• Conclusions & acknowledgments somewhat lessRule of Thumb: 2 minutes per slide

• Going faster will annoy the audience

• Going overtime is rudeTiming is critical!

• A seriously undertime talk is embarrassing

The Nuts and Bolts

Structure of a slide• Remember the lost and confused!• Informative title and self-contained content

• Do not use garish or gratuitous colors• Conclusion and/or segue at bottom

• Use short phrases, not complete sentences

A good slide speaks for itself

Images of Twist-Bonded WafersWhat kind of images?

What do the numbers mean?

The images show that the dislocation spacing dependssensitively on the angle. Note that the 0.4° sample isnot as periodic as the 0.9° sample.

Too much text!

Small Angle Buried Dislocations imaged by TEM

Buried dislocations

Too busy!Improve with

animation.

Increasing twist angle leads to decreasing spacing

Small Angle Buried Dislocations imaged by TEM

Buried dislocations1st

2nd

3rd

AnimationSteps:

Increasing twist angle leads to decreasing spacing4th

The Nuts and Bolts

• Big type is important (This is Helvetica 24)• Everything on slide must be legible

• Size matters!

• Use the 8' test

Legible at 8 feet?

The Nuts and Bolts

• Size is important

Use a font designed for headlines/labels

• Font is important

Fonts are Serious Business

There are two general classes of fonts

Use a sans serif font!

Legibility: Ease of character recognition

Readability: Ease of reading large blocks of text (i.e. paragraphs)

Font Color is also Important

Lorem ipsum dolor,Sit amet eiusmod















The Nuts and Bolts

• Large, bold san serif font

• Choose colors to maximize contrast

Best: Black text on white

White text on black OKAvoid colored text on colored background

Dark color on white OK

• Use contrast and size to prioritize information

Presenting Graphical Data

0.00E+00

2.00E+06

4.00E+06

6.00E+06

8.00E+06

1.00E+07

1.20E+07

1.40E+07

0 2 4 6 8 10

Etch Time

Fre

quency Series1

Series2

Series3

Series4

What is wrong with this graph?

Presenting Graphical Data

0.00E+00

2.00E+06

4.00E+06

6.00E+06

8.00E+06

1.00E+07

1.20E+07

1.40E+07

0 2 4 6 8 10

Etch Time

Fre

quency Series1

Series2

Series3

Series4

What is wrong with this graph?

Improved Presentation of Data

Presenting Equations

Rule #1: Don’t do it!

Rule #2: There is no rule #2.

Alternatives: Show a graph of the equation

Sketch the physical concept

Some Closing Thoughts

• Practice your talk out loud

Solicit (and give!) honest, constructive criticismTough criticism from a friend is better than

not getting the job

• Practice your talk on friends

Recruit outside your groupAsk to speak at an outside group meeting

Catch typos, missing labels, & inconsistencies

Documents

Scientific Presentation Skillshalllab/grad_resources/CAPES04_Presentation... · Scientific Presentation Skills ... Most science is transmitted orally ... • Aim your presentation