Presentation Skills
Presentation Skills
Outline
Planning
Preparation
Practice
Performance
Questions
Planning
• Who are you talking to?• Why are you talking to them?• How long have you got?• What story are you going to tell?
Preparation
• Outline and sketch slides• Prepare slides• Proof read• Prepare notes -
brief keywords and phrases, except maybe first couple of paragraphs
Preparation - Outline
1 - 2 minutes per slide
Generic 15 min Conference Presentation
Title Slide (1) Title, author, affiliation, acknowledgements
Rationale (1-2) Why this is interesting
Methods (1-2) What you did
Results (2-4) What did you find and what does it mean
Summary (1) One thing you want them to remember
Preparation - Slides
Use Images & Graphics
Relevant images communicate,
and maintain interest
Preparation - SlidesUse Images & Graphics
Minimise text & numbers
Preparation - SlidesUse Images & Graphics
Minimise text & numbers
Light text on dark background
Preparation - SlidesUse Images & Graphics
Minimise text & numbers
Light text on dark background
Avoid distracting backgrounds
Preparation - SlidesUse Images & Graphics
Minimise text & numbers
Light text on dark background
Avoid distracting backgrounds
Use large font
Arial, Times New Roman or Verdana fonts.
24 pt is minimum, 32 pt, or even 36 pt is better
Preparation - SlidesUse Images & Graphics
Minimise text & numbers
Light text on dark background
Avoid distracting backgrounds
Use large sans serif fonts
Mix upper and lower case
ALL CAPITALS IS HARDER TO READ, ALTHOUGH IT MIGHT BE OK FOR THE ODD TITLE
Preparation - SlidesUse Images & Graphics
Minimise text & numbers
Light text on dark background
Avoid distracting backgrounds
Use large sans serif fonts
Mix upper and lower case
Use colour to highlight textUse high contrast colours for important lines, symbols or text, and lower contrast colours for less important lines, symbols or text. But use a small number of colours
Preparation - SlidesUse Images & Graphics
Minimise text & numbers
Light text on dark background
Avoid distracting backgrounds
Use large sans serif fonts
Mixture upper and lower case
Use colour to highlight text
Keep figures simple
0
20
40
60
80
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Condition
Y a
xis
(un
its)
*
Show means, sd, effect size statistics, but not test statistics
Preparation - SlidesUse Images & Graphics
Minimise text & numbers
Light text on dark background
Avoid distracting backgrounds
Use large sans serif fonts
Mixture upper and lower case
Use colour to highlight text
Keep figures simple
Thick lines and large symbols
0
5
10
15
20
20 30 40 50 60 70
Y A
xis
(uni
ts)
Participant 2
r = 0.89
X Axis (units)
Preparation - SlidesUse Images & Graphics
Minimise text & numbers
Light text on dark background
Avoid distracting backgrounds
Use large sans serif fonts
Mixture upper and lower case
Use colour to highlight text
Keep figures simple
Thick lines and large symbols
Progressive disclosure
•Big
•Simple
•Clear
Design Concepts
•Should be able to read everything from the back row
•At least 28 pt, preferably 36
Big
•No more than 6 lines
•No more than 7 words per line
Simple
•Arial or Helvetica
•Blue background with yellow text (black/white as well)
•Avoid overuse of red, shadows, animation and transitions
•Beware of busy backgrounds
Clear
•Clip art should add to the content
•Use a different background only to emphasize one slide
Clear
Visual Aids
should be on
the speaker’s
left.
Practice
• Practice, practice, practice
• Get feedback, and use it.
• Be ruthless – delete unnecessary information
Performance
• Don’t Apologise• Speak loudly & clearly
• Use short simple sentences
• Avoid jargon & abbrev.
• Vary pitch, tone, volume, speed and pauses
Performance
• Avoid distracting mannerisms
• Relax, be enthusiastic
• Make eye contact
• Keep an eye on the time remaining
Performance
• Explain figures, and point to important aspects
• Give a clear and concise summary, then stop.
• Don’t go overtime. Ever.
Questions
• Anticipate likely questions and prepare extra slides with the answers
• Maybe even plant a stooge
Questions
Paraphrase questions
1. so that other people hear the question
Questions
Paraphrase questions
1. so that other people hear the question
2. to check you understand the questions
Questions
Paraphrase questions
1. so that other people hear the question
2. to check you understand the questions
3. to stall while you think about an answer
Questions
If you don’t know the answer, say so.
Offer to find out.
Ask the audience.
Summary
Like most things,
the best way to learn is to do
Here are some samples:
Human Faces
Both famous men in these slides are looking in the general direction of the quote. You notice the face first, but your eye naturally moves to the text.
Samples Slides
The slide on the right makes better use of eye gaze. The image is more natural as well since it is not cut but naturally bleeds off the right side.
Samples Slides
The slide on the left is acceptable, but notice how much more natural the slide on the right feels when the face of O-Sensei is orientated inward toward the bulk of the slide and in the general direction of the text.
Samples Slides
This is an image of Judit Kawaguchi (who writes for the Japan Times, among other things) interviewing The Dalai Lama on the Shinkansen in Japan. The quote which appears in the slide is something he said during that actual interview on the train. The first slide shows the context, then the second slide fades in which results in Judit Kawaguchi fading out and being replaced by the text; the right third of the slide (The Dalai Lama) never appears to change.
Samples Slides
Not Only Human Faces
The context in this case was the oil spill last year in a presentation on general environmental issues.
Samples Slides
The context in this case was the oil spill last year in a presentation on general environmental issues.
Samples Slides
The bird gets your attention and its orientation, shape, and impression of movement upward lead your eye toward the text. The image of the bird almost acts as a big arrow saying "look here."
Samples Slides
Visual Makeover
BEFORE: Above (left) is the original slide. The problem with the slide on the left is that the clip-art used does not reinforce the statistic, nor does it even fit the theme of women in the Japanese labor market. The background is a tired, overused PowerPoint template. The text is difficult to read. Overall: "it's ugly."
Samples Slides
AFTER: All the slides were redesigned to match the theme above. The slide on the left is good. But the one on the right can also be used effectively. Notice that either slide (especially the slide without any text) would be virtually meaningless without the presenter's narration.
Samples Slides
Using a pie chart is also a good way to represent this simple statistic. Here (left) the large text at the top can be easily seen. The text reads more like a headline — a declarative sentence — rather than just a title or category. The slide on the right is another possible way to support the message.
Samples Slides
Using a pie chart is also a good way to represent this simple statistic. Here (left) the large text at the top can be easily seen. The text reads more like a headline — a declarative sentence — rather than just a title or category. The slide on the right is another possible way to support the message.
Samples Slides
Backgrounds, salience, and compatibility
Above Left: Background image from this PowerPoint template has too much salience itself and competes with the chart in the foreground. Right: Here the contrast is better between the background and the foreground, but the sand and beach ball are not compatible with the message. The background image (also a PowerPoint template) may be appropriate if the chart was comparing sunburn cases or days spent at resort holidays, etc. Still, you could find a better image elsewhere rather than using a tired template.
Samples Slides
Above Left: Besides the color being inappropriate for this chart, the template has a fixed place for the slide title that is nearly a third down the page which interferes with the legibility of the text. We could reduce the size of the chart and place our title in it's designated place, but that would mean the top third of the slide is taken up by ornamentation. Right: The photo is appropriate perhaps for a presentation on organic farming but is not compatible with mobile phones. There are also some contrast and legibility issues as some of the text is difficult to see.
Samples Slides
Above: A background photo of a cell phone user in Japan or South Korea may work. This photo does not make for great contrast, however. Contrast can be helped by placing a dark transparent box behind the chart, and still further by adding a Gaussian blur to the background image.
Samples Slides
Above: Keep slides simple when displaying charts, graphs, or tables. Either of these may work. A white background can make for good contrast with dark text and other elements (nothing has more contrast than black and white) and works well when your room is relatively bright. In a dark room, however, a white background may be overpowering.
Samples Slides
Recommended