Home Blog Business Conference Presentation Slides: A Guide for Success
Conference Presentation Slides: A Guide for Success
In our experience, a common error when preparing a conference presentation is using designs that heavily rely on bullet points and massive chunks of text. A potential reason behind this slide design mistake is aiming to include as much information as possible in just one slide. In the end, slides become a sort of teleprompter for the speaker, and the audience recalls boredom instead of an informative experience.
As part of our mission to help presenters deliver their message effectively, we have summarized what makes a good conference presentation slide, as well as tips on how to design a successful conference slide.
Table of Contents
What is a conference presentation
Common mistakes presenters make when creating conference presentation slides, how can a well-crafted conference presentation help your professional life, how to start a conference presentation, how to end a conference presentation, 13 tips to create stellar conference presentations, final thoughts.
The Britannica Dictionary defines conferences as
A formal meeting in which many people gather in order to talk about ideas or problems related to a particular topic (such as medicine or business), usually for several days.
We can then define conference presentations as the combination of a speaker, a slide deck , and the required hardware to introduce an idea or topic in a conference setting. Some characteristics differentiate conference presentations from other formats.
Time-restricted
Conference presentations are bounded by a 15-30 minute time limit, which the event’s moderators establish. These restrictions are applied to allow a crowded agenda to be met on time, and it is common to count with over 10 speakers on the same day.
To that time limit, we have to add the time required for switching between speakers, which implies loading a new slide deck to the streaming platform, microphone testing, lighting effects, etc. Say it is around 10-15 minutes extra, so depending on the number of speakers per day during the event, the time available to deliver a presentation, plus the questions & answers time.
Delivery format
Conferences can be delivered in live event format or via webinars. Since this article is mainly intended to live event conferences, we will only mention that the requirements for webinars are as follows:
- Voice-over or, best, speaker layover the presentation slides so the speaker interacts with the audience.
- Quality graphics.
- Not abusing the amount of information to introduce per slide.
On the other hand, live event conferences will differ depending on the category under which they fall. Academic conferences have a structure in which there’s a previous poster session; then speakers start delivering their talks, then after 4-5 speakers, we have a coffee break. Those pauses help the AV crew to check the equipment, and they also become an opportunity for researchers to expand their network contacts.
Business conferences are usually more dynamic. Some presenters opt not to use slide decks, giving a powerful speech instead, as they feel much more comfortable that way. Other speakers at business conferences adopt videos to summarize their ideas and then proceed to speak.
Overall, the format guidelines are sent to speakers before the event. Adapt your presentation style to meet the requirements of moderators so you can maximize the effect of your message.
The audience
Unlike other presentation settings, conferences gather a knowledgeable audience on the discussed topics. It is imperative to consider this, as tone, delivery format, information to include, and more depend on this sole factor. Moreover, the audience will participate in your presentation at the last minute, as it is a common practice to hold a Q&A session.
Mistake #1 – Massive chunks of text
Do you intend your audience to read your slides instead of being seduced by your presentation? Presenters often add large amounts of text to each slide since they need help deciding which data to exclude. Another excuse for this practice is so the audience remembers the content exposed.
Research indicates images are much better retained than words, a phenomenon known as the Picture Superiority Effect ; therefore, opt to avoid this tendency and work into creating compelling graphics.
Mistake #2 – Not creating contrast between data and graphics
Have you tried to read a slide from 4 rows behind the presenter and not get a single number? This can happen if the presenter is not careful to work with the appropriate contrast between the color of the typeface and the background. Particularly if serif fonts are used.
Use online tools such as WebAIM’s Contrast Checker to make your slides legible for your audience. Creating an overlay with a white or black transparent tint can also help when you place text above images.
Mistake #3 – Not rehearsing the presentation
This is a sin in conference presentations, as when you don’t practice the content you intend to deliver, you don’t have a measure of how much time it is actually going to take.
PowerPoint’s rehearse timing feature can help a great deal, as you can record yourself practising the presentation and observe areas for improvement. Remember, conference presentations are time-limited , don’t disrespect fellow speakers by overlapping their scheduled slot or, worse, have moderators trim your presentation after several warnings.
Mistake #4 – Lacking hierarchy for the presented content
Looking at a slide and not knowing where the main point is discouraging for the audience, especially if you introduce several pieces of content under the same slide. Instead, opt to create a hierarchy that comprehends both text and images. It helps to arrange the content according to your narrative, and we’ll see more on this later on.
Consider your conference presentation as your introduction card in the professional world. Maybe you have a broad network of colleagues, but be certain there are plenty of people out there that have yet to learn about who you are and the work you produce.
Conferences help businesspeople and academics alike to introduce the results of months of research on a specific topic in front of a knowledgeable audience. It is different from a product launch as you don’t need to present a “completed product” but rather your views or advances, in other words, your contribution with valuable insights to the field.
Putting dedication into your conference presentation, from the slide deck design to presentation skills , is definitely worth the effort. The audience can get valuable references from the quality of work you are able to produce, often leading to potential partnerships. In business conferences, securing an investor deal can happen after a powerful presentation that drives the audience to perceive your work as the very best thing that’s about to be launched. It is all about how your body language reflects your intent, how well-explained the concepts are, and the emotional impact you can drive from it.
There are multiple ways on how to start a presentation for a conference, but overall, we can recap a good approach as follows.
Present a fact
Nothing grabs the interest of an audience quicker than introducing an interesting fact during the first 30 seconds of your presentation. The said fact has to be pivotal to the content your conference presentation will discuss later on, but as an ice-breaker, it is a strategy worth applying from time to time.
Ask a question
The main point when starting a conference presentation is to make an impact on the audience. We cannot think of a better way to engage with the audience than to ask them a question relevant to your work or research. It grabs the viewer’s interest for the potential feedback you shall give to those answers received.
Use powerful graphics
The value of visual presentations cannot be neglected in conferences. Sometimes an image makes a bigger impact than a lengthy speech, hence why you should consider starting your conference presentation with a photo or visual element that speaks for itself.
For more tips and insights on how to start a presentation, we invite you to check this article .
Just as important as starting the presentation, the closure you give to your conference presentation matters a lot. This is the opportunity in which you can add your personal experience on the topic and reflect upon it with the audience or smoothly transition between the presentation and your Q&A session.
Below are some quick tips on how to end a presentation for a conference event.
End the presentation with a quote
Give your audience something to ruminate about with the help of a quote tailored to the topic you were discussing. There are plenty of resources for finding suitable quotes, and a great method for this is to design your penultimate slide with an image or black background plus a quote. Follow this with a final “thank you” slide.
Consider a video
If we say a video whose length is shorter than 1 minute, this is a fantastic resource to summarize the intent of your conference presentation.
If you get the two-minute warning and you feel far off from finishing your presentation, first, don’t fret. Try to give a good closure to your presentation without rushing information, as the audience wouldn’t get any concept clear that way. Mention that the information you presented will be available for further reading at the event’s platform site, and proceed to your closure phase for the presentation.
It is better to miss some of the components of the conference than to get kicked out after several warnings for exceeding the allotted time.
Tip #1 – Exhibit a single idea per slide
Just one slide per concept, avoiding large text blocks. If you can compile the idea with an image, it’s better that way.
Research shows that people’s attention span is limited ; therefore, redirect your efforts in what concerns presentation slides so your ideas become crystal clear for the spectators.
Tip #2 – Avoid jargon whenever possible
Using complex terms does not directly imply you fully understand the concept you are about to discuss. In spite of your work being presented to a knowledgeable audience, avoid jargon as much as possible because you run the risk of people not understanding what you are saying.
Instead, opt to rehearse your presentation in front of a not-knowledgeable audience to measure the jargon volume you are adding to it. Technical terms are obviously expected in a conference situation, but archaic terms or purely jargon can be easily trimmed this way.
Tip #3 – Replace bulleted listings with structured layouts or diagrams
Bullet points are attention grabbers for the audience. People tend to instantly check what’s written in them, in contrast to waiting for you to introduce the point itself.
Using bullet points as a way to expose elements of your presentation should be restricted. Opt for limiting the bullet points to non-avoidable facts to list or crucial information.
Tip #4 – Customize presentation templates
Using presentation templates is a great idea to save time in design decisions. These pre-made slide decks are entirely customizable; however, many users fall into using them as they come, exposing themselves to design inconsistencies (especially with images) or that another presenter had the same idea (it is extremely rare, but it can happen).
Learning how to properly change color themes in PowerPoint is an advantageous asset. We also recommend you use your own images or royalty-free images selected by you rather than sticking to the ones included in a template.
Tip #5 – Displaying charts
Graphs and charts comprise around 80% of the information in most business and academic conferences. Since data visualization is important, avoid common pitfalls such as using 3D effects in bar charts. Depending on the audience’s point of view, those 3D effects can make the data hard to read or get an accurate interpretation of what it represents.
Tip #6 – Using images in the background
Use some of the images you were planning to expose as background for the slides – again, not all of them but relevant slides.
Be careful when placing text above the slides if they have a background image, as accessibility problems may arise due to contrast. Instead, apply an extra color layer above the image with reduced opacity – black or white, depending on the image and text requirements. This makes the text more legible for the audience, and you can use your images without any inconvenience.
Tip #7 – Embrace negative space
Negative space is a concept seen in design situations. If we consider positive space as the designed area, meaning the objects, shapes, etc., that are “your design,” negative space can be defined as the surrounding area. If we work on a white canvas, negative space is the remaining white area surrounding your design.
The main advantage of using negative space appropriately is to let your designs breathe. Stuffing charts, images and text makes it hard to get a proper understanding of what’s going on in the slide. Apply the “less is more” motto to your conference presentation slides, and embrace negative space as your new design asset.
Tip #8 – Use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation
You would be surprised to see how many typos can be seen in slides at professional gatherings. Whereas typos can often pass by as a humor-relief moment, grammatical or awful spelling mistakes make you look unprofessional.
Take 5 extra minutes before submitting your slide deck to proofread the grammar, spelling, and punctuation. If in doubt, browse dictionaries for complex technical words.
Tip #10 – Use an appropriate presentation style
The format of the conference will undoubtedly require its own presentation style. By this we mean that it is different from delivering a conference presentation in front of a live audience as a webinar conference. The interaction with the audience is different, the demands for the Q&A session will be different, and also during webinars the audience is closely looking at your slides.
Tip #11 – Control your speaking tone
Another huge mistake when delivering a conference presentation is to speak with a monotonous tone. The message you transmit to your attendees is that you simply do not care about your work. If you believe you fall into this category, get feedback from others: try pitching to them, and afterward, consider how you talk.
Practicing breathing exercises can help to articulate your speech skills, especially if anxiety hinders your presentation performance.
Tip #12 – On eye contact and note reading
In order to connect with your audience, it is imperative to make eye contact. Not stare, but look at your spectators from time to time as the talk is directed at them.
If you struggle on this point, a good tip we can provide is to act like you’re looking at your viewers. Pick a good point a few centimeters above your viewer and direct your speech there. They will believe you are communicating directly with them. Shift your head slightly on the upcoming slide or bullet and choose a new location.
Regarding note reading, while it is an acceptable practice to check your notes, do not make the entire talk a lecture in which you simply read your notes to the audience. This goes hand-by-hand with the speaking tone in terms of demonstrating interest in the work you do. Practice as often as you need before the event to avoid constantly reading your notes. Reading a paragraph or two is okay, but not the entire presentation.
Tip #13 – Be ready for the Q&A session
Despite it being a requirement in most conference events, not all presenters get ready for the Q&A session. It is a part of the conference presentation itself, so you should pace your speech to give enough time for the audience to ask 1-3 questions and get a proper answer.
Don’t be lengthy or overbearing in replying to each question, as you may run out of time. It is preferable to give a general opinion and then reach the interested person with your contact information to discuss the topic in detail.
Observing what others do at conference events is good practice for learning a tip or two for improving your own work. As we have seen throughout this article, conference presentation slides have specific requirements to become a tool in your presentation rather than a mixture of information without order.
Employ these tips and suggestions to craft your upcoming conference presentation without any hurdles. Best of luck!
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The Exhaustive Guide to Preparing Conference Presentations
So, you’re getting ready for your conference presentation. You’re probably nervous and stressed out right now. Don’t worry though, you’re not going to be alone in your journey. Because in this post, I’m going to show you everything there is to know about preparing for a conference presentation. From writing your speech and designing your slides to giving your actual presentation, you’ll find tons of valuable information in this article!
Preparing For A Conference: How To Make The Most Of Your Presentation
Photo by Mikael Kristenson on Unsplash
The tips I’ll be sharing in this post will be useful whether you’re preparing for your first-ever conference presentation, your fifth or your tenth. Even seasoned presenters still need a refresher course from time to time.
There are quite a few different types of conferences . Whichever type of conference you’re going to be presenting in, know that most, if not all, of the tips listed here are practical. You can freely adapt any of these techniques according to your presentation needs!
How To Prepare To Speak At A Conference
A lot of people list public speaking as their Achilles’ heel, their biggest weakness. If you belong to this group, then you need all the help you can get. Because speaking at a conference, especially if it’s your first time, can be very scary. Think buckets of sweat , trembling voice and knocking knees kind of scary! Now, I’m not trying to scare you off. I’m just pointing out the reality.
The best way to prepare yourself to speak at a conference is to prepare well in advance. As soon as you confirm your spot, then you start preparing. You prepare your outline, a draft of your speech, maybe even have an idea on how your presentation slides are going to look like.
You need to work on your confidence. And, of course, you need to look the part of a convincing, persuasive, and engaging presenter!
Your Conference Preparation Presentation Checklist
There are plenty of resources to help you write a conference talk , but these pointers in the presentation checklist below will get you off to a good start. So, here’s what you need to do to prepare yourself for your presentation.
- Know your topic inside and out
There’s nothing more embarrassing than talking about a topic you know nothing about. If you’ve succeeded ‘winging’ your academic presentations at school, then you better think again if you’re planning on doing the same thing in your conference presentation! Chances are, your conference audience won’t be as forgiving as your high school and college classmates.
There’s a lot of benefits to presenting at a conference. You can establish your credibility in your industry, you can network with all the movers and shakers in your field, you can help others know more about what you do, etc. But if you manage to botch your presentation – by not fully researching your topic – then you’d be better off not presenting in the first place!
It’s okay to be nervous on stage. Everyone gets nervous. But if you know your topic very well, your audience can disregard your nervousness and focus on your message.
It’s a different story though if you’re nervous AND your presentation has very little substance! You’ll be hurting your credibility, you’ll become the laughingstock in your industry.
Word will get around about you ( hint : it won’t be the kind of ‘word’ you’ll be happy with). You can hurt your career if you’re not careful. No one would be willing to hire you or work with you simply because you weren’t professional enough to conduct thorough research for your presentation.
- Know your audience
It’s easy enough to find out who’s going to be occupying those seats in your conference. For one, many conferences have a criteria of eligible participants. If your conference doesn’t have a specific criteria, you can still deduce who the attendees are just by learning more about the conference itself.
For instance, if the conference is about technology, then it’s safe to assume that only those who are interested in technology is going to attend. A marketing conference will attract people with marketing jobs or those who want to know the latest marketing techniques.
If you really can’t figure out who your audience is, then you may want to look up the conference organizer’s contact details and ask them for their attendees’ demographics.
Knowing your audience is important. It will allow you to present your content in a manner your audience can relate to. If you’re speaking in a venue not local to you, then knowing more about the local culture will help a lot. You can avoid committing a gigantic faux pas which can potentially alienate your audience (the exact opposite of what you want to happen)!
- First impressions matter
Yes, they do. So, before you even create your speech and your presentation slides, you may want to think about your presentation wardrobe. If you think it’s too early, well, just remember you’ve only got a few seconds to make a good impression on your audience.
If you wear something unprofessional and sloppy, then your audience is not going to think very highly of you. You don’t need to buy expensive clothes, but it’s best if you plan your wardrobe well in advance. You wouldn’t want to wear something you’ll regret later on!
- Create a draft of your speech and your presentation slides
During the course of your research (point #1), you should already have formed a rough idea of how your presentation is going to flow. You want it to flow smoothly – from one point to the next, from the introduction to the conclusion. Your presentation should make sense, and the audience should be able to follow you easily.
Create your presentation outline first so you can make sure your message has a good flow (worry about your slides later – it’s important to get the message straightened out first).
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
Start with your introduction – how are you going to hook people into your presentation? What can you possibly say or do that will blow their minds and keep them glued to your presentation instead of their phones?
Depending on your time limit, you may wish to cover only the most important points of your topic. If you’ve got a hundred important points, but you’ve only got 15 minutes, then you need to come to a decision ( no one’s going to remember a hundred points, but they may remember 3 or 5! ). For each point that makes it to your list, write only the most important and interesting things about it ( again, no one’s going to remember all the details! ).
To wrap up your presentation , think of a way you can help people remember what you’ve just presented. And don’t forget to include your call to action – what do you want people to do after watching your presentation? Nothing? Well, you should think about why you’re presenting in the first place. You want people to do something, anything. Think about it carefully, and then make sure you ask your audience to follow your call to action.
Once you’ve got your outline written down, then you should start working on your presentation slides. Since there are a lot of things that go into designing conference slides, I’ve dedicated a whole section just for this very topic ( scroll down the page if you want to read the design pointers right away! ).
- Practice and get feedback from your peers
Practice your speech well in advance. Learn how to not read from your notes or your slides. Practice till you’ve practically memorized every line of your speech. Practice till you feel comfortable delivering your presentation in front of an audience.
In the beginning, it’s fine practicing on your own. You can record yourself on camera or practice in front of a mirror, so you can see what you’re doing and make the necessary adjustments. However, if you want to get as close to the real thing as possible, then you need to practice in front of an audience. This can be your family, friends, co-workers, etc.
Ask them for a few minutes of their time and ask them to give you pointers on how you can improve. Of course, you wouldn’t want to waste their time, so you should only ask them to sit down when you’ve actually ‘mastered’ or at least be close to mastering your presentation!
Pretend like it’s the actual presentation day. Practice your pauses, your jokes, and icebreakers. Practice making eye contact.
When you’ve got your presentation down pat, then try and see if you can practice at the actual conference venue. This will help you get to know the place better, and you’ll feel a bit more comfortable when presentation day comes!
- Make final tweaks to your slides and your entire presentation
Based on the feedback you’ve gotten from your practice sessions, it’s now time to make the final tweaks to your slides and your entire presentation. When you finish your changes, make sure everything is done according to your satisfaction. Then do a final practice to ensure everything flows smoothly. That’s it! You’re ready to give your conference presentation!
How To Prepare For An Academic Conference
Presenting at an academic conference will be different from presenting in non-academic ones. Academic conferences tend to be more serious, and well, more academic, in nature. If you’re wondering, yes, the tips listed in the previous section will still apply to academic conference presentations.
However, in the case of academics, the benefits of these kinds of conferences are often immense. You not only get to network and hobnob with the who’s who in academic circles, but you also get the added benefit of getting recognized in your field.
If your presentation is a success, then your career can benefit in more ways than one. You get to add another impressive line in your resume or curriculum vitae, and securing a job in the academe can potentially be a whole lot easier!
Examples Of Famous Conference Presentations
Many presentations are considered successful in their own rights, however, to classify them as ‘famous,’ I needed to get YouTube’s assistance. Here are some of the best ones I could find:
- James Veitch’s TED talk on what happens when you reply to spam emails
With 25 million views on YouTube, this TED talk is the most popular video on TED’s YouTube channel. And it’s really not surprising. James Veitch is a master storyteller. He used humor all throughout his presentation, and he got his audience roaring with laughter from start to finish. His presentation slides were relatively simple, but they did the job perfectly well!
- Steve Jobs announcing the first iPhone at the Macworld Conference
On January 9 th , 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the first ever, revolutionary and game-changing smartphone to the world, the iPhone. The iPhone was the first of its kind – a music player (an iPod), a phone, and an Internet communicator – all rolled into one sleek and beautiful device. Watch how engaging Steve Jobs was all throughout the presentation!
- Salman Khan’s GEL Conference Presentation
Salman Khan is the founder of the Khan Academy , a non-profit organization whose mission is to “provide free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere.” His presentation is a testament to the kind of teacher Salman Khan is. He’s funny, and he engages with his audience by encouraging them to participate and ask questions.
The examples presented are obviously just a few of the most influential presentations on the Internet. But if you spend the time to watch the videos, you’ll actually learn a lot of stuff – you’ll learn how the pros present in conferences!
How To Design A Presentation For A Conference
Preparing for your presentation is hard enough. You need to invest considerable time crafting your speech and making sure you’ve covered all the most important points about your topic.
Designing slides isn’t easy, too, if you do it from scratch. If you’ve already got a company-approved template, then use that because it’s going to save you so much time. If you’re not so lucky, then don’t worry because I’ll be sharing plenty of tips on how you can save hours upon hours of designing slides!
Before we get to that point, however, I’d like to share a few design pointers you can use if you want to impress people with your presentation. Remember, a visually attractive and compelling slide deck can help emphasize your message. It will make it easier for people to remember what your presentation is all about, so take note of these tips:
- Use one slide for each idea or point
You don’t want to cram entire paragraphs on your slides. Your audience won’t appreciate being tasked to read your presentation. They’re there to listen to you, so make sure you deliver. Use your slides like they’re supposed to be used – as visual aids.
- Make your slides easy to read
Use large fonts. If you’re presenting in a large room, then you need to make sure people at the back can still make out the text on your screen. This is where writing down only one idea per slide really shines. If you’ve got an entire paragraph on your slide, then you can’t fit everything on the slide if you set the font size to something large!
- Use simple transitions
Sure, there are tons of fun transitions and animations on PowerPoint, but you don’t want to use all of those, no matter how ‘cool’ it may seem. It will only make you look unprofessional and will divert your audience’s attention from your message to your animations. Choose something simple (you can’t go wrong with a Fade transition).
- Use high-quality images and graphics
Since you’re not going to be using much text in your slides, you need to somehow fill out that empty blank space on your slides. The best way to go about this is by using high-quality images and graphics. Just make sure these are relevant to the topic at hand, and that they add to the message, not take away from it.
These are just a few pointers. If you want to know more about how you can design your slides, you can read these presentation design articles:
- 7 Presentation Design Ideas For Visually-Stunning Slides
- How To Design A Professional Presentation That Will Amaze Your Audience
Using Presentation Templates At A Conference
When it comes to preparing for conferences, you need all the help you can get. This is where presentation templates come in! Whether you’re using PowerPoint, Keynote or any other presentation software of your choice, templates are literal time-savers!
Templates not only help you cut down the amount of time you need to spend designing slides, but you also get that much-needed extra time to master your presentation.
There are plenty of conference presentation templates you can find online, from 100% free templates to cost-effective premium ones. Here are some of the top free ones you’ll find in our Template Hub :
Corporate Conference Presentation Templates
- Dashboard Template Pack
In conferences, it’s necessary for you to present your data in the simplest way possible. With this free dashboard template pack, you’ll make it easy for your audience to follow your most important data and not get lost in the details!
- Corporate Package of 20 Slides Template
Liven up your conference presentation slides with this free 20-slide template pack. You can choose from a variety of charts to display your company’s background and performance.
- Cockpit Chart Templates
This 10-slide template pack will allow you to present a large amount of data in a succinct and organized manner. You can compare and contrast various data points as well as easily display the outcome of your analysis.
- Tables PowerPoint Template
We often see tables used in conference presentations. With this 10-slide template pack, you can choose from a variety of different table formats and styles. Editing the slides is easy too, so just type in your data and let the template do the rest for you!
Academic Conference Presentation Templates
- Timeline Pictures PowerPoint Template
If you need to display your research’s timeline, then you should download this free template pack. Presenting your timeline doesn’t have to be boring as you can see on the screenshot above (if yellow isn’t your color, feel free to edit in PowerPoint!).
- PEST Diagram PowerPoint Template
If you’re presenting a paper which involved the use of PEST (or PESTLE) analysis, then you can download this free template pack. If you want to allocate one slide per element or factor, then you can use the other slides included in the pack (not seen in the screenshot above).
- Research Stage Slide Template
Presenting your research process doesn’t have to be dry and boring. Use our free (and colorful) research stage slide template to make your research presentation come alive!
- Sciences Gantt Template
Whether you’re presenting a science paper or not, you can certainly make use of this free Gantt chart template. The visual nature of a Gantt chart will make it easy for you to share your project’s progress over time.
Preparing Complementary Handouts
Some conferences require that handouts be given to audiences. If you present in such a conference, then know that you don’t need to do everything from scratch. You don’t even need to look for a presentation handout template. You can just submit a copy of your full-page slides or your notes pages.
Now, using your slides as your handout may not make a lot of sense, especially if you follow our earlier suggestion where slides aren’t supposed to be wordy. However, if you add notes to each of your slides, you’ll make it easy enough for your audience/readers to follow your presentation! Here’s a complete guide on how to add notes to PowerPoint .
You can add your notes in under an hour. Your audience will appreciate you taking the extra step to make your handouts as easy to understand as possible!
Final Words
Preparing for a conference presentation may be hard. But you no longer need to go at it alone. The resources and tips I’ve shared in this article should help you conquer your nerves and allow you to deliver a memorable and highly engaging presentation!
You might also find this interesting: How To Overcome Presentation Fear: 5 Tips You Can Apply Today
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3 tips for designing research conference presentation slides +Template
Imagine this: research conference organizers send the participants a PowerPoint presentation slide template along with instructions that sound something like this:
Your presentation should be 20 minutes long; please keep the number of presentation slides to a maximum of 20.
A scientist who has 35 PowerPoint slides from the previous conference and might think:
OK, no problem! I will simply squeeze the information from the remaining fifteen slides into the first twenty.
The resulting presentation slides probably look similar to the figure below.
The scientist arrives at the conference, delivers the presentation, and receives applause at the end. He puts a picture from the conference on a social network and receives a comment: Sorry, I missed your presentation. Please email me the slides.
Ahh, he thinks , it’s a good thing I jammed that extra information into the presentation slides. Otherwise, it would be difficult for the person asking to get the full overview of my work!
It seems everyone is happy. The conference organizers got their 20 slides, the presenter successfully delivered his speech, and even the person on social media got the information she requested. But one thing is missing from the story – what about the people who actually showed up for the presentation?
The listeners were probably bewildered by the PowerPoint slides resembling an explosion of a hard drive disc over the screen. Their eyes were darting to follow the laser pointer from a figure in one corner of the slide to bullet points in the other. At around the third slide, many probably started daydreaming about the appetizers they can expect during the coffee break. They energetically clapped their hands at the end of the presentation because it was finally over. They forgot the performance as soon as the next speaker took the stage.
OK, but what about the person that asked you to send her the slides? Surely she would be disappointed when receiving a presentation which she cannot understand without you being there to present it. Well, send her the research paper (see my book to learn writing an impactful research paper). This is the piece of work that is meant for sharing and has to be self-explanatory. You are on the stage for a reason! Research conference presentation slides do not have to be self-explanatory.
In this post, you will learn three crucial tips for preparing conference presentation slides to efficiently explain your research.
Tip No.1: One thought per slide
Presenters often use slides to keep the talk on track. Frequently this takes the form of the dreaded bullet-point list. Such an approach is a bad idea. Despite what some people claim, humans can not multitask at things that require deliberate thinking. Too much text will draw the listener’s attention away from what you are saying and toward reading the text on the slide. Since we read faster than we can speak, your listeners will already know what you are going to say, thus losing their attention.
The best approach for keeping the presentation slides light is to limit yourself to one single thought per slide. This could be, for example, a figure and several supporting bullet points taking up not more than one row each. But do not be afraid only to have one item, like a diagram, on the slide which takes only ten seconds to explain. There is no invisible jar that will start to spill over if you pour too many slides inside. A single thought per slide will allow the audience to better follow the presentation. This will also allow you to increase the size of text and images, thus ensuring that people in the back row can follow the talk.
Instead of using slides as a teleprompter, use this valuable real estate for information that adds to your presentation, not duplicates it.
The “before” figure below presents a typical academic conference PowerPint presentation slide with three bullet points. I transformed it into three separate slides, each introducing one single thought. When displaying the “after” slides, the presenter would simply say out loud the information that was previously written.
You will notice that each of the converted slides uses visual information instead of text. Visuals draw human attention and can do a great job explaining things that would be difficult to put in words. Data charts, scientific illustrations, diagrams, or videos can all add another dimension to complement your presentation.
I am not claiming that you should strip your slides of useful information or dumb them down. My reasoning stems from the vast majority of presentation slides that I have seen in research conferences. The slides are often overwhelmed with details that do more to confuse the listener than help. Focusing the slide content on visual information will help to support instead of distracting from your message. This brings us to the next topic.
Tip No.2: Presentation slides are for visual information
Even though I urge you to simplify the slides, it is clear that as a researcher, you will need to present complex information. This will most often take the form of different charts and illustrations (let’s call them graphics).
There is a lot to learn about the creation of graphics, but one element from the toolkit of designing graphics is particularly important for creating great scientific conference presentation slides. That is knowing how to guide the listeners’ attention. To do it, we must tap into a basic human instinct – people are drawn to outliers. Back at the dawn of homo-sapiens, this helped us spot danger or notice prey: think of a lion moving in a steppe – it is easy to imagine why our vision has evolved to pay attention to it.
Today we can take advantage of the 300 thousand-year-old instincts of our species to explain the all-important differences between two lines in a graph. Color, size, motion, white space, enclosure, and shape are some graphical features that can attract attention to particular elements in a chart.
Learn creating charts that tell a story
Knowing how to prepare efficient data charts and graphics will not only help you to create better slides; you will be able to use these skills to write clearer research papers and certainly it will increase your chances of obtaining research grants. My book Research Data Visualization and Scientific Graphics is a short guide that will help you to learn create charts that tell a story.
The example below directs the attention of the viewers within a single chart to the different topics that are being discussed (data from Evans et al. ). These could be presented in sequential slides.
The “Only 60 harvests ” left claims are exaggerated. Research by Evans et al. shows that depending on the soil management, only 7-34% of soils have less than 100 year lifespan.
Even most bare soils survive upwards of 300 years.
A good management practice can extend the soil’s life by several orders of magnitude.
A word of caution for those who might become too trigger-happy when discovering how easy it is to add animations to PowerPoint presentation slides: use these effects only when they add information to the story that you are telling. It quickly becomes irritating to see flying text, rotating slide transitions, expanding bullet points, and dissolving pictures. Revealing only one item at a time can be similarly annoying when done without a purpose.
Hint: Avoid using PowerPoint templates with busy backgrounds or colorful university logos on each slide. This limits your ability to draw the listeners’ attention to a particular item on the slide. On a busy background, the highlighted parts will not pop out quite as much as they would from a simple background.
Tip No.3: Use action titles
Instinctively we can probably agree that the most important information, regardless of the type of medium, should be the largest. For example, it would be weird if the largest letters on a milk bottle would rea “Recyclable”. Interestingly, almost none of us actually follow this logic when designing scientific conference presentation slides.
If you open PowerPoint, by default the largest text is the slide title. Since it is also located at the top of the slide, the title is going to be the first thing that draws the listener’s attention. But what do we put up there? Redundant, meaningless phrases like Methodology or Results of XYZ test . The figure below provides one such example.
The traditional PowerPoint title attracts all the attention while providing very little information.
You will probably agree that the tile Global temperature prediction does little to reveal what’s important about the information in the presentation slide. That is unless the listener has suddenly awoken from a nap and wants to understand what is the topic you are currently discussing. If this is the case, slide titles are the least of your problems.
Instead of wasting the title for redundant information, a much better idea is to follow the advice from the C.N.Knaflic’s book Storytelling with Data in using an action title . An action title should provide information about the results, highlight an important observation or a conclusion for the particular slide. For example, instead of a whole block of slides having the title Results , the individual slide titles would say Observations have high variability or Simulation supports the test results .
In other words, a conference slide title should present something important about the research that the audience should not miss. It sets the expectations for what to expect from the information on the slide.
See below the different ways in which an action title can be displayed in the presentation slides. Doesn’t this approach offer more information than the traditional PowerPoint slide title that we saw earlier?
An action title highlights the key information that the listeners should not miss
Placing the action title at the bottom (and graying it out) is another option, giving more emphasis to the slide content.
The widescreen (16:9) slide size can be put to good use by dividing it into two columns: one for visual information, the other for key text.
Removing the title altogether allows increasing the size of the graphics. The presenter tells all the information that was previously written in the slide title.
Font size rule of thumb : Make sure that the listeners in the back rows can read your slides comfortably. Since you will rarely have the chance to test this, apply the rule of thumb by using 14 to 28 pt. font size for the main text and in charts. References and other background information could be smaller and grayed out to avoid distracting from the main content.
A free scientific conference presentation slide template
Now that we have reviewed three key principles of academic conference presentation slide design, use them to prepare your own slides. An even better way is to prepare a PowerPoint slide template that automatically incorporates many of these tips.
Below you will find a free PowerPoint template that I designed specifically for scientific conference presentations. It holds six preformatted slide layouts which by default follow many of the academic conference slide design tips that we just went through, including the use of action titles, focus on visual information, and large enough font size. The template also holds the three design tips to serve as a reminder from this post.
You will access these free Powerpoint scientific presentation slide templates in the download
Great slides will not mask poor presentation skills
Creating great presentation slides is certainly important in order to make a memorable academic presentation. But no amount of slide polishing will mask other potential problems, including lack of substance, unclear presentation structure, and a presenter who is so stressed their mouth feels like a desert.
In the book “ Scientific Presentation Skills “, I will show you how to become a convincing presenter one skill at a time using the Five S presenting pyramid . It starts from the basics of putting together the presentation Substance (first S), advances to devising a presentation Structure (second S), shows how to put up a Show (third S), tell memorable Stories (fourth S), and finally, it will offer advice for how the Speaker (fifth S) can work on improving presentation skills, including dealing with stage fright. Poster design tips along with free design templates are also included.
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Create a Conference Presentation
Common types of conference presentations.
- Full paper - The length of a full paper is variable, usually between 20 and 40 min, and rarely exceeds one hour. A full paper may be followed by question time.
- Short paper - This type of conference presentation can be as short as 10 min, and very often it is one in a series of short papers in a 1- or 2-hour session on a particular conference sub-topic or theme, each followed by 10 minutes question time. Timing is crucial as it is common for short paper sessions to be carefully managed by timekeepers who will ‘terminate’ your paper after the allocated time.
- Workshop - The emphasis of most workshops is on their practical nature. Their purpose is for participants to experience a strategy, a technique or a practical demonstration, and to have opportunities to question you about the value or workability of what you are presenting.
- Poster - You prepare a poster of your work (one or more A1 displays, including diagrams, text, references or visuals). This is displayed in an area of the conference venue. Your poster may be staffed at particular times when you are required to be available to provide further information or answer questions about your poster.
- Discussion paper - It is assumed that participants have read the paper. A summary is presented at the beginning of the paper (usually, but not always by the paper presenter), and the session consists mainly of a discussion or defence of the issues, questions and ideas raised in the paper.
- Panel presentation/discussion - You are one of several people on a panel discussing a theme/topic related to the conference. Your role is to be an expert in a particular issue, topic, technology, strategy or you represent an institution, department or company. Normally you receive advanced notice of this, but sometimes you can be asked to be a panel member at the conference.
- Roundtable discussion - This is a short paper presentation followed by the presenter facilitating/workshopping discussion with participants in groups.
Preparing your conference presentation
There are significant differences between a written paper, essay or report and a conference presentation. The introduction of a conference presentation should be considerably longer than that of a written text. Repetition is vital in a conference presentation. An audience needs to hear information several times and in slightly different forms to understand it, whereas in a written text the reader can refer back if necessary. Informal rather than formal language should be used in an oral conference presentation.
Think of a ‘catchy’ title as most conferences run parallel sessions and your presentation may compete with numerous presentations offered at the same time.
You will need to submit an abstract to the conference committee for your presentation to be accepted. If you have already written your paper, this task should be fairly easy as the abstract is a summary of the paper which is usually around 200–400 words . Ensure the issues, questions, thesis as well as the conclusion findings are clearly stated in the abstract.
In case the paper has not been written yet, prepare the abstract in such a way that you do not commit yourself to details that will not be addressed in the final paper.
Ensure that you follow guidelines set by the conference organizers regarding length, layout, references, etc. Write the paper as you would an essay, a report, or, more and more commonly, a journal article. The latter is particularly important if the conference proceedings are to be published (refereed or non-refereed). Check previous conference proceedings or journals in your field to ensure consistency with style, referencing, etc.
Presenting your conference presentation
When presenting your conference presentation you need to know your answers to the following questions:
- Is the purpose clearly stated: are you reporting, comparing, convincing, arguing, questioning…?
- Is the thesis/topic clearly stated: “In this paper, I want to report the findings of recent research which shows that under certain conditions, dolphins can be taught how to read simple text”?
- Are your main arguments/ideas supported with evidence?
- Are all the materials relevant to the topic?
- Have you demonstrated your knowledge of the subject?
- Is the level of technicality suited to the audience?
- How do you reply to audience’s questions: long questions, ‘mini papers’ disguised as questions…?
Organise your presentation
Most presentations are organised according to a predictable pattern. They have three main stages: introduction, body and conclusion (i.e. tell them what you are going to say; then say it; then tell them what you have said).
When a presentation does not have these clear sections, it can be very difficult for listeners to follow what is being said.
Introduction
This is the most crucial part of any presentation. You need to capture the audience’s interest in your topic and establish rapport with them. Your introduction should let the audience know what they are going to hear in the presentation. They need to know what to expect in order to get interested and to be able to follow you. Giving them an outline of your presentation in your introduction enables them to do this.
You need to:
- capture the audience’s attention with a question, quotation, anecdote, or interesting statistic, etc.
- main theme or main argument
- main points you will cover and the order in which you will cover them.
The body of your presentation must be clearly organised with the main points highlighted. One effective technique is to number your ideas. Any idea which is new to your audience needs to be presented simply with supportive evidence or examples which will make it more easily understood. Each important idea should be presented several times in different ways within the body of your presentation. Your audience needs several opportunities to absorb the full meaning and the significance of the most important ideas. It is also important to state the links between your ideas clearly.
The body is where you develop your main ideas/argument, using supporting ideas/evidence. Use techniques that make it easy for the listener to follow your talk:
- number your ideas: “ There are three main factors... ”
- arrange your ideas in logical order, such as chronological; cause and effect; problem–solution
- use transitional devices to help the audience follow the direction of your talk: “ secondly…; another important point is...; on the other hand…; I would now like to move on and look at another aspect of the research.. .”
- state the main idea
- refer to experts, provide examples to illustrate the idea
- provide statistics, facts, tell anecdotes (if time permits)
- provide case studies, etc.
- repeat important ideas using different words so the audience has several opportunities to absorb them
- don’t make the information too dense – remember the audience is listening, not reading!
The conclusion sums up main points. The conclusion should reinforce the central ideas of the presentation and signal a forceful ending. A weak, inconclusive or apologetic closing detracts from a good presentation. You should show in your conclusion that you have covered all the points that you said you would in your introduction. You should also show that you are confident, and that you have communicated effectively.
It is important to have a strong conclusion so the audience is left with a good impression.
- Summarise the main ideas of your presentation.
- Don’t introduce any new ideas.
- Work towards a strong ending – don’t finish abruptly or say ‘That’s all’. Perhaps leave the audience with something to think about.
Presentation Tips
Advance preparation.
The more you know about your audience, the more likely you will be able to give an effective presentation. Try to find out as much as you can about who will be there, what their background is, why they will be coming, and how much they will already know about the topic. Go to the room where you will make your presentation and get a feel of its size, acoustics, seating, etc. If you can, familiarise yourself with the equipment in the room.
Clear pronunciation
Your voice must be clear and distinct. If you know you have difficulty with pronunciation, speak a little more slowly than usual. Use intonation, stress, changes in pace (slow down at important points, speed up at details, anecdotes) and pause to keep the listeners’ attention, and focus attention on important points.
Body language
It has been estimated that 75% of meaning transferred is non-verbal. Try to maintain eye contact with your audience as this helps keep your audience engaged. Focus on standing straight and directly facing your audience, using hand gestures to emphasise important information.
Visual aids
A presentation can be enhanced by the effective use of overhead transparencies (slides), charts, pictures, posters or PowerPoint presentations (with limited graphic/sound gimmicks). They provide variety and can help reinforce points made. However, you are still the main communicator of your message. Be familiar with your visual aids, refer to them specifically and only display them when you are referring to them, otherwise they will only be a distraction.
- Physical charts, graphs, pictures, etc.: ensure that the size is appropriate for a large room. If necessary, back up with handouts.
- Video: ensure the segment shown is not too long in relation to the overall length of your presentation.
- Limit the amount of material on each visual: your listeners should be able to read and understand a visual in five seconds or less.
- Be sure your visuals are large enough to be seen by everyone: the lettering should usually be minimum 20-22 pt. font.
- Use diagrams, graphs and charts instead of words where possible.
- Eliminate unnecessary detail from diagrams, graphs and charts.
Expression and style
Try to speak to your audience using notes rather than memorising or reading your presentation. In order to do this, you will have to practise your presentations as many times as you can. If possible, perform in front of an audience. Otherwise, practise in front of a mirror or record yourself on your phone. This will also give you an idea of how long your presentation will take.
Use a conversation style to make your audience feel personally involved. Each time you use the word ‘you’, the audience feels compelled to pay attention.
Back to top
Adapted from Barthel, A. 2010, ‘Presenting a conference paper’, ELSSA Centre, University of Technology Sydney.
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- 1. Conference Presentations
- 2. The person who presents the research gets the credit • Paul Chu: first superconductor with a boiling point above liquid nitrogen • Maw-Kuen Wu and Jim Ashburn declined to speak and are not remembered
- 3. The presenter gets the credit • Zhengzhi Sheng, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Arkansas, discovered another superconductor at an even higher temperature. • Because Sheng was not a good speaker, the department chair, Allen Hermann, spoke at the press conference. Although Hermann repeatedly acknowledged the contribution of Sheng, Hermann was the one who received most of the credit.
- 4. Bad conference presentations • You’ve seen poor conference presentations • The speaker: • Sits • Reads • Speaks in a dead, low voice • Uses sentences which are long and complex • Uses technical words and phrases. • Emphasizes complicated details • Runs out of time
- 5. • An effective talk must do two things: 1. Persuade you audience with evidence 2. Be interesting and entertaining. Principles of effective conference presentations Talk, instead to reading Stand up Move around Make eye contact with your audience Don’t only look at one side of the room Imitate excellent speakers
- 6. Why do smart people give poor talks? • Poor speaking is a reaction to fear. • Presentations are not journal articles. They're a completely different communication, and they require different skills.
- 7. Bohr vs. Nusslein-Volhard Bohr: “Whereas Einstein tried to grasp a hidden essence by disregarding anything he thought irrelevant, Bohr insisted that nothing be left out.” – Edward MacKinnon “Bohr was much worse. His failing was that he used too many words to express any idea, wandering about as he spoke, often inaudibly.” – Sir Mark Oliphant Nusslein-Volhard: Scope moves from simple to specific Simple short sentences
- 8. Bohr’s Nobel prize acceptance speech • “Today, as a consequence of the great honor the Swedish Academy of Sciences has done me in awarding me this year’s Nobel Prize for Physics for my work on the structure of the atom, it is my duty to give an account of the results of this work, and I think that I shall be acting in accordance with the traditions of the Nobel Foundation if I give this report in the form of a survey of the development which has taken place in the last few years within the field of physics to which this work belongs.”
- 9. Nies Bohr: Nobel prize acceptance • “The present state of atomic theory is characterized by the fact that we not only believe the existence of atoms to be proved beyond a doubt, but also we even believe that we have an intimate knowledge of the constituents of the individual atoms. I cannot on this occasion give a survey of the scientific developments that have led to this result—I will only recall the discovery of the electron toward the close of the last century, which furnished the direct verification and led to the conclusive formulation of the conception of the atomic nature of electricity which had evolved since the discovery by Faraday of the fundamental laws of electrochemical theory, and its greatest triumph in the electrolytic dissociation theory of Arrhenius.”
- 10. Einstein on Bohr • Bohr stated “his opinions like one perpetually groping and never like one who believes himself to be in possession of definite truth.”
- 11. Christine Nusslein-Volhard • In the life of animals, complex forms alternate with simple ones. An individual develops from a simple one-celled egg that bears no resemblance on the complex structure and pattern displayed in the juvenile and adult form. The process of embryonic development with its highly ordered increase in complexity accompanied by perfect reproducibitiy, is controlled by a subset of the animal genes. Animals have a large number of genes. The exact number is not known for any multicellular organism, nor is it known how many and which are required for the development of complexity, pattern, and shape during embryogenesis. To identify these genes and to understand their functions is a major issue in biological research.
- 12. Scientific presenters • Successful scientific presenters – Ludwig Boltzmann – Albert Einstein – Richard Feynman – Rita Levi-Montalcini – Linus Pauling • Became strong presenters later in their careers – Heinrich Hertz, – J. Robert Oppenheimer – Chien-Shiung Wu • Rise above those obstacles to make successful presentations – Marie Curie
- 13. Michael Faraday on presenting • “[Lectures] depend entirely for their value on the manner in which they are given. It is not the matter, not the subject, so much as the man.”
- 14. Scientists who used analogies, examples, and stories • Otto Frisch when describing the size of a nucleus: “If an atom were enlarged to the size of a bus, the nucleus would be like the dot on this i.” • Einstein used the analogy of “shooting sparrows in the dark”7 to describe the likelihood of producing nuclear energy with alpha particles striking nitrogen nuclei. • Fred Soechting when describing his work with turbine blades in gas turbine engines: “The amount of power produced by a single gas turbine blade equals that of a Masarati sports car.”8
- 15. Issac Asimov on Linus Pauling • “On March 21, 1949, I attended a lecture given by Linus Pauling.... That talk was the best talk by anyone on any subject that I had ever heard…. The talk was more than a talk to me. It filled me with a desire of my own to become a speaker.”
- 16. James Watson on Pauling’s presentations • “Pauling’s talk was made with his usual dramatic flair. The words came out as if he had been in show business all his life. A curtain kept his model hidden until near the end of his lecture, when he proudly unveiled his latest creation. Then, with his eyes twinkling, Linus explained the specific characteristics that made his model—the α-helix— uniquely beautiful…. Even if he were to say nonsense, his mesmerized students would never know because of his unquenchable self-confidence.”
- 17. David L. Goodstein on Robert Feynman • “[Feynman] absolutely riveted the attention of everyone in the room for the entire time he was there. His need to do that helps explain some of the racy stories he liked to tell about himself, but it also lies close to the core of what made him a great teacher. For Feynman, the lecture hall was a theater, and the lecturer a performer, responsible for providing drama and fireworks as well as facts and figures. This was true regardless of his audience, whether he was talking to undergraduates or graduate students, to his colleagues or the general public.”
- 18. Professor David Goodstein on Robert Feynman “But even when he thought he was explaining things lucidly to freshmen or sophomores, it was not always really they who benefited most from what he was doing. It was more often us, scientists, physicists, professors, who would be the main beneficiaries of his magnificent achievement, which was nothing less than to see all of physics with fresh new eyes.”
- 19. Oppenheimer’s early lectures • Consider J. Robert Oppenheimer’s early lectures given at California-Berkeley in 1929. Only twenty-five years old, but already well known for his work on the quantum theory, Oppenheimer began his teaching that first semester with a class full of eager graduate students. • Halfway through the semester, though, the number of students registered for his course had dropped to one.
- 20. Daniel J. Kelves on Robert Oppenheimer • “Desperately eager to reach his students, his sensitivities sharpened by his own past difficulties, Oppenheimer made it a point to pay as much attention to the troubles of his charges as to the intricacies of his subject. His language evolved into an oddly eloquent mixture of erudite phrases and pithy slang, and he learned to exploit the extraordinary talent for elucidating complex technical matters.”
- 21. Result of Oppenheimer’s practice • Later students found him to be “the most stimulating lecturer they had experienced.”
- 22. Nobel Prize winner Hans Bethe about Oppenheimer • “Probably the most important ingredient Oppenheimer brought to his teaching was his exquisite taste. He always knew what were the important problems, as shown by his choice of subjects. He truly lived with those problems, struggling for a solution, and he communicated his concern to the group.”
- 23. Lise Meitner on Ludwig Boltzmann (the developer of the statistical treatment of atoms) “Boltzmann had no inhibitions whatsoever about showing his enthusiasm when he spoke, and this naturally carried his listeners along. He was fond of introducing remarks of an entirely personal character into his lectures.”
- 24. Lise Meitner on Ludwig Bolzmann • “[The lecturing of Boltzmann] was the most beautiful and stimulating thing I have ever heard.... He was so enthusiastic about everything he taught us that one left every lecture with the feeling that a completely new and wonderful world had been revealed.”
- 25. Eve Curie on her mother Marie Curie • “On Monday and Wednesday, my mother was nervous and agitated from the time she got up. At five o’clock on these days she lectured. After lunch she shut herself into her study in the Quai de Béthune, prepared the lesson, and wrote the heads of chapters of her lecture on a piece of white paper. Towards half-past four she would go to the laboratory and isolate herself in a little rest room. She was tense, anxious, unapproachable. Marie had been teaching for twenty-five years; yet every time she had to appear in the little amphitheater before twenty or thirty pupils who rose in unison at her entrance she unquestionably had “stage fright.”
- 26. 10 tips to develop confidence in conference presentations 1. Expect to be nervous 2. Prepare 3. Practice 4. Breathe 5. Rehearse 6. Focus on your audience 7. Simplify 8. Picture success 9. Connect with your audience 10. Pretend to be confident
- 27. Advantages and disadvantages of different sources for speech Sources Advantages Disadvantages Speaking from points Credibility earned Ease of adjusting speech Eye contact Natural pace Wording not exact Long preparation time Memorizing Precision Smooth delivery Credibility earned Eye contact Potential for disaster Unnatural pace Inability to adjust speech Long preparation time Reading Precision Smooth delivery Credibility undercut Lack of eye contact Unnatural pace Inability to adjust speech Long preparation time Speaking off the cuff No preparation time Eye contact Natural pace Potential for disaster Difficulty in organizing Lack of visual aids
- 28. Situations appropriate for each source of speech Sources Situation Speaking from points Conference presentation Presentation at business meeting University lecture Memorizing First few words of presentation Short introduction of a speaker Reading Press conference Quotation within a presentation Complex wording within presentation Speaking off the cuff Answering a question Asking a question
- 29. Voice quality • You should vary your voice, so it can be more interesting for your audience. You can vary your voice in at least three ways: – speed: Speak at a normal speed, faster, more slowly, and you can stop completely! You can also pause to get your audience's attention. – tone: Change the pitch of your voice. Speak in a high tone or speak in a low tone. – volume: you can speak at a normal volume, loudly and you can speak quietly. Lowering your voice and speaking quietly can attract your audience's interest. • The important point is not to speak in the same, flat voice throughout your presentation. This will put your audience to sleep.
- 30. Face the audience and speak loudly and clearly • Don’t look at your slides makes you to speak to the screen. This quiets your voice and breaks your contact with the audience. • Look at slides on your laptop screen in front of you • If you must look at the main screen, look at it quickly and then face the audience. • Make simple slides with short text, so you won’t have trouble knowing where you are when you quickly look at the screen.
- 31. Think about your presentation goals • In conference talks you should have at least two goals: 1. leave your audience with a clear picture of your contribution, 2. make them want to read your paper.
- 32. Focus on the main points • Your audience is not going to remember details. So, less is more. • You do not need to provide all the background on how you reached this interpretation. • You do not need to defend the validity of your idea. • You don't need to give a literature review. • Give short, take-home points that they’ll remember. They can always read your paper later, but if you don’t interest them, they will not read it. • Don't summarize popular ideas. • Don't assume that a critic familiar to you is familiar to everyone else. • Consider the audience to whom you are speaking.
- 33. Think about your audience • Most audiences should be targeted in layers: – some are experts in your specific area, – some are experts in the general area – others know little or nothing. • Who is most important to you? Can you still leave others with something? For example, target the body to experts, but make the prediction and summary to everybody.
- 34. Timeline showing presenter reaching multiple audiences by beginning at surface of the topic, diving into a subject, and then surfacing to gather entire audience.
- 35. • Audience attention Don’t try to say too much, use handouts for all supplemental materials. Never go longer than 45 minutes — most people’s maximum attention span. If you exceed this limit, you’ll lose them at the crucial point; your conclusion.
- 36. Have a timing device • Use a watch or cell phone with a timing function. • PowerPoint’s “Presenter Tools” has a stopwatch. The problem is remembering to start the stopwatch at the beginning of your talk. • Develop your sense of timing by always using the same slide format. • Decide in advance which slides you can skip • As a beginning speaker, don’t leave your outline – Don’t try to do something unplanned during a talk. – Practice telling a joke or a story and make your audience think you just thought of it
- 37. A short conference talk outline • Title/author/university (1 slide) • Abstract (1 slide) -Give the basic problem and answer. • Outline (1 slide) -Give the talk structure. • Motivation and Problem Statement (1-2 slides) -Why does anyone care? • Related Work (0-1 slides) -Talk briefly about this, or you can eliminate this section and refer people to your paper. • Methods (1 slide) -Cover quickly in short talks and refer people to your paper. • Results (4-6 slides) -Present key results with implications. This is the main body of the talk. Do not cover all the results. Cover the key result well. • Summary (1 slide) • Future Work (0-1 slides) • Backup Slides (0-3 slides)
- 38. Using quotes in your speech • If you quote another source, pause and indicate the quote by saying "quote . . . . . end quote." • Don't use long quotes or quote too much material. Your audience wants your ideas, not what you have found from others. • If it is necessary to include long quotes, give the audience a handout • Read the speech out loud as you revise. • Be careful criticizing other scholars.
- 39. • About PowerPoint – PowerPoint saves time compared to writing on the whiteboard. – Don’t use all PowerPoint’s fades, transitions, backgrounds and sound effects. • Talk to the audience, not the screen – One of the worst presenter mistakes is to face the screen while talking. If you do this, the audience will be looking at your back, and they won't be able to hear you.
- 40. • Prepare for computer problems – many things can go wrong with the computer, the projector, the software, the connector cables, your USB, or your presentation. – Don’t assume that what works on a PC will work on a Mac. – Don’t assume your host will have the same version of PowerPoint that you do. • Bring backup – Begin making backups several days before the talk. – Use a USB, a CDROM, or some other common format. – Internet backup isn't reliable, you can't be sure you'll have a connection. • Bring printed notes or outlines – If the computer or the projector dies in the middle of your talk, you'll have no time to fix it. – Be prepared to deliver your talk without the slides. Bring printed notes.
- 41. Other presentation problems • Someone asks a question about an issue you plan to discuss later. – Answer the question briefly, and say you plan to go into detail later. • You lose your thought in mid-sentence. – Smile, say "excuse me" and start again. • You plan to go through a handout page by page but people are moving ahead of your speech. – Don't give handouts until after the presentation is over. – Give people a rough idea of where different parts are located, then people are more likely to stay with you. • Your throat dries out – Roll a tiny piece of paper into a small ball and place it between your gum and your facial tissue in the back of your mouth. It will stimulate the flow of saliva.
- 42. • Someone starts a private conversation while you are speaking. – First, ask if there are questions. – Second, ask if you can do anything to clarify. – If they will not stop, continue your presentation but move nearer to them. Lower your voice or pause. • Notice your audience and respond to their needs • Take control of the environment • Distribute copies of your paper
- 43. • Conference presenters can use humor to help the audience: – Remember the main points – See the big picture – Retain information longer – Interact with members of the audience – Present a sensitive idea without the audience getting angry – Feel free to express themselves • Humor takes practice – You need to make a connection with the audience by promoting interaction and openness. – You can develop humor by talking to some of the audience before the presentation
- 44. Inappropriate humor for conferences: • Don’t do the following in conference presentations: 1. Use prepared jokes that have no connection to your purpose 2. Read your jokes and stories. 3. Laugh at your own jokes; or start laughing before you tell them. 4. Announce that you are going to tell a joke; and apologize if it is bad. 5. Criticize the audience for not laughing. 6. Tell stories that make fun of others or make them look bad. 7. Act like you are better than others. 8. Use humor that the audience may not understand. 9. Embarrass people. 10. Tell dirty stories.
- 45. Using PowerPoint at Conferences
- 46. Don’t Write Everything and Read • Your PowerPoint presentation should: – Clarify ideas – Emphasize key points – Show relationships – Provide visual information to ensure the audience understands your message
- 47. Slides Should be Short • Slides help you, and your audience, follow the flow of the talk. • Not too full: 6 lines of text per slide is enough; 9 lines is a lot; 12 lines is unreadable. • Bullet points should be a few words, not complete sentences. • If you need more space, use more slides.
- 48. Use Big Type Change the font size in the Preferences of the browser, when using a web presentation.
- 49. Determining Font Size • Your audience may be look at the screen from 70 feet away. • Fonts should be 24 points or larger
- 50. Choosing a Font • From a distance, you’ll notice that the serif (Times) font and the ‘narrow’ or condensed font are more difficult to read. Don’t sacrifice readability for style. Your job is to communicate.
- 51. Use the Correct Font for Easy Reading • For handouts or take-home material, use a serif font. • For projecting on a screen, using a slide, overhead or multimedia projector, use a sans serif font. Because serif fonts can look fuzzy when projected.
- 52. • Choosing a color – Yellow with black letters is considered the most readable. • Color blindness – Unwanted light affects color contrast by turning dark reds and greens much lighter. – About 10% of people have difficulty with reds and greens. • Use contrasting colors – A dark background with light text is easily readable – Use drop shadows – Avoid busy backgrounds – Avoid using red text – AVOID ALL CAPS!
- 53. Choose White or Light Colored Slide Backgrounds • Dark text on light colored slides can usually be read with lights on. • Avoid dark images that won’t show up well on a screen. • Be aware that sunlight shining directly on your screen will make it less visible.
- 54. Presenting with Charts • Simplify charts – Changing the chart format – How do you know when to use which chart? That depends on how well you’ve stated the message. – Your heading should always tell people what you want them to look for on a chart. • Choosing the chart – Once you have an action statement as a heading, look at the verbs in the statement to get an idea of the best chart to use to present your data.
- 55. → Showing Change Over Time • Look for a key word – Grow – Decline – Trends Line chart • Line charts are best when a variable has more than four or five data point. • The slope of the line quickly tells the audience the direction of the trends.
- 56. → Comparing Items at One Point in Time • Look for a key word – Ranks – Compares – Highest profit – The lowest interest rate – The most products sold Bar chart – Rank variables from largest to smallest • Bar charts are often the best way to compare a set of individual items or several sets of related items. • The bar’s length corresponds to its ranking; the bar’s label identifies the item.
- 57. → Comparing Parts of a Whole • Look for key words – Percentage – Portion – Share • The number of pie slices should not be more than five, and each slice should be easy to see and interpret. Pie chart
- 58. → Comparing Data by Geographic Location • Look for key words – Country – Area Segmented bar chart • Distinguish among regions by using different colors, shadings, or symbols.
- 59. Additional Tips for Graphs and Charts 1. Show one message per chart. Make the message the heading. 2. Make the chart easy to read. Make the most important text largest, the most important data lines or sections darkest. 3. Be accurate. Always start a numerical axis at zero. Compare only like variables. 4. Eliminate all unnecessary details. 5. Use no more than four colors per visual. 6. To focus attention, use color, shading, or images such as arrows to highlight key words or concepts. 7. Write in upper and lower case. Words written in all capitals letters are hard to read. 8. Make bars and columns wider than the spaces between them.
- 60. Don’t Get too Technical • The more advanced the technology, the more likely there are to be “technical problems.” Speakers often come in at the last minute and are completely destroyed when their equipment doesn’t work. It creates panic for everyone. Always send a copy of your presentation to the conference office in advance so it can be loaded and tested.
- 61. Don’t Apologize for Errors • Don’t apologize for poor English speaking, it wastes time and adds no value to your talk. Don’t comment on spelling, grammatical, or other mechanical errors in your presentation. Most of the audience won’t notice unless you apologize.
- 62. Buy a Laser Pointer and Wireless Mouse • They are inexpensive, and are extremely useful. It is helpful to be able to change pages from across the room and point out key graphs and charts.
- 63. The Last Thing on Your PowerPoint • At the end of your presentation while answering questions, leave up a contact info slide containing your name, e-mail, address, and website URL related to the talk if you have one.
- 64. Handling Q&A
- 65. Why Are Questions and Answers Important? • Questions and answers are important for several reasons: – Get attention – Create interest – Get feedback – Make points easy to remember – Create audience interaction – Promote new thoughts • To get comfortable with Q&A sessions and questions, start asking questions throughout your presentations.
- 66. Before the Presentation • Prepare for criticism by telling your ideas to a critical friend. • Bring a list of references when answering questions. • Take notes of questions and suggestions. • Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know the answer to a particular question. • If you are using slides, save several slides and use them to answer expected questions.
- 67. At the End of the Presentation • There are two endings to a presentation with a final Q&A session. Example: “At this point, I want to get your opinion on this approach. This side of the room first.” • The second close is after the questions to summarize the main points of your presentation. Example: “As you can see from the questions and comments, this topic is confusing and we don’t have all the answers but here is what you can do for now...”
- 68. After the Presentation • Sometimes question time is so exciting that you can’t answer all the questions with the time you have. Tell people ways to contact you and when and how you will respond. Think of ways to share these questions and answers with all members of the audience through an e-mail list or Web site.
- 69. 12 Ways to Encourage Audience Questions • 1. Announce the question session in an open, conversational way. • 2. Design questions into your content and delivery: – Title: Why Knowledge Management? —and Why Now? – Opening: What is the biggest problem facing researchers today? – Content: “My presentation is about four key questions.” – Ending: Considering these facts, how can you not act?
- 70. • 3. Ask a question, pause and then give the answer yourself. • 4. Bring up questions you have been asked by other audience. • 5. Let the audience know in the beginning there is a Q&A session, and “when” it is and “how long” it is. • 6. Provide a seating arrangement where the audience can see each other. • 7. List questions in the presentation announcement or brochure. • 8. Provide a white board for the audience to write a question at any time. Start your Q&A session by answering these questions.
- 71. • 9. Pass out paper for the audience to submit their questions. They may forget what they were going to ask earlier. This is often used at public meetings and when the audience is large. • 10. Don’t ask for feedback and then start to pack up your laptop or your notes. This sends the clear signal that you are done and ready to go. • 11. Arrange for someone in the audience to ask the first question to start the process. • 12. Ask yourself what questions you hope no one asks and then prepare to answer them.
- 72. Why Do People Ask Questions? – Because they want to know the answer – Because they want to make a point – To impress the audience – To see if you know the answer – To see how you handle questions and the stress – To attack your methodology – To make you look bad (for example, if they are competing with you for a job) – Some ask questions that are in fact a personal attack (but not often)
- 73. • Don’t let an interesting but unrelated question start you on a new speech. • Don’t let your presentation continue on thinking the Q&A time is extra time for your presentation. • Consider questions as an honor your presentation. Good ideas create questions. Boring presentations make people leave.
- 74. 3 Step Template for Answering Questions 1. Listen to the entire question before you answer 2. Thank each person for asking the question. 3. Then follow the template below. Repeat→Respond→Review
- 75. Additional Tips on Handling Questions • Ask people to stand up when they ask a question. This does two things: 1. It shows you who is asking the question 2. Makes it easier for the audience to hear the question
- 76. What If You Don’t Know the Answer? – Suggest someone in the audience more qualified answer the question. “Professor M. has studied this extensively.” – Delay, “That’s a good question...” – Ask a question: “Can you clarify what you mean?” – Admit you don’t know but will research it for them. – Repeat the question in a different way: “Is this what you are asking?” [Then say a question you can answer] – If you don’t have a good answer after these delaying tactics, say: “Let’s talk about that after my talk.”
- 77. What If You Can Think of Nothing to Say? 1. Smile: People always like people who smile. 2. Tell a story: Stories take time and you can be thinking about your next point. 3. Change the topic of the question to something you know about. If you don’t know the answer to a question, than answer a different question.
- 78. What If You Don’t Understand the Question Because of the Speaker’s Poor English? • If you don’t understand the English, ask the speaker to repeat the question. • If the questioner still asks and you still don’t understand, say, “Great question, but it quite specific to your field and does not concern everyone here, see me after the talk and we can go into more detail about it.” • Quickly move to another question or conclude your session.
- 79. What If Someone Keeps Interrupting You While You Are Talking? • If it’s just a clarifying question and it’s short, answer it and keep speaking. • If somebody keeps making long, loud comments, or begins to argue with you in the middle of your talk. This can be very stressful, especially if you are a grad student or new professor.
- 80. Don’t Let Your Time Get Wasted • Speech times don’t get extended for time wasted by the audience. You need to develop a strategy for keeping control. The best ways to do this follow. – look at whoever is chairing the conference session, or your sponsor at a job talk. – you can wait politely for a pause in the attack, and then say as calmly as possible something like: “Thank you for your comment. I’d like to respond, but if you don’t mind I’d like to wait for the question period.”
- 81. Your Final Solution to An Attacking Attendee • You need to say loudly but firmly, as strongly as you can: “Sir, please allow me to finish my talk.” • Then, proceed and ignore further interruptions from that person.
- 82. Remain After Your Presentation Session • Be available to answer additional questions if you can. • Make notes about the questions, suggestions, new thoughts you can use these comments to improve a paper for publication and your reviewers may be in the audience.
- 83. For details and bookings contact:- Parveen Kumar Chadha… THINK TANK (Founder and C.E.O of Saxbee Consultants) Email :[email protected] Mobile No. +91-9818308353 Address:-First Floor G-20(A), Kirti Nagar, New Delhi India Postal Code-110015
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