how to give an oral research presentation
DESCRIPTION
HOW TO GIVE AN ORAL RESEARCH PRESENTATION. Professor Phillip Nagley. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IN SCIENCE. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. Content Audiovisual aids Delivery. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. Content Audiovisual aids Delivery. CONTENT. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
HOW TO GIVE AN ORAL HOW TO GIVE AN ORAL RESEARCH RESEARCH
PRESENTATIONPRESENTATION
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Professor Phillip NagleyProfessor Phillip Nagley
EFFECTIVE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION
IN SCIENCEIN SCIENCE
Content
Audiovisual aids
Delivery
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Content
Audiovisual aids
Delivery
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
CONTENTCONTENT
Telling a story about your research
Content of presentationContent of presentation Statement of the problem Background The issue or question to be addressed Specific aims The approaches used Results
continues…...
Content of presentationContent of presentationContinued……
Interpretation of data Summary of research findings Implications in a wider sphere Conclusions
Statement of the problemStatement of the problem Headline
Sets context
Encapsulates the gist of the talk
Tell them what you’re going to tell them
BackgroundBackground
What is known already
Some indication of significance in broader context
Keep it relevant to your talk
Issue or question to be Issue or question to be addressedaddressedPossible aspects…….
What you wanted to find out
Issue to be resolved
Keep it general at this point
Specific aimsSpecific aims List the particular goals of your research These should be carefully chosen to
match what you actually carried out or what you achieved
Don’t raise unrealistic expectations in your audience(but don’t undersell yourself, either)
The approaches usedThe approaches used Experimental system Methods in general Highlight any novel methods used or
invented for this research
Don’t go into too much detail here ……It’s NOT a Materials and Methods
section!
ResultsResults What you did for each experiment (or
phase of the investigation) What you observed (i.e. the data)
Specific methods can be mentioned here……
This helps in the description of the experimental set up or technique used
Interpretation of dataInterpretation of dataWhat you……. found out discovered measured re-evaluated identified as being an artefact realised had not answered the questionThis is often integrated with the
presentation of individual Results
Summary of research Summary of research findingsfindings Outline succinctly what you found This is what you know today, that you
did not know before you started
This helps the audience absorb the salient features of what you have been telling them in detail
Implications in a wider Implications in a wider spheresphereThis can be ……. what you would like to find out further experiments or techniques to solve
the problem or extend the field further why others may have got it wrong new insights or opportunities application of novel methods to other
biological or clinical issues or topics…….or anything else relevant
Implications in a wider Implications in a wider spheresphereThe integration of your talk into the “bigger picture” is very important
ConclusionsConclusions Summarise the main points of your talk Relate these back to the initial question Link these to the specific aims Outline the implications
Try to do this on one slide (or transparency)
ConclusionsConclusions THIS IS THE TAKE HOME
MESSAGE
Do not finish your talk without it!
Do not let your audience leave without it!
ContentContent The organisation listed above may
not be applicable to all talks Use your judgment in arranging your
talk to achieve the optimal organisation
GOOD ORGANISATION IS ONE OF THE THREE ELEMENTS OF
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Content
Audiovisual aids
Delivery
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Display itemsDisplay items
Transparencies
Slides (35 mm)
PowerPoint slides
Clarity of logicClarity of logic Relevance of content to the intended point Logical links (wherever possible) to the
preceding and subsequent display items
These only need to be cues (words or images) that you use, as presenter,to help the audience follow the talk
Number of slides to be as Number of slides to be as few as possiblefew as possible Do not use more than required Omit irrelevant items
The audience will appreciate a small number of slides, handled well, rather than a large number that induces “PowerPoint Fatigue Syndrome”
Keep slides non-clutteredKeep slides non-cluttered
Avoid too much data Do not show schematics that are
too detailed Omit unnecessary or irrelevant
information
Keep slides non-clutteredKeep slides non-cluttered
128 scans0 scansB
CMX- Ros
Rh123
128 scans0 scansA
0
20
40
60
80
100
Rh123 + CMXRos Rh123 High
delta-p
si-m
(% cells)
Keep slides non-clutteredKeep slides non-cluttered
0
20
40
60
80
100
Rh123 + CMXRos Rh123
High
delta-p
si-m
(% cells)
Figure 1. CMXRos photosensitization on a subpopulation of mitochondria induces rapid m loss in non-irradiated mitochondria. (C) Quantitative determination of Rh123 retention in non-irradiated mitochondria of cells. Control cells to indicate either high m and low m were either treated without or with CCCP (20 M) respectively (n=20, n=15 respectively), loaded with Rh123 but not photoirradiated (Irr-). Other cells loaded with Rh123 alone (n=13) or with Rh123 and CMXRos (n=9) were subjected to partial irradiation (Irr+). Three regions of interest in the non-irradiated zone from each cell were arbitrarily selected to determine the fluorescence intensity of Rh123 in pixel units. The mean fluorescence intensity ( SEM) of Rh123 in each cell was obtained by averaging the pixel values of the three regions of interest. Measurements were taken before and after partial irradiation. The fluorescence intensity of Rh123 retained in non-irradiated mitochondria (Fafter) following irradiation was expressed as a percentage of the initial fluorescence intensity (Fbefore) in the same cell prior to irradiation. Cells containing non-irradiated mitochondria with Rh123 retention values above 60% and below 20% were considered as manifesting high m or loss of m
respectively. No cells tested showed intermediate levels of Rh123 retention. (D) Fraction of cells manifesting high m in non-irradiated mitochondria (see above). Cells were loaded with Rh123 and CMXRos (n=21) or Rh123 alone (n=16). Black bars indicate cells before irradiation. Open bars indicate cells after 128 scans under partial irradiation condition.
Slides must be easy to Slides must be easy to readread Font sizes must be big enough Don’t use black font on dark backgrounds Avoid the “serif” fonts like Times New Roman or
CourierAvoid small fonts like Times New RomanAvoid small “skinny” fonts like Courier
Use “sans serif” fonts like ArialUse Sans-serif” fonts like ArialUse Sans-serif” fonts like Arial (use bold if it needs to be very small)
Slides must be easy to Slides must be easy to readread Avoid abbreviations that are not
defined Do not use lab jargon, if there is a
conventional term in wide useCertain fields are particularly prone
to this problemAsk yourself if the audience can be
reasonably expected to understand the terms you use on the slides
Proper sizes of text and Proper sizes of text and graphicsgraphics Use the available space Keep the font sizes large and readable Make sure the graphics are big enough
Don’t show a very small image or table surrounded by a sea of blank space
Improper size of graphicImproper size of graphic
Rh12
3 ret
entio
n(m
ean
% o
f Faf
ter/F
befo
re)
0
20
40
60
80
100
Rh123 Rh123 Rh123 Rh123 +CMXRos +CCCP Irr - + + -
Better size of graphicBetter size of graphicRh
123 r
eten
tion
(mea
n %
of F
afte
r/Fbe
fore
)
0
20
40
60
80
100
Rh123 Rh123 Rh123 Rh123 +CMXRos +CCCP Irr - + + -
DecorationDecoration
Make sensible use of colours and borders
Don’t let PowerPoint Backgrounds dominate your data or statements
It is the content that the audience should remember, not the colours and the special effects!
Order of display itemsOrder of display items
Make sure the order is correct before you start
If an item needs to be repeated during a presentation, make sure there is a duplicate in the correct place
Avoid shuffling through items during a presentation: the audience will (rightly) think you are not properly organised
GOOD ORGANISATION AND WELL PREPARED VISUAL AIDS ARE TWO OF THE THREE ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Content
Audiovisual aids
Delivery
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
GOOD ORGANISATION WELL PREPARED VISUAL AIDS INFORMATIVE AND
ENTERTAINING PRESENTATION
ARE THE THREE ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION