making a scientific presentation: basic principlesmed.emory.edu/faculty_dev/clinical/crb...

Making A Scientific Presentation: Basic Principles

Peter W. F. Wilson, MD Emory University Atlanta, GA, USA

1

General Outline

• Format for a short scientific talk • Examples of slide materials • Speaking when not using slides

2

Outline Scientific Oral Presentation

• Title slide (1 slide) Title of presentation Your name Collaborators for project Institutions represented

• Conflict of interest disclosure (1 slide) • Background (1-2 slides) • Population and Methods (2-3 slides) • Images/Photos (0-3 slides)

Equipment, lab, environment, subjects • Results (2-3 slides) • Summary (1 slide) • Limitations (1 slide) • Backup slides (0 to 3 slides)

3

Background History of Oration

• Public forum • Speaker on an elevated platform • Need to project to entire audience • Effective speakers told stories • Importance of repetition

4

Modern Scientific Oral Presentations

• Starting point Accepted scientific abstract Review of topic—no abstract

• Speaking in a conference room Blackboard (chalk needed) Flip Chart (markers needed) Overhead projector (often need help) Videoconference (often need help) Powerpoint on own computer • Video presentation (always need help)

5

Speaker Aids • Podium • Microphone

Fixed Portable

• Pointer (or chalk or markers) Mouse Laser pointer

• Computer used for powerpoint • Your personal notes • Water available to drink

6

General Rules for Giving a Scientific Talk

•Slides Keep slide format uniform Usually less than 1 slide per minute Keep visual content simple Try to avoid too many lines of text Do not “read” the slides Use high contrast background color Arial (or similar) text is preferred Animation not usually needed

7

“Backup Plan” for Your Presentation

• Extra copies of the Powerpoint Email to yourself Extra memory stick Upload to meeting server

• Print and carry your Powerpoint Miniature slides (6 to a page) Notes

• Use 3 ring binder to present your talk • Have print copy of your slides with you

8

Speaking with Style (1) You

• Clothing • Jewelry • Makeup • Awareness of the total “you”

Head Eyes Torso Hands Feet

9

Speaking with Style (2) At the Podium

• Walk slowly to the podium • Thank moderator(s) and sponsor(s) • Talk to the different sections of the audience • Talk slowly • Vary your rhythm • Use pauses for emphasis • Don’t use jargon • Be careful with use of humor and jokes • Define uncommon words at time of first use • Repeat your important findings • Signal when close to finishing • Finish within allotted time 10

Speaking with Style (3) Emphasizing Key Findings

• Repetition Approach Tell audience what you are going to say State the finding Repeat the finding • Socratic Approach Ask a question Answer the question with your study data Repeat findings with different phrasing

11

Speaking with Style (4) Questions

• Questions from the audience Thank person for asking the question Briefly repeat or paraphrase the question -- Ensures you understand the question -- Gives you time to think about the answer Provide “short” answer Potentially show an “extra” slide

12

Speaking with Video

• Personal appearance is very important • Face makeup and skin powder if available • Usually you are talking to an interviewer • Don’t worry about making mistakes • Speak slowly—usually slower than usual • Know what the camera is viewing • Behave as though camera is always “on” • Be aware of

– Facial expression(s) – Body language

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Fluent Communication

• Speak at average speed • Vary speed and pitch • Use pauses effectively • Avoid filler expressions

Examples: “um” , “uh” ,“you know” • Use appropriate vocabulary • Pronounce words correctly

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Behaviors and Communication

• Stuttering Focus on smoothness, rate and tone

• Physical movements Key areas: eyes, forehead, breathing,

frowning • Large muscle movements • Verbal repetition

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Basic Components of a Table

Stub Head Column Spanner

Column A

Column B

Column C

Stub 1

Stub 2

*Other major risk factors (beyond lipids) include smoking, hypertension, and family history of premature CAD Brunzell JACC 2008; 51: 1512 Nicol and Pexman: Presenting your findings (2010), p 5 16

Table Composition • Title

Should be meaningful Keep it short Can use abbreviations

• Column and Row Heads Avoid repeating words Make the order logical Keep text short Try to have columns with equal spacing

• Column Spanner Use spanners if you can

• Numbers Fewer decimals is generally preferred Standard Deviation vs Standard Error of Mean

• Abbreviations Explain in text or in a footnote

Nicol and Pexman: Presenting your findings (2010), p 7 17

Examples of Slides

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Correlation Table

Measure Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3

Factor 1 --

Factor 2 0.24 --

Factor 3 0.30 0.55 --

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Correlation* Table


Factor 1 --

Factor 2 0.24 --

Factor 3 0.30 0.55 --

* Values shown are r-squared 20

Correlation* Table


Factor 1 -- 0.28 0.35

Factor 2 0.24 -- 0.60

Factor 3 0.30 0.55 --

* Values shown are r-squared

Group A Group B 21

BP Trial Results ABC Study*

BP Measurement

Men Women

Drug Placebo Drug Placebo

Initial 145 145 142 142

End 140 142 139 140

Change -5** -3 -3 -2

*Other major risk factors (beyond lipids) include smoking, hypertension, and family history of premature CAD Brunzell JACC 2008; 51: 1512 •Mean results in mm Hg •** P<0.05 vs Men on placebo

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Blood Pressure Levels in the ABC Trial

020406080

100120140160

Initial End Initial End

DrugPlacebo

Mea

n B

P sy

stol

ic

(mm

Hg)

Men Women

23

Blood Pressure Levels in the ABC Trial

130

140

150

Initial End Initial End

DrugPlacebo

Mea

n B

P sy

stol

ic (m

m H

g)

Men Women

P<0.05

24

Blood Pressure Change in the ABC Trial

0

2

4

6

8

10

Men Women

DrugPlacebo

Mea

n B

P sy

stol

ic re

duct

ion

(mm

Hg)

P<0.05

25


-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

Men Women

DrugPlacebo

Mea

n B

P sy

stol

ic c

hang

e (m

m H

g)

P<0.05

26

Considerations with Figures • Simple figures often very effective • Consider effects if printed in grayscale • Use bars, symbols, lines with care • Beware of the “moiré effect”

27


-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

Men Women

DrugPlacebo

Mea

n B

P sy

stol

ic c

hang

e (m

m H

g)

P<0.05

28

Graphing Data Over an Interval (1) Powerpoint Vertical Bar Plot

0100200300400

U.S.Population (millions)

1980 1990 2000 2010

Year

29


290300310320330340350360


1980 1990 2000 2010Year

30


200

250

300

350

400

U.S. Population (millions)

1980 1990 2000 2010Year

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Graphing Data Over an Interval (4)

300

320

340

360

380

400

1980 1990 2000 2010

Year


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Graphing Data Over an Interval (5)

300

320

340

360

380

400

1980 1990 2000 2010

Year

Population (millions)

33


315

328

345360

300

320

340

360

380

400

Population (millions)

1980 1990 2000 2010Year

If you show a line… Arrange graph so that the slope of this line through the data is approximately 45o

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Summary Speaker Tips from Toastmaster’s International • Know your material • Practice, Practice, Practice! • Know the audience • Know the room • Relax • Visualize yourself giving your speech • Realize that people want you to succeed • Don’t apologize • Concentrate on the message • Gain experience • Try to keep your visual aids simple

Toastmaster International Website 35

Final Summary Scientific Oral Presentation

•Title slide (1 slide) Title of presentation Your name Collaborators for project Institutions represented

•Conflict of interest disclosure (1 slide) •Background (1-2 slides) •Population and Methods (2-3 slides) •Images/Photos (0-3 slides)

Equipment, lab, environment, subjects •Results (2-3 slides) •Summary (1 slide) •Limitations (1 slide) •Backup slides (0 to 3 slides)

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Limitations and Caveats

• This approach does not always work • You might not be able to “see your slides” • “Stuff happens”

You get sick and might not be able to present The projector could fail Your slide format did not “transfer”

• Have a backup plan • Extra slides after the conclusion

To explain key point(s) To answer expected questions

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Speaking Without Slides

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10 Steps to a Great Speech (William Safire)

1. Shake hands with the audience 2. Structure and shape of the talk 3. Rhythm 4. Special occasion 5. Focus 6. Purpose 7. Using a new phrase 8. Theme and context 9. Delivery 10.Vocabulary

Safire, W Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History (Cobbett Press, 1992) 39

10 Steps to a Great Speech (William Safire)

1. Shake hands with the audience 2. Structure and shape of the talk 3. Rhythm 4. Special occasion 5. Focus 6. Purpose 7. Using a new phrase 8. Theme and context 9. Delivery 10.Vocabulary 11.Cross the audience up now and then


Shake hands with the audience

“ I am very glad, indeed, to come to Westminister College this afternoon, and I am complimented that you should give me a degree from an institution whose reputation has been so solidly accepted. It is the name Westminister, somehow or other, which seems familiar to me. I feel as if I’d heard of it before....”

Winston Churchill “Iron Curtain Speech” Fulton, Missouri March 5, 1946


Structure and Shape

• Tell them what you will say • Tell them • Tell them what you have said


Rhythm and Pulse (1)

• Repeat beginning phrases (anaphora) “I have a dream…” ML King

• Repeat ending phrases (epiphora, epistrophe) "There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem.“ Lyndon B. Johnson “We Shall Overcome”

• Short words and short sentences • Alliteration (similar sounds for syllables)


Rhythm and Pulse (2)

Safire, W Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History (Cobbett Press, 1992)

“ So let us begin anew… Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms, and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations. Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce. Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth …”

John F. Kennedy “Inaugural Address” Washington, DC January 20, 1961

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Occasion and Focus

• Special Occasions Eulogy Honoring a person or group Critical time for action • Focus Introduction Development Key points Closing


Memorable Phrasing

Safire, W Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History (Cobbett Press, 1992)

• Invert and repeat (contrapuntal turnaround) “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” John F Kennedy

• Identify with a viewpoint or position “All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner!” John F Kennedy • Put “New” in front of a noun

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Delivery and Vocabulary

• Avoid words you can not say • Avoid words with several syllables • Keep general vocabulary simple


• Structure Birth Death Resurrection • Great use of words with one syllable • Iambic Pentameter • Repeated use of words The word “dedicate” At beginning of sentences At end of sentences

Gettysburg Address (Analysis of the Speech)

Lincoln November 19, 1863 48

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Gettysburg Address



Gettysburg Address

Lincoln November 19, 1863

Birth

Death

Resurrection

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Gettysburg Address



Gettysburg Address

Lincoln November 19, 1863

Anaphora

Epiphora

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Thank You

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making a scientific presentation: basic principlesmed.emory.edu/faculty_dev/clinical/crb...

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