How to give a good presentation Zhigang Peng

How to give a good presentation Zhigang Peng School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology

Why Do We Need to Give (and Listen to) Presentations? ! • • • To communicate newly published or unpublished work To get exposure outside our specialized area(s) To get to know other scientists, and get noticed To get a job (to defend thesis, pass comp. exam, etc) To commune as scientists (the weekly seminar and annual conference are rituals) • Know your goal: what is best possible outcome for you when/after you give this talk? ! From http: //acmg. seas. harvard. edu/education/presentations/carlton_presentations. pdf "In science, the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the idea first occurs. " --Sir William Osler 2021/2/24 zpeng China seminar 2

http: //acmg. seas. harvard. edu/education/presentations/carlton_presentations. pdf 2021/2/24 zpeng China seminar 3

Avoid slides like this!! Outline • Introduction • Motivation • Results • Discussion • Conclusion Is this a good starting slide? ! http: //profile. usgs. gov/rstein It would be better to start with the topic immediately and not to include an outline slide (to save time and keep the focus). 2021/2/24 zpeng China seminar 4

10 tips on how to give effective presentations • Face your audience and make eye contact (rather than reading your slides). • Smile (it helps to relax the audience and yourself). A bit of humor is always helpful. • Identify (the goals: inform and/or persuade) and then tell a good story. • Include nice-looking graphics (with clear labels, large symbols, legends) and explain them first. • Make the text as large as possible (and do not put too many on one slide). 2021/2/24 5 zpeng China seminar

10 tips on how to give effective presentations (cont) • Include some animations, movie or other multimedia/demo/tools (but do not overdo them). • Involve audience in the presentation (by asking them questions, try new things, etc). • Do not cram too much (skip slides if needed). • Leave no more than 3 take-home messages. • Know how to answer questions properly (clarify/rephrase if needed; think before reply). 2021/2/24 zpeng China seminar 6

http: //acmg. seas. harvard. edu/education/presentations/carlton_presentations. pdf 2021/2/24 zpeng China seminar 7

Online resources • “How to give good presentations? ” • https: //www. princeton. edu/~archss/webpdfs 08/ Bahar. Martonosi. pdf • http: //acmg. seas. harvard. edu/education/prese ntations/carlton_presentations. pdf • “How to give a killer presentation? ” https: //hbr. org/2013/06/how-to-give-a-killerpresentation/ • “The ten commandments of presentations” • http: //time. com/3612706/presentation-advice/ 2021/2/24 zpeng China seminar 8