How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

PowerPoint – Microsoft’s key presentation program. PowerPoint is used everywhere today. It is the tool of choice when it comes to a professional presentation.

Step1

Gather your information. This is the first step to doing any presentation. Preparing the presentation should be one of the last steps in an entire project.

Step2

Make a title page and a table of contents. Make sure your title page is nice and simple. Your topic should be in big letters and then your personal information and who you represent. Your table of contents should include all of the titles of your slides in order they appear.

Step3

Outline your slides. Use bullet points and keywords. Do not string together long sentences. PowerPoint is a supplement, not a replacement. Assume that your audience can read, so do not simply read off your PowerPoint. This is an insult to their intelligence. Rule of thumb: 4 to 5 points per slide. Make sure these relate to each other and the title of that page. Also, spend only 1-2 minutes per slide. Lingering around one slide may bore your audience. This would subtract from the value of what you have to say

Step4

Use contrasting colors [ black and white, yellow and black, etc]. Make your presentation presentable. This will make the entire presentation easier to read and will retain the focus of the audience.

Step5

Don’t use distracting backgrounds or animations. This will distract your audience and may even make it look tacky. Simplicity is the key. Do not let anything distract the audience from the things you are saying. Graphics that will enhance your presentation are o.k. [i.e. graphs and charts]. Make sure you explain these.

Step6

Proofread. Make sure you have no grammatical or spelling errors. This will only make you look bad. It only takes a few minutes to proofread so take the time!

Step7

Have a simple conclusion. Make it similar to your title page. Take the time to put in the conclusion slide. This is often forgotten many times but it is important for your audience and you. It can be used as a cue or transition into the next presentation or questioning. Don’t forget to thank your audience at the end!

Oral Presentations: Tips, Significance, Design, Guidelines & Presentation

Tips

1) Know your audience

It is always a good idea to structure your talk so that anyone in the audience can understand
what you are presenting. A good scientist should be able to present complex, scientific ideas,
no matter how technical, in a simple, easy to follow manner. Complexity is not a necessity, it is an annoyance.

Understand your purpose. This way you can get the point of your talk across appropriately and affectively by catering to your specific audience.

2) Be organized

· Whether you are giving a 15 minute talk or a 45 minute talk, make sure you give yourself
enough time to deliver all the information you want in a calm manner. Allocate time for questions/answers.

· Be able to summarize your presentation in five minutes.

· Be concise. Use your space wisely. Use illustrations. Check grammar, spelling, and lay out of each slide.

· Keep an outline with you during the presentation; it will help you stay on track.

· Prepare back up slides. These will come in handy if a question comes up about a topic that needs
further explanation.

3) Presentation

Practice your talk enough so that you have flow, but no so much that you have the entire talk memorized.
Memorizing your talk will bore you and your audience, as it will be monotonous.

4) Be professional

· Know what you are presenting and be ready to answer question during and after the presentation. Do not answer questions vaguely. A knowledgeable scientist is specific and accurate with his/her information.

· Dress up to present with confidence and respect for the audience and the science involved.

· Be enthusiastic. Scientific talks can be boring, as often they are full of technical jargon. Be clear and talk simplistically.

· Make sure the presentation is visually pleasing. Add pertinent graphics and use fewer words.

5) Be aware of technical problems.

Make sure the format you choose for your presentation is compatible with your style of speech. Also, be prepared for technical disasters just before your talk. Be able to give your talk in another format just in case your first choice (ex: PowerPoint presentation) fails to load.

Significance

Oral presentations are an excellent means of communicating basic science or clinical research. Unlike a poster presentation or a written manuscript, the audience during an oral presentation is more attentive as they are focused on the presenter. For the researcher, this is a rare opportunity to shine! In as few as five minutes, the researcher can convey scientific information and give a years worth work some meaning that can be useful to thousands of people. Of course, this also means that in as little as five minutes, the researcher can cause a great deal of confusion by giving a bad presentation.

Just as is the case with written manuscripts and poster presentations, oral presentations must also communicate research to include all aspects of the scientific method. There are, however, no rules as to what order and which format this should be done in. In order to deliver a successful talk, the presenter should be organized, prepared, and enthusiastic about the research being presented.

Design: A General Guideline

Regardless of whether you choose a PowerPoint presentation or transparencies to deliver your talk, here are some general guidelines to keep in mind when designing your presentation.

1) Title (include authors and affiliations)

2) Introduction (Background, Purpose, Hypothesis)

3) Method (A brief introduction to the methodology without too much technical Jargon)

4) Results (Use graphs/charts/table, Provide an extra slide/transparency with a summary of the results, Explain the results)

5) Conclusions/Discussion (Clear explanation of the results, Clinical implications)

6) Future work (Provide information on where the project is headed)

7) Acknowledgment

Presentation

There some people for whom public speaking is as natural as having a conversation with their friends. Conveniently, however, public speaking is an art that can be perfected with enough practice. Here some things to consider before and during the presentation:

· Do not go over the time limit.

· Speak clearly and concisely. Be coherent. Do not ramble, play with the pointer, or move around in circles.

· Dress appropriately.

· Make eye contact.

· Make sure that each slide/transparency is not cluttered with too many points and ideas. Graphs, tables, and charts should be clearly labeled and easy to interpret.

· Practice your talk, but do not memorize a script.

· Be visually and orally interesting.

· Answer questions in a calm, non-condescending manner; do not argue with or interrupt the questioner.

· Be polite and graceful.

· Give a presentation that is focused

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16