Tips for Presenters...Slide Content • Tailor your presentation to the audience • Content of you slide should highlight the main points in a succinct fashion • Limit the number

For additional assistance and questions on how to present your technical paper please contact: Mike Ressel, [email protected]

This was modified from “Tips for Presenters”, AusIMM - The Minerals Institute, 2019

Tips for Presenters

Tips for a successful presentation

• Plan carefully and well in advance

• Do your research

• Know your audience

• Time your presentation

• Practice your presentation

• Speak comfortably and clearly

Slide Content

• Tailor your presentation to the audience

• Content of you slide should highlight the main points in a succinct fashion

• Limit the number of slides

– A good rule of thumb is 1 to 1.25 slides per minute – so for a 20minute talk, if you have more than 20 slides – LIKELY TOO MANY!

– If your presentation has more than this, reduce the number of slides by focusing content to the key messages – not by increasing the detail on each slide by reducing the font size!

Slide content (cont.)

• Limit the text of each slide– 6 words per line

– 6 lines per slide

• Don’t overuse acronyms and jargon

• Don’t overuse punctuation

• Use the spell checker!

Slide format

• Powerpoint or PDF-from-Powerpoint formats• 16:9 aspect ratio for all slides, landscape• Standard format for all slides

– Use design templates

• Clear background, no ‘noise’

• Text should contrast with background

• Leave plenty of blank space around text andgraphics

Text

• Use one font• Use a sans serif font, e.g. Arial or Tahoma• Not a serif fort, e.g. Times New Roman

– (they’re harder to read)

• Use font sizes between 18-48 points• Larger fonts = more important

information

Colour

• Color can be used to highlight key phrases

• Color can exhibit moods– Green and blue are typically relaxing– Red is urgent– Black is powerful

• But color can have its limitations!

Animation

• Don’t overuse special effects– They’ll clutter your presentation

• Only use text builds to help make a point– They’ll slow your presentation down

• Only use one type of animation– So the audience know what to expect

Graphs

• Use graphs instead of tables

• Too much data, unreadable

Images

• A picture can say a thousand words– Use them to break up the talk

• Images should:– Enhance the text

– Balance the slide

• No more than two graphics per slide

• Use good quality images only

• Simple effective messages

Timing

• Don’t run out of time;– 2 minutes on the INTRODUCTION

– 10 minutes on the DATA/PROCESS

– 3 minutes on the SUMMARY

– 3 minutes on the CONCLUSION

• Allow time for questions

Things that go WRONG!

• Too many SLIDES!

• Slides too BUSY! Keep them clear and simple

• Poor LAYOUT! Graphs not tables, bold colours

Things that go wrong

Too much text on a slide & fonts too small:

Things that go wrong:

Overly complex diagrams

Things that go wrong –

Graphics

• Cluttered maps

Things that go wrong:

Effects

• Make sure sounds and video clips play

• Include the files on one of your 2* copies of the presentation

* Bring at least 2 copies of the presentation along on separate storage medium in case one is compromised

Things that go wrong:

Images

• Blurry Images

• Generic clip art can look amateurish

Format the size of the picture to

ensure it fits within the slide

Passion, Professionalism and Pride

• This is YOUR talk – OWN it, LOVE it, ENJOY it.

• No one in the room KNOWS this like you –remember that as you walk on stage.

• Deliver a PACED and measured talk –don’t rush

• Stand TALL, Speak CLEARLY, Speak UP

How can you be CONFIDENT?•PLAN the talk!

•PRACTICE it – again and again to yourself

Then

• PRESENT it to Peers, Family and the Dog

• LISTEN to their feedback (which is a gift) – what questions come

up?

• MODIFY the talk/your style and practice it more!

• THINK about potential questions you might be asked... What

needs more clarity?

Engage your Audience

• LOOK at them – seek out their eyes for contact and support

• USE the microphone with INTENT – speak INTO it. Don’t turn away when talking.

• Be FUNNY if it works for you – even straight delivery can get a laugh. The audience want entertainment.

• Don’t WANDER the stage unless to reinforce a point

• Don’t apologize!

What’s the MESSAGE?

• Have a clear aim for your talk – say what that is.

• Focus on your talk around the key messages– Keep your messages few and simple

– Tell a story;intro + info + summary + conclusion = message

And Now…

Time to prepare and PRACTICE!

GOOD LUCK