How to Give a Talk

1
How to Give a Talk

• Amy Bruckman

2
Start with a Story

• Not a joke
• If you cant think of a good one, dont use one
• Should be evocative of broader themes

3
Outline

• Next, give an outline of the rest of the talk
• Ill give general advice for giving a talk
• Not all of this is relevant for this class
• Outline
• Preparation
• Considering the audience
• Making good slides
• Practice talk
• Delivery
• Answering questions
• Demos

4
Consider Your Audience

• Different talks for different people
• Level of knowledge
• Reason for being interested
• Humanities vs. engineering

5
Structure

• This is what Im going to say
• Introduce the problem
• Why the problem is important
• This is what Im saying
• What you did
• What results you got
• This is what I just said
• Remember to summarize the main point

6
Beware of Technical Problems

• Bring paper printout of slides
• Review privately before talk starts
• May need to look at paper instead of screen as
  you talk
• Use in emergency
• If you use their machine, how will you get your
  file onto it?
• USB flash drive is best option (or CD)
• Putting a copy online is a good backup
• Getting a local Internet connection often wont
  work
• Do technological setup in advance!

7
Slide Preparation

• Dont use lots of fancy PowerPoint effects
• Use consistent capitalization
• Check spelling
• Dont cram too much on each slide
• Include general talking points, not complete
  content
• Beware of using non-standard fonts
• Fine if youre presenting from your own machine

8
Use a Big Font

• This is 24 point. I almost never use smaller
  than this.
• This is 18 point. You can get away with it
  sometimes, but dont go any smaller.
• This is 14 pointway too small.
• Why put it up if no one can see it?

9
Do a Practice Talk

• Ask your friends to be critical
• Check your timing
• Two minutes/overhead is usually right
• Dont try to cram in too much
• Videotape yourself

10
Delivery Donts

• Dont read your overheads verbatim
• Your audience can read
• Dont block the projector/sight lines
• Dont fumble with your paper copy
• Check for a comfortable place to put it down

11
Answering Questions

• Make sure you understand the question
• Pause before answering
• Dont know?
• Suggest how you would investigate
• Ask questioner his/her ideas
• Too complicated?
• Suggest the beginning part of an answer
• Put slides back up to help answer

12
Dealing with Hostile Questions

• Dont pick up on their tone
• Dont be intimidated
• Dont barbecue them

13
Demos

• Set up in advance, on the actual hardware to be
  used
• Have backup slides of screen shots
• Rehearse
• Check timing
• Narrate what people cant see

14
Acknowledgments

• Summarize the main point
• Thank appropriate people
• People at practice talk
• Users
• Collaborators