HOW TO GIVE A SEMINAR

1
HOW TO GIVE A SEMINAR

• By
• DR MARK YOUNG
• MY AIM IS
• TO OFFER ADVICE ON PLANNING AND PRESENTING A
  SUCCESSFUL SEMINAR
• REMEMBER THAT YOUR AIMS MUST BE CRYSTAL CLEAR AT
  ALL TIMES!

2
PLANNING A SEMINAR

• ALWAYS BUILD A SEMINAR AROUND A CLEAR MESSAGE
• DECIDE ON THIS MESSAGE FIRST
• MY TAKE-HOME MESSAGE IS
• THAT YOU MUST ALWAYS HAVE A CLEAR TAKE-HOME
  MESSAGE!

3
ORGANISE YOUR SEMINAR

• TELL THE AUDIENCE WHAT TO EXPECT
• AIM
• HOW TO ORGANISE A TALK
• TECHNICAL ADVICE
• CONTACTING THE AUDIENCE
• HOW MUCH INFORMATION?
• EMPHASISING MAIN POINTS
• TAKE-HOME MESSAGE
• DONT MAKE A TALK TOO COMPLEX!

4
STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

• AIMS - WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?
• ESSENTIAL BACKGROUND SUBJECT
• METHOD
• RESULTS - WHAT DID YOU FIND?
• DISCUSSION - WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
• SUMMARY - NOW GIVE YOUR
• TAKE- HOME MESSAGE

5
BACKGROUND

• KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
• CONSIDER THEIR BACKGROUND
• SAY ENOUGH THAT THEY WILL ALL BE ABLE TO
  UNDERSTAND YOUR MAIN MESSAGES
• GIVE THEM A CONTEXT AND THE FLAVOUR OF YOUR
  WORK
• KEEP IT SHORT!

6
TECHNICAL POINTS

• ARRIVE EARLY!
• CHECK LIGHTS, LECTERN, POINTERS, PROJECTORS,
  MICROPHONE
• ESPECIALLY CHECK DATA PROJECTOR AND LOAD SLIDES
• LOAD AND PREVIEW YOUR OWN SLIDES. CHECK FOCUS
• BE PROFESSIONAL!

7
LECTURE NOTES

• WE CHOSE THREE TREES OF EACH OF FOUR SPECIES AND
  WE COLLECTED 20 LEAVES FROM EACH OF TEN BRANCHES
  FROM EACH AND THEN WE EXAMINED THEM FOR SIGNS OF
  CHEWING/MINING/GALLS..

8
LECTURE NOTES

• WE CHOSE THREE TREES OF EACH OF FOUR SPECIES AND
  WE COLLECTED 20 LEAVES FROM EACH OF TEN BRANCHES
  FROM EACH AND THEN WE EXAMINED THEM FOR SIGNS OF
  CHEWING/MINING/GALLS..
• 3 TREES - 4 SPECIES
• 20 LEAVES - 10 BRANCHES
• CHEWING / MINING / GALLS
• DO NOT READ!!!

9
TIMING

• BE SHORT - NEVER OVER-RUN
• PLAN TO FINISH EARLY
• PLAN YOUR CONTENT - THEN HALVE IT
• PRACTICE THAT MEANS REAL PRACTICE
• DO NOT GO OVER TIME!

10
USING SLIDES

• YOU MUST ALWAYS
• USE A FONT SIZE THAT
• WILL BE VISIBLE FROM THE BACK
• OF THE HALL, EVEN BY PEOPLE WHO DO NOT
• HAVE VERY GOOD EYSIGHT
• AND MUST USE A FONT STYLE
• That is easy to read, capitals are much easier
  than lower case

11
DRAGONFLY LARVAE HAVE A BROAD HEAD, WITH JAWS ON
AN EXTENSIBLE BEAK AND A LONG BODY WITH THREE
SHORT SHARP TAILS AND
12
DRAGONFLY LARVAE HAVE A BROAD HEAD, WITH JAWS ON
AN EXTENSIBLE BEAK AND A LONG BODY WITH THREE
SHORT SHARP TAILS AND

• 1 cm

13
BEAUTIFUL PICTURES !
Does the beauty of a colorfull slide disgiuse the
poor quality of the sciense?
14
HOW MANY FACTS ON A SLIDE?
Numbers of slugs in various habitats
15
HOW MANY FACTS ON A SLIDE?
Numbers of slugs in different habitats
16
CONTACTING YOUR AUDIENCE

• REMEMBER THEY ARE PEOPLE JUST LIKE YOU!
• SHOW ENTHUSIASM!
• MAKE EYE CONTACT AROUND THE ROOM
• SPEAK TO THE BACK
• BE SERIOUS BUT INFORMAL
• (HUMOUR IS DIFFICULT)
• SPEAK TO YOUR FRIENDS

17
SPEAKING STYLE

• DONT FIDDLE!
• DONT WALK ABOUT
• DONT HAVE TO LOOK DOWN AT YOUR NOTES
• REPEAT IMPORTANT POINTS!
• EMPHASISE MAIN POINTS BY
• CHANGES OF PACE
• CHANGES OF VOLUME
• USE OF PAUSES

18
ANOTHER REMINDER!

• EMPHASISE AND REPEAT YOUR MAIN POINTS!
• WHAT ARE MY MAIN POINTS?
• ALWAYS HAVE A CLEAR AIM
• BE ORGANISED
• BE PROFESSIONAL IN APPROACH
• PREPARE NICE VISUAL AIDS
• CONTACT YOUR AUDIENCE
• BE SHORT NEVER LONG
• AND..

19
HAVE A SHARP TAKE HOME MESSAGE!

• YOUR ENDING MUST BE
• CLEAR AND MEMORABLE

20
HAVE A SHARP TAKE HOME MESSAGE!

• YOUR ENDING MUST BE
• CLEAR AND MEMORABLE
• GO OUT WITH A
• BANG!