Gina Fisk

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10 tips for eXcellent presentations

• Gina Fisk
• gina_at_lanl.gov

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eXtra time

• Good presentations take time to prepare.
  Students cant throw them together at the last
  minute and expect them to go well.
• Students should practice their presentation in an
  empty room, in front of peers, and in front of
  adult volunteers until they are comfortable with
  all aspects of it.
• Students should have the slide order and slide
  content memorized in case of disaster!

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eXplore creatively

• Allow students to use creativity in their
  presentation, but dont allow them to go
  overboard.
• Students might try to think of a clever title or
  a non-obnoxious theme for their presentation.
• Students should not let their creativity get in
  the way of the scientific aspects of their
  project.

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eXterior preparation

• When the judges enter the room, the students
  should be standing at the front looking ready,
  not scampering around working on last-minute
  details.
• The front table and computer should be neat, and
  should not be littered with notes, boxes,
  transparencies, etc.
• Lights in the room should be dimmed, so only the
  front lights are shining on the students. This
  helps draw attention to the presenters right away
  and sets the tone.

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eXtreme professionalism

• Students should be dressed in nice clothes
  without stains, tears, ragged edges, etc. No
  jeans, cut-offs, mid-drifts, or visible tattoos.
  
• Students should not eat, drink, or chew gum
  during the presentation, whether it is their turn
  to talk or not.
• Students should pay attention to their team
  members when others are presenting.
• Students should show respect by referring to the
  judges as Dr/Mr/Mrs and should use Maam and Sir
  as needed.

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eXterminate noise

• Avoid verbal voids such as uhhh, so, and, etc,
• Avoid slang such as like, man, dude, etc.
• Avoid nervous habits such as jiggling change,
  popping pen tops, etc.

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eXpedite progression

• Aim for 3 minutes per slide.
• Dont allow your presentation to get off of topic
  by questions from the audience members. The
  response That is beyond the scope of this
  project will help keep your students on track.
• Dont over-analyze the information on a slide.
  Have your students practice being brief yet
  informative.
• Each team member should present a portion of the
  project, and the timing with these portions
  should be discussed beforehand.

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eXamine audience

• Eye contact with your audience is important.
  Have your students examine the audience members
  and be able to tell you some piece of information
  such as the ratio of men and women in the
  audience. (They cant do this if they are
  looking at the floor!)
• Answer questions first directly to the person who
  asked, and then more generally to the rest of the
  audience.

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eXpand on ideas

• Have your students practice not reading the
  slides, but summarizing and rewording them.
• Dont put all information that you are going to
  say on the slide. Aim for less than 25 words per
  slide and then expand on that information.
• Use general graphics on the slides such as charts
  and graphs, and have the students explain them.
• Before the presentation your students should
  write a paragraph on each slide that they can
  read before the presentation to refresh their
  memory.

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eXchange ideas

• At the end of the presentation, your students
  should ask if there are any questions or comments
  from the audience.
• If an audience member presents a good new idea,
  the students should think quickly of a way to
  incorporate it into their future work and tell
  the audience how they could incorporate it.
• Students should strive to answer all questions,
  but if time is running short, they should say We
  have time for one more question

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eXit gracefully

• When the students are done with their
  presentation, they should turn off the overhead
  projector, wait 3 full seconds, and then thank
  the judges for their time.
• Students should remain at the front of the room
  to answer individual questions and should not
  start breaking down the computer until all
  audience members have left the room.

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eXtensive summary

• eXtra time
• eXplore creatively
• eXterior preparation
• eXtreme professionalism
• eXterminate noise
• eXpedite progress
• eXamine audience
• eXpand on ideas
• eXchange ideas
• eXit gracefully

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eXaminations or eXclamations
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