How to Give Oral Presentations

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How to Give Oral Presentations
Tian Xu
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Yale University
Institute of Developmental Biology And Molecular
Medicine (IDM) Fudan University
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You Need To Have Excellent Data!
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Communication Is As Important As The Data
Exchange data and ideas
Stimulate thoughts
Leading the pack
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Public Speech
A learned skill, not a natural talent
Everyone is nervous Great data to share,
well prepared Focus on audience, not
yourself Prepared for the worst Focus on the
positives Bored or thinking Breath, smile,
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Your Attitude
Respect Yourself and Others
Be Positive
Reference Others Work
Spend Time to Prepare Write Down
Practice
Know What You Talk About Credibility
Confidence
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Facts and Roles
Points/Talk
Memory
Impression
Visual 55
1 min / slide
1 day / 75
Intonation 38
10 min/2 points
2 days/ 50
Expression 7
20 min/4 points
4 days/ 20
45 min/7 points
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Differences Between Oral and Written Presentations
Sound disappears - Repetition is OK
Emphasis - Intonation
Body Language
Keep the Audience Awake/Excited
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Keep Audience Awake
Their Interests Sex, Health, Wealth, Themselves
Connected with Audience Ask questions, Make
people to think Be excited, Share the
excitement Look at people
Use Stories
Fresh, Novel, Surprising
Inspire Others
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Preparing Your Talk
Goal
Audiences Needs
The Points, the Structure
Supporting Data
The Beginning and the End
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Should
Easy to Understand
Easy to Remember
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How to Prepare A Slide
Simple, Clear, Precise, Focused
A Title for Each Slide
Write as Brief as Possible
Use Contrast and Comparison
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Use Powerpoint
Background Dark Blue?
Style Bold
Font Comic Sans MS?
Spelling Check Always
Color Balanced
Import Images and Graphics
Animation Yes
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Use Diagrams and Images
A picture is better than thousand words
Style Simple and Clear
Label Always
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Style
YES
NO
Be Cool
Panic
Be Polite
Shy
Use Intonation

Use Humor
Energetic, Scholarly
Be Yourself
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Where should we go?
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Organize Your Talk
Define Question
Background
Outline Approach
Historical Events/Views
Present Data
Relate to Others Work
Draw Conclusion
Give Credits to Others
One point at A Time
Put into the Big Picture
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Acknowledgements
Thank the organizers people invited you
Give credits to the people Who have done the
work Who have helped you Who contributed to the
field Who is your competitor
Thank the funding agencies
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Answer Questions
Respect audience
Listen carefully before answering questions
When you are not sure about the question
When you dont know the answer
Dont forget your take-home message
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Unusual Situations
People left
Unfriendly audience
You made mistakes
You are the last speaker
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Learn From Others
Listen to great speeches and speakers
Go beyond the content
Learn how to present a point
Learn new technical tricks
Learn from others mistakes
Practice, Practice, Practice
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Dont Forget to Thank Your Audience
Thank You For Your Attention