From
planning
to presenting
By Lale Byquist
Lale Byquist goes through the essentials of a good presentation from preparation to delivery.
The nitty gritty of better scientific presentations
By Nina Jensen
Nina dives into the nitty gritty details of great scientific presentation, from how to present graphs to how the right use of pauses can transform a boring presentation into a captivating one.
[Link]
A short read that can change your presentations
By Neil J Cronin
In a few pages, Neil J Cronin Associate Professor at University of Jyväskylä, covers key issues in scientific presentations. He also has suggestions for better posters, and he ends the text with tips for handling the most dreaded part of any presentation – the Q&A session.
How to
rock
the stage
By Nanogirl & J. Whittaker
In this half hour lecture, the two engineers and polar opposites Michelle Dickinson aka Nanogirl and James Whittaker share their tips on how to make better presentations. They spice up the lecture with entertaining stories from their lives.
Ten tricks to have the audience hang on your lips
By The Floor is Yours
Only have a few minutes? Read this post to get a few key presentation tips from the Belgian company The Floor is Yours.
The Magic
Washing
Machine
By Hans Rosling
See powerful presentation techniques in action in this Ted talk by Hans Rosling. Hans uses props, simple slides, engagement, storytelling, and humor to make complex data accessible and memorable.
Check list
Is the purpose and key take away clear?
The purpose of the talk states why the audience should care. Make sure you can state your purpose and key take away in a few sentences.
Have you remove the clutter?
Your audience have a limited attention span, so keep your talk focused and to the point. We nearly always add clutter when we prepare presentations, so make sure to remove the clutter in the final stages of preparation.
Do you have a plan for engaging your audience?
We are easily distracted so you need a plan for how you will keep your audience engaged. There are many techniques you can use for this: questions, active body language, pauses, anecdotes.
Have you removed most of the text and bullet points?
Images are good supporters of your words. A good image can anker your words in your audience’s minds and make your presentation memorable. Text is bad at this. Limit the situations where you ask your audience to read and listen at the same time.
Are you slides simple and understandable?
Are all text and graphics easily readable and understandable for someone at the back of the room with poor eye sight? It not, go bigger! Less is more. Bigger is better.
Refining layout and design
Basic graphic design
- The Big Four: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity
A sample chapter from Garr Reynolds’ book Presentation Zen.
Designing graphs
Special inspiration