Thoughts about talks

by Hazel Sive

Communication is an essential part of research. Here are some thoughts
to help you prepare good talks.

General thoughts:

• Divide your talk into background and specific science
• The goal is to keep your audience with you throughout the talk
• Know your audience:
  • what is their level of expertise (usually lower than you think)
    

Background:

• Should be AT LEAST 1/4 - 1/3 of your talk (I would go for the 1/3)
• State your question:
  • build up from the general big question to your specific question
• Don't assume your audience is informed

Specific:

• State your specific question
• Try to break it into sub-questions
• Very helpful to have a topics slide that lists the topics you'll cover
  

  For example:

  - Introduction
  - Gene Isolation
  - Opl and neurogenesis

  Keep coming back to this, highlighting each line to indicate where you are in the talk

• Put in summary slides along the way:
  • it can be helpful to keep showing the same summary slide,
    building it up along the way
• Can be helpful and interesting to pose questions

Slide-making tips:

• Have a slide for every point
• Don't talk about anything that's not on a slide
• Talk for 1 minute AT MOST about 1 slide
• Have a heading on every slide, explaining the point of the slide
• Label slides well:

  For example:

  - you should not have to describe where A and P are
  - Or whether it's a dorsal view
  - Or which color shows which gene in an in situ

• Fill the frame with your data
• The heading should be no wider than your data
• Fonts should be no smaller than 24 throughout (18 if essential)
• Headings should be one or two sizes larger than your labels, not more
• When you have your potential slides:
  • view them on the slide sorter function of powerpoint
  • they should be varied for interest

    For example:

    - not all white background
    - not all in situs, or autorads

Presentation:

• Talk slowly and clearly
• Look at your audience
• Make eye contact
• Try not to ummm
• Be enthusiastic
• At the beginning, invite your audience to interrupt
• Try not to say "just want to show this..."
  • if it is worth showing, show it without apology

Before your talk:

• Practice, practice, practice
  • preferably in front of an audience and get criticism
• Practice with your slides, standing up
• TIME YOUR TALK!!!!
  • it is a cardinal sin to go over time
  • your talk should be 5-10 mins less than the scheduled time to allow questions
• Think about the logic of your talk
  • it may make sense to present things
    • in the order in which you did them
    • it may be better to change the chronology
  • try a few arrangements

PREPARE AT LEAST ONE WEEK AHEAD OF TIME

Go get 'em!!!