--- Presentation Rules Of Thumb ---
- Number your slides
- Organize according to Overview-Body-Summary
- Overview to tell them what you are going to tell them
- Body to tell them
- Summary to tell them what you told them
- Not recommended for our short 10 minute presentations
- Good for our Group presentations
- Keep presentation in scope
- ~2 minutes per slide
- Packing too much in hurts comprehension
- Having too little content conveys you have nothing to say
- Organize slides hierarchically
- Key statement as title
- Logical statements that support title as big bullets
- Supporting facts as sub bullets
- Stick with 2x3 or 3x2 (big bullets x sub bullets)
- 3x3 OK with no figure, avoid sub-sub bullets
- Avoid text heavy slides, images are far more effective
- Figures should support title statement
- Avoid figures that don't make a point
- Figures should support the big bullets
- Caption should state the point of the figure, not what the figure is
- Quantify everything you can
- Avoid words like many, a lot, great, big, tiny, small, huge, less, more
- If your audience can't read it it should not be there
- Title : 26 point font size
- Big bullets : 20 point font size
- Sub bullets : 18 point font size
- Nothing smaller than 16 point, even in figures
- Block fonts are easiest to read: e.g. Arial, Helvetica
- Light colors are difficult to read
- Keep things concise
- Single line is best
- Two lines is OK but not easy to read, better have good reason for it
- Three lines or more you are writing a paragraph, stop
- Use color to make points, not make it pretty
- Example: Green good, Yellow OK, Red bad
- Use color to group items together
- Always provide legend
- Figures are not useful if no one can understand them
- Don't pack too much in
- Label axes with names and units
- Keep lines bold so they can be seen when projected
- The presentation is not complete without you
- Do not read slides to your audience, they can do that themselves
- Keep your audience's attention by augmenting the material in slides
- Slides are a visual aid to your presentation
- Use speaker notes
- Writing them will help you organize what you will say
- Presentation will be understandable by reader without cramming
the slides
- Your in person audience matters
- Look at them, not your slides or just the instructor
- Adjust speed if they looked bored or confused
- Point at the projected image (not the computer screen) to draw
attention where you want it, or use cursor
- Presenting remotely presents different challenges
- Look at your camera
- Avoid speaking quickly
- Use the cursor to draw attention where you want it
- Refer to images, numbered items, captions by name, color, shape
- Expect your audience to require more time to comprehend
- State if questions taken before each slide transition or at end
- Pause after slide transitions to give time for image to show remotely
- Your voice matters
- Speak clearly and loudly enough for people in the back to hear you
- Modulate tone and cadence to emphasize importance
- Avoid filler words like "um", "OK", "aah", silence is better
- Pause before and/or after stating important points
- Practice makes better
- Become familiar with the presentation
- Improve delivery by cutting out tangents
- Experienced speakers still practice dry runs before presentation
- Do not go over planned time
- Shows poor planning, lack of practice
- Not respectful of others in line to present
- If running out of time do not talk faster
- If running out of time skip details, i.e. sub bullets, to make sure
your major points are still covered
- A nice series on speaking:
How To Speak - Parick Henry Winston
The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University, 1997
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