The Oral Presentation

Kim E. Barrett, Ph.D.

Professor of Medicine and Vice Chair for
Research
Department of Medicine
University of California, San Diego,
School of Medicine

www.the-aps.org/careers/careers1/mentor/workshop/2003/Barrett.ppt

Experimental Biology, April 14, 2003

The oral presentation
Congratulations?
Dear Dr. Jones:
Congratulations!!! We are pleased to inform you that your
abstract entitled “Physiological effects of beer drinking in
University of California undergraduates” has been accepted for
oral presentation at Experimental Biology, to be held in San
Diego, California.
Your paper is scheduled in the session “Health predictors for
student life” to be held in Room 11 of the Convention Center
from 8.30 – 10.00 am on Monday, April 14, 2003. Please take
note of the enclosed guidelines for preparation of your
Powerpoint presentation. Speakers must provide their own
laptops, and should report to the session room at…………
The oral presentation
Outline
• Why am I subjecting myself to this
torture?
• Defining the task
• Nuts and bolts of preparing a talk
• Delivering the talk itself
– Star Search vs. Fear Factor
• Handling questions
• Closing thoughts
The oral presentation
The scientist as performer - why?
• Communicate your findings to
colleagues
• Establish scientific priority
• Public relations
– You
– Your research group/PI
Presentation skills may get you the job,
the grant, or the invitation to Europe!
The oral presentation
Defining the scope of the task
• Understand the background of your
audience
– Scope of session
– Who’ll be there? What will they know?
• Know who the chairs are
• Know who the other speakers are
– Should your talk be coordinated with those
of others?
The oral presentation
Structure of a ten-minute talk
• Background (1-2 slides)
• Aim of the study (1 slide – essential!)
• Brief methods (1 slide)
• Results (4-8 slides) No more than
• Summary (1 slide) 15 slides in
• Conclusions (1 slide) total!
– Make it sexy!
The oral presentation
Designing graphics
• Above all else, show the data
• Maximize the data/ink (pixel) ratio
• Erase non-data ink
• Erase redundant data ink
• Revise and edit
• Avoid chartjunk

Tufte “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information” Graphics Press, 1983

 General title
Intestinal chloride secretion
Salmonella induces COX-2 via iNOS expression
3
Specific title

Control
L-NAME ***
NS-398
***
2
COX-2 (a.u.)

Keep it simple Statistics!

Remember a key Means + SEM, n=6
1 ***, p<0.001 vs.
uninfected control

0
Uninfected Salmonella
Treatment
The oral presentation
Avoiding technical snafus
• Take care with colors, font size, overcrowding
– Project before the meeting
– Don’t apologize for slides (or need to)
• Arrive at the session room at least 15 minutes
prior to the start of the session
• Belt and braces
– CD/zip/removable media plus laptop
– Give a labeled copy of your presentation to your
mentor or a trustworthy colleague
– Never check your presentation with your luggage!
The oral presentation
Tips for style
• Never read from a prepared text or recite a
memorized one
• Short words/sentences/paragraphs
– Avoid jargon and abbreviations
• Take care with transitions
– The audience cannot go back and review
• Establish and maintain eye contact
– Place a friend in a strategic location
• Don’t hesitate to show
expression/enthusiasm/personality!
The oral presentation
Overcoming anxiety
• Practice, practice, practice!
– Present to a variety of audiences if possible
– Your talk will almost certainly get longer on the day;
allow for this!
– Use outline notes to ensure coverage of key points
• Physical considerations
– Feet apart
– Hands on podium
– Pointer off between points!
The oral presentation
The role of rehearsal

“It takes three weeks to prepare a

good ad lib speech”
Mark Twain
The oral presentation
Handling questions
• You are the expert
– Prepare among friends
– Insist that they challenge you
• It’s OK to say you don’t know, or haven’t done
the experiment yet
• The three “D”’s
– Defend
– Deflect
– Defer
The oral presentation
Closing thoughts
• Presenting your work orally is a
wonderful opportunity to further your
career
• The keys to success are preparation,
precision and practice
• Always have a back-up plan
• Try to have fun!