Dear boys and girls,
You thought I had forgotten about this, didn't you? I mean, it's been more than a month since I wrote the last post, mainly because I was doing other things like going to concerts (once) or being too tired to write posts. This happens sometimes. Anyway, I'm back! Rejoice!
Let's recap a bit. You're a PhD student and you love it, probably your lab does lab meetings and now you've realized you have to talk on the next one. Here are some tips that are going to make it easier.
How to give an ace presentation and leave after a standing ovation
1. Before the presentation, think about what do you want to talk about it. Write the main ideas down and imagine you're explaining a story, that you're telling the whole thing to someone who knows nothing about it.
2. Once you have the structure, think about your audience and what they know, this is important for your introduction, maybe you won't need to go into much detail if they are already familiar with the topic.
3. Follow the structure throughout, especially during the results and conclusions.
4. It's time for the PowerPoint! There are some basic rules for PowerPoint. The first rule of the PowerPoint club is that one does not talk about the PowerPoint club. Kidding. The first rule is that too many words are BAD. Write as little as possible on your slides, if you can use keywords and images/graphs. (I also really like to keep the same color scheme throughout the presentation and to have everything aligned, but I'm a weirdo, just don't use Comic Sans and we'll be good).
5. Some people panic when they have to talk in public. Some people don't. I'm one of those freaks that love speaking in public, you can chase me with torches after I finished. But here is the thing, even if you hate talking in public, there will be someone who will hate it even more than you. Find a way to make it less terrible, it will probably be something different for each of you. There are people who like to imagine everyone in the room naked, but to be fair I don't know how that is supposed to help. If you are very nervous find someone in the room who is friendly and who maintains eye contact with you, make them your anchor.
6. If you have never talked in public before (unlikely), rehearse beforehand. I never rehearse, ever, I only rehearse my puns, but to be fair, I'm puntastic. Find people whom you can trust and rehearse in front of them, ask them what can you improve. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!
7. Make sure to speak slowly, but fast enough for people not to fall asleep. Speak clearly, without shouting, and change your cadence. I had a teacher say once that you had to speak as if you were on the radio, and it's very good advice, modulate your voice. It's also important to keep the audience engaged, look at them, ask them questions, move confidently in front of the projector screen.
8. Comments and questions are the most important thing of the whole thing. Keep an open mind, if you don't know something admit it. Be sure to write down any suggestions. And thank them after it.
If you follow this list, you should be fine. Forget about scene panic, make a PowerPoint that will help you remember the most important things, and breathe.
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