1. ACADEMIC PRESENTATION SKILLS
By,
SUMON JOSE
A Seminar for the Students of
Don Bosco College, Mampetta
October 31, 2014
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2. CONTENTS
1 OUTLINE
2 OBJECTIVE
3 PRIOR TASKS
4 PREPARATION OF SLIDES
5 REMEMBER
6 COMMUNICATING YOUR IDEAS
7 DEALING WITH QUESTIONS
8 CONCLUSION
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3. OUTLINE
SEMINAR PLAN
Topics to be covered ⇒
Skills in Preparing Slides
Presentation Skills
Introduction to the Academic Software LaTeX
Academic Writing
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4. OBJECTIVE
OBJECTIVE
To promote academic style of presentations
To enable you to appear in conferences and
academic discussions
To help you become competitive
To bring out the giant in you
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5. PRIOR TASKS
Plan before you jump into...
The date, time and length
Topic area & how to proceed with the research
Availability of resources
Get to know the method of assessment
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6. PRIOR TASKS
Where to Start- 12 Steps
Decide on the title
Research the topic
Refine and Narrow the topic
Write brief notes
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7. PRIOR TASKS
Look carefully at the assessment criteria once
again
Check out the venue for the talk
Decide on the visual aids & prepare them
Practise your presentation and time it
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8. PRIOR TASKS
On the day of the Seminar:
Re-read your brief notes
Chekout the handouts & visual aids are ready
Remember the vital rules for effective oral
communication
Relax & breate deeply
Invite response of the audienceSUMON JOSE (NITC) ACADEMIC PRESENTATION SKILLS October 31, 2014 8 / 32

9. PRIOR TASKS
Presentation in Teams
Plan the contents & roles together
Set responsibilities
Visual aids- preparation (Bring in some variety)
Physical Layout of the seminar
Practise together
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10. PRIOR TASKS
Possible Visual Aids
Black board
Posters &Handouts
Quiz sheets and audience polls
Slides and projector
Other objects of interest
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11. PREPARATION OF SLIDES
FONTS
Should be visible to all
Generally used fonts are Calibri, Times New
Roman, Arian and Sanseriff
Remember not to use too many fonts
Size should be at least 40 in PPTs
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12. PREPARATION OF SLIDES
Sufficient line spacing
Use Different size for the Main and Subtopics
1. MAIN TOPIC
1.1 Sub Topic
1.2 Sub Topic
1.2.1 Sub- Sub Topic
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13. PREPARATION OF SLIDES
Colour
Dark letters Vs light backgrounds
Light letters Vs dark background in small
rooms
Maximum of 5 colours
Same colour scheme to be used throughout
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14. PREPARATION OF SLIDES
Templates
Use personalized and attractive templates
Use simple templates
Never use large no of colours for the
background
Same templates for all slides
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15. PREPARATION OF SLIDES
Animations
1
Same slide transition for all slides
2
Never use large no of animations
3
It is often effective to unveil the list one by one
4
Animation voices not to be used in academic
presentations
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16. PREPARATION OF SLIDES
Contents
1
Write only points
2
Avoid Wordiness
1 Paragraphs are not suited
2 Simplicity and Brevity
3 Phrases preferred
3
Organize your layout
4
Bullets & Numbering
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17. PREPARATION OF SLIDES
1
Reduce the number of images
Think Google not Bing
2
Include graphs, pie charts, bar diagrams etc
3
Minimize the use of capital letters
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18. PREPARATION OF SLIDES
Structure
First slide should contain theme, author,
institute, name of the guide etc
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19. ACADEMIC PRESENTATION SKILLS
By,
SUMON JOSE
A Seminar for the Students of
Don Bosco College, Mampetta
October 31, 2014
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20. PREPARATION OF SLIDES
An outline in the 2nd
slide
Each slide should have its heading
Signposts and Highlights
Summary slides- at the end
Include ”Thank You” at the end
Slide no.s are to be displayed
Footer- Author, institute, Theme & DateSUMON JOSE (NITC) ACADEMIC PRESENTATION SKILLS October 31, 2014 20 / 32

21. TAKE CARE TO...
Strike to the point
Strive for simplicity
Personlize your templates
Dont preach to the already converted
Avoid buzzwords and abbreviation (In case of
any give the expansion also)
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22. TAKE CARE TO
Create an outline and slowly add details
Sequence your slides effectively
Resist the urge to cram your slides with all
what you know
Address your weaknesses each time
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23. TAKE CARE TO
Dont end on a joke or quote
Draw out your own lessons
Share your original ideas to the audience
Give acknowledgement and Bibliography
Dress properly & formally
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24. COMMUNICATING YOUR IDEAS
Remember to...
Introduce yourself
Smile and sound interested
Develop eye contact
Tell the audience the structure of your
presentation
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25. COMMUNICATING YOUR IDEAS
Use the right language apt to your audience
Maintain the right pace
Use your voice & pause to move between
points
Avoid repetitive words & phrases
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26. COMMUNICATING YOUR IDEAS
Four Bees
Be active
Be purposeful
Be natural and enthusiastic
Be direct
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27. COMMUNICATING YOUR IDEAS
Delivery Tips
Variation -Vocal (Pitch, volume, rate)
Avoid speaking too fast
Using jargons
Tone and content
Avoid complicated or umbiguous language
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28. DEALING WITH QUESTIONS
Questions Offer Us a Chance to...
Cover additional points
Respond to any lingering concerns of your
audience
Re-emphasize your message
Address misconceptions and wrong
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29. DEALING WITH QUESTIONS
GUIDELINES
Anticipate questions
Actively listen & show that you are interested
Understand the query
Stay with the question
Use others in the audience to offer a comment,
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30. DEALING WITH QUESTIONS
Do not be afraid to admit that you don’t know
Acknowledge if you will be able to give an
answer at a later point
Avoid tendency to take a challenging question
as a personal affront
Offer suggestions by way of reading materails,
websites etcSUMON JOSE (NITC) ACADEMIC PRESENTATION SKILLS October 31, 2014 30 / 32

31. CONCLUSION
Today’s Work
⇒ Prior tasks
⇒ Preparation of slides
⇒ 12 Points to remember
⇒ Effectively communicating your ideas
⇒ Dealing with questions
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32. THANK YOU
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