1) Dr. Jones has had their abstract entitled "Physiological effects of beer drinking in University of California undergraduates" accepted for an oral presentation at the Experimental Biology conference in San Diego. 2) The presentation is scheduled for Monday, April 14th in Room 11 from 8:30-10:00am as part of the session on "Health predictors for student life". 3) Guidelines for the PowerPoint presentation are enclosed and speakers must provide their own laptop and report to the session room by [time not specified].

1. 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

2. 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
Congratulations?

3. The oral presentation
• 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
Outline

4. The oral presentation
• 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 scientist as performer - why?

5. The oral presentation
• 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?
Defining the scope of the task

6. The oral presentation
• Background (1-2 slides)
• Aim of the study (1 slide – essential!)
• Brief methods (1 slide)
• Results (4-8 slides)
• Summary (1 slide)
• Conclusions (1 slide)
– Make it sexy!
No more than
15 slides in
total!
Structure of a ten-minute talk

7. The oral presentation
• 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
Designing graphics

8. Intestinal chloride secretion
Treatment
Uninfected Salmonella
COX-2
(a.u.)
0
1
2
3
Control
L-NAME
NS-398
***
***
Salmonella induces COX-2 via iNOS expression
Means + SEM, n=6
***, p<0.001 vs.
uninfected control
General title
Specific title
Keep it simple
Remember a key
Statistics!

9. The oral presentation
• 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!
Avoiding technical snafus

10. The oral presentation
• 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!
Tips for style

11. The oral presentation
• 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!
Overcoming anxiety

12. The oral presentation
“It takes three weeks to prepare a
good ad lib speech”
Mark Twain
The role of rehearsal

13. The oral presentation
• 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
Handling questions

14. The oral presentation
• 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!
Closing thoughts