Slides from a March 2015 presentation on developing effective research presentations, hosted by Alden Library, Ohio University. Copyright Jen Seifert and Lanie Pressword, shared by permission.

1. “Presenting Your Research”
Constructing a Clear Message, Projecting Confidence, and
Being the Best Possible You
with Jen Seifert and Lanie Presswood

2. Today’s Agenda:
1. Introductions
2. Impromptu Speaking
1. yes, you will have to do it and yes, you can do it well
3. Short Activity
4. Fundamentals of A Strong, Confident Delivery
5. Constructing a Conference Presentation A Short
Case Study
6. Q&A

3. Tell Us About Yourself!
 Who are you?
 What do you study/where are you in your
journey?
 Why are you here?
 If you have a presentation coming up, what are you
the most nervous about?
 If you have recently done a presentation, what do
you feel you could have improved upon?

4. Impromptu Speaking
 Giving a presentation without advance preparation
 Draws most often from knowledge, experience and
background
 Pros
 Has the potential to evidence skill
 Trains one to distill complex thoughts into cohesive
messages
 Cons
 Lack of planning
 Outcome is often uncertain

5. Impromptu Message
 Components of an Impromptu Message
 Attention getter
 Thesis statement
 Main points
 Conclusion
 Grammar and word choice are less important
 Stay calm, avoid verbal fillers, reference notes if
necessary
 Match the formality of your delivery to the setting
 Don’t be afraid to re-iterate big ideas

6. Activity
 Find a partner!
 Think of an upcoming project OR a recently completed project
 Everyone will have 2 minutes to prepare a 30 second speech about their
research
 Tell us:
 Who you are
 Where you are from
 Where you are in your journey (grad, undergrad, faculty)
 WHAT you are researching/presenting (topic AND discipline)
 WHY you are here/what you are looking for
 After the prep time, take turns delivering the speech and providing
constructive feedback to speaker. We will then take turns presenting to the
class!

7. Providing Feedback
 Message:
 Did it have all the components of an impromptu
message?
 Was it cohesive and did it match the occasion?
 Delivery:
 Did the speaker avoid verbal fillers?
 Did they use appropriate gestures?
 What suggestions do you have for increasing the
effectiveness of the speaker’s delivery?

8. Video Clip:
Amy Cuddy, “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are”

9. Delivery is the key that opens the door
to your ideas!
Your audience will have formed an impression of you long before you
start speaking – but that’s a good thing! We can control that.
Delivery can be primarily broken down and examined in THREE areas:
your body, your voice, and your face.
The key to all three is MINDFULNESS – you can’t change your behavior if
you aren’t aware of what you are doing (or what you look like to others).

10. Delivery, Posture, and Gestures
• Make sure your shoulders are back and down, not hunched over and rounded.
• Keep your head up – no staring at notecards!
• Problems with nerves? Try wiggling your toes inside closed shows to release that energy
• Gestures enhance your message. Don’t be afraid to use both hands, and
make sure gestures are large enough for everyone to see – but don’t cover
your face!
• As a general rule of thumb, use a gesture:
• To show connection between related ideas
• To illustrate items in a sequence/list
• To provide general emphasis for impressive facts and statistics

11. Delivery and Vocal Inflection
• Volume is your friend – fill the room!
• Slow down
• Enunciate – consonants get lost when we get nervous.
• Slowwww Dowwnnnnnn.
• Think about the words – don’t recite lines at us
• Breathe deeply – don’t forget!
• When in doubt….. Slowwwwwwwww
Dowwwwwwwwnnnnnnnn

12. Delivery and Facial Expressions
• Eye contact: one thought delivered to one person
• No scanning the room, no staring contests
• Smile! You worked hard to get here, act like you
enjoy it.

13. Now you sound and look amazing –
Congrats!!!
But….. How do we put together a message?
Let’s work through that together, shall we?

15. Everybody is in the Labyrinth:
Subverting Gothic Traditions and Rebuilding
Terministic Screens
ALANE PRESSWOOD
OHIO UNIVERSITY

16. FILM PROTAGONISTS HAVE LONG USED FANTASY AS A METHOD OF
COPING WITH THE TROUBLES OF DAILY LIFE….
1939
1951
1970

17. But What About Horror?
SHOWCASING THE INHERENT “HORROR” OF REAL LIFE RENDERS THE FILM
EXPERIENCE MORE IMMEDIATE FOR VIEWING AUDIENCES WHO ARE
EXPERIENCING RELEVANT, DIFFICULT TO OVERCOME REAL-LIFE
EXPERIENCES.
LET’S EXPLORE THAT, SHALL WE?
• THEORETICAL FRAMES
• PAN’S LABYRINTH AS AN EXEMPLAR OF SUBVERTING HORROR EXPECTATIONS
• USING SUBVERSIVE TECHNIQUES TO REFRAME TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES

18. Conventions of Gothic and Horror Films
THE GOTHIC: “A DISCOURSE THAT CAN APPEAR IN VARIOUS
GENRES… THAT IS STRUCTURED BY ANXIETIES OVER AND
TRANSGRESSIONS OF VARIOUS SOCIALLY SANCTIONED
BOUNDARIES.” (CHATTERJEE, 2004, P. 49)
ISABEL PINEDO’S (2004) FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF MODERN
HORROR:
1. HORROR VIOLENTLY DISRUPTS THE EVERYDAY WORLD
2. HORROR TRANSGRESSES/VIOLATES BOUNDARIES.
3. HORROR QUESTIONS THE VALIDITY OF RATIONALITY
4. HORROR REPUDIATES NARRATIVE CLOSURE
5. HORROR PRODUCES A BOUNDED EXPERIENCE OF FEAR

19. Rebuilding Terministic Screens with Horror Rhetoric
“REAL AND REEL VIOLENCE DO NOT EXIST APART FROM EACH OTHER… THEY ARE
CONSTANTLY OVERLAPPING.” (REIGLER, 2010, P. 32)
TERMINISTIC SCREENS: USED BY INDIVIDUALS TO DIRECT ATTENTION
OR FUNNEL FOCUS TOWARD A SPECIFIC ASPECT OF A
PROBLEM/SCENARIO (1966)
• Composed of the terms we use to describe our world
• Strongly influenced by Burke’s split conceptualization of language
• Dramatistic vs. scientistic language
MOVIES PROVIDE A QUICK, EASY WAY TO ACCESS A WHOLE NEW SET OF
TERMS AND EXPERIENCES.

20. Guillermo del Toro’s
Mexican-Spanish “dark
fantasy” Pan’s Labyrinth
premiered in 2006. The
movie garnered Oscars
for Art Direction,
Cinematography, and
Makeup, in addition to
three other
nominations.
The story is set in the
spring of 1944, five years
after the end of the
Spanish Civil War.

21. Pan’s Labyrinth as Subversion of Typical Gothic Characteristics
• PROTAGONIST OFELIA
TRANSFORMS HER REAL-LIFE
STRUGGLES INTO A SET OF
CHALLENGES TO BE COMPLETED
IN A FANTASY WORLD, AT “THE
INTERSECTION OF CHILDHOOD,
WAR, MASCULINITY, AND
MONSTROSITY.” (CLARK & MCDONALD,
2010, P. 53)
• SHE ADOPTS EACH OF THE
TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF HORROR AND INVERTS
THEM TO BECOME POSITIVE
COPING DEVICES.

22. Rebuilding an Everyday World
• OFELIA REJECTS THE RIGIDITY THAT OTHERS HAVE IMPOSED ON HER LIFE AND
REPLACES IT WITH HER OWN CHOICES.
• THIS CAREFUL CONSTRUCTION OF ROUTINE COMMUNICATES TO VICTIMS OF
TRAUMA THAT THEY POSSESS THE POWER TO SYMBOLICALLY RECONSTRUCT THEIR
SURROUNDINGS.

23. Reconfiguring Boundaries
• SHIFTING THE TERMINISTIC SCREEN FROM “VICTIM” TO “REBEL”
CREATES THE PERCEPTION OF EMPOWERMENT AND PERSONAL
FREEDOM.
• THE JARRING NATURE OF OFELIA’S SITUATION ENCOURAGES ADULT
VIEWERS TO REFRAME THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES.

24. Negating Rationality
• 21ST CENTURY AUDIENCES RELATE TO LINKS TO THEIR OWN CIRCUMSTANCES,
NOT GHOSTLY WHISPERINGS.
• DEFIANCE PROVIDES AN OUTLET FOR SITUATIONS OUTSIDE OUR CONTROL.
• “THE WORST MONSTERS ARE HUMAN BEINGS.” (ZALEWSKI, 2011)

25. Enabling Your Own Fairy-Tale Ending
• FINDING THE STRENGTH TO
CONQUER YOUR
CIRCUMSTANCES LEADS TO
PEACE.
• DEL TORO CHOOSES TO
PROMOTE HOPE AND
ACCEPTANCE RATHER THAN
LOSS AND GRIEF, PROMOTING
DRAMATISTIC FORWARD
MOMENTUM

26. Loosing the Bonds of Fear
• OFELIA’S
RESISTANCE IS WHAT
MAKES HER SO
IDENTIFIABLE – SHE IS
NOT A FINAL GIRL
• THE LESSON IS NOT
THAT DARKNESS IS
TO BE CONTAINED
AND
DECONSTRUCTED –
RATHER, WE SHOULD
EMBRACE
AMBIGUITY FOR THE
CHOICES IT GIVES
US.

27. In Conclusion…
• HORROR IS FAR AND AWAY NOT JUST A RESULT OF THE SUPERNATURAL REALM
• FILM BOTH REFLECTS DOMINANT CULTURAL WORRIES AND PROVIDES AN IDEAL
MEDIUM FOR RE-ORIENTING TERMINISTIC SCREENS
• DEL TORO’S PAN’S LABYRINTH ENCOURAGES VICTIMS OF TRAUMA TO REFRAME
NEGATIVE SCENARIOS/MEMORIES BY PROMOTING PERSONAL AGENCY AND
FLEXIBLE BOUNDARIES

28. Now it’s your turn….
Questions?