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Slide 1: Powerful Presentations James Kahn MD Professor of Medicine, UCSF With significant assistance from Warner Greene MD PhD and Susan McConnell PhD
Slide 2: What do you think of the following slide?
Slide 3: Emk1 knockdown inhibits lumen formation in MDCK cells: -RT-PCR: EMK1 is effectively knocked down in MDCK cells 24 hours after transfection with PSUPER (control) or P-SUPER-siEMK1 plasmid; knockdown confirmed on the right with antibodies to EMK1. - Collagen overlay assay: cells cultured 24 h on collagen I before being overlaid with additional collagen on the apical surface, analyzed 24 h later. Note the lack of lumen in EMK1-KO cultures. - Ca switch: control or EMK1-KO cells were plated in low Ca medium 24 h upon transfection with pSUPER or pSUPER-KO. After 12 h, cultures were switched to normal medium for 24 h. Transmission EM of cells sectioned perpendicular to the substratum shows lack of microvilli in EMK1-KO cells.
Slide 4: Of course, it is far to confusing and a clear take-home message does not come across ! This presentation will take you through a strategy for presenting data in a clear and logical way.
Slide 5: Major Point  A good rule of thumb: tell your audience where you are going, go there, and then summarize where you have been—give them an agenda or introduction slide  Engineer the titles of your slides to state the conclusion of the study being presented
Slide 6: Agenda for Powerful Presentations  Introduce why presentations are important  Review key structural elements in the presentation  Suggest practical considerations for using powerpoint  The structure of a good presentation  Review how to conclude a presentation  Leave time for questions at the end
Slide 7: Introduction Why are presentations important? Powerful presentations can be the difference in making an impression on peers and persons that evaluate you including future employers and funders. Presenting is a skill developed through experience and training. “Great speakers aren’t born, they are trained.”
Slide 8: Elements of a Presentation  Speaker  Content  Audience
Slide 9: General Good Ideas Before planning your talk think about its purpose, the audience you will be talking to, and the setting. Don’t assume the audience will all be experts. Never underestimate your audience! Check on the time that has been allotted to you. How big is the room?
Slide 10: Agenda for Powerful Presentations  Introduce why presentations are important  Review key structural elements in the presentation  Suggest practical considerations for using powerpoint images  The structure of a good presentation  Review how to conclude a presentation  Leave time for questions at the end
Slide 11: Powerpoint basics: What font to use Use a Sans Serif font: T T This font is Arial. This font is Comic Sans. This font is Papyrus. Serif fonts take longer to read… This font is Times New Roman. This font is Courier. This font is Didot.
Slide 12: Powerpoint basics: What font to use Some fonts look really good in boldface: Arial vs. Arial bold Comic Sans vs. Comic Sans bold Papyrus vs. Papryus bold
Slide 13: Powerpoint basics: 1. What font to use Type size should be 18 points or larger: 18 point 20 point 24 point 28 point 36 point * References can be in 14 point font
Slide 14: Powerpoint basics: 1. What font to use AVOID USING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS BECAUSE IT’S REALLY HARD TO READ!
Slide 15: Powerpoint basics: 2. Color Dark letters against a light background work.
Slide 16: Powerpoint basics: 2. Color Light letters against a dark background also work.
Slide 17: Powerpoint basics: 2. Color Many experts feel that a dark blue or black background works best for talks in a large room.
Slide 18: Powerpoint basics: 2. Color Dark letters against a light background are best for smaller rooms and for teaching.
Slide 19: Powerpoint basics: 2. Color Avoid red-green combinations because a significant fraction of the human population is red-green colorblind.
Slide 20: Powerpoint basics: 2. Color Avoid red-green combinations because a large fraction of the human population is red-green colorblind. Lots of people can’t read this – and even if they could, it makes your eyes hurt.
Slide 21: Powerpoint basics: 2. Color Other color combinations can be equally bad:
Slide 22: Powerpoint basics: 2. Color View your slides in grayscale to ensure that there is adequate color contrast in each slide.
Slide 23: Powerpoint basics: 3. Layout Keep the layout and style as consistent as possible Every slide should have a heading. Sentences are preferred if it’s possible to make a statement.
Slide 24: Powerpoint basics: 3. Layout Limit text blocks to no more than two lines each.
Slide 25: Powerpoint basics: 3. Layout The reason for limiting text blocks to two lines is that when the text block goes on and on forever, people in the audience are going to have to make a huge effort to read the text, which will preclude them from paying attention to what you are saying. Every time you lose their focus, your presentation suffers!
Slide 26: Powerpoint basics: 3. Layout Lists should contain no more than 3 items: • Item 1 • Item 2 • Item 3
Slide 27: Powerpoint basics: 3. Layout It is often effective to “unveil” your list one by one: You can do this using the “Slide show” - “animations” -”custom” - option • Point 1 • Point 2 • Point 3
Slide 28: Powerpoint basics: 3. Layout Avoid sublists! • Item 1 - Item 1a - Item 1b - Item 1c • Item 2 - Item 2a - Item 2b • Item 3
Slide 29: Powerpoint basics: 3. Layout Be generous with empty space.
Slide 30: Agenda for Powerful Presentations  Introduce why presentations are important  Review key structural elements in the presentation  Suggest practical considerations for using powerpoint images  The structure of a good presentation  Review how to conclude a presentation  Leave time for questions at the end
Slide 31: Visual Aids     Enhance Understanding Add Variety Support Claims Lasting Impact Used Poorly…A Distraction…Ineffective Presentation
Slide 32: Visual Aids Should…     Supplement presentation Outline of main points Serve audience’s needs, not speaker’s Simple and clear
Slide 33: Visual Aids  Improve comprehension Add variety Illustrate complex ideas  
Slide 34: Powerpoint basics: Style Try your best to include a simple image on every slide.
Slide 36: Protease Inhibitors RT Inhibitors
Slide 37: Entry Inhibitors
Slide 38: AMD 070 KRH-2731 UK 427-857 SCH- D AMD887 PRO 140
Slide 39: Powerpoint basics: Style Limit the number of items on each slide. Each slide should make just one or two points!
Slide 40: Use Humor Carefully  What is funny to you may not be funny to someone else  Humor can take someone off point  Humor can strengthen your connection with the audience  Many people keep a cache of funny slides  Humor can lead to audience acceptance or skepticism therefore use it carefully
Slide 43: Visually stunning images
Slide 44: Powerpoint basics: 3. Layout If you try to cram too much into a slide, and place things too close to the sides, they can get cut off if you’re using a poor projector. In any case, the slide looks all cluttered and junky.
Slide 45: Powerpoint basics: 4. Style Arrrgh!
Slide 46: Powerpoint basics: 4. Style Don’t try to show too many slides. Often, less is more.
Slide 47: It’s very easy to use Powerpoint really badly
Slide 48: Emk1 knockdown inhibits lumen formation in MDCK cells: -RT-PCR: EMK1 is effectively knocked down in MDCK cells 24 hours after transfection with PSUPER (control) or P-SUPER-siEMK1 plasmid; knockdown confirmed on the right with antibodies to EMK1. - Collagen overlay assay: cells cultured 24 h on collagen I before being overlaid with additional collagen on the apical surface, analyzed 24 h later. Note the lack of lumen in EMK1-KO cultures. - Ca switch: control or EMK1-KO cells were plated in low Ca medium 24 h upon transfection with pSUPER or pSUPER-KO. After 12 h, cultures were switched to normal medium for 24 h. Transmission EM of cells sectioned perpendicular to the substratum shows lack of microvilli in EMK1-KO cells.
Slide 49: Structure for Presentations Introduction to the topic, issues, and goals Context: review the structure of your presentation. An explanation of key terms and/or some general facts that are fundamental to the presentation. Detailed information about specific topics and issues. Issues, problems, and conflicting viewpoints Your view in response to these controversies Conclusion: review key points and significance. Lead a discussion
Slide 50: It takes some work and forethought to use Powerpoint well
Slide 51: The structure of a good talk: start broad, get specific, and end broad
Slide 52: Agenda for Powerful Presentations  Introduce why presentations are important  Review key structural elements in the presentation  Suggest practical considerations for using powerpoint images  The structure of a good presentation  Review how to conclude a presentation  Leave time for questions at the end
Slide 53: The structure of a good talk: start broad, get specific, and end broad
Slide 54: The structure of a good talk: start broad, get specific, and end broad Start with the biggest questions and get progressively more specific
Slide 55: A powerful tool in a talk is a “Home Slide” Design and introduce a “home slide” that you’ll come back to at each major transition in your talk.
Slide 56: A powerful tool in a talk is a “home slide” Now we’ll build an introduction and a home slide that puts the previous data into context.
Slide 57: The structure of a good talk: start broad, get specific, and end broad The middle is the meat of the talk…
Slide 58: …but talks are delivered to audiences with limited attention spans Audience attention curve
Slide 59: The structure of a good talk: start broad, get specific, and end broad The middle is also the time at which the audience tends to zone out
Slide 60: The structure of a good talk: start broad, get specific, and end broad After going into depth, come back to your home slide to make transitions
Slide 61: The structure of a good talk: start broad, get specific, and end broad After going into depth, come back to your home slide to make transitions Nontechnical General technical Specialist
Slide 62: The structure of a good talk: start broad, get specific, and end broad Let’s review “episode 1” (which we’ve already designed) and add a home slide Nontechnical General technical Specialist
Slide 63: Use your home slide repeatedly to build a theme over time and enable the audience to catch up home slide Nontechnical General technical Specialist
Slide 64: Over the course of the talk, you can progressively build a fairly complex model final home slide Nontechnical General technical Specialist
Slide 65: The structure of a good talk: start broad, get specific, and end broad Focus now on conclusions
Slide 66: Audience attention increases as you signal the end of the talk – so avoid false endings! Audience attention curve
Slide 67: The structure of a good talk: start broad, get specific, and end broad End with the most specific conclusions then build back out to the “big picture”
Slide 68: Organizing a great talk • Be smart about Powerpoint
Slide 69: Organizing a great talk • Be smart about Powerpoint • Your introduction should start broad then get specific
Slide 70: Organizing a great talk • Be smart about Powerpoint • Your introduction should start broad then get specific • Think of your talk as consisting of episodes
Slide 71: Organizing a great talk • Be smart about Powerpoint • Your introduction should start broad then get specific • Think of your talk as consisting of episodes • Use a home slide to make transitions effectively
Slide 72: Organizing a great talk • Be smart about Powerpoint • Your introduction should start broad then get specific • Think of your talk as consisting of episodes • Use a home slide to make transitions effectively • Your conclusion should start specific but end broadly
Slide 73: There is more to giving a good talk than showing good slides  Do face the audience and make eye contact  Do be enthusiastic and vary the tone of your voice.  Don’t pace up and down but don’t stand rigid!  Don’t wave your pointer all over the slide  Don’t take lots of drinks- it is distracting and unprofessional
Slide 74: There is more to giving a good talk than showing good slides Do Ask your friends for feedback Do practice beforehand with a timer Do ask your friends for feedback Don’t use too many gimmicks
Slide 75: Elements of a Powerful Presentation     Content Clarity and Organization Style and Delivery Expertise
Slide 76: Content      Conveys new information Poses an interesting question Conveys how people in other fields think Describes important ideas Novel discovery
Slide 77: Clarity and Organization       Understandable Avoids jargon Uses clear and simple visual aids Well organized Enables me to catch up if I space out Doesn’t run over time
Slide 78: Style and Delivery      Keeps me awake Varies voice Conveys enthusiasm Doesn’t stay in one place Friendly and approachable
Slide 79: Expertise  Credible  Inspires trust and confidence  Answers questions clearly
Slide 80: Agenda for Powerful Presentations  Introduce why presentations are important  Review key structural elements in the presentation  Suggest practical considerations for using powerpoint images  The structure of a good presentation  Review how to conclude a presentation  Leave time for questions at the end
Slide 81: Concluding Your Presentation Goal  Inform audience that you’re about to close  Summarize main points  Something to remember or call-to-action  Answer questions “Tell ’em What You Told ‘em.”
Slide 82: Major Points  Always give credit to your colleagues, preferably within the body of your talk and at the end  Often this is done with pictures and names
Slide 83: Colleagues for this presentation Susan McConnell Warner Greene
Slide 84: Major Points  Always acknowledge who funded the studies or project
Slide 85: Thanks to the Funders of these Studies
Slide 86: A great resource is The Craft of Scientific Presentations by Michael Alley
Slide 87: Agenda for Powerful Presentations  Introduce why presentations are important  Review key structural elements in the presentation  Suggest practical considerations for using powerpoint images  The structure of a good presentation  Review how to conclude a presentation  Leave time for questions at the end
Slide 88: Major Points  How the speaker handles questions can be key to how the audience views the talk  Thinking on your feet is key….sometimes you will need to “buy time” to construct your answer… one mechanism is to simply ask the questioner to rephrase his question  Most people who ask questions are not really seeking serious information….they are making a statement; never interrupt a questioner
Slide 89: Effective Presentations       Control Anxiety – Don’t Fight It Audience Centered Accomplishes Objective Fun For Audience Fun For You Conducted Within Time Frame
Slide 90: Build Rapport Audience members who trust you and feel that you care are more likely to listen Start before you begin and make a good impression with the audience People listen to others they like
Slide 91: Common Problems       Verbal fillers “Like” or “Um” or “Uh” Swaying, rocking, and pacing Hands in pockets Lip smacking Fidgeting Failure to be audience-centered
Slide 92: Six Presentation Tips 1. Smile 2. Breathe 3. Water 4. Notes 5. Finish On or Under Time 6. Send your presentation before hand and bring a copy on a memory stick