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Guidelines for a Scientific Presentation
Kam D. Dahlquist, Ph.D.
Department of BiologyLoyola Marymount University
February 21, 2011
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The goal of a scientific presentation is to be clearso that your audience understands you
throughout the presentation.
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Outline
• How to organize a talk
• How to construct a slide− titles− layout− fonts− color schemes
• How to use slides during a talk
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Outline
• How to organize a talk
• How to construct a slide− titles− layout− fonts− color schemes
• How to use slides during a talk
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You Will Deliver One Main MessageDuring Your Talk
• “Tell them what you are going to say.”˗ Your main message should be the title of the talk.˗ Your outline should be a mini version of your talk.
• “Say it.”˗ The body of your talk should have a logical progression of
results that support your message.˗ Do not have separate slides for methods and results.˗ Instead, combine the methods and results for each main
point you are making.
• “Tell them what you said.”− Your outline then becomes your summary/conclusions slide.
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The Title Slide Conveys Important Information to Your Audience
• Begin with a title slide that includes:− Title of your talk.− Your name and affiliation.− Location and date of the talk.
• The title for a research talk should be a phrase or sentence that gives the take-home message for your research.
• Journal Club presentations require additional information.− For journal club presentations, your title should be the title
of the journal article.− Include the full citation for the article on your title slide
(authors, year, journal name, volume, page numbers).
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The Outline Slide is a Mini Version of Your Talk
• The outline should be the second slide after the title.
• The outline summarizes each of the main points of your talk.
• Do not use single words such as “Introduction”, “Results”, or “Conclusions”.− Instead, each bullet point on your outline should be a phrase
or sentence that gives the main message for that section of your talk.
• Use the outline as a roadmap for your talk, showing it again after you complete each section.
• Re-phrase your outline slide to make your Summary or Conclusions slide.
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Outline
• How to organize a talk
• How to construct a slide− titles− layout− fonts− color schemes
• How to use slides during a talk
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Slides will Make or Break a Talk
• Keep them simple
• Use graphics (a picture is worth 1000 words)
• Make sure the slides are large enough to read− for the size of the room− for the size of audience
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How to Layout a Slide
• Each slide should have a descriptive title.− Use a phrase or sentence that describes the main
message of the slide.
• The body of the slide should use no more than 8-12 lines of text, fewer if a graphic is used.
• Use short phrases that expand and emphasize key points of the presentation.
• Use color to focus attention on key points.
• Fill the space, leaving enough white space so the slide doesn’t look crowded.
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How to Use Graphics Well
• Simplify graphics as much as possible so that each figure you show makes one point.
• Graphics that are good for papers are often too busy to be used effectively in presentations.
• Make graphics as large as possible without losing resolution.
• When enlarging graphics, preserve the aspect ratio by holding down the shift key while dragging a corner point.
• Lines should have a thickness of at least 2 points.
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An example of a slide with a simple graphic:
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Fonts: Why Not Times?
• Readability is the key to a presentation.
• There are two types of fonts:
Sans Serif (e.g. Helvetica, Arial)Serif Font (Times New Roman, Palatino)
• Use bold, sans serif font for maximum readability.
• The skinny parts of lines on a serif font make them hard to read at a distance.
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Choose Appropriate Font Sizes
• The title should be 28-36 point type.
• Body text should be 20-28 point type, no smaller than 18 point.
• Do not use more than three font sizes per slide (e.g., 32, 28, and 24 points on same slide).
• The default size for titles and body text set by Microsoft PowerPoint is often too large.
• You can more easily control the font size by inserting your own text box instead of using the default slide layout.
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Proofread your Slides
• Make sure that your spelling and grammar are correct.
• It is best to use either all complete sentences or all phrases on one slide.
• When using complete sentences, don’t forget the periods.
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Use a Consistent Color Scheme Throughout Your Presentation
• Be careful, colors that contrast well on the computer screen do not necessarily project well.
• Use the medieval rules of heraldry as a guide:− Medieval coats of armor never put a “color” on a
“color” or a “metal” on a “metal”.− The colors are: red, blue, green, purple, black.− The metals are: yellow (gold), white (silver).− In other words, don’t use a dark color on a dark color
or a light color on a light color.− In particular, red text on a blue or black background is
a bad combination.
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Acceptable Text Colors on aWhite Background
• Black• Dark blue• Red (for highlights)• Green (for highlights)• Purple (for highlights)
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Acceptable Text Colors on aYellow Background
• Black• Dark blue• Red (for highlights)• Green (for highlights)• Purple (for highlights)
(although this is not particularly attractive, it is readable)
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Acceptable Text Colors on aBlack Background
• White• Yellow• The following colors look OK on the computer screen, but do NOT project well: Red, Green, Purple, Blue• If you must use these colors, use light versions of them: Pink, Light Green, Lavendar, Light Blue
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Acceptable Text Colors on aDark Blue Background
• White• Yellow• The following colors look OK on the computer screen, but do NOT project well: Red, Green, Purple• If you must use these colors, use light versions of them: Pink, Light Green, Lavendar
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Red or Green Backgroundsare Problematic
• Almost all colors are difficult to see when projected, except White.• Black• Dark blue• Yellow• Green• Purple
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Red or Green Backgroundsare Problematic
• Almost all colors are difficult to see when projected, except White.• Black• Dark blue• Yellow• Red• Purple
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Slide Transition Effects Detract Morefrom the Presentation than They Add
• The audience becomes distracted the first time you use them and annoyed if you continue to use them.
• They can be distracting to the speaker because they take an unexpectedly long time to run when you are standing at the front of the room.
• An acceptable use of transitions is to simply introduce each bullet point separately as you talk about them.
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• If the data or graphics you show were not generated by you, you must cite the source on the slide on which they are shown.
• Use the short form of the literature citation in a smaller font, e.g., Dahlquist et al. (2002) Nature Genet. 31:19.
• A URL is also acceptible, e.g., http://www.lmu.edu.
• For presentations in courses, include a references slide at the end of your presentation.
• For journal club presentations, cite the article on the title slide.
Cite Your Sources
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Outline
• How to organize a talk
• How to construct a slide− titles− layout− fonts− color schemes
• How to use slides during a talk
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• Spend about one minute per slide− e.g., You will need 15 slides for a 15 minute talk.
• Use your slides as an aid to your memory. • Lead the audience through the slide.
− It is OK to read your bullet points word for word.− Then add details that are not on the slide.− If you are not going to say it, don’t put it on the slide.
• Practice using a laser pointer.− Brace your arm to hold it steady.− Do NOT circle with the pointer.
How to Use Slides During the Talk
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Summary
• Organize your talk and your slides.
• Layout the slides for maximum readability.−use graphics−layout−fonts−color schemes
• During the talk, use your slides to guide what you are saying.
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Acknowledgments (Note Correct American English Spelling)
Art of LecturingGladstone Institutes
University of California, San Francisco
Mimi Zeiger
Robert Mahley