Monday 22 July 13.00 - 14.00 Sonata Room (Hyatt Regency Hotel)
Tuesday 23 July 13.00 - 14.00 Sonata Room (Hyatt Regency Hotel)
The use of PowerPoint and other presentation aids can be very helpful for scientists to effectively communicate their methods and findings. However, the PowerPoint presentation itself, if not prepared and rehearsed properly will dilute the strength of the message the presenter intends to put across. The aims of these sessions will be to assist young (and more senior) scientists who have a special need to improve their presentation skills. It will initially be delivered as a short talk (30 min) discussing the basic tips for making an effective scientific presentation in PowerPoint. Vivid illustrations and examples of good and bad slides will be also be used.
Scientists/students/presenters (with need) will then be paired with mentors/faculty who will then help them to improve their skills on a one-on-one basis. Students will bring their laptops loaded with their own presentations and their mentors will help them at a personal level and can continue doing so throughout the course of the Congress. Notes for future reference will also be provided to all participants at the end of the workshop.
Overall the short exercise will highlight the following areas:
- What constitutes a good PowerPoint presentation? – What should it and what should it not do?
- The presentation slides – designs, choice of background, fonts, font sizes, font colour, importance of contrast, amount of text per slide, clarity of graphs, diagrams, tables, spellings (SpellCheck facilities), animations, sounds, transition…
- Voice projection, presentation speed, presentation aids, body language.
- Common mistakes, the importance of rehearsing, timing, backup and general preparation before the presentation.
- Creating and effective poster presentation using PowerPoint.