How to Give Oral Presentations Tian Xu Howard Hughes Medical Institute Yale University Institute of Developmental Biology And Molecular Medicine (IDM) Fudan University

You Need To Have Excellent Data!

Communication Is As Important As The Data * Stimulate thoughts * Leading the pack * Exchange data and ideas

Public Speech * Everyone is nervous Great data to share, & well prepared Focus on audience, not yourself Prepared for the worst Focus on the positives Bored or thinking Breath, smile, … * A learned skill, not a natural talent

Your Attitude * Respect Yourself and Others * Be Positive * Reference Other’s Work * Know What You Talk About: Credibility Confidence * Spend Time to Prepare: Write Down Practice

Facts and Roles 1 min / slide 10 min/2 points Points/TalkMemoryImpression 20 min/4 points 45 min/7 points 1 day / 75% 2 days/ 50% 4 days/ 20% Visual 55% Intonation 38% Expression 7%

Differences Between Oral and Written Presentations * Sound disappears - Repetition is OK * Emphasis - Intonation * Keep the Audience Awake/Excited * Body Language

Keep Audience Awake * Use Stories * Their Interests Sex, Health, Wealth, Themselves * Connected with Audience Ask questions, Make people to think Be excited, Share the excitement Look at people * Fresh, Novel, Surprising * Inspire Others

Preparing Your Talk * The Points, the Structure * Supporting Data * Goal * Audience’s Needs * The Beginning and the End

“Should” * Easy to Understand * Easy to Remember “Should Not” * Too Long * Too Much Data * Too Much Detail * Too Fast

How to Prepare A Slide Simple, Clear, Precise, Focused * A Title for Each Slide * Write as Brief as Possible * Use Contrast and Comparison

Use Powerpoint Style: Bold Font: Comic Sans MS? Color: Balanced Import Images and Graphics Spelling Check: Always Background: Dark Blue? Animation: Yes

Use Diagrams and Images Style: Simple and Clear Label: Always A picture is better than thousand words

Style YES NO Shy Panic Use Humor Use Intonation Be Cool Energetic, Scholarly … Be Polite Be Yourself

Where should we go?

Organize Your Talk Define Question Give Credits to Others Relate to Other’s Work Background One point at A Time Historical Events/Views Outline Approach Present Data Draw Conclusion Put into the Big Picture

Acknowledgements Give credits to the people Who have done the work Who have helped you Who contributed to the field Who is your competitor Thank the organizers & people invited you Thank the funding agencies

Answer Questions * Respect audience * Listen carefully before answering questions * When you are not sure about the question * When you don’t know the answer * Don’t forget your take-home message

Unusual Situations * People left * Unfriendly audience * You made mistakes * You are the last speaker

Learn From Others * Go beyond the content * Learn how to present a point * Learn new technical tricks * Learn from other’s mistakes * Listen to great speeches and speakers Practice, Practice, Practice

Thank You For Your Attention Don’t Forget to Thank Your Audience