When a presentation is not well planned and rehearsed, it may become some form of “conscious sedation” for the audience. If it’s your first time doing an academic presentation, thesis defence, or a conference presentation, you are very likely to be nervous and if your audience is an intimidating one, you might even wet yourself. Great presenters sure know the importance of making great first impressions. It is very important to know how to make a breathtaking presentation, a good presenter can make an otherwise less remarkable work be perceived with so much value. Always have in mind that, the audience might be tired, distracted and asking themselves “why should I listen?”. A great talk aims to address these issues at the beginning and throughout the entire presentation.

We have put together the following guidelines and tips to help you score high and avoid the embarrassment that comes with boring and poor presentations.

1.     Have a great mastery of your topic and know your audience:

People listening to you ought to know that you understand the subject matter, they should be clear on the problem you are addressing and why it’s so important. Therefore, you should present like an authority in that area. After spending several months on their thesis, students are obliged to be experts on the subject their study covers.

Know the members in the audience beforehand, are they experts in that area or scientists who are not experts in that field? This can help you preempt how deep the questioning session can go. Quote the work of members of your audience where possible, it appeals to them and catches their attention, it might also be a perfect avenue for future collaborations.

In the case of an MD thesis defence, find out who the jury members are, ask those who defended before about the kind of questions they prefer to ask, their thought patterns and inclinations. This knowledge would help guide you on how much work you need to cover.

2.     Prepare your material carefully and logically – tell a story

Before you start making slides, you must think about the entire presentation holistically. You should have a visual impression of the entire story. This is important because it helps you organize your ideas in a coherent manner, making it easy for your audience to follow. Why is it that you are more likely to remember stories, movies or novels you came across a long time ago, but not a lecture you received a few days back? This is because our brains are wired to connect events, stories fulfil the essence of our being and give meaning to events in our lives.

A thesis presentation typically has a predefined structure from the faculty, but conference and other types of presentations cannot be done without harnessing the power of such a great communication tool: the art of storytelling. When organizing your slides, put them in a logical manner such that each slide or section connects with the next smoothly. To link paragraphs and sections use linking words such as: moreover, furthermore, likewise, also, additionally, as well as, equally, etc. to keep the flow in the trend of thought between slides or sections of your presentation.

3.     Don’t put in too much

Less is more! To make an effective presentation, you must lay emphasis on the content that sells your work in the best way. Short, concise, summary statements would make a greater impact. Show only the most important results, you want your audience to see clearly your most striking findings without diluting them with the less important ones.

Make few slides, the audience’s focus should not be drawn to reading the slides, but rather to listen to you. Ideally, present 1 slide in 1 minute. Your slides should not exceed 25: only experts should go up to or beyond 30 slides. Summarize large chunks of text into figures or images, people generally find these more appealing and are more likely to stay fastened to your presentation. Likewise, people are more likely to retain an image the saw and heard about, more than what they only read. Avoid very complex slides and take a look at presentations of those who had defended before.

4.     Make graphically appealing slides

Simple yet attractive slides can go a long way to keep your audience glued to your presentation. Generally, be consistent with the use of font, colour and layout.

Layout: Show one point at a time. Keep points numbered or bulleted whenever possible.

Background: A white or light-coloured background is ideal for presentations. The font colour should contrast sharply with the background. It should be consistent throughout the presentation or for similar sections.

Font: Use a decent font, typically Times New Roman, Arial or Calibri. Use different font sizes to emphasize and differentiate the main points from minor ones. Avoid overusing capitalization, it’s difficult to read.

Graphs and Figures: Use graphs rather than just words and tables. When presented in graphs, data is easier to comprehend and retain. Ensure to always add titles and make fonts big enough to be seen clearly. Shading and tiny gridlines on graphs are distracting. Chose complementary colours and stay away from those that are offensive (too much red, pink…)

5.     Master basic body language

It is said that body language speaks louder than words. Charles LeBeau, a professor of public speaking in an interview with VOA explained that body language consists of posture, eye contact and gestures such as hand and arm movements. When nervous, a presenter can assume a very shy body language that depicts a lack of confidence, this often stems from nervousness.

A common problem with presenters is looking at the screen or whiteboard, rather than facing the audience. To maintain good eye contact, a presenter must have mastered their presentation to avoid reading from slides or notes throughout. The presenter must pick one side of the room and maintain eye contact with one person at a time, especially those who are nodding. As stated earlier, avoid this by using fewer words and images, or graphs and avoid long cumbersome sentences. Gestures should compliment the words of the presenter, for example, put up five fingers to discuss five points. Keep your hands off your face/head, your hands should be around the centre of your body most of the times.

6.     Rehearse, rehearse and rehearse your talk

Practice makes perfect! Spend enough time practising the presentation, it would be helpful to do so under a simulation of the exact presentation conditions. For students preparing for a thesis defence, you should reach out to seniors who have gone through the experience, they have a lot to share with you, like questions that might repeat themselves during the final presentation. Seek opportunities to present, this is the best way to gain more confidence and to learn the art of effective presentations.

Present before your peers and seek feedback and to pick up on language issues, verbal disfluencies and confusing statements. Use your phone, tablet or camera to make videos of yourself presenting. This is a good way to figure out what to improve. Remember to use a pointer and do not point words, only figures and images. Practice, practice and practice.

“It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech” – Mark Twain

7.     Dress comfortably and for the occasion:

Dress professionally and wear something you would be comfortable in. Males should go for suits with subtle colours such as black, navy blue, ash/grey. A white, blue or any light coloured shirt would be a nice pick. A simple black or dark blue tie would be appropriate, students should avoid red ties as some superiors might find them offensive. A good fitting pair of shoes, not loafers, tennis, or converse. Overall, keep the total number of colours in your entire dressing to a maximum of four. Traditional attires are allowed, but for comfort reasons, a suit is preferable.

For females: skirts, gowns and suits are fine. While heels may add an elegant touch to what you’re wearing, they might cause you great discomfort after some time, you should opt for wedges or low-heeled shoes. A simple necklace and stud earrings will make a simple and good compliment. Do your hair neatly and keep it out of your face. Avoid clothes you have to constantly adjust (too tight or too loose). Also, avoid very bright colours which might easily attract undesirable attention.

8.     Keep conclusions brief and present them per objective

Your conclusions aim to emphasize to your audience or readers why your work matters. When done nicely, a well-presented conclusion can help give a great final impression and make your audience appreciate listening to you. Present your conclusions per objective, this helps to show clearly the endpoint of the conversation you set out to investigate or describe. Additionally, presenting your conclusion according to your objectives keeps the purpose of the work in focus. Make sure you are not introducing any new ideas in the conclusion.

9.     Prepare for the questions and answers session:

Brainstorm! Some days to your defence or presentation, come up with a list of possible questions that might be brought up by your examiners or audience. Then, think of the answers, write them down and rehearse them. This will help get you in the right mindset. When asked a question by the Jury:

1. Repeat the question, this gives you time to think, the rest of the audience may not have heard the question. Understand the question and if you know the answer, go ahead and give it.
2. If you do not know the answer then say I don’t know, I will have to look into that. Don’t try to invent an answer at that point, be honest and humble.
3. If the examiner disagrees with the answer given and you have other arguments, try again, but if the disagreement may lead to a conflict, drop it!!!!! Never show any sign of disrespect.

10.  Miscellaneous:

• Use humour if possible and only if you are good enough but this will also be jury dependent.
• Check and recheck your slides for errors.
• Avoid abbreviations overuse in your slides, at least make sure your audience understands what they mean or use only universally known abbreviations.
• Prepare names and references to back up facts and assumptions.
• Go through your presentation to make sure you can pronounce the vocabulary you will be using.
• Once you are in the room, turn off your mobile phone, take a deep breath, try to relax, speak slowly, smartly and clearly.

We hope these tips go a long way to help you make an amazing presentation. Good luck!

By: Dr Ako Annabel MD, Dr Ebasone Kewir and Prof. Anastase Dzudie

Also read: How to effectively plan a scientific event