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“How to prepare and give PowerPoint presentations in English”

Malcolm Fitz-Earle Ph.D.

Emeritus Professor, Capilano University, Canadaand

Visiting Professor, Kyoto University, Japan

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This PowerPoint presentation accompanies Section 5 of the book:

“Professor Malcolm’s guide to scientific English writing”

Published by Kyoto University Press

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Topics

1. How to prepare the written parts of slides with text.

2. How to prepare the written parts of slides with photos.

3. How to prepare the written parts of slides with figures (e.g. graphs and maps).

4. Presentation tips.

5. Questions and answers.

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How to prepare the written parts of the slides with text

1. Write brief notes, make slides and then give extra information verbally.

2. For written parts of slides follow these Rules

Bullet points Sentences incomplete

• Verbs omitted• Articles left out• No punctuation

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Exercise: Use the ‘Rules’ to convert these notes on Japan's bears into a slide

Background on the brown and black bears of Japan.

Brown bears are killed as nuisances in Hokkaido and Black bears are killed as nuisances in Honshu.

Highlights of Japan’s climate: temperature, precipitation and sunlight.

Impact of climate on agriculture and native vegetation.

Rules

•Bullet points•Sentences incomplete

Verbs omitted Articles left out No punctuation

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Japan's bears and climate:

• Kills: Brown bears in Hokkaido Black bears in Honshu • Climate:

.temperature

.precipitation

.sunlight• Agriculture and native vegetation

Answer slide

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Note: This is an example of good writing taken from the Eco Tipping Points Project

www.ecotippingpoint.org

• Villagers throughout Japan had depended for many centuries on a variety of non-timber forest products essential to their survival. Most important were:

• A clean and reliable water supply for rice field irrigation and household use.

• Fuel wood and charcoal for domestic cooking and heating. • Leaf litter and grass that villagers applied to their fields as organic

fertilizer. One hectare of agricultural field required five to ten hectares of forest to keep it going. Grass from the forest also provided fodder for livestock.

• Exploitative use of forests worked as long as Japan's population was small. The rulers' demands for timber sometimes led to severe local deforestation, but they were always able to shift the logging to new areas with "old growth" forests that contained an abundance of large trees for high quality lumber. Logging for timber demands of the elite often suited villagers because it opened up land for agriculture while also creating secondary forest, which was the best vegetation for providing organic fertilizer, fuel, fodder, and other forest products for subsistence.

What is wrong with this slide?

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We can’t read it!

Here are some solutions:

• Use correct font size and font colour

• Use correct background colour

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What is wrong with this slide?

• Villagers throughout Japan had depended for many centuries on a variety of non-timber forest products essential to their survival. Most important were:

• A clean and reliable water supply for rice field irrigation and household use.

• Fuel wood and charcoal for domestic cooking and heating. • Leaf litter and grass that villagers applied to their fields as organic

fertilizer. One hectare of agricultural field required five to ten hectares of forest to keep it going. Grass from the forest also provided fodder for livestock.

• Exploitative use of forests worked as long as Japan's population was small. The rulers' demands for timber sometimes led to severe local deforestation, but they were always able to shift the logging to new areas with "old growth" forests that contained an abundance of large trees for high quality lumber. Logging for timber demands of the elite often suited villagers because it opened up land for agriculture while also creating secondary forest, which was the best vegetation for providing organic fertilizer, fuel, fodder, and other forest products for subsistence.

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There is too much information!

Here are solutions:

• Include only a few points on one slide.

• Include only what the audience can read while the slide is being shown.

Message: One slide – one minute!

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Important non-timber resources in Edo:

• A clean and reliable water supply for rice field irrigation and household use.

• Fuel wood and charcoal for domestic cooking and heating.

• Leaf litter and grass that villagers applied to their fields as organic fertilizer.

Here is a better slide:

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The Global Magnitude of Species Loss

• IUCN Red List: 40,177 species assessed 16,119 species (40%) threatened with extinction

• Birdlife International: 9775 species of birds 1212 of species (12%) threatened with extinction

• Fish: Decline of open ocean species (e.g. tuna) in 50 years to 10% Decline of coastal species (e.g. Northern cod) almost to extinction

Here is an example slide from a presentation:

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How to prepare the written parts of the slides with photos

• Title: In clear English

• Source: Where did you find the photo?

Give attribution.

• Photo credit: Who took the photo?

Give name.

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The tuberculosis bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis in human blood

(Attribution)

“This image is a work of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, taken or made as part of an employee’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government , the image is in the public domain.”

Title:

Note: Public domain means the photo may be used freely.

15Photo credit: Keith Wade

Title:

American Black bear Ursus americanus in a Canadian garden

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Hokkaido Brown bear Ursus arctos ferox

• Endemic to Hokkaido

• Shiretoko National Park population estimate 300 (2015)

• Status: threatened local populations (Japan Red Data Book)

Source: Japan Bear Network Photo credit: Rumiko Nakashita

Example of slide with photo, that includes title, source, photo credit and extra information:

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Message: Excessive animation is annoying

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How to prepare the written parts of the slides with tables

• Clear titles

• Columns must have headings

• Rows readable

• Limit amount of data

• Footnotes readable

• Source of data

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Excerpt of climate data (pressure, rainfall and temperature) for Yamagata City

• 　 　　　　　 日照 雲量

現地 海面 平均 時間 (MJ/m2) 雪日数平均 平均 日 1時間 10分間 日平均 日最高 日最低 平均 最小 風速 風速 風向 風速 風向 (h) 平均 合計 最大 (寒候年)

2004 996.1 1014.5 1337 71.5 34.5 14 12.6 18 8.1 35.8 -8.9 73 11 1.7 11.4 南南東 28.9 南南西 1743.8 12.9 290 33 70 7.8 86 18 20

2005 994.8 1013.2 1196 55.5 22.5 15 11.6 16.6 7.5 36.4 -9.1 76 10 1.7 9.5 南南東 23.5 南南西 1536.3 12.6 354 43 69 8.1 92 17 25

2006 996.2 1014.6 1526 75 57 12.5 11.7 16.7 7.6 34.4 -9.8 76 8 1.7 8.3 南西 20 南西 1524.4 12.2 407 21 75 7.9 96 23 18

2007 995.8 1014.2 1247.5 82 18 9 12.2 17.5 8.1 37.2 -6.6 75 12 1.6 9.2 南 21.3 東 1623.2 12.3 164 21 25 7.5 74 18 12

2008 996.2 1014.6 1158 58.5 37.5 17 12 17.1 7.8 35.9 -8.4 74 13 1.6 9.7 南 22 南 1622.7 12.5 317 25 40 7.7 85 24 11

2009 995.6 1014 1002 47.5 20.5 10 12.1 17.2 7.8 35.5 -7.4 73 10 1.6 9.4 西南西 20.9 西南西 1560.1 12.4 337 31 41 7.7 83 14 12

2010 996.2 1014.6 1418.5 79.5 53 22 12.5 17.5 8.5 37.2 -8 73 13 1.6 8.9 東南東 17.8 南南西 1539.3 12.2 288 19 32 8 86 17 22

2011 995.7 ] 1014.1 ] 1066.5 ] 113.5 ] 23.0 ] 9.0 ] 12.8 ] 18.1 ] 8.5 ] 36.5 ] -8.9 ] 72 ] 13 ] 1.7 ] 9.2 ] 東南東 17.9 ] 東 1573.0 ] 13.5 ] 398 23 57 7.7 ] 98 18 ] 17 ]

　山形 毎年の値

年気圧(hPa) 降水量(mm) 気温(℃)

湿度(％)

合計最大 平均

最高 最低

Source: Japan Meteorological Agency

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How to prepare the written parts of the slides with figures (e.g. graphs, maps)

• Clear titles

• Clearly labelled axes of graphs

• Clear labels for maps

• Correct units

• Source

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Graph of 10 years of climate data for Akita City

Source: Japan Meteorological Agency (2014)

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Maps showing Japan’s climate characteristics for 2013

23Source: Tokyo Climate Centre, Japan Meteorological Agency, 2014

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Message: Number all your slides.

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Presentation tips

• Check your timing. One slide –one minute!

• Look at audience, look at slides and try not to look at your notes.

• Use laser pointer correctly. Do not ‘wave around’ the laser pointer’s beam on the slide.

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Tips on questions and answers

Is it a question or a comment? If it’s a question, do you understand the

question? Repeat the question for the benefit of the

audience. Answer the question politely! Do not say : “I

have no idea.”

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Thank you for your attention!