Points on giving a professional presentation

Don’t use black on red!

Always use a font people can read.

Don’t put too many words on a slide. Use short bullets that convey the essence of what you want to say, but still force people to listen to you. This is very important because most people can read faster than you can talk, will finish before you, and will get bored.

Or red on blue

Making better slides ->30 pt for titles• The fonts are readable – minimum of 24 pt. for

anything.• I’ve never heard complaints about fonts being too large.• The words are fewer. • Bullets are used for emphasis.• Simple, but not generic.• Not too much on any slide.

More hints about good presentation• Tell a story!• Don’t read (unless you must).• Don’t memorize.• Use a nice template.• Avoid the use of light colors.• Choose two or three colors; more is not better.• Graphics, pictures, animations help.

But only if they advance the story.Cite them.

• NEVER exceed your time limit. (~ 1 spm)• Be excited about your work.

Even more hints for a good talk• Have someone else check your slides.• Remember, you are the topic expert.• Prepare for questions.

– If you don’t understand, ask to repeat or rephrase.

– If you can’t answer, rephrase into a question you can answer.

– It’s ok to say “I don’t know.” (once)– Thank questioner or compliment question (if

appropriate).

garr.posterous.com/powerpoint-slides-are-like-children-no-matter

Department of Food ScienceRutgers University

BAD SLIDE –WHY?We are a department with a basic science orientation that is student-centered and committed to excellence in education, research, and service. Our core values encompass the development of human potential by providing a collegial environment that fosters the professional growth of our students, staff and faculty; and the creation of new knowledge through innovative andcollaborative approaches to research, teaching, technology transfer, and consumer outreach. Guided by these values, we work together with academia, industry, government, and consumer groups to strengthen the global food science community.

Department of Food ScienceRutgers UniversityBETTER SLIDE

We are a department with a basic science orientation that is student-centered and committed to excellence in education, research, and service. Our core values encompass the development of human potential by providing a collegial environment that fosters the professional growth of our students, staff and faculty; and the creation of new knowledge through innovative andcollaborative approaches to research, teaching, technology transfer, and consumer outreach. Guided by these values, we work together with academia, industry, government, and consumer groups to strengthen the global food science community.

Best slide:Department of Food Science

Who we are, what we do:

excellencebasic science

create knowledge student-centered

develop human potential strengthen the global food science community

For more, see www.foodsci.rutgers.edu

A bad slide by none other than…..

Someone actually made this slide…. Why is it bad?

Table 3 Growth kinetic data for four strains of A. acidoterrestris under different pH conditions at 37.5ºC.

Strain N1100 Strain N1102 Strain N1139

pH L μ L μ L μ L μ3.0 17.8a

d 1.4ade 18.6b

d 1.8ad 13.0ab

d 0.8ad 18.0ab

d 1.9ad

4.0 16.8abd 1.4b

e 15.6abd 1.6ab

d 11.8ad 0.6a

d 15.5bd 1.9ab

d

5.0 14.3abd 0.4a

d 18.8bd 1.9b

d ND 0.2ad 15.1a

d 0.5ad

Values are a reflection of experiments done in triplicate. L = lag time (hours); μ = maximum growth rate (1/hours x 10-2). Means in the same row (for the same kinetic parameter) with no superscripts (a,b,c) in common are significantly different (P <0.05). Means in the same column with no subscripts (d,e) in common are significantly different (P <0.05). ND = lag time not determined from DMFit software.

Bad slide

Maximum growth rate µMaximum growth rate µmaxmax at 37.5ºC at 37.5ºC

pH Strain N1100

Strain N1102

Strain N1139

ATCC 49025

3.0 1.4aab 1.8a

a 0.8aa 1.9a

a

4.0 1.4bb 1.6ab

a 0.6aa 1.9ab

a

5.0 0.4aa 1.9b

a 0.2aa 0.5a

a

μ = maximum growth rate (1/hours x 10-2). Means in the same row with no superscripts in common are significantly different (P <0.05). Means in the same column with no subscripts in common are significantly different (P <0.05). Values are a reflection of experiments done in triplicate.

Better slide

Don’t just

• Every talk needs an ending• Gives you a chance to summarize• People pay attention to conclusions

– But never use the words “conclusion” or “summary” and then keep going.

Thanks for your attention!