Designing Effective Scientific Presentations

BIOS 313 3/29/06

Dr. Mary Purugganan

maryp@rice.edu

Cain Project in Engineering & Professional Communication

www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj

Topics We’ll Discuss

• Getting started

• Displaying text

• Displaying graphics

• Animating

• Presenting

• Critiquing sample slides

Getting Started

• Create a slide show that is an outline, not a script

• Use the slide show... to select important topics and issues

to organize content

to create a hierarchy

Getting Started

To select a design, ask yourself: What professional image do I want to

project?

In what type of room will I give my talk?

• Well-lit room: use light background / dark text and visuals

• Dimly-lit room: use dark background / light text and visuals

Getting Started

• Set up Slide Master Allows you to design the “look” of your slide

show

• Browse design templates Enables you to select pre-designed

presentation templates

• Create new slides Choose from 24 “master slide styles” to build

your show

Selecting Content

• Consider your audience!

• State problem/ question clearly & early

• Include significance--the big picture; why does it matter?

• Keep background relevant

Selecting Content, Part 2

• Explain experiments: include the how & the why! Hypothesis (WHY)

Method (remember audience) (HOW)

Show data and guide audience through (WHAT WAS OBSERVED)

• Draw conclusions (WHAT IT MEANS)

• Speculate about future investigations

Suggested Content

• Title: as concrete & accurate as possible (1 slide)

• Problem, background, significance (5-7 slides)

• Methods (2-4 slides)

• Results, conclusions (3-6 slides)

• Future investigations (1-2 slides)

Displaying Text

• Remember that your audience... skims each slide

looks for critical points, not details

needs help reading/ seeing text

• Help your audience by… Projecting a clear font

Using bullets

Using declarative titles

Using short phrases

Using grammatical parallelism

Project a Clear Font

• Serif: easy to read in printed documents Times New Roman, Palatino, Verdana

• Sans serif: easy to see projected across the room Arial, Helvetica, Geneva

Use Bullets

• Bullets help your audience to skim the slide

to see relationships between information

organize information in a logical way

• For example, this is Main Point 1, which leads to... Sub-point 1

• Further subordinated point 1

• Further subordinated point 2

Sub-point 2

Use declarative titles

• “Results” suggests the content area for a slide

• “Substance X upregulates gene Y” (with data shown below title) shows the audience what is observed

Use Short Phrases

• Use phrases in your slide show outline

• Generate phrases that make your point clearly & accurately

• Write complete sentences only in certain cases:

Hypothesis / problem statement

Quote

???

Use Grammatical Parallelism• Lists should be in same grammatical form--to help

audience skim phrases

• Not Parallel: Lysed cells in buffer

5 minutes centrifuging of lysate

Supernatant was removed

• Parallel: Cells were lysed in buffer

Lysate was centrifuged 5 minutes

Supernatant was removed

Displaying Visuals

• Incorporate visuals that enhance understanding Data: evidence for argument

Figures that enhance understanding of background, method, big picture, etc. (from WWW, published reviews, drawn yourself)

• Design easy-to-read visuals

• Draw attention to aspects of visuals

Simplify and Draw Attention

http://www.indstate.edu/thcme/mwking/tca-cycle.html

Displaying Visuals

Harvey et al. (2005) Cell 122:407-20

Choose Color Carefully

Cite others’ visuals

http://www.bioc.rice.edu/~shamoo/shamoolab.html

Harvey et al. (2005) Cell 122:407-20

Animating

• Custom animation allows you to animate text, visuals, or line work

• Custom animation should be used purposefully (and sparingly!) To aid in the audience’s ability to

comprehend your message

Not solely for aesthetic purposes

Animating

• Use professional animation methods for text (avoid fly in, typewriter, reverse order, etc.)

• Use mouse-click to advance

Presenting

• Delivery

• Handling questions

Stance and Posture Worst Practices

Block screen

Cross feet

Rock, sway, pace

Slouch

Lean

Best Practices Chin up

Feet under hips

Shoulders relaxed

Weight distributed

Knees slightly bent

Gestures to Avoid

Fidgeting Fingers

Pen or laser pointer

Pockets

Hair

Hands on hips

Crossing arms

Gripping podium

Clasping hands Fig leaf Behind back

Eye Contact

Worst practices Stare at screen Glance at floor or

ceiling Read slides or notes

Best practices Direct

Sustained

Distributed

Handle Questions

• Anticipate questions

• LISTEN

• Repeat or rephrase

• Watch body language

• Don’t bluff

• Wrap up well

Sample Slides

Features to consider:

• Text Fonts, phrases, parallelism

• Graphics Readability, drawing attention

• Slide design

• Organization/ hierarchy Titles, Bullets, arrangement of information, font

size

28

 

- codes for a component of a DNA repair enzyme system

- breast cancers cells - BRCAI protein is either absent or remains in the cytoplasm

Are there more BRCA genes to be found?

What about sporadic breast cancer?- don't appear to involve BRCA I or II- involves genes common to other cancers

What is BRCA I ?

The myocardium of control (left) shows necrosis (N) and fibrosis (F). The transplanted smooth muscle

cells (right) formed muscle-like tissue (T) .

Grafting smooth muscle cells into heart