Thesis Orientation Seminar

Preparing Slides and Other Visual Aids

Why use data projection? Immediacy Easy to edit / merge presentations Lower running costs Multimedia, therefore

more interesting / interactive / vibrant

Slide elements At the start decide on the essential

elements, title, header, logo Sparingly, ‘less is more’, introduce the

other ingredients Make sure they don’t overwhelm the

design Never use anything for its own sake

Basis of DesignThe basis of design is the bringing together of various elements into one given area to achieve an interaction that will communicate a message within a given context

Most frequent problems Inappropriate fonts, lettering, layout Inappropriate use of colour Poor charts and graphs Poor quality digital/digitised images Video incompatibilities

Serif fonts Roman Italic Bold Bold Italic‘Times’

‘Garamond’

Sans Serif fonts Regular Oblique Condensed Condensed Oblique Bold Bold Oblique

‘Arial’‘Helvetica’

How many fonts? No more than two styles of font One for headings and sub-headings One for text and annotation

More than this and your designwill become confusing, especiallyif you have a lot of information to impart

What point size…?

Headings and sub-headings28pt – 48pt

Text and annotation18pt – 32pt

The point system was introduced in France by Pierre Fournier in the early 18th century to standardise type casting

Size matters 36 – 48-point complete legibility

32-point text (and bigger) a clear choice 24 – 28-point acceptable 18-point strains the eyes 14-point far too small 12-point pointless

Text animation The animation itself should not be

the point of interest…

The eye reads left to right – don’t force it to do otherwise If the effect is a gimmick,the audience switch off

Bullets Keep each bullet to one line, two at

the most. Limit the number of bullets in a

screen to six, four if there is a large title, logo, picture, etc. This is known as “cueing” You want to “cue” the audience in on

what you are going to say.

Bullets If you crowd too much

text, the audience will not read it. Too much text makes it

look busy and is hard to read.

Our reading speed does not match our listening speed; hence, they confuse instead of reinforcing each other.

Text animation Concentrate on one point at a time Using a ‘wipe down’ or ‘wipe left’

is a natural progression down the screen

Caps and Italics Do not use all capital letters

Makes text hard to read Conceals acronyms Denies their use for EMPHASIS

Italics Used for “quotes” Used to highlight thoughts or ideas Used for book, journal, or magazine titles

Animation and sound Ignore sound options!

Once might be amusingTwice or more gets irritating

…and PowerPoint has plenty of other silly options

Less is more…! Not too many bullet points…! Not too many bullet points…! Not too many bullet points…! Not too many bullet points…! Not too many bullet points…! Not too many bullet points…! Not too many bullet points…! Not too many bullet points…! Not too many bullet points…!

Use of colour To group or separate To emphasise or suppress To create a mood To influence or suggest

Use of colourSubtleties often more effective…

…than bold variations in colour

Backgrounds and textPale backgrounds – saturated text

Group 19 male1 female19–24 yrs

Group 23 male4 female25–34 yrs

Group 35 male9 female35–44 yrs

Backgrounds and textDark backgrounds – pastel text

Group 19 male1 female19–24 yrs

Group 23 male4 female25–34 yrs

Group 35 male9 female35–44 yrs

Saturated colours do not create emphasis

Colour themesBlue: calm, professional, conservative,

soothing for long periods

Green: off-beat, uncertain, independent

Red: aggressive, difficult for extended concentration, use for effect only

My Colour PaletteMy Colour PaletteMy Colour PaletteMy Colour PaletteMy Colour PaletteMy Colour PaletteMy Colour PaletteMy Colour PaletteMy Colour Palette

Colour Palettes

Colour Tips Set up a colour palette for each

presentation Only use colours from that palette Separate out important information

with bolder colours Use different tones of one colour for

emphasis

The Color Wheel Colors separated by

another color are contrasting colors (also known as complementary)

Adjacent colors (next to each other) harmonize with one another. e.g. Green and Yellow

The Color Wheel Colors that are

directly opposite from one another are said to clash.

These provide readability - e.g. yellow on blue.

Illustrations/ Graphics Use only when needed, otherwise

they become distracters instead of communicators

They should relate to the message and help make a point

Ask yourself if it makes the message clearer

Simple diagrams are great communicators

Correctformat…

Scanned from 35mm slide

Modern graphics Excellent resolution Charts and graphs generated

within PowerPoint or ‘imported’

Modern graphics

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1996 1997 1998 1999

Software ASofware B'R' Software

Clip Art

Very cute; everyone has seen them…

Clip Art

Digital / digitised images Modern cameras are excellent Become familiar with scanner

software Major factors are colour fidelity, size

and image resolution Image libraries & databases will

dominate as a teaching resource…

Video Short clips can be very effective Format is critical Lengthy clips take up a lot of disk

space and bloat a presentation(consider Windows Media Player or QuickTime or Real Player)

Five key design tips Stick to the grid principle Use palette colours only Use two or fewer fonts Use three or fewer images Use five or fewer bullet points

YOU Do not use the media to hide you The audience came to see you The media should enhance the

presentation, not BE the presentation If all you are going to do is read from the

slides or overheads, then just send them the slides

If your slides will just present your documentation verbatim, forget the slides

Avoidance of “Classic” Mistakes - Do’s and Don’ts During Defense

Do’s and Don’ts Demonstrate command of your material

Appear knowledgeable about what you're saying DO: Speak confidently; provide specific examples DON'T: Read/memorize a prepared speech

Demonstrate interest in your audienceCare about getting your point across DO: Keep your presentation simple, logical and well-

organized DON'T: Exceed time constraints; better to be brief

than boring

Demonstrate effective presentation skillsControl body language, facial expressions, and voice Although we can choose our words consciously,

we sometimes give ourselves away unconsciously because of non-verbal language

Your basic eye, head and hand gestures can signal either positive or negative impressions

Body Language DO: Keep your body language natural; try

to relax; use gestures where appropriate Smooth vs. Jerky movement Constant gestures (of the right type) vs. no

gestures

DON'T: Bury your hands in your pockets; shake visibly while pointing at audiovisual aids; touch your face, forehead, chin, etc.

Facial Expressions"The eyes are the mirror of the soul. The entire face is really a mirror of your true feelings.”

Facial Expressions DO:

Try to smile--look like you're enjoying yourself

Maintain eye contact with your audience

DON'T: Stare at the floor, at your presentation

materials, or off into space. Look scared or unhappy.

Voice DO:

Vary your voice; pace your presentation appropriately; speak loud enough Use pauses occasionally, where most effective

DON'T: Present in a monotone; race through your talk; speak inaudibly. Resort to use of fillers (examples: y'know, er, um)

to keep presentation moving

Tone of voice and body language accounts for 65 per cent of what’s communicated.

Words account for 35 per cent of the message that’s communicated

Do’s Look and sound enthused Always maintain eye contact with your

audience Be Consistent in Thought, Word, & Deed! Make back-up copies frequently Speak clearly and loudly enough for all to

hear Listen intently to comments, questions

and opinions

Do’s Demonstrate command of your material Practice the presentation. A lot. Prepare Prepare …and prepare

What could go wrong during Q & A… Only one student is answering the

questions Conflicting answers of students Students not knowing the answer Students fighting in front of the

panelists

CONFIDENCE BUILDERS With better preparation comes

decreased anxiety Knowing your talk inside-out increases speaker

confidence Familiarizing yourself with the presentation

environment (classroom/boardroom/auditorium) and audiovisual equipment ahead of time decreases stress

CONFIDENCE BUILDERS With better preparation comes

decreased anxiety As your public speaking frequency increases,

your anxiety decreases Rehearsing your presentation in front of a live

audience (family/friends/professional colleagues) increases speaker assurance