Courtesy of the Archives, Cal-Tech
Making ScientificPresentations
Yesterday I gave a colloquium.... [I] spoke loudly and looked at the audience and not the blackboard, although under the circumstances the blackboard seemed far more appealing than some of the people.
Lise MeitnerPhysicist
Linus Pauling
Presentations have several advantages over documents
Work can come alive for audience Work
Presenter can read audience and react
AB
C
C
D
Presenter receives instant reaction
! ? ! ?
Presentations also have several disadvantages
Speaker has limited chance to catch errors
? ? ?
Audience cannot reread text
has oneaudience
chanceto hear
Audience cannot look up background material
You begin preparing a scientific presentationby analyzing your constraints
audience
purpose occasion
In a scientific presentation, you have to juggle four aspects of style
StructureS upply plenum s for each liner panel allowfor independent flow controlVisual Aids
Archives, Fermi Lab
Delivery
Speech
As with documents, the structure of presentations should have clear beginnings, middles, and ends
Beginning
Ending
Middle
Beginnings prepare the audiencefor the work to be presented
Shows importanceShows importanceDefines workDefines work
Work = A + B
Maps presentationMaps presentation
A
B
CD
Gives backgroundGives background
The middle presents the workin a logical order
post-combustionmethods
combustionmethods
pre-combustion methods
In the middle, you make smooth transitions between major points
pre-combustionmethods
combustionmethods
post-combustionmethods
combustionmethods
The ending summarizes main pointsand places them in the big picture
point 1point 2point 3point 4
point 5point 6point 7point 8
big picture
point 1point 7
summary
In a formal presentation, the slidesreflect the structure
overall perspectivesummary
logical ordertransitions
ending
middle
beginningscopeimportancebackgroundmapping
In a scientific presentation, you have to juggle four aspects of style
StructureS upply plenum s for each liner panel allowfor independent flow controlVisual Aids
Archives, Fermi Lab
Delivery
Speech
Scenery and props serve as your supporting cast
slides Films
HandoutsDemonstrations
I could somehow see nothing all around me but the paper, and I felt as if my body was gone, and only my head was left.
Charles Darwin
DesigningPresentationSlides
Downstream of the combustor simulator is asection to test turbine vanes
Turbine VanesCombustor Simulator
Audiences remember more when youuse well-designed slides
Hear
See
Hear& See
6010 20 30 40 50
Recall (%)
No matter what type of projection you use,you must make certain decisions
What format to choose?
Excluded
IncludedWhat information to include?
Choose a format that is professional
Arial
BOOK ANTIQUA
Choose legible type
Avoid clutterwordswordswordswords
wordswordswords
words
Headline/body formats orient the audience
Body supportswith words
Body supportswith images
wordswords
words
Use a headline that succinctly statesthe idea of the slideHeadline
Body
No matter what type of projection you use,you must make certain decisions
What information to include?
Excluded
Included
What format to choose?
Include slides that accent important details
Neptune has three moons
Images
Six warmestyears ofcentury
198819871983198119801986
The world is warming
Results
Include slides that show organization
1. Topic A2. Topic BTopic A
Topic B
IntroductionTitleBeginning
Topic A
ATopic B
BMiddle
Conclusion
Summaryof A and BEnding
Methods to ReduceSulfur Dioxide EmissionsFrom Coal-Fueled Utilities
Cynthia SchmidtMechanical Engineering DepartmentUniversity of Texas
Three classes of methods exist forreducing emissions of sulfur dioxide
post-combustionmethods
combustionmethods
pre-combustion methods
The most effective combustion methodis an atmospheric fluidized bed
• 90% removal capability
• low capital cost—able to use in existing equipment
• high operating cost
• ability to use different grades of coal
separator
airinlet
cleanedexhaust
grid
By using these methods, coal utilitiescan greatly reduce SO2 emissions
40%40%
80%
90%
95%
80%
coal cleaning
coal switching
fluidized bed
absorption
adsorption
25 50 75
Percentage Reduction of SO2
Exclude details that the audiencedoes not need or cannot remember
Avoid filler information
Roentgen discovered x-raysin 1895. He found that a cathode-ray tube producedfluorescence in a distant plati-num-barium-cyanide screen.
Avoid complex math
(x +2) ln x
(x + 1) (x-1)2 2
2
Avoid complex images
DEAR-ATOR
HOTWELL
RGFAB
Avoid long lists• Corrosion• Acid rain• Toxic materials• Pulsed combustion• Energetic materials• Pyrogenic materials• Smog
In a scientific presentation, you have to juggle four aspects of style
StructureS upply plenum s for each liner panel allowfor independent flow controlVisual Aids
Archives, Fermi Lab
Delivery
Speech
Audience, purpose, and occasion determine the appropriate speech to give
Technicalspecialists
General technicalaudience
Non-technicalaudience
You have several choices for how you deliver your speech
Memorizing the Speech+ allows eye contact- difficult for long speeches- room for precision errors- no room for improvising
Reading From a Text+ ensures precision- does not sound natural- no room for improvising- hinders eye contact
Speaking From slides
+ insures organization+ allows eye contact+ allows improvising- some room for error
Winging It+ sounds natural- has much room for error
In a scientific presentation, you have to juggle four aspects of style
StructureS upply plenum s for each liner panel allowfor independent flow controlVisual Aids
Archives, Fermi Lab
Delivery
Speech
Delivery is the speaker’s interaction with the audience
Voice Stage PresenceMovements
Courtesy of the Archives, Cal-Tech
Making ScientificPresentations
Yesterday I gave a colloquium.... [I] spoke loudly and looked at the audience and not the blackboard, although under the circumstances the blackboard seemed far more appealing than some of the people.
Lise MeitnerPhysicist
Linus Pauling
