Instructions for Crafting Presentations
In the academic world, presenting research findings is a crucial skill, particularly during university symposiums. As a Natural Sciences Correspondent, Rebecca Cho shares some key strategies to ensure your research is accessible, memorable, and professionally communicated.
Clear Communication of Main Points
The focus should be on simplifying your message by concentrating on the research question, main findings, and their significance. Avoid overwhelming your audience with methodological details. Use your oral presentation or voice-over to fill in the specifics if needed.
Organized Visuals
A well-structured presentation tells a coherent story from introduction/background through methods, results, and conclusions. Maintain a natural flow, typically reading left to right and top to bottom.
Limit text and use visuals to illustrate results and add visual interest. Keep text concise, ideally 300-800 words on a poster, using bullet points or short paragraphs. Make key information prominent, with your title largest, followed by your name and affiliation, then body text. Include references and acknowledgments as appropriate.
Audience Engagement
Practice is essential to avoid simply reading from your poster or slides. Practice speaking naturally and confidently to engage your audience. This not only helps manage time effectively but also calms nerves and prepares for speaking to larger groups.
Practice sessions can help identify verbose sections, clarify topic-specific vocabulary, and improve body language. You can practice with friends, family, or by scheduling an appointment with the Writing Center.
Preparing for Citations and Formatting
When citing or referencing your presentation externally, include presenter names, conference name, date, location, and description of the presentation type, as per APA style guidelines.
Presentations are often necessary during undergraduate years for coursework or individual research pursuits. They are featured at events such as the Junior Paper (JP), the Freshmen Research Conference, and Princeton Research Day. A typical presentation includes an introduction, background information, research question, methods and data sources, results and analysis, conclusions, and future investigations.
By following these guidelines, you can effectively present your research at university symposiums, conveying your passion for the topic and contributing to a meaningful exchange of ideas.
- To make your Junior Paper stand out, focus on simplifying the research question, main findings, and their significance for your intended audience, using clear language and visuals that aid in understanding.
- In the process of learning and improving presentation skills for self-development and education-and-self-development, practice engaging the audience instinctively, avoid lengthy narratives, and utilize the Writing Center for enhancing communication and clarity.
