How to know the occasion

Know the purpose of the presentation. There are many possible occasions, such as introducing your research ideas, talking about your preliminary results and future planning, or presenting the analysed results of your research, etc. They sometimes appear in single, or in combination. You should know what is required of the presenter, and to what extent. In any case, making a presentation is an opportunity provided for the benefit of your research and learning, so you would be better being aware of what you want to gain from it and what meaning it has for you.

Know how much time you are assigned. Be careful as the time you are given may include both the time for the oral presentation and discussion. Also, make sure to check information about whether there will be other presenters and how the presentations will be organized.

Know who the audience is. In many cases, this will be your instructor and TA, as well as your classmates. At times, several classes share one presentation session or an unspecified number of people may come to listen. Thus, it is necessary to adjust the contents of your presentation to suit the prior knowledge and interests of your audience.

Know the venue. In many cases, this may be your classroom, but you should double-check on information such as whether there will be microphones or if you can use a projector. Checking the room size and acoustics of the site as well as testing the visibility and /or brightness when the projector is on, is helpful for imagining how the presentation will be seen from the view point of audience.

How to structure your presentation

The basic structure of an academic presentation is the order background and aims ⇨ methods ⇨ results and discussion ⇨ conclusion, or questions/hypothesis ⇨ argument ⇨ conclusion (answer). Using this format will further promote mutual understanding of your audiences. Yet, if specific instructions are given in class, you should follow those.

Check what the main message of each section is and think about time allocation. For example, a 10-minute presentation can be divided into: 3 minutes for explaining the background and aims; 2 minutes for research methods; 4 minutes for results and discussion; and 1 minute for the conclusion. Adjust this according to the purpose of the occasion.

Adjust the amount of content for each section as appropriate. Make sure to take into consideration that reading speed and listening speed do not match.

Check the flow of the presentation as a whole. The order in which you conducted your research may not be the most easily understandable order for the audience. Even so, do not change the basic structure (see above).

Making handouts and slides

Separate into the parts that you will explain only orally, parts that you will include in your materials and explain orally, and parts that you will include only in your materials as references without oral explanation. Detailed information is best suited for handouts, while figures, tables, and other visual information is best suited for slides.

Keep in mind to make it simple. If the materials are made following the flow of the presentation, the audience can concentrate more on your presentation.

Include page numbers and figure/table numbers so that you can easily tell your audience where to refer while you talk.

Adjust the volume of information. If there is too much, it will become difficult for the audience to understand it; while if there is too little, it is not really informative. Aim to present for one minute per slide. Reduce the number of slides when you have a lot of time to present so that you can explain the contents thoroughly. You may slightly increase the number of slides if you are presenting for only 5 minutes or less. Think about the visibility and readability as well, for example, use a Gothic font for the body text.

Be careful not to leave out essential information. For example, it is necessary to include the scales and units for the X- and Y-axes in graphs. Be accurate with the citation and reference.

What to think about when practising your presentation

Make sure you keep to time. If you find it too long or too short, you need to adjust the volume of contents and time allocation for each section. Nervous presenters tend to speak too fast, so keep an eye on the time while practicing.

Help your audience to understand the contents by telling them when to look at the handouts or slides. For example, you can use phrases such as ‘take a look at the bottom of page 3 in the handout’ or ‘I am moving on to explain the figure on the right of this slide’.

Try not to look only at the computer screen or the materials in your hand, but also look around the whole room and check the audience’s reactions. Keep in mind to adjust the volume and tone of your voice according to the venue and audience.

Try to be aware of your speaking style. Think about the impression you give with the pauses, eye contact, facial expressions, posture, body language, etc. If you make an audio or video recording of yourself during practice, this will help with reviewing yourself objectively. It might also be helpful for you to practice with your classmates and give each other feedback.

How to think out possible questions and prepare better answers for them

Apply a critical mind-set to the contents of your presentation and think about the questions your audience might ask. Questions might be raised about precise definitions, connections with other theories, or you may be asked for concrete examples. Think about such questions and prepare answers, together with improving the contents of your presentation.

Prepare short explanations for the parts that you had to exclude because of time restrictions. Make sure also to prepare related materials and data for reference.

Check with your classmates whether or not there are parts that are difficult to understand or unclear in your presentation.