ORAL PRESENTATIONS:

A good oral presentation should define the problem or state the central question being addressed, indicate its importance, describe what was done, state what was found, and consider the broader implications of the findings. In a short presentation, it is not possible to cite all previous work, provide detailed descriptions of methods, or include all the data obtained.

Specific Suggestions
    1. Tell a unified story. Organize your talk around a central theme. Develop a clear line of thought that does not get lost in detail. Provide an ending that summarizes the main points, conclusions, and important issues raised by the material presented.
    2. Keep slides simple. Effective slides make a single main point.
    3. Do not include excessive information. The audience can only absorb a limited amount of information. Omit all but key methodological details. Save non-essential information for responding to questions in the discussion period.
    4. Slide preparation: 
      1. MEDIA IS A TOOL: NOT THE MESSAGE: Don't let the fancy capabilities of computers allow you to distract your audience from the point of your presentation.  Some flash is ok, but lots of moving text, animations, colors, sounds, and so forth distract the audience from the important message.
      2. Design your slides with your audience in mind - know the level of expertise of the audience.
      3. Minimize text. You should have no more than one item or sentence on a slide.
      4. Use colors with high contrast, including contrast with the background and adjacent colors. Preview the slides in the appropriate format. Colors that look good on the computer may be hard to read on a screen.
      5. Results are best presented in graphic form. Diagrams can be used to present research designs and study hypotheses. Keep graphs and diagrams simple.
    5. Avoid using tables. Tables tend to contain more information than can be located, read, and absorbed during the time they are projected.
    6. Take your time, an audience would rather hear a measured talk with limited information than lots of information quickly.  Make sure you speak with your specific audience in mind... if you are speaking to a general audience, you will probably need to define some terms or give more background information.  If you are speaking to a specialized audience, you can spend more time on the conceptual importance of your topic.
    7. End your talk gracefully, "Thank you, I can answer questions if there is time" with a look to the moderator is a suitable end.
    8. Have fun! An animated speaker is captivating.
    9. When you are asked questions, please repeat the question to the audience before you begin to answer it (they often have not heard it).  Often, you may not understand the question, ask for clarification if this happens.  For example:  "The question is about the fish, are you asking about the female's spots, or about the male's response to them?"