Nucleic Acids in Medicine & Biotechnology
CHEM 90628
Spring 2022
Scientific Presentations
April 4, 2022
Lecture
Looking ahead
Mini-Grant Proposals
• April 8th : Third draft (Peer)
• April 13th : FINAL version due at 5:00 PM
• April 25th : Review Panel (Final Exam)
Student Presentations
• April 11th & 22nd
Looking ahead All articles are
posted in Sakai
If you switch dates, please let me know so class knows
which articles to read in advance To be a good
writer, you need to
be a good reader:
pay attention to
Monday (4/11) will be student presentations #1 & #2
word choice,
• Please read papers before class
sentences,
• Ask each presenter at least one question
paragraphs
Bloopers by
Ariel Thelander authors?
Vita Zhang
Looking ahead
Friday (4/22) will be student presentations #3 & #4
• Please read papers before class
• Ask each presenter at least one question
Hailey Sanders
Eman Hassan
Scientific presentations Outline of subtopics
• Resources
• Model Talk
• Format
• Psychology
• Slide Content
• Delivery
• Other Tips
Scientific presentations Resources
• iBiology is a great resource
Scientific presentations Resources
Advice was distilled from mainly the following resources:
https://www.ibiology.org/professional-development/power-point-slide-design/
https://www.ibiology.org/nrmn-resources/oral-presentations-using-slides-effectively/
https://www.ibiology.org/techniques/visual-communication-biology/
Scientific presentations Resources
Advice was distilled from mainly the following resources:
assertion-evidence.com
Scientific presentations Model Talk
What are the goals of
a presentation?
What is your pet
peeve?
Watch “Model Talk”
What “makes” and
“breaks” this talk?
Why was it effective
(or not)?
After talk, discuss
these points with a
partner and then we’ll
discuss as a class
Scientific presentations Format
"Tell them what you are going to tell them,
tell them,
and then tell them what you told them.”
Does this framework seem familiar?
Goals of Presentation: to be understood, remembered, and credible
Scientific presentations Psychology
Written words and spoken words are processed by the same region of brain. If
audience has to process too many spoken words while reading slides, then
cognitive overload occurs and audience cannot recall information
Images processed in a different region of brain
Best comprehension and recall when image is coupled with a short takehome message
Scientific presentations Slide content
Powerpoint’s defaults are sub-optimal for scientific presentations and contribute
to the common downfalls of a presentation:
• Too much text
• Too cluttered
• Can’t read text (e.g. axes of plot)
FYI: revised powerpoint templates available at assertion-evidence.com
Scientific presentations Slide content
Build your talk on MESSAGES, not on topics
Scientific presentations Slide content
Build your talk on MESSAGES, not on topics
Scientific presentations Slide content
Build your talk on MESSAGES (i.e. conclusions, what you discovered, what you want
audience to takeaway), not on topics (e.g. introduction, methods, name of assay
performed)
Support your message Each Cas9 nuclease domain cleaves one DNA strand
with VISUAL evidence
(e.g. figure, plot, table),
not bullet lists
• Animate / reveal parts
when ready (walk
audience through
results)
• Bullet lists are not
needed if you know
your research (shows
ownership). Yes, you
must rehearse your
talk in order to fashion
sentences on the spot
• Leave white space
between text
Scientific presentations Slide content
Build your talk on MESSAGES (i.e. conclusions, what you discovered, what you want
audience to takeaway), not on topics (e.g. introduction, methods, name of assay
performed)
Support your message
with VISUAL evidence
(e.g. figure, plot, table),
not bullet lists
• Animate / reveal parts
when ready (walk
audience through
results)
• Bullet lists are not
needed if you know
your research (shows
ownership). Yes, you
must rehearse your
talk in order to fashion
sentences on the spot
• Leave white space
between text
Scientific presentations Slide content
Use this same "formula” for the title slide
• Title slide: Use caps for first, last and important words, center
• Slides in body of talk: capitalize slide title like a sentence (it’s what
we’re used to reading), left margin
• Include visual (not just text as in powerpoint’s default)
The title slide is a critical time
• Tell them what you’re going to tell them!
• Audience will decide if they will be able to follow talk
• Need to give them a hook to continue listening (what’s the major
research question)
Scientific presentations Slide content
Introduction/Background: what details are essential to telling story (results)?
One of my pet peeve’s: telling us the obvious
Scientific presentations Slide content
Scientific presentations Slide content
Q&A slide: have visuals for each takehome message (~3 total)
Questions?
Scientific presentations Delivery
• Slides are props or visual aids (avoid reading from slides)
• Best presenters speak from what they know (little turning between slides and
audience)
• Audience must believe you so show ownership of information
• Q&A: Although I don’t know…., I can tell you…. (getting questions is good!)
• How to handle nervousness?
• Think positively
• Imagine success
• Arrive early to resolve any potential technical issues (e.g.
computer/projector, slide advancer, microphone, laser pointer, movie)
• How to build confidence?
Scientific presentations Delivery
How to build confidence?
1. Internal
• PREPARATION
• Strong Content: Practice in front of your peers
• Quiet and solitude, focus before talk
2. What you project
• Start strong
• Arrive early to resolve technical issues
• Meet audience
• When you take stage, stand tall and smile
• Memorize first sentence (or your lines for first slide) so that you do
not start with “uh” or “um”
• Know what comes next (transition before you advance slide shows
ownership)
• Thank audience so they have opportunity to clap hands before asking
you questions
Scientific presentations Delivery
Scientific presentations Other tips
• Be mindful of color schemes
• Use white background, black font (great contrast, yellow can be difficult
to see on white)
• Projectors vary
• Color blindness
• Avoid ND powerpoint template (added colors and objects that take up space)
• Be consistent with caps (especially slide headers), color schemes,
terminology, etc. throughout slides
• Avoid sophisticated animation schemes (“appearance/disappearance” is fine
but anything else may make some audience members nauseous)
• Do not include unnecessary slides. Ask yourself if slide will contribute to goals
of presentation (understood, memorable). If you don’t need a slide, insert a
blank slide so audience focuses on you (command attention by moving to
another part of room)
• For hour-long seminars, you are part entertainer
• Some can tell jokes
• Some are better at telling stories
Scientific presentations Other tips
• Example: Jennifer Doudna (IGI talk delivered in 2017)
• Reminders for your presentation
• “Tell them what you are going to tell them, ….”
• Text in slide header and rest of slide filled with visual
• NO outline slide
• Timing
Questions???
