Slides from a talk on how to give a good scientific seminar using slides. For details (and a video of the talk), see: http://occamstypewriter.org/scurry/2011/05/28/the-best-seminar/
6. Beginning
Introduce yourself (title slide with your name)
Introduce the topic
Set the context for your audience
Give them the time to catch up with you
Don’t be afraid to insult their intelligence
7. Beginning
Introduce yourself (title slide with your name)
Introduce the topic
Set the context for your audience
Give them the time to catch up with you
Don’t be afraid to insult their intelligence
Tell the audience where are you going
8. The middle
Keep the story simple
selective but not misleading
vary the chronology?
save details for the paper (please!)
9. The middle
Keep the story simple
selective but not misleading
vary the chronology?
save details for the paper (please!)
Clear links between elements
10. The middle
Keep the story simple
selective but not misleading
vary the chronology?
save details for the paper (please!)
Clear links between elements
Long talks - break up the flow
11. The middle
Keep the story simple
selective but not misleading
vary the chronology?
save details for the paper (please!)
Clear links between elements
Long talks - break up the flow
Make good use of slides (see later)
12. The end
Think about what you want to leave with
your audience
Summarise main messages v. briefly
Acknowledgements
15. Stephen’s 3 golden rules
1. Less is more
2. Less is more
3. Less is more
16. Keep it interesting
Be yourself - talk to us
Be enthusiastic - but naturally so
Were you excited/depressed? Tell us!
Be dramatic - sense of suspense?
18. PowerPointers
Use visual aids - but don’t hide behind them
Powerpoint - make it work for you
Learn how to use the program
Version compatibility (PC-PC; Mac-PC)
Plan your slides carefully
Colour scheme
Text
Figures
19. PowerPointers
Use visual aids - but don’t hide behind them
Powerpoint - make it work for you
Learn how to use the program
Version compatibility (PC-PC; Mac-PC)
Plan your slides carefully
Colour scheme
Text
Figures
http://www.bio.ph.ic.ac.uk/~scurry/Tips.html
20. Colour schemes
Use high-contrast colour schemes
Projected images have lower contrast
than your computer
Use a consistent colour scheme
Guide the audience - do not distract
21. White backgrounds are nice and clean
(a n d m a y pr o v i d e s o m e i llu m i n at i o n o f yo u r n ote s)
Choose your text colours with care:
Black is safe
Dark Blue is fine and very “Imperial”
Red is OK in moderation
Yellow would be a mistake
So would light green...
N.B. White is a good choice if you are printing slides as handouts
22. Blue backgrounds are a personal choice
But you have to be more careful about text colours
Black is not a good idea
Dark Blue is very “Imperial” but no use here
Red is a disaster!!! Green is not great!
Don’t EVER use magenta on blue
Yellow works well
So does light pastel green (or orange)
23. Dark blue or black may be OK...
But keep thinking about those text colours...
Black is hopeless
Dark Blue is very “Imperial” but still no use here
Red may be OK - but use sparingly (for emphasis)
Yellow works well
So does light pastel green (or pale orange)
24. Slide titles: keeping on track
Titles
give a brief statement of content
provide useful cues
25. Text issues
Don’t put too much text. It is really not necessary to
use whole sentences and you should try to avoid
ending up just reading the slides to people who can
see and read them for themselves. This practice tends
to annoy the audience because you are implying that
they are illiterate.
26. Text issues
Don’t put too much text. It is really not necessary to
use whole sentences and you should try to avoid
ending up just reading the slides to people who can
see and read them for themselves. This practice tends
to annoy the audience because you are implying that
they are illiterate.
Use bullet points - capture the essence
27. Text legibility
Make sure the text is big enough
This is 48 pt - same as the title
This is 36 pt - same as top bullet
This is 30 pt - minimum size for 6 slides/page handouts
This is 24 pt
This is 18 pt - getting a bit small
This is 14 pt - use this a lot and the audience will turn off
NB - actual point size may vary from
Mac to PC (sizes shown are for a Mac)
29. Figure size - a
big issue
Much better -
use the whole
screen - and
add labels!
30. Figure size - a
big issue
Ser
489
Much better -
use the whole
screen - and Lys
add labels! 414
Tyr 411
Arg 410 Indoxyl
Sulphate
Binding of indoxyl
sulphate to drug
site 2 in HSA
33. Show the essentials only
Don’t use figures
from papers
without trimming
the fat
Include citations if data is published:
Simpson et al. (2004)
Structure, 12, 1631-42
34. Show the essentials only
Edit the picture to focus on your data
Add more labels if required
Protein Concentration (µM)
Bound
Free
Simpson et al. (2004)
Structure, 12, 1631-42
37. Other technical issues
Animating elements on slides
Powerful but open to abuse
Video - use with care
Difficult to move between machines
38. Other technical issues
Animating elements on slides
Powerful but open to abuse
Video - use with care
Difficult to move between machines
Animated transitions
use judiciously
39. Take home messages
Think about your purpose
and your audience
Stories please
Less is more
Attention to visual detail
Notas do Editor
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Experiment - put the end first?\n
Experiment - put the end first?\n
Experiment - put the end first?\n
Break up the flow - use summaries, switch tack - demonstrations, involve the audience, tell an anecdote\n
Break up the flow - use summaries, switch tack - demonstrations, involve the audience, tell an anecdote\n
Break up the flow - use summaries, switch tack - demonstrations, involve the audience, tell an anecdote\n
Break up the flow - use summaries, switch tack - demonstrations, involve the audience, tell an anecdote\n