This lecture is part of an Advanced Topics in Information Systems seminar given at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

1. 2 December 2005
Advanced Topics in Information Systems
Tips for the Presentation
Prof. Beat Signer
Department of Computer Science
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
http://www.beatsigner.com

2. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 2February 21, 2017
Engage With Your Audience
 Talk to the audience and not to your laptop screen
 do not read your talk from paper
 Always know what is on the next slide
 enables more vivid transitions between slides
 A quick demo, movie or application screenshot
can often help to clarify an approach
 contact authors for additional material

3. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 3February 21, 2017
Use Available Resources and Tools
 Resources and tools that might be used
in addition to slideware
 overhead projector
 blackboard
 paper handouts
 laser pointer/highlighter
 ...

4. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 4February 21, 2017
Presentation of Your Topic
 Put the presented research paper in the right
context (topic)
 Do not just summarise the paper
 selection and focuss on important parts might be necessary due
to time constraints
 Investigate additional resources
 possibly use additional information (not from the paper)
in the introduction
 check the content that is referenced in the paper

5. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 5February 21, 2017
Presentation Content
 Use distinctive titles
 e.g. project name in title rather than five slides with the title
'Related Work'
 Do no overload your slides with long sentences
 audience cannot read overloaded slides and at the
same time listen to you
 Use graphical features carefully
 a fancy slide background might reduce the readability
 too many colours and different fonts can be distractive
 no "misuse" of animations or sounds
 Slides should support your talk rather than being a script
that you read from the screen

6. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 6February 21, 2017
Presentation Content ...
 Make sure that you do not have too much content
 rehearsal
 be ready to dynamically shorten your talk (e.g. optional slides)
 If you copy content from the paper (e.g. figures) make
sure that they are readable – otherwise redo them
 Avoid "empty" slides like the classical "Questions?" slide
at the end of a presentation!
 the last slide is likely to be shown during the entire Q&A session
and should be used for your give away message (conclusions)
 Prepare some backup slides which might support you
during the Q&A session or can be added if you finish too
early

7. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 7February 21, 2017
Delivering the Presentation
 Presentation style
 the audience will be more attentive if they see that you are
motivated to give the presentation
 be enthousiastic!
 think about your body language
- eye contact with the audience
 Preparation
 a good preparation gives you more confidence and freedom
during your presentation
 practice, practice, practice, ...
 check the equipment the week before you give your presentation
- does your laptop connect with the projector (resolution)

8. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 8February 21, 2017
How to Avoid Death By PowerPoint

9. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 9February 21, 2017
Some Tips for the Audience
 Of course the first and most important thing is that you
listen to the interesting talks and learn some new things
 Other things you might observe during the presentation
 is the structure of the talk clear?
 what about the presenter's presentation style
 even if you should not comment about these things, you might
always ask yourself how you might have done things differently or
learn new things from good presentations
 Ask questions and give comments after the presentation

10. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 10February 21, 2017
Homework
 Watch the presentation "Creating Effective
Slides: Design, Construction and Use in
Science" by Jean-luc Doumont for some
more tips
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meBXuTIPJQk
Jean-luc Doumont

11. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 11February 21, 2017
References
 G. Reynolds, Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas
on Presentation Design and Delivery, New Riders,
January 2008
 E.R. Tufte, The Cognitive Style of Power Point,
ISBN 978-0961392154, 2003
 J.-l. Doumont, The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Slides
are Not All Evil, Technical Communication 52(1),
February 2005
 http://web.mit.edu/5.95/readings/doumont-responds-to-tufte.pdf
 D. JP Phillips, How to Avoid Death By PowerPoint
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwpi1Lm6dFo

12. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 12February 21, 2017
References ...
 J.-l Doumont, Creating Effective Slides: Design,
Construction and Use in Science
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meBXuTIPJQk