English Communication for Scientists

Unit 4: Giving Oral Presentations

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Writing or Speaking for Specific Audiences

4.2 Creating Presentation Slides

John's slides

For his presentation, John created 19 slides, including two he does not comment orally (the title slide at the beginning and the acknowledgments at the end) and two that communicate the presentationâ€™s structure. For a 15-minute conference presentation, this number of slides will likely work well (about one slide per minute), but fewer or more may work, too, depending on how these slides are designed and used.

Presentation slides are optional. A presentation is not a set of slides: It is about someone having something to say to an audience. Creating slides is therefore less important than planning the presentation, structuring it, and delivering it well. These tasks should be your priorities, so make sure you reserve enough time for them in your preparation. If you do opt to support your presentation with slides, do them right: Design them so they get a message across to your audience in a visual way.

Slides are for the audience. They should not be designed as a memory aid for the speaker. If you feel you need a tool to help you decide or remember what to say, create notes for yourself, but do not project these in front of the audience. Slides that are created for the speaker tend to be overcrowded and cryptic.

Marie's slides

Because her presentation involves spatial processes (imaging, translating, rotating), Marie decided on a dynamic approach for her visual aids, with items appearing progressively on the slide (e.g., to show step-by-step procedures). For this approach to work well, she had to ensure sharp synchronization between the slide show and her spoken discourse, so she rehearsed accordingly and used a remote control. Also, to provide a sense of cohesion within each of her main points, she opted for a color coding: she selected a dominant color for each point, showed this color as a vertical band on each slide, and used it for her illustrations. She clarified her color scheme in her structure slides (preview, transitions, review).

Slides are for getting messages across. On each slide, state your message as a short sentence (on a maximum of two lines, corresponding to about 10–15 words), normally in the title area. Use a full sentence with a subject and a verb — for example, instead of writing "Evolution of the temperature as a function of the time" (the what), make a point such as "The temperature increased much faster than anticipated" (the so what). Then develop this message in the rest of the slide.

Slides are visual aids. The audience cannot listen to what you say and read text at the same time, except for a few words or a short statement. Because of this limitation, be as visual as possible as you develop the message you stated in the title area. Still, ensure that whatever material you include — whether verbal or visual — stands on its own. If you remove key labels or shorten texts to a few cryptic words, your audience will not know what you mean.

As in other documents, language mistakes in slides can distract the audience from your content. Revise your slides as carefully as you revise your papers.

Unit 4

Structuring Your Oral Presentation

Creating Presentation Slides

Delivering Your Oral Presentation

Answering Questions

Summary

Test Your Knowledge

Learning Activities