Post on 29-Jun-2015
Jeffrey Robens, PhD Senior Research Consultant
Education Group Leader
Effectively Presenting Your Research
Hiroshima University
16 November 2014
Effective communicator
• Importance of presenting your work
• Present effective posters
• Prepare clear oral presentations
• Professional presentation skills
Importance of presenting your work
Section 1
Customer Service Presenting your work Research goals
What are your goals?
Your goal should be to share your work with others in your field
• Publish articles • Poster presentations • Oral presentations
Meetings/ conferences
Customer Service Presenting your work
When should you present your work?
Before you publish?
After you publish?
BOTH!
Customer Service Presenting your work
Presenting before you publish
Advantages
Identify new trends Meet similar researchers
Get advice Identify problems
Customer Service Presenting your work Identify problems early
Unclear aims Methodological
problems
Unclear figures Missing data
Unclear relevance
Lack of interest
“Why is this clinically important?”
Lack of interest in your published article
Customer Service Presenting your work
Presenting after you publish
Advantages
Actively promote your article
Advice on future directions
Networking with researchers
Networking with journal editors
Poster presentations
Section 2
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations
Benefits of poster presentations
Gives you the opportunity to interact with other researchers and clinicians
Allows you to share pre-published results with your peers
Allows you to discuss one-on-one with other researchers about your study
• More interactive than oral presentations • Improve discussing your research in English • Help build international collaborations
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations Poster layout
Logo Short Descriptive Title of Your Research
Authors and Affiliations
Introduction
Acknowledgements
Results
Methods References
Discussion Results
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 3 Fig. 6
Model
Aims
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations
What’s wrong with this poster?
Title and Authors
Asymmetrical Not practical for reading Not aesthetic (pleasing to the eye,美的)
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations
Poster layout – Symmetry
Title and Authors
Asymmetry
Title and Authors
Horizontal symmetry
Title and Authors
Horizontal & vertical symmetry
Title and Authors
Diagonal symmetry
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations Poster formatting
Colors
• 2–3 colors maximum • Light background with dark letters
• Title: 85 pt • Authors: 50 pt • Headings: 36–44 pt • Text: 24–34 pt
• Read from 1.5 m • Use sans serif font
(e.g., Arial; not Serif)
Font
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations Preparing your poster
Important points to include
Not necessary
Brief introduction General methodology Results Brief Discussion
Abstract Detailed methods Many references
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations Brief introduction
Why your work should be done
Current state of the field Important clinical problem State your objectives
Keep it short 1–3 paragraphs 200–300 words
Illustrations Use schematics or models to help
explain your hypothesis
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations General methodology
Briefly describe methodology in logical order
Don’t include specific details (e.g., related to diagnostic tests)
Use flow charts and illustrations for clarity
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations Results
Most of your poster
Large and clearly labeled figures
Figure legends Should explain technical details as
well as factually explain results
Image quality 300 vs 72 ppi CMYK vs RGB
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations Figures
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations Figures
Detection of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) in both young and adult gastritis patients. EBV was detected via in situ hybridization. Samples were counter-stained with hematoxylin and imaged at 40x magnification. EBV infection was found in 3.8% and 5.1% of young and adult patients, respectively. Across infected samples, EBV was detected (arrows) in the nuclei of 5–15% of gastric mucosal cells in both young and adult patients. No significant differences in EBV infection were observed between young and adult samples. (Scale bar = 20 μM).
Modified from: de Souza et al. (2008) BMC Gastroenterol. 2014; 14: 179.
Clear indicators
Title of the experiment
Brief methodology
Key findings
Young Adult
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations
Data aligned and formatted
Table formatting
Muñoz et al. New Engl J Med. 2003;348:518−527.
Clear and concise table caption
Abbreviations defined
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations Conclusions
Summarize key findings/implications
Use bullet points for emphasis
Illustrate your model with a schematic
Do not place too low on the poster
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations Example poster
Clear title
Concise Introduction
Schematics
Graphical Methods
Large figures with clear
figure legends
Bullet point Conclusions with model
Contact info
Coverage and Staffing Plan
Poster presentations
Additional tips
Export as PDF for printing
Distribute A4-sized copies
Include contact information
Prepare 30-second speech
Present in 3–5 minutes
Encourage discussion
Section 3
Oral presentations
Oral presentations Comparing manuscripts and presentations
Time
Flow of information
Not limited Readers can take
their time
Limited Limited attention
No control Readers can skip
sections
Control Audience has to
listen to everything
Manuscript Presentation
Oral presentations Telling a story
Beginning Introduction
Middle Methods/figures
End Conclusion
Oral presentations Beginning
Brief introduction
Background information
Aims of your study
Use pictures and diagrams
Oral presentations Example
• Lumenal structures (bile canaliculi, BC) between hepatocytes are difficult to maintain in vitro
• Sandwich culture configurations promote BC maturation
• Intracellular mechanisms unclear
AIM: Determine if intracellular tension promotes or maintains BC maturation in vitro
Actomyosin Activity
Actomyosin Activity
Oral presentations Middle
Methods
Flow chart or schematic
Figures
Important results
Oral presentations Example
Seed primary rat hepatocytes (d1)
Collagen overlay (d2)
Treat cells with inhibitors (d3)
Fix cells (d4)
Confocal microscopy
Oral presentations Figures
Main limitation? Space!
Only choose most important data
Organize clearly
Oral presentations Selecting important data
Wang et al. J Med Case Rep. 2014; 14: 149.
A patient with partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection presenting
with pulmonary hypertension
Severe tricuspid regurgitation with dilation of the right ventricle (RV) and right atrium (RA)
Pressure gradient between RV and RA
Oral presentations Selecting important data
Wang et al. J Med Case Rep. 2014; 14: 149.
Severe tricuspid regurgitation with dilation of the right ventricle (RV) and right atrium (RA)
Oral presentations Selecting important data
Wang et al. J Med Case Rep. 2014; 14: 149.
Pressure gradient between RV and RA
Oral presentations Black and white images
Want et al. BMC Cell Biol. 2011;12:49.
Often helpful to display images in a dark room
Oral presentations Selecting important data
Modified from: Go et al. New Engl J Med. 2004;351:1296.
Characteristic Total Cohort (N=1,120,295)
≥ 60 ml/min/1.73 m2
(N=924,136)
< 60 ml/min/1.73 m2
(N=196,159)*
Age (yr) 52.2 ± 16.3 49.1 ± 15.1 66.6 ± 13.0
Female sex (%) 54.6 53.4 60.2
Ethnic group
White 50.9 47.2 68.6
Black 7.4 7.2 5.3
Hispanic 5.9 6.3 4.1
Asian 8.1 8.5 6.7
Mixed 2.4 2.4 2.8
Other 25.3 28.4 12.5
Medical history
Coronary heart disease
6.3 4.5 17.8
Stroke 2.6 1.7 8.3
Peripheral arterial disease
1.8 1.1 6.7
Chronic heart failure
2.1 1.0 19.8 * estimations
Important
Oral presentations Often graphs are better than tables
Modified from: Go et al. New Engl J Med. 2014;351:1296.
0
5
10
15
20
25
Coronary heartdisease
Stroke Peripheralarterial disease
Chronic heartfailure
Healthy
Kidney disease
Perc
ent
of
pat
ien
ts w
ith
at
leas
t
on
e ca
rdio
vasc
ula
r ev
ent
Readable axes!
Oral presentations End
Conclusions
Summary and clinical implications
Future directions
How is this being further developed?
Oral presentations Slide layout
Font
• Sans serif (e.g., Arial; not Serif) • 40 pt for titles • 30+ pt for major points • 24+ pt for minor points
Layout • Limit 8 lines of text per slide • Use bullet points, not sentences • High contrast colors
Oral presentations
Contrasting colors, easy to read
Simple and organized
For information, not decoration
For pictures, use compressed images
Distracting
Lack of contrast = difficult to read
Graphics
Oral presentations
Audience cannot read ahead
Focus the attention of your audience
Keep it simple: appear, fade, wipe
Do not distract from your information!
Animation
Presentation skills
Section 4
Presentation skills Before you present…
Most important thing you can do…
Practice
Learn your presentation, don’t read it
Don’t memorize, these are your ideas
Practice alone and with others, record yourself
Practice builds confidence!
Presentation skills Presentation tips – Appear confident
Non-verbal
Use hand gestures
Make eye contact Always face
your audience
Smile!
Stand upright
Don’t be stiff, move naturally
Presentation skills Presentation tips – Speaking style
Verbal
Avoid filler words (“eeto”)
Pause for emphasis
Speak slowly
Show enthusiasm
Vary tone and pitch
Don’t talk to the screen
Presentation skills Start positive
Introduction
Thank the organizers
Opening comments
Start your presentation
“I would like to thank [organizer] for kindly inviting me here today.”
“I’m very happy to be able to speak to you today.”
“Today, I would like to talk about...”
Never apologize for your English or being nervous
Presentation skills Figures – Guide the audience
Describing data/figures
Introduce the figures
Talking about the data
Focus on important information
“Now, I’d like to show you data from our recent experiments.”
“Here, you can see...”
“I’d like to draw your attention to...”
Presentation skills Finishing your presentation
Conclusions
Main conclusions
Thank the audience
Acknowledgments
“In conclusion, the main findings of this study are...”
“Thank you for your attention today.”
“I’d like to thank the people who were involved in this project.”
“I’d now be happy to answer any questions that you may have.”
Invite questions
Presentation skills Answering questions
1. Thank the audience member
2. Understand the question
3. Repeat the question
4. Answer the question (be concise!)
5. Ensure you have answered the question
6. Thank the audience member again
Gives you time to think
of the answer!
Presentation skills Handling questions –
Understand the question
Could you hear it clearly?
Do you understand the question?
Is the question appropriate for the audience?
Could the audience hear it clearly?
What do they want to know?
What is the most relevant question?
Presentation skills Handling questions
Understand the question
Ask them to repeat
Ask for clarification
Repeat the question
“Would you mind repeating your question, please?”
“I’m sorry, I would like to clarify. Are you asking about…?”
“Okay, so this question is about...”
Presentation skills Handling questions –
Difficult questions
Unsure of the answer
You don’t know the answer
Unrelated questions
You are the expert, answer with confidence
Be honest, but give your expert opinion
Politely address the question
Presentation skills Handling questions
Difficult questions
Tentative answers
Unanswerable
Unrelated questions
“I’m afraid I cannot give you a definite answer, but I think that…”
“Unfortunately we don’t have an answer at this time, but probably...”
“I’m sorry, but we didn’t look at that in this study.”
“Does that answer your question?”
Checking your answers
Presentation skills Additional tips – time management
Stay within your time limit
Use a clock, watch, or mobile phone
Rushing and skipping slides make you look unorganized
Practice often and keep track of each section
Presentation skills Additional tips
“B” key makes the screen black
“W” key makes the screen white
Hold the laser pointer against your body to prevent shaking
Remember, you are having a conversation with your audience
If using clip-on microphone, clip centrally and try to avoid turning your head when speaking
Presentation skills Connect with your audience
Presenters share with their audience
Non-verbal tips
Greet audience members before your presentation
Verbal tips
Colleague/mentor Not a lecturer!
Eye contact, smiling, relaxed, confident
Enthusiastic, not monotonous
Presentation skills Connect with your audience
Presentation activity
Based on what we have covered today, one attendee will present their slides in 10 minutes. They will then need to answer one question from the group.
Thank you!
Any questions?
Follow us on Twitter
@EdanzEditing
Like us on Facebook
facebook.com/EdanzEditing
Download and further reading edanzediting.co.jp/hiroshima_2014
Jeffrey Robens: jrobens@edanzgroup.com