Here are some useful tips from Warwick Education Studies:

• Choose a focus for your presentation to discuss an aspect of your research in depth. This will help to promote more focused debate and feedback from the audience.
• Rule of thumb: each slide takes about 1-2 minutes depending on your speaking style.
• The slides for a presentation should convey ideas, not details, use bullet points and avoid long paragraphs.
• A large font size, clear font (e.g. Arial) and warmer colours should be chosen that are easier to read for those with dyslexia or other reading/learning difficulties.
• The font size and font colour should be chosen to contrast with the background, to help people with visual impairments. Do limit blocks of text and paragraphs, stick to bullet points and images, videos, and audio.
• PowerPoint is optional - you do not need to use PowerPoint. You can use alternatives such as Prezi or Canva; or even ditch the technology, and just speak or read. We are open to presentations in a range of formats.
• Please practice your presentation before the day.
• Please keep within the time limit. When practicing, time yourself to gauge whether what you have to say can be communicated in under 15 minutes.

References:

Warwick Education Studies. Guidelines. [online] Available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ces/news/research/2022conference/guidelines/ [Accessed 28 Nov. 2023].

Here's some useful tips put together by Wariwck Global PAD Open House:

• Plan your talk thoroughly. Start your preparation several days before the talk. It takes a long time to prepare a good presentation and it cannot usually be done very well at the last minute.
• Use structuring devices to 'signpost' your talk. For example, 'Now I'd like to move on to...', 'Finally, I'd like to mention...'
• Be aware of your own body language. Remember how important it is to communicate with the audience, but don't make your gestures too prominent or intrusive. Try to stand in one place when you speak. Be relaxed and speak at a comfortable (not rushed) pace.
• Try to look at your audience. You obviously don't want to look fixedly at one or two people but try to scan the audience and get some eye contact with a few people, if you can. It can help to build up the rapport and sense of communication.
• Pause regularly to enable the audience to absorb what you are saying.
• Ensure that the audience has clear takeaways from your presentation. You want to leave your audience with the key ideas about your research that they will take away with them. It is useful to carefully frame your research at the outset with a clear problem statement which you refer back to at the end of your talk.
• Be restrictive in use of visual materials. Remember that the human brain can only take in a certain amount of information at any given time. Try not to overload the listener by asking them to read, listen and watch at the same time.
• Check on long or technical words in a dictionary.
• Provide a summary of your talk at the end.
• Rephrase questions asked in your own words for the benefit of others.
• Remember to smile!

References:

Wariwck Global PAD Open House. Presentations. [online] Available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/globalpad-rip/openhouse/academicenglishskills/presentation/ [Accessed 28 Nov. 2023].

The following is a list created by Warwick Education Studies of ome of the main things that might go wrong with presentations at conferences, put together Warwick Education Studies:. They are important problems to try to avoid by preparing in advance, if you can.

• Unsuitable language - the lexical density/ information content of the presentation may be too high; the style may be too informal; lengthy technical words may be mispronounced because of failure to place the stress in the right place; syntax of sentences may be too lengthy and difficult for the listener to follow; this may be made even worse by poor grammar skills.
• Monotonous delivery - intonation may be flat and monotonous, and there may be little sign of normal rhythm patterns of English. This is especially true if the presentation has been memorised.
• Over-detailed visual materials - there may be too much visual material on each PowerPoint slide, and too many slides altogether. Slides may be difficult to read from the back of the room. PowerPoint slides may be too 'busy' and distracting and may therefore detract from what the speaker is saying.
• Undue reading from a script - reading aloud can work very well, but sometimes it can adversely affect the overall level of communication and can often create additional pronunciation mistakes for international students.
• Verbal 'tics' can be a source of irritation - the constant use of words such as 'you know', 'like', 'sort of', 'errr' can be very frustrating for the listener. 

Warwick Education Studies. Guidelines. [online] Available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ces/news/research/2022conference/guidelines/ [Accessed 28 Nov. 2023].

We understand that delivering a presentation to a large group of people can be a nerve-wracking experience, but we want you to know that you wouldn’t have been selected had there not been huge value to your work – something unique in your research and in your story. This story deserves to be heard, and we want you to feel supported while sharing it!

Here are some affirmations you can practice saying in the days running up to your presentation in April (The Darling CEO, 2020).

Here is a relaxing guided meditation if you prefer (Promo Ambitions, 2019)!

If you would like to see other forms of support or guidance made available, please do let us know by reach out to

References:

The Darling CEO. (2020). Affirmations for Presentations. [online] Available at: https://www.darlingceo.com/affirmations-for-presentations/#:~:text=Positive%20Affirmations%20for%20Presentations%20%26%20Public [Accessed 28 Nov. 2023].

Promo Ambitions (2019). Guided Meditation - Presentation Anxiety. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTH_EobNa2k [Accessed 28 Nov. 2023].

Present like you’re telling a story! A story for all ages and backgrounds.

Be mindful that your audience comprises people from specialist and non-specialist backgrounds, and that your presentation should be accessible to and inclusive of both types of people. They are the heroes of the learning journey throughout your presentation. Think about how you can walk them through your story with ease.

Source: https://extraordinaryexperiencelab.org/tools/the-heroic-learner/

Craft the Beginning

What is the problem you have tried to address in your research?

Why is this important? What is unique about this? Is it the identification of the problem, the methodology, or perhaps a new target audience that has previously been excluded from research? People should be nodding their heads in recognition because you’re articulating what they already understand. This creates a bond between you and opens them to your ideas for change.

After you set that baseline of what is, introduce your vision of what could be. The gap between the two will throw the audience a bit off balance, and that’s a good thing — it jars them out of complacency.

Develop the Middle

Now that people in your audience realize their world is off-kilter, keep playing up the contrast between what is and what could be. Show. Don’t tell. This is the perfect place for your data analysis to come in. Don’t, however, forget to tell the story about the numbers. For instance, reflect on:

1. Is there a gap in the data
2. What does this mean
3. Why does this gap exist
4. Who is this meaningful to?

As you move back and forth between what is and what could be, the audience will find the latter more and more alluring.

Make the Ending Powerful

What do you want your hero to take away from this? You don’t want to end with a burdensome list of to-dos. Definitely include a call to action — but make it inspiring so people will want to act. Describe what I call the new bliss: how much better their world will be when they adopt your ideas.

References:

The Extraordinary Experience Lab (2022). The Heroic Learner Profile [online] Available at: https://extraordinaryexperiencelab.org/tools/the-heroic-learner/ [Accessed 28 Nov. 2023].‌

Please note that you will NOT be able to use a USB on the day. We will shortly be sending you an email with guidance on who to send your presentations to (so we can download them and have it ready on our IT systems on the day) and the deadline to do so.