Presentation 101 for Graduate
Students
J. Paul Robinson
SVM Professor of Cytomics
Department of Basic Medical Sciences
& Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering
Purdue University
A set of suggestions and examples for creating good quality presentations.
What to do and what not to do in your seminar!!
This presentation is available for download from
http://www.cyto.purdue.edu/education
Presented to grad students each year since 2000
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Note for those reading this presentation from this
online version
It is not ideal to review a set of slides without having
heard the presentation. However, I have put them on line
to assist new students when they have to give seminars
or conference talks. My suggestions are mainly for
beginners, but some things carry all the way to
experienced speakers. My goal was to increase the
confidence of students by giving them a solid basis to
use when preparing their slides. To understand each
slide, I suggest you download the PPT file and play it on
your computer. I have added explanations to the slides
that give my key pointers.
J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
So: These are in the boxes that look like this at the bottom of most slides
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Goals of this Presentation
• To demonstrate good principles for public
presentations using PowerPointTM and computer
projectors
• To show how slides might be better used
• To demonstrate good and bad slides, distracting
habits, some suggestions to assist your
presentation
• To suggest a baseline for a good presentation
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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The Three Essential Features of a
Good Presentation
• Tell people what you
are going to tell them
• Tell them the material
• Tell them what you
told them
Introduction & outline
Your core materials in
necessary detail
Summarize your findings
and close your presentation
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Opening your presentation
1. You should be early (10 min)
for your presentation.
2. You should have checked in
with the person who will chair
the session
3. You should have already
checked the projector and
computer well before your talk
4. You should be ready to begin
when invited
5. Your first slide should be on
the screen before you begin
6. It should have your
presentation title on it and
information about you
Presentation 101 for
Graduate Student
J. Paul Robinson
Professor,
Department of Basic Medical Sciences
& Department of Biomedical Engineering
Have the projector and computer set
up with the opening slide well before
the presentation is due to start
A set of suggestions and examples for creating good quality presentations
This presentation is available for download from http://www.purdue.edu/education
(Example opening slide from this presentation)
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Your Opening Statement
• If you are an Invited Speaker:
– “Thank you very much for that generous introduction. I
would like to thank the organizers for inviting me to give
this presentation. It is an honor to be here at Purdue.
Today I would like to present some ideas on the
invention of the wheel.…”
• If you are a Seminar Speaker (more informal):
– “Thank you very much Professor X. I am very glad to
able to give this seminar. Today I would like to present
some ideas on the invention of the wheel.”
Your opening statement should be strong, and well prepared. It should be short
and it can also be an expression of thanks to your host if appropriate.
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Your Closing Statement
• “In my last slide I would like to acknowledge the
participation of my colleagues Jim, Jane, Alphonso, and
Dr. Jones. I would also like to acknowledge the support
of the National Science Foundation for funding this
study.” (pause here very briefly) … “Thank you very
much for your attention.” (Don’t say anything else!!!!)
Do
Don’t • Don’t just stop!
• Don’t say “that’s it”…. “that’s the end” ….: “I’m finished”
• NEVER offer to answer questions if there is a
chairperson - it is the role of the chairperson, not you, to
ask for questions!!!! (Don’t invite questions - it’s rude!!!)
So: Make the audience feel comfortable about the end of
your presentation by telling them when it is finished.
J. Paul Robinson, Ph.D., & Bartek Rajwa, Ph.D.
Purdue University Cytometry Laboratories
Imaging, Flow
Cytometry, and
Functional Cytomics
Applications of
current cell analysis techniques
So: Example Opening Slide – Has complex background
– OK for one slide, but don’t use it for all the rest!
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Imaging, Flow Cytometry, and
Functional Cytomics:
Applications of
current cell analysis techniques
J. Paul Robinson, PhD
Purdue University Cytometry Laboratories
So: Example Opening Slide – Has plain background – not so exciting, but very
effective when the goal is to talk science!! Note that the copyright statement at the
bottom in black is now virtually unreadable! (so don’t use black on blue!!)
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Your personal habits
• Standing: Face your audience, but if you are very nervous,
look only at people in the middle or back rows
• Pacing: Sometimes pacing helps when you are nervous – it
can also help to keep the audience’s attention – but it can also
be distracting – if you pace, pace slowly and deliberately
• Speech: Speak slowly, clearly, & deliberately
– don’t say “Ummm”…or “Ah….”….between every sentence
– don’t say “You know….” when you pause
• Fidgeting: Don’t play with the toys (like keys) or put your
hands in your pockets – hold the lectern if you have to
• Humor: Use very sparingly, it can be an ice-breaker but it is
very hard to do – my suggestion is to avoid it
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Key Material Items to consider
• Use of the laser pointer
• The slide background
• Use of color
• Use of animation tools
• Use of diagrams or flow charts
• Amount of material per slide
• Number of slides in the presentation
• Your first and last slides
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Using a pointer
• Use the pointer to add emphasis and
assist the audience follow your ideas
Do: - Use sparingly
- Hold on only for a second at a time
- Hold it steady
Don’t: - Hold the pointer on!!
- Spray the audience…ouch!
- Flash the pointer all over the slide
So In Emergency: If the pointer dies: don’t panic. A good chairperson will
observe and deal with it. If not, find a stick, pen, or some long object and
use that to point to the screen. Don’t let this put you off your presentation.
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Pointer use example
• There are 4 main points:
– The length of time you leave the pointer on
– How steady your hand is
– Are you “firing” at the audience?
– Are you distracting your audience rather than
focusing them?
Example: When you mention the first point – put the laser at the “-”.
Discuss this point, then move to the next point. Mostly pointers are useful
when dealing with figures and images. It is unnecessary to point to each
line of text, but for learners, it is a good way to keep yourself on track.
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Pointer hints for nervous people
(that’s most people actually!)
• Hold the lectern when
you talk – it stops your
hands doing funny
things. When you
become more
confident, you can
walk away from the
lectern.
• Hold the laser pointer
on the edge of the
lectern when you point
it – then your
quivering fingers won’t
make the pointer
bounce everywhere!!
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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White
Using Backgrounds
• Backgrounds are fun, but they can be distracting
• Sometimes you cannot read the text
• Sometimes they are more interesting than the
data
• They significantly increase the size of the file
• Sometimes they just look ridiculous
• It is a well known fact that the most important
factor in reading text is …..contrast
• The best contrast is……Black and
So: Sometimes boring old black and white slides are easier to see!!
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Backgrounds
• Be careful when using backgrounds
available from templates
• A more conservative approach is safer
• You want the audience to focus on your
data, not your background
• If you must, use a simple color like blue
• Some examples follow in the next 5 slides
– the last 2 are not acceptable
Lesson: Pretty backgrounds are fun but foolish! It might seem like a
good idea at the time, but your audience is thinking ...”Oh no, not
another symphony of colors….”
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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What Resources are Required?
• Start with educational objectives and goals
• Define needs based only on the educational
objectives
• Initially identify minimal hardware requirements,
beg or borrow if necessary
• Integrate staff into lab with scientific staff to
increase participation
So: Very plain example slide. No frills.
18
What Resources are Required?
Start with educational objectives and goals
Define needs based only on the educational
objectives
Initially identify minimal hardware
requirements, beg or borrow if necessary
Integrate staff into lab with scientific staff to
increase participation
So: Good example slide (logo and top bar work OK)
Colors are muted and tasteful
19
What Resources are Required?
Start with educational objectives and goals
Define needs based only on the educational
objectives
Initially identify minimal hardware
requirements, beg or borrow if necessary
Integrate staff into lab with scientific staff to
increase participation
So: Good example slide (side/top bar work OK)
Colors are fine, note slide number on left.
2020
What Resources are Required?What Resources are Required?
•• Start with educational objectives and goalsStart with educational objectives and goals
•• Define needs based only on theDefine needs based only on the
educational objectiveseducational objectives
•• Initially identify minimal hardwareInitially identify minimal hardware
requirements, beg or borrow if necessaryrequirements, beg or borrow if necessary
•• Integrate staff into lab with scientific staffIntegrate staff into lab with scientific staff
to increase participationto increase participation
So: BAD example slide - nasty background – its very
distracting and much more interesting than the text!!
21
What Resources are
Required?
• Start with educational objectives
and goals
• Define needs based only on the
educational objectives
• Initially identify minimal hardware
requirements, beg or borrow if
necessary
• Integrate staff into lab with
scientific staff to increase
participation
So: VERY BAD example slide – drop the fireworks!
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Use of Color
• Color shows emphasis….BUT..
• It should be used sparingly
• Certain colors cannot be used together
– For example:
– Red text cannot be used on blue backgrounds or vice
versa
– Blue text cannot be used on red backgrounds or vice
versa
• Colors that should virtually never be used are:
– Purple, pink and bright green
• Yellow can be used on black but never on white
background
So: NEVER use red and blue together…it might look OK on your
computer screen, but it’s horrible on the projector screen!!
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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The difference between the computer
screen and the projector screen
• Colors that look great on your computer screen may be
HORRIBLE on the projector screen.
• For example BLUE background CANNOT have black text.
Your computer SCREEN looks like
this….It’s just OK.
But this is what happens when it is
projected onto the screen….
Black Text looks fine on your
Computer screen
Black Text looks fine on your
Computer screen
So: NEVER use black text on a blue background…it might look OK on
your computer screen, but it’s unreadable on the projector screen!!
24
Advantages
Standard Assay
Uses whole blood
Cheaper than
microdrop
Gel Microdrop
Rare populations
Short incubation
Sort and recover live
cells
Source: One Cell System, 2002; BD Resource Manual, 2001
So: EXAMPLE: bad color, way too much animation – it’s just a bad slide
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Advantages
Standard Assay
• Uses whole blood
• Cheaper than
microdrop
Gel Microdrop
• Rare populations
• Short incubation
• Sort and recover live
cells
Source: One Cell System, 2002; BD Resource Manual, 2001
So: OK – it might look boring, but this is a very basic slide and really
does not need any enhancement. Audience is focusing on just the text.
26
Advantages
Standard Assay
Uses whole blood
Cheaper than
microdrop
Gel Microdrop
Rare populations
Short incubation
Sort and recover live
cells
Source: One Cell System, 2002; BD Resource Manual, 2001
So: If you want to make it a little more attractive…this works well.
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Animation
• How much animation is right?
• Make sure you test it carefully!
• A small amount of animation is good
• Too much is “ditzy” and often annoys your
audience
So: “Ditzy” animations are really off-putting to the audience. Good
animations, such as how a reaction takes place, are fine.
28 of 48
And for Imaging Technologies?
• DNA arrays
• “Quantitative” fluorescence assays
• High Throughput assays (96-384
well plates)
• Elispot
• Drug effect assays
•Toxicology assays
So: Example - simple animation – it works even though the background is a bit much
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And for Imaging Technologies?
• DNA arrays
• “Quantitative” fluorescence assays
• High Throughput assays (96-384
well plates)
• Elispot
• Drug effect assays
•Toxicology assays
So: Example – gratuitous animation – plain annoying!!
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Hydrodynamically focused fluidics
•Increase pressure:
•Widen core
•Increase turbulence
Signal
So: you have to explain each step in the process – this animation give time to do that – and
the star on the right indicates how many mouse clicks to perform the entire animation
sequence – add stars for each click necessary and animate them to disappear at each click
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Use diagrams or flow charts if
possible
First Reactant Intermediate Last Reactant
Reagent A
Reagent B
Reagent C
Blocker 1
So: Simple – very simple is good.
Note the stars indicating the number of mouse clicks left…
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DCFH-DA DCFH DCFDCF
COOH
H
Cl
O
O-C-CH3
O
CH3-C-O
Cl
O
COOH
H
Cl
OHHO
Cl
O
COOH
H
Cl
OHO
Cl
O
Fluorescent
Hydrolysis
Oxidation
2’,7’-dichlorofluorescin
2’,7’-dichlorofluorescin diacetate
2’,7’-dichlorofluorescein
Cellular Esterases
H2O2
DCFH-DA
DCFHDCFH--DADA
DCFHDCFH
DCF
H OH O2 22 2
Lymphocytes
Monocytes
Neutrophils
log FITC Fluorescence
.
1 1000100101
0
20
40
60
counts
PMA-stimulated PMNControl
80
So: This is pretty complex – it needs a long time to explain.
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Beam-splitting lens
Laser out
A
How a line scanning confocal works
Laser in
Scan width can be adjusted
Note that laser light is delivered
via a standard objective.
B
Cells in tissue culture disk are imaged on
an inverted microscope stage
50 100 150 200
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0
Ratio: intensity1 (460nm) / intensity2 (405/35nm)
1
2
3
3
2
1
405/35 nm460 nm
So: This is simple – it is very straightforward – explanation is easy.
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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MeanEBFluorescence
0
4
8
12
HBSS
TNFα
HBSS L-arg L-arg
TNFα
L-NMMA L-NMMA
TNFα
a
aa
a
b
c
dd
Rat neutrophil oxidative burst
with nitric oxide modulators
NO modulators increase superoxide, TNK reduces O2
Bars
represent 1 SD mean
a,b,c,d
represent
statistical
significance
levels
So: Basic data, very, very simple
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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MeanEBFluorescence
0
4
8
12
HBSS
TNFα
HBSS L-arg L-arg
TNFα
L-NMMA L-NMMA
TNFα
a
aa
a
b
c
dd
Rat neutrophil oxidative burst
with nitric oxide modulators
NO modulators increase superoxide, TNK reduces O2
-
a,b,c,d
represent
statistical
significance
levels
So: Basic data, but color enhanced…careful tho’ not to confuse what
you are trying to explain. Do the colors add value to the data?
Bars represent 1 SD mean
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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MeanEBFluorescence
0
4
8
12
HBSS
TNFα
HBSS L-arg L-arg
TNFα
L-NMMA L-NMMA
TNFα
a
aa
a
b
c
dd
Rat neutrophil oxidative burst
with nitric oxide modulators
NO modulators increase superoxide, TNK reduces O2
-
a,b,c,d
represent
statistical
significance
levels
Bars represent 1 SD mean
So: Be careful when you use enhancement features. This is OK, but
much more would become very distracting.
37
Rat neutrophil oxidative burst
with nitric oxide modulators
NO modulators increase superoxide, TNK reduces O2
-
0
4
8
1
2
HBSS
TNFα
HBSS L-arg L-arg
TNFα
L-NMMA L-NMMA
TNFα
a
a
a
b
c
d
MeanEBFluorescence
Condenser
Lens
Pinhole 1 Pinhole 2
Objective
Lens
Specimen
Detector
So: This is overboard – background is horribly distracting, and it’s
just a bad slide. The audience is wincing…..it’s not acceptable!!
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Data Slides
So: No – bad idea – if you have to tell the audience “..I know you can’t
read this….but….” - don’t show it. This is a totally unacceptable slide!!
Here is something important…..
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Some things you should know about
projectors and computers
• All projectors should be considered the “enemy”
• All projectors are different
• There are often 3 modes for your computer
– Mode 1: Laptop screen only
– Mode 2: Laptop and external monitor (Projector) (Fn/F8)
– Mode 3: External monitor (projector) only (Fn/F8)
• Be careful using Mode 2 – Movies may not play on the
projector
• At most meetings, KVM switches are used to connect
laptops – regardless, you must pre-check the system out
So: Bottom line is check out the projector with ALL your slides before you
give the presentation….make sure your movies work! How many times
have I seen presentations where movies don’t work? .… HUNDREDS!!
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Example of movie not playing in
mode 2
The movie on the right plays
OK on mode 2 but may not
play on the projector. Some
newer computers will play it
regardless. When you copy
your presentation to another
computer…chances are the
movies wont work. Use the
“Package for CD” setting
under FILE in PowerpointTM
So: It’s a great movie, but when it does not work and you say “…well if
you were able to see this movie, you would see...”.…it’s not good!
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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How Many Slides?
• Rule of thumb: Use 1 slide per minute of your allotted time
including your opening and closing slides.
• You will spend much longer on some slides than you think.
• For a 20-minute talk, I suggest only 20 slides. If you fill up
your 20 minutes, there is no time for questions.
• Don’t you hate being the last speaker in a session where
everyone has gone 5 minutes over and your 30-minute talk
now has 15 minutes left? Don’t do that to other speakers!!
• This presentation was designed for a 45-50 minute talk with
10-15 minutes for discussion. There are 44 slides in the
actual presentation.
So: 90 slides for a 45 minute presentation says “I am going to blow you
away with data, but I don’t care if you really understand what I am saying.
My huge number of slides says ‘I can’t organize myself!’”
The last 2 slides are explanations as to how the slides were made – an example of adding extra slides in
case a question is asked about a topic. Slide #2 was added to give some “online” explanation. This is not
shown in the seminar.
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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Answering Questions
1. Listen carefully to the question
2. Do not interrupt or finish the question for the questioner
3. Repeat the question for the audience in shortened form
4. If you do not know the answer or how to approach, ask for more
guidance
e.g. “I am not sure I understand the question, could you elaborate.”
5. If you then do not know the answer, don’t ramble, try this:
a. “I am not sure of the answer, but one possible reason might be”
b. “I’d be happy to get back to you with the answer to your question after I
do some research on the issue”
6. You can also shift the responsibility to your supervisor/boss if you
are not sure what to do
e.g. “Perhaps Professor X can answer that better than I”
7. NEVER argue with questioners…if they become really “pushy” and
are being difficult just say
“Perhaps we can talk about this after the seminar”
You always have the option of simply saying
“I don’t know the answer to your question at this stage!”
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Summary
• A good presentation requires much preparation
• Make a proper introduction and use a slide that shows the structure
of your talk
• Have slides that are clean, clear, and readable
• Use approximately 1 slide per minute
• Show a summary slide at the end
• Make the final slide an acknowledgement slide
• Add a few extra slides AFTER your last slide to use in case
questions arise in those areas
• Conclude by saying : “Thank you very much for your attention.” Stop
and let the audience clap!!!
• Do NOT ask for questions!!!!!!!!
• Never ask for questions!!
• It’s NOT your right to ask for questions!!!
• What do you think about asking for questions?
So: Do NOT ask for questions!!
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Acknowledgements
• Tissue Engineering Studies
– Sherry Harbin
– Blayne Roeder
– Alaina Pizzo
– Klod Kokini
– Jennie Sturgis
– Bartek Rajwa
– Bev Waisner
• Microbiology/Biofilms
– Stephanie Sincock
– John Thomas
– Gerald Gregori
– Kathy Ragheb
• Oxidative Metabolism Studies
– Carl-Fredrick Bassoe
– Nianyu Li
– Kathy Ragheb
– Gretchen Lawler
So: List names of those who contributed to the work. Also list your
funding sources, and acknowledge any companies that contributed.
People must know if your work has been funded by a corporate
sponsor. It’s the law to identify them if you work is federally funded
in any way!
Funding Sources
National Institutes for Health
National Science Foundation
Any company you received funds, Inc
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How were the Printouts Prepared?
• Slides were made in PowerPointTM
• They were “printed” to Adobe AcrobatTM to
create a PDF file
• The PDF was printed 6 per page, framed
in Acrobat, which allows you to fill the
page
• This gives a larger slide than printing
directly to the printer from PowerPoint
© J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
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About this Presentation
• It was designed to assist graduate
students to create quality presentations
• You may copy this and use it for any
purpose, it may not be commercialized
• If you do use it, please acknowledge the
source as:
J. Paul Robinson, Ph.D.
Professor, Purdue University
Email: jpr@flowcyt.cyto.purdue.edu
Web: www.cyto.purdue.edu
The actual presentation is at http://www.cyto.purdue.edu/Education/index.htm
This talk has been presented several times since 2000. This current version 09/02/03