Deciphering the Rosetta stone took decades Your audience ha

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How to give a talkGilbert ChuSeptember 2007
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Are there rules for giving a good talk?
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Are there rules for giving talks?
Ten Commandments
1. Dont talk with nothing to say 2. Dont talk
without rehearsing 3. Dont show too many
slides 4. Dont stuff slides with too much
data 5. Dont show slides without a
punchline 6. Dont show illegible
slides 7. Dont use subtle colors 8. Dont talk
unless you can be heard 9. Dont use obscure
abbreviations 10. Dont wiggle the laser pointer
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Dont talk with nothing to say

• Your audience wants a message
• They need to understand the message
• They need to remember the message
• Tell them what you are going to say
• Say it
• Tell them what you just said

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Dont talk without rehearsingSeinfeld rehearsed,
and he had nothing to say

• Preparation is key
• Rehearse to yourself
• Rehearse to friends or mentors
• Test drive the Powerpoint file
• Test it on your own equipment
• Test it on the equipment in the lecture hall
• Bring a backup file on a flash memory

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Dont show too many slidesEveryone hates a time
hog

• Your audience will stop listening
• Speakers who follow you will be annoyed
• You will appear selfish and inconsiderate
• Everybody will have less time for lunch
• Thus, allow 1 to 2 minutes per slide

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Dont stuff slides with too much stuffHuman
brains sleep when overwhelmed
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Dont stuff slides with too much stuffHuman
brains sleep when overwhelmed
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• Dont copy/paste figures into Powerpoint
• Instead, save figures as jpeg files at 300 dpi
• Import figure (Insert gt Picture gt From File)

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• Frame the figure with a background if needed

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Dont show slides without a punchline
Deciphering the Rosetta stone took decades Your
audience has one minute
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Favorable prognosis was associated with an immune
response signature
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Dont show illegible slidesDepartment chairs are
partially blind
This figure was copied from a screenshot of a pdf
file On Macs, copy screenshots using Apple/Shift/4
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Dont show illegible slidesDepartment chairs are
partially blind
This was copied from a LARGE screenshot of a pdf
file
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Dont use subtle colorsDepartment chairs are
often colorblind
(5 of men are red-green colorblind)
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Dont use subtle colorsDepartment chairs are
often colorblind
(5 of men are red-green colorblind)
Colors should stand out against background
and not look like this
Use complementary colors
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Dont use subtle colorsDepartment chairs are
often colorblind
Fancy backgrounds? Fuggetaboutit
Pick a dark background use light lettering or a
white background use dark lettering
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Dont use subtle colorsDepartment chairs are
often colorblind
Fancy backgrounds? Fuggetaboutit
Pick a dark background use light lettering or a
white background use dark lettering
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Dont use subtle colorsDepartment chairs are
often colorblind
Fancy backgrounds? Fuggetaboutit
Pick a dark background use light lettering or a
white background use dark lettering
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Dont talk unless you can be heardDepartment
chairs are partially deaf

• Face your audience, not the screen
• Make sure the microphone is working
• Speak clearly
• Dont mumble
• Dont turn away from the microphone
• Dont talk faster than they can think

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Dont use obscure abbreviationsYou are not the
government
MHC means Myosin heavy chain in muscle
development Major histocompatibility complex in
immunology
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Dont wiggle the laser pointerInducing nausea is
bad

• Other annoying practices include
• Arriving late
• Blocking the screen with your computer, the
  podium, or your body
• (Add your own favorites)

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Talk as you would have others talk to you
The Golden Rule
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The Golden Rule
What are the properties of good talks?

• Content that taught you something new
• Stories to share the excitement of discovery
• Signposts to keep you oriented
• Humor to keep you attentive and awake
• (Add your own favorites)

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Telling you what I just said

• Seinfeld rehearsed, and had nothing to say
• Everyone hates a time hog
• Human brains sleep when overwhelmed
• Deciphering the Rosetta Stone took decades
• Department chairs are partially blind
• Department chairs are often colorblind
• Department chairs are partially deaf
• You are not the government
• Inducing nausea is bad
• Apply the Golden Rule

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Dad, can we have lunch now?
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