Using Powerpoint Effectively for Ecological Talks

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Using Powerpoint Effectively for Ecological Talks

• Charles J. Krebs
• University of Canberra
• and
• University of British Columbia

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Disclaimer

• These are my personal ideas about effective
  communication by the use of Microsoft Powerpoint
• You may agree or disagree with all of them as you
  like
• The key point is to think carefully about what
  you present

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Rule 1

• Giving a talk is difficult - it becomes much
  easier after you have given 100 talks - so do
  not worry if you are nervous

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Rule 2

• Outline the problem clearly for those less
  familiar with the area of research - this should
  be done in 1-2 slides

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Rule 3

• Adhere to the 1-minute rule - each slide should
  be on the screen for about 1 minute - do not
  jump to the next slide too quickly or too
  slowly

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Rule 4

• Avoid too much detail - Methods should be brief,
  people are more interested in Results - people
  will remember at most 2 or 3 points in your
  talk - KISS (keep-it-simple..)

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Rule 5

• Use colour but not excessively - do not use
  photos as a background - make graphs
  colourful and clear

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Rule 6

• Use phrases rather than complete sentences
  (dot-points) - if you have more than 20 words
  on a slide you should revise it - never have
  more than 30 words on a slide - (this slide
  has 31 words..)

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Rule 7

• Avoid statistical clutter - never give p-values
  or F-values or other boring statistics the
  audience is interested in ECOLOGY - always
  use confidence limits or standard errors on
  graphs

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Rule 8

• Use clever graphics - label the axes - always
  give the units of measure - never have more than
  one graph on a slide - give the audience time
  to read the graph labels

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Rule 9

• Use large fonts not small fonts - avoid wild
  colour schemes - do not normally give many
  references in an oral presentation - do
  not normally read what is on the slide (most
  people can read faster than you talk.)

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Rule 10

• Provide a good, simple summary - what is the
  problem ? - what did you find out ? - what
  needs to be done next ? - what do you wish the
  audience to remember ?