1	Preparing & Presenting Slides Tom Lang, MA Tom Lang Communications
2	The Slide Lecture Slide presentations happen once, in real time You—not the audience—control the pace of the presentation You must compete with other sights, sounds, and room conditions
3	The Slide Lecture • The audience can (and will) assess you personally, as well as your research • The audience may be able to interact with the you, however briefly
4	"The medium determines how much..." The medium determines how much information you can present • Articles are limited by length • Posters are limited by area • Slide lectures are limited by time
5	"The Reality of Slide Presentations" The Reality of Slide Presentations You have: limited time, limited text, and a limited number of slides to say what you want to say
6	"Preparing Your Slides" Preparing Your Slides
7	"Slides are Visual" Slides are Visual! (duh)
8	Slides are Visual • Slides are not pages; typographic conventions don’t work • Use bullet points, ”white space,” color, and graphic design to communicate • Learn to think visually
9	What does Alzheimer’s Disease do to the brain? A healthy brain contains billions of nerve cells that help us think, remember, feel, and communicate with each other through neurotransmitters. Neurons die off in the brain, which then reduces the level of neurotransmitter production, in turn creating signaling problems in the brain. Nerve cell damage begins by affecting a person’s memory and learning then gradually worsens to affect the cells responsible for thinking and judgment, and finally the cells that control movement.
10	Designing Slides • Master slide • Slide orientation • Type font and size • Text characteristics • Backgrounds and colors • Special effects
11	The Master Slide Feature Master Slides create consistency in: Position, size, color, and style of Headings, body copy, lists, images, backgrounds, and so on
12	Slide Orientation • The width-to-height ratio (or "aspect ratio") is about 1.5:1 • Horizontal (landscape) format • Vertical (portrait) format
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14	The Vertical (Portrait) Format The bottoms of slides in the portrait format may be cut off when projected 1 2 3 4 5
15	Type Fonts and Sizes • Prefer serif to san-serif fonts • Prefer bolding; avoid Italics and underlining • Try to use as least 24-point type for body copy (72 points = 1 inch)
16	Type Fonts and Sizes • Make sure the type font and size are visible against the background color • More contrast is better than less contrast • Be careful of background patterns
17	Type Fonts • 36-point Times Roman (not bolded) • 36-point bold Times Roman • 36-point bold Arial • 36-point bold Apple Chancery • 36-point bold Textile
18	Font Sizes • This line is set in 24-point bold Arial • This line is set in 32-point bold Arial • This line is 40-point bold Arial • 48-point bold Arial type • This line of type is set in 18-point bold Arial
19	"Underlining reduces variation at the..." Underlining reduces variation at the base of words; makes reading harder In some fonts, words in italic type can also be hard to recognize Some fonts should never ever be used on slides.(!)
20	Formatting the Text • The 7 x 7 rule: no more than 7 words (55 characters) per line and 7 lines per slide • Ignore the rule when necessary (!) • Watch out for background conflicts
21	Formatting the Text For best results, limit yourself to about 7 words or 55 characters per line and to about 7 lines per slide. Make the text flush left and ragged right; justified paragraphs are a little harder to read because each line looks the same as your eye tracks down the page. Bullet points read more easily than complete sentences. Spacing between points makes reading easier.
22	"• Long phrases are easiest..." • Long phrases are easiest to read in all lowercase letters, which is why sentences are set in lower-case. • Long Phrases Are Harder to Read in Initial Capital (Title Case) Letters but Initial Caps Make Good Titles • UPPERCASE LETTERS ARE EASIER TO SEE BUT HARDEST TO READ, ESPECIALLY IF THE LINE IS LONG
23	Formatting the Text Make all the items in a list short, parallel, and similar in format Put type font, size, and color to good use Separate the items with bullets and spaces and indent continued lines to make them easier to identify
24	Formatting the Text • Make all the items in a list short, parallel, and similar in format • Put type font, size, and color to good use • Separate the items with bullets and spaces and indent continued lines to make them easier to identify
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27	Formatting the Text • Too little text may be as much of a problem as too much text • Try to balance the elements on each slide
28	Results Medical Images • Patient • Acquisition • Image
29	Results Documenting Medical Images When publishing an image, report: • The patient’s history and diagnosis • Why and how the image was acquired • What the image shows
30	Using Color Do use color! Only a few colors are necessary Use it wisely and consistently Color works best for identifying elements in the same class
31	"Sudden exposure to too much..." Sudden exposure to too much white can be jarring!
32	Preset Color Combinations 1. A background color 2. A color for body text and lines 3. A “shadow” color to highlight objects 4. A color for title text 5. A “fill” color for objects 6 - 8. Three accent colors: one, two, and three
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35	A Good Bad Example • Diagonal and horizontal gradients can be less pleasing to view • Type visible against one portion of a graded background may be lost against another portion • Color and fonts should be used consistently, to indicate similar elements in the presentation
36	Preparing Images • Keep tables, graphs, photographs, and drawings BIG and simple • Line weights for print images are usually too thin for slides • Titles and labels should be short, BIG, necessary, and horizontal
37	"Frequency and prevalence of self-reported..." Frequency and prevalence of self-reported epilepsy, by sex and age group -- United States, 1986-1990 =================================================================================== Age group (yrs) ---------------------------------------- Sex 0-14 15-64 >65 Total ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Male No. * 492 1854 132 2478 Prevalence + 3.6 4.8 2.2 4.2 (95% CI &) (2.2-5.0) (3.8-6.8) (0.6-3.8) (3.4-5.0) Female No. 566 2280 306 3152 Prevalence 4.4 5.6 3.7 5.1 (95% CI) (3.0-5.8) (4.6-6.6) (1.9-5.5) (4.3-5.9) Total @ No. 1058 4134 438 5630 Prevalence 4.0 5.2 3.1 4.7 (95% CI) (3.0-5.0) (4.4-6.0) (1.9-4.3) (4.1-5.3) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * In thousands. + Per 1000 civilian, noninstitutionalized persons in the United States. & Confidence interval. @ Age-adjusted to the 1980 U.S. population.
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39	Prevalence by age
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41	Preparing Images • Import images first into a hard drive, to reduce file size and remove links • Don’t link to an image file; insert the image directly into the slide file • Crop and size images to highlight information of interest
42	Special Effects • Visual transitions between slides: “dissolves,” “fly-aways,” and so on • Sound effects • Use carefully: can be distracting and can cheapen your presentation
43	"Make" Make Really Bad Ideas GO AWAY!
44	Special Effects • Progressive disclosure - Good for presenting surprising or unexpected points • Progressive emphasis - Good for keeping your place in the presentation
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48	Progressive Emphasis è 1. Figures should help readers find, understand, and remember information 2. Figures should contain only those elements necessary to fulfill their purpose 3. Emphasize the data over other elements in the figure
49	Progressive Emphasis 1. Figures should help readers find, understand, and remember information è 2. Figures should contain only those elements necessary to fulfill their purpose 3. Emphasize the data over other elements in the figure
50	Progressive Emphasis 1. Figures should help readers find, understand, and remember information 2. Figures should contain only those elements necessary to fulfill their purpose è 3. Emphasize the data over other elements in the figure
51	Organizing and Writing Text Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. Tell them what you told them.
52	Organizing and Writing Text • Limited time means limited text • Plan on 1 or 2 slides per minute? • The more slides, the faster they have to be shown to finish on time • Pacing is important
53	Organizing and Writing Text “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” • Title slides have different rules! • Be creative, visual, humorous, shocking, dramatic . . .
54	"Michelle Harrison" Michelle Harrison, PhD Department of Number Crunching University of Skewed Distributions
55	"Michelle Harrison" Michelle Harrison, PhD Department of Number Crunching University of Skewed Distributions
56	Organizing and Writing Text Design slides for your audience, not for yourself but . . . Slides are meant to support you, not to replace you
57	Organizing and Writing Text Use too many slides and you may outpace your audience but . . . Use too few, and your train of thought may be hard to follow
58	Organizing and Writing Text • Topic-subtopic approach a short “headline” phrase followed by a bulleted list. • Assertion-evidence approach a sentence stating the main assertion followed by supporting evidence
59	Topic-Subtopic Organization Symptoms of Migraine: Emotional Neurological Physical Behavioral Social
60	Assertion-Evidence Organization Migraine headaches are serious: Altered mood Visual disturbances Moderate to severe pain Nausea and vomiting Impaired social functioning
61	Organizing and Writing Text • Slides are not good for presenting details, such as references or tables and figures with lots of data • Slides are not good for presenting complex, hierarchically organized ideas
62	References 1. Ries LAG, Eisner MP, Kosary C, et al. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1973-2001. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 2004 2. Chronowski GM, Wilder RB, Levy LB, et al. Second malignancies after chemotherapy and radiotherapy for Hodgkin disease. Am J Clin Oncol 2004;27:73-80 3. Hancock SL, Tucker MA, Hoppe RT. Breast cancer after treatment of Hodgkin's disease. J Nat Cancer Inst 1993;85:25-31
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64	Images Composite figures can “decompose” when changing computers Save composite slides as GIF files to create a single image Replace the original with the GIF slide in the presentation
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67	Images • The original composite slide is 44 kb; the GIF slide is 16 kb • Slides that require higher resolution or that have more colors can be saved separately to reduce file size
68	Common Problems with Slides Way, way too much text! Type or images too small to see Poorly aligned or spaced text and images Unnecessary words and phrases Figures with too much detail Poor contrast between text and background
69	"Preparing Your Presentation" Preparing Your Presentation
70	Your Goals • Establish a rapport with your audience • Make your message relevant • Communicate with a visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and emotional richness
71	Your Goals • Establish a rapport with your audience - Be professional - Be respectful - Be likeable - Be sensitive to audience reactions - Be entertaining (optional)
72	Your Goals • Make your message relevant - Know your topic - Know what your audience wants, needs, and already knows - Stay focused - Pace your presentation; lead your audience, don’t lose it
73	Your Goals • Communicate with a visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and emotional richness - Modulate your voice! - Move! - Gesture! - Engage your audience (ask questions or for a show of hands)
74	Tips for Presenting • Your audience will immediately read each new slide • Your audience reads much faster than you can speak • So, DON’T READ YOUR SLIDES!
75	Tips for Presenting Not everybody is good at speaking You can still present well Plan! Practice! Believe in your own research Your enthusiasm for your topic is infectious!
76	Any Questions? You can ask for questions
77	Tips for Presenting It’s ok to pause and say nothing; “Ah’s” and “Mm’s” are very annoying Don’t apologize for anything; stay positive Don’t ever say, “You probably can’t read this slide but, . . .”
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79	Handouts Present details that cannot be shown on slides Rather than copies of your slides, distribute a written summary of your presentation Distribute handouts well before or just after your presentation
80	Common Problems with Presentations Reading your slides! Speaking to the screen, not to the audience Presenting too many slides Nervous, repetitive movements (pulling on your cuffs; pushing hair out of your eyes)
81	The Secret to a Good Presentation Be sincere; be brief; be seated. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1982-1945)
82	"One" One White Two Three Four Five Six Plum Sky [Black] Black
83	"One" One White [White] Two [Yellow] Three Four Five Six Plum Sky [White]
84	"One" One White Two Three Four Five Six Plum Sky Black [Aluminum]
85	"One" One White [White] Two Three Four Five Six Plum Sky Black [Mercury]
86	"One" One White Two Three [Sky] Four Five Six Plum Black [Sky]
87	"One" One White Two Three [Turquoise] Four Five Six Plum Sky [Sky] Black [Turquoise]
88	"One" One White Two[Yellow] Three Four Five Six Plum Sky Black [Lemon]
89	"One" One White [White] Two Three Blue Five Six Plum Sky Black [Parchment]
90	"One" One White Two Three Four Five Six Plum Sky Black [Purple Mesh]
91	"One" One White [White] Two Three Four Five Six Plum Sky Black [Newsprint]
92	"One" One White [White] Two [Yellow] Three Four Five Six Plum Sky Black [Bouquet]
93	"One" One White [White] Two Three Four Five Six Plum Sky Black [Blue Tissue Paper]
94	"One" One White [White] Two Three Four Five Six Plum Sky Black [Papyrus]
95	"One" One White [White] Two Three Four Five Six Plum Sky Black [Canvas]