Argonne National Laboratory

Educational Programs and Outreach

Guide to Oral Research Presentations

An important aspect to any research project is the oral presentation of the experiment to other people.  As with a research report, you want to tell the story of your experiment: why the experiment was done, how it was done, the results, interpretation of the results, and why the experiment matters.  

However, a good presentation is different from a good paper.  The presentation should not consist of simply reading from a paper that was previously prepared.  Care should be taken to not overwhelm the listener with needless detail.  Much more detailed information can be presented and understood in a written paper than in an oral presentation.

The style of a presentation is also important.  The presenter must try to keep the listener focused on the key information that is being conveyed.

The following are specific things that should be considered when preparing an oral presentation.

Organization

Oral presentations should be organized to have introduction, body and conclusion sections.

Introduction

This section should be brief.  It should provide enough background information so that the listener understands the general hypothesis and why the experiments were done.  It should also state the specific research question that was studied.

Body

This section is the major portion of the talk.  It should include research methods as well as research results.  The methods should be briefly stated, providing detail when necessary for understanding a particular result.

Conclusion

This section should also be brief.  A clear, concise statement of what the results prove should be made.  The data can be related to experiments others have performed, but this should not be overdone.  Future experiments to test unanswered questions could be suggested.  State why this experiment matters.

Presentation Style

The following are things that should be considered when designing a presentation.

Time

Pay attention to the time.  Most research talks are short and no more than 15 minutes.

Pace

Do not talk too quickly.  Slow down so that the listener has time to hear you. 

  • If you think you are speaking too slowly, then you probably are going at the right pace.

Volume/Tone

Talk loud enough so that your listener can hear you.  Use a variety of voice inflections and pitches so that the listener stays interested. 

  • Nothing is more boring than a monotone presentation. 
  • Alterations in volume/tone gives the listener the feeling that the presenter is interested in the topic.

Eye Contact

Try to maintain eye contact with the listener; this helps them stay focused on the talk. 

  • DO NOT SIMPLY READ YOUR PAPER!  Whether or not you are presenting from notes, a fully prepared script, or from memory, eye contact must be made frequently.
  • Face the audience: DO NOT READ OFF OF YOUR SLIDES!  You are talking to the people so look at them.

Poise

The presentation should be made in a formal, professional manner.

  • Dress appropriately.
  • Maintain good, erect posture
  • Refrain from informal speech patterns and actions.
  • Minimize unnecessary movements such as excessive walking, hand motions, etc.
  • Keep your hands out of your pockets

Visual Aids

In general, all research presentations need some sort of visual aid.  This is most often done using PowerPoint. 

  • Graphs, tables, photographs etc. of data help the listener sort through the material. 
  • Complex methods can be presented clearly through visuals. 
  • A list of conclusion statements helps the listener focus on the final statement. 
  • A clearly stated research question when visually presented helps.  
  • Be sure that the visuals are not too complicated.  Include only the information you will be discussing.
  • Be sure the visual is large enough to be clearly seen by the listener.
  • Point to the visuals during the presentation
  • Leave the visual up long enough so that the listener can assimilate it.

Present Information Clearly

The information in a presentation should be organized logically and clearly in a way that the listener can understand and follow. 

  • Use of visuals helps here. 
  • Details should be included when they are important in reaching a particular conclusion.  They should be omitted when they get in the way of seeing a particular point. 
  • Remember: it is not what you say that is important, it is what the listener hears, understands, and takes with him/her that is important.

Subject Knowledge

The presenter should demonstrate that he/she understands the subject being presented.  This is done by:

  • presenting accurate information,
  • by responding to controversies in an appropriate way,
  • by answering reasonable questions from the audience.