Oral Presentation

Timing

• The presentation may not exceed 15 minutes and is followed by a five (5) minute question-and-answer period.
• A session moderator will aid the student speaker in maintaining this schedule and in fielding questions from the audience.
• The procedure for maintaining the time includes a 12-minute warning signal, and finally a 15-minute signal. At the 15-minute point, the student speaker must stop the presentation even if he or she has not finished.

Answering Questions

• Following the presentation, the session moderator will ask for questions from the judges.
• The speaker must repeat or summarize each question before answering it so the audience understands the entire dialogue.
• Questions intended to harass the student speakers will not be allowed by the session moderator.

Suggestions for the Oral Presentation

• No one in the audience knows as much about your research investigations as you. Therefore, make sure to explain your research in enough detail so the audience will understand what you did, how you did it, and what you learned.
• Avoid jargon or unnecessary terminology. If it is essential to use specialized terms, remember to explain them briefly. Be prepared to define terminology used, if necessary.
• Graphs, tables, and other illustrations may help explain your results. Remember to name the variables on each axis of a graph, and state the significance of the position and shape of the graph. Give your audience enough time to understand what you are trying to convey.
• Deliver your presentation at a comfortable pace. It helps to practice your presentation before a non-specialized audience. Practice will help perfect the presentation and the timing. Hint: when practicing, time yourself to speak for 12 minutes-when making the actual presentation, a typical person will use more time.
• Acknowledgments are presented at the end of an oral presentation.

Preparation of Visuals

• Visuals (slides) should be displayed using PowerPoint.
• Number your visuals in sequence so they can be easily identified. Many times, visuals need to be re-shown during questions.
• The first visual should be equivalent to the title page of the paper.
• Visuals should be brief, simple, and uncluttered. Focus on important information. Each visual should make one simple statement and supplement what you are saying while the visual is on the screen.
• Use good judgment in determining the number of visuals and balance their contents. Although you do not want to quickly flash multiple visuals, you should not spend too much time on a single visual either. Typically, a 15-minute presentation will have 5-6 visuals.

Powerpoint Presentations

• Each student will be responsible for their own pre-loaded laptop computer.
• Each room is equipped with a projector and a screen.
• Attractive design layout is important, but not as important as your data.
• PowerPoint is the most commonly used software.

Color Choices

• Color is not required. Color should be used only to clarify or make the visual more legible.
• Most legible are black letters on yellow. The following are listed in descending order of legibility: green, red, or blue on white (clear); white (clear) on blue; black on white (clear); and yellow on black.
• You may use red letters for material you want your audience to remember, blue for less important components of a visual, and yellow to highlight important parts or key words in a visual.
• Do not overuse color. Use good judgment.