Someone once gave me this article: http://polarfab.free.fr/Assets/lehr-1985.pdf

'Let There Be Stoning!' by Lehr which contains quite a lot of good advice & is worth a read if you haven't already read it.

I've seen a few people just read from their papers- it's really boring, and pretty pointless when you can just read them yourself anyway. I've also found, as someone else has posted, that often people just don't prepare at all- they start skipping through slides and it's all timed wrong, and when that happens people lose interest. I think actually timing is very important, but powerpoint and timing the slides really helps. Good luck with it all...

Definitely don't just read from your paper - it's lazy and will look really unprofessional.

Powerpoints are good, but keep them simple otherwise people will be concentratin on them instead of what you are saying. I never have things flying in or doing anything unusual, the words just appear. Use them as prompts rather than have whole chunks of text. If you want to wrtie out a script, make sure you can quickly find your place, colour code the slides on your notes so you know which one relates to which bit. Keep to the time limit it is easy to overrun. Make your slides using a master slide, then if necesary you can change all the text font, the background colour etc. really easily, not so important in a proper hall, but can be useful if, for example your background cannot be easliy seen on the wall it is being projected onto . when you are talking don't concentrate on one person,which is temptong, but let your eyes wander over the whole audience, start at the top and serpentine down, this makes everyone think you are talking just to them. It won't be as bad as you think!

i hate people who just read off their scripts. and i tend to find it unprofessional if someone doesn't use powerpoint. that still sometimes happens at conferences (older people usually) and it really irritates me.

Actually on this subject: do you find it easier or harder if you are presenting to people you know?

I have always found it much easier to talk to strangers: I can blag them and act much more confident than I really am. As soon as I see someone I know, I lose it. They know I'm faking, you see...

Just wondering cos I'm presenting a poster next week, at a one-day event, and my co-worker has decided to come along for moral support. I've said, "of course", cos I know she means well, but I'm worried now that I'll fluff my lines with someone from my own group watching me.

Hi Spacey, most of us have been there and it can only get better the more you get to present!

My very first big presentation, I felt nervous for weeks before-hand and messed up my practise one (infront of my group). However on the day, I walked up to the stage, and took a deep breath and just started. I didn't feel nervous at all, infact I felt very confident. I was complimented on giving such a good talk.

The key is to pracitise but also make sure you know word-by-word what you will open with. For example "Good morning, I want to talk about some of the work I have been doing over the last x years which is xxx xx xxx. I want to start by giving you an overview of the talk...". After this initial scarey bit, it will just flow out.

Remember this is YOUR work, know one knows it better than you and you are the best person to present it.

sometimes i find talks without powerpoint better than those with. powerpoint tends to make people lazy. i prefer a good, thought through non-ppt presentation to a bad ppt presentation.
in my book, ppt slides should not contain "prompters" for the speaker. why should the audience see your prompters? write your prompters on little cards or a sheet of paper. what the slides should contain is anything that makes the presentation more understandable, illustrates a point, makes it interesting and lively (if late in the day for example), helps the audience focus on the key point of all the things you are saying, helps them understand where in the presentation you are at, etc. sometimes quotes: if you are going to read out the whole quote anyway, it could help for understanding it precisely, especially for members of the audience who are non-native speakers.

in terms of tipps: i like using my little logitech presenter. you hold it in your hand and it has got buttons to switch forward/backwards on the ppt. that way, if you move around while talking (or even if the lectern is simply not immediately next to the computer, so you have to bend down, for example, to reach the computer), you don't have to keep going back to the computer to get to the next slide. your presentation flows more smoothly. also, there is a laserpointer included in the presenter which you can use to point out details on the slides, for pictures for example. it also includes a timer: you can set the presenter to buzz in your hand when you have 5 minutes or 2 minutes left. i find that little "toys" like this help you make more use of the possibilities that ppt offers. it also makes me feel more "professional" and thus helps with nerves.

juno, sometimes i'm more nervous in front of strangers - if i think i will be in touch with these people in the future (or, would like to be) and my presentation is going to be their first impression of me.
but usually, i am a confident speaker. i think i get my confidence from the fact that usually i am totally un-worried about my "impression" on people when i talk. i tend to be (sometimes embarrassingly) honest - my talks can be full of "i don't know" or "i think this might be...". somehow i just have this innate belief that my best is good enough, so there is no need to pretend anything else. i actually think that it's probably this confidence, which i think is visible, which lets me get away with not-so-good presentations (content-wise). good content presented insecurely comes across less well than little/bad content presented confidently...

That's very true: confidence gives the audience confidence in you.

As long as the audience are on your side - and for PhD students, they always are because they know it must be nervewracking for you - then presentations generally go fine. I would just try to laugh about it if I made a slip up.

It's also comforting to know that after 5 minutes the vast majority of the audience will have lost interest. :)

Another good point to remember is that while you're very nervous on the inside, your outer appearance will normally only reflect about 1% of the nerves you are feeling.

Shani, I agree with you about powerpoint. I use powerpoint as a 'crutch' to keep the audience's attention away from me, and on the screen. The best presenters never use it (unless they need it to show technical material). Also, never rely on notes/prompters on your powerpoint - what happens if it fails? This happened to me once - the organisers lost my powerpoint presentation, and I had to wing it.

While there is a great deal of disagreement on the use of powerpoint, I think that it can be used effectively and aid, rather than detract from, a presentation. Remember that people take in information in different ways, and many people are visual rather than aural, in how they receive information best. Some people do best with a combination, etc.

so using power point lets you reach the greatest number of your audience. I think a hand out is important, so that people can take notes and follow along with what you are doing. I think the worst presentations I have attended are where people read. I can read their material faster than they speak it, and literally being read to adds nothing to their paper/article content.

the two times I've come a cropper have been with cue cards. For me, they are unnatural, and a hinderance rather than a tool.

I take my cues from the title of the slide - and use MS powerpoint. A good title - and you're 1/2 way there.

Practice is important, but I ususally just talk myself through them repeatedly; asking myself what I am trying to convey; and what i want the audience to learn.

In terms of sounding nervous - so what; if it sounds like you are; well at least you've the balls to get up there and present. once you've started; you'll get into it; and possibly even enjoy it! Speak slowly, yes. Also, speak loudly, and pauses, for effect - will make you a pro!

Best of luck - and seriously - the fact that you are doing it in the first place is a massive achievement.