Write your own introductions.
Importance
They can add to reputation and opportunities beyond what may be earned through research. It is also very important during hiring considerations. It is essential in teaching.
Objective setting
Have a clear objective. Know your audience.
Distinguish between tutorial presentations, job-talks and conference presentations. Talks at conferences are meant to encourage reading the paper, as it may not be possible to present the entire content of the paper in the given time.
Present to inform and provoke thought. Then you will impress.
Content
Importance of preparation
Always prepare the content, in full detail, beforehand. This is especially important for mathematical presentations.
The preparation is best when you can present naturally, straight from the short-term memory, without looking at notes. Eg: pradIp, pratIk.
Then you can anticipate questions. Then you will catch your own mistakes.
If it is unclear, email authors of the paper for such information.
Expectation-setting
Always set up the audience’s expectations.
Have a clear outline. At any point in the talk, the audience should know what part of the talk you are covering.
Varying levels of abstraction
Present the intuition before the details.
Use visual content. A good standard is to have a picture in each slide.
Use analogies and examples.
In presenting mathematics, hide parameters (such as delta) unnecessary to the main result by replacing them with constant values.
Stick to the point. Do not cram in too much data and bullet slides.
Short phrases better than full sentences.
Stimulating audience interest and prior knowledge
Motivate the importance of the topic, with examples, problems etc..
Use live demos in lectures, if possible.
You have to insert a break in your presentation every 10 minutes to refresh the audience.
Composing yourself
Calming turbulence
Remember the aim: ’Relax, look at them, tell them what you know. They may not know it as well as you do.’
Defensiveness about ideas and nervousness come together. Separate yourself from the ideas you are presenting. You are presenting some ideas, not your ideas. Keep the mind supple.
Be confident and somewhat animated: very important. Don’t be nervous.
If there is more nervousness, you tend to go over material faster.
Practice
More practice, less variance in time taken for delivery.
More practice, less nervousness.
Carry water or a refreshing drink to keep energy and enthusiasm from sagging.
Videotape yourself.
The delivery
Guided Dialogue
The talk should be a dialogue with the audience. The audience’s message may not be in words, but it is often communicated using body language. You should look for audience reactions, look for signs of doubt or incomprehension, and adjust your talk appropriately - maybe you should ask or invite questions at certain points.
It is good to use visual aids like slides and movies, and auditory aids; but never use it as a crutch! You should, for the most part, deliver your message while looking at the audience.
Asking questions
If necessary, ask directed questions.
When you ask questions, wait for the answer. (This could take 12 to 15 seconds.)
In case of tutorials, this is especially important: Ask many leading questions; Let them discover the proof.
Math case
Mathematicians talk shop on the board; so there is heavier use of visual aids.
The ability to read out mathematical expressions in natural language and explain the intuition behind it is important.
Often it is mostly a matter of transferring ideas from notes to the board, and explaining it.
Attention management
Keep motivating current part of the lecture adequately.
Induce seriousness and fun in the class. Eg: RK.
Emotion
Excitement and emotion should come accross in presentations. Great teachers are highly animated. Like sanjay and lexing.
Using presentation aids
Pointing: Try not to touch the screen and shake it.
Animation: Make lines appear one at a time, to keep the audience’s attention.
Use live demos where possible: they are always impressive.
Beginning presentations
Begin talk by thanking the audience for coming to the talk, and saying ’It is my pleasure to talk about XYZ today’.
Ending presentations
Say conclusion, acknowledgements. Thank the audience for their attention, and invite questions.
Conclusion
Have a take home message.
Acknowledgements
Praise and acknowledge roles of others. Sasha acknowledged knowledge inferred from courses of Klivans, Zuckerman and Gal (Communication complexity).
Body language
Use body language appropriate for a guided, honest dialogue. Use smiles when appropriate.
Make eye contact. This stimulates the amygdala and enable attachment of emotions to knowledge.
Don’t put your hand in the pocket, don’t cross it over the chest: they are signs of fear and anxiety.
Gestures
Use gestures, move around. Gestures can help you make points, distinguish concepts. That can aid you in captivating the audience. Great teachers are highly animated. Like sanjay and lexing.
Voice
Don’t shout and hurt your voice and mood. Use appropriate aids or ask audience to move closer.
Venue: Voice carries well in an auditorium: no need to shout.
Do not mumble. Don’t end sentences weakly.
Pauses and expression is important in delivery. Include presentation cues in your slides (eg: pausing, pitch variation, stressing etc..).
Take extra care with the beginning and the ending. Decrease pitch at the end of some sentences.
Feedback, questions
Most of the audience’s feedback is expressed in body-language; but you should invite a good amount of verbal feedback. Especially when presenting ideas to close collaborators, questions and ideas flow more freely.
The dialogue should be a honest one: you should be able to think for a short while, and be open to the prospect of learning from the audience. You can think for a larger duration while talking to close collaborators. Don’t bluff when answering questions, be able to admit that you don’t know the answer.
Don’t let particular members of the audience make you nervous. Shouldn’t need to look at pieces of paper to answer questions. You should postpone tough questions off-line if necessary.
Even criticism is important. If they expose holes in your understanding and skills, that is especially good.
Keep a pad or a recorder handy to record important comments and questions.