Powerpoint & Multimedia
The Art of Presenting Research
Robin Chin Roemer
March 19, 2012
This is a real PowerPoint slide.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/world/27powerpoint.html
“PowerPoint is Evil.”
Imagine a widely used and
expensive prescription drug that
promised to make us beautiful but
didn't. Instead the drug had
frequent, serious side effects: It
induced stupidity, turned everyone
into bores, wasted time, and
degraded the quality and credibility
of communication.
Edward Tufte. Wired (September 2003)
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html
“PowerPoint is NOT the Problem.”
“PowerPoint is NOT the problem.
The problem is bad talks …
… it is difficult work to give a good
talk, and to do so, the presenter has
to have learned how to give talks,
has to have practiced, and has had
to have good feedback about the
quality of the talks - the better to
improve them.”
Don Norman. Sociable Media (2004)
http://www.sociablemedia.com/articles_norman.htm
Best Practices for Presenting Research
• Keep it simple.
• Limit bullet points & text.
• Use color & fonts appropriately.
Aa Bb Cc
Adapted from http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/slides.html
Best Practices for Presenting Research
Best Practices for Presenting Research
Overstructured design,
confusing to follow
Excessive use of text,
complex visual pairings
Tiny font choice, with
eye-searing color scheme
http://www.seas.ucla.edu/ms/posters/posters.html
Best Practices for Presenting Research
Simple design, yet
entertaining to examine
Judicious use of text,
balanced with visuals
Clean font choice, with
consistent color scheme
http://swellbell.tumblr.com/post/274801752/design-research-poster
Best Practices for Presenting Research
• Limit effects & animations.
• Use visuals & media.
• Choose charts wisely.
Best Practices for Presenting Research
Best Practices for Presenting Research
Generic-looking visuals,
abstract-looking from afar
Heavy use of text,
minimal visual use
Tiny font choice, with
monochrome theme
http://www.seas.ucla.edu/ms/posters/posters.html
Best Practices for Presenting Research
Evocative, unique visuals,
informative from afar
Strategic use of text,
appropriate visual use
Tiny font choice, but
Clear & consistent theme
http://www.grida.no/images/polar/ipyposters/nb/research_poster.jpg
Best Practices for Presenting Research
• Know your content & audience.
• Practice your delivery.
• Strive to inform & intrigue.
http://prezi.com/pvk1t5erqfrh/make-it-work/
Best Practices for Presenting Research
http://callandsocialmedia.wordpress.com/2010/05/15/poster-presentation/
Best Practices for Presenting Research
Humanities & Social Science
Research Day 2010
“… a poster session illustrating the
work of researchers in the
Faculty of Humanities and
Social Sciences and DCU Linked
Colleges…”
Sample Audience Fields
• Communications
• Education
• Law and Government
• Applied Language
• Intercultural Studies
is this a catchy title?
http://callandsocialmedia.wordpress.com/2010/05/15/poster-presentation/
Best Practices for Presenting Research
NSF annual IGERT conference
“… IGERT is the National Science
Foundation's flagship
interdisciplinary training program,
educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and
engineers by building on the
foundations of their disciplinary
knowledge with interdisciplinary
training. “
Sample Audience Fields
• Engineering
• Computer Science
• Sciences
http://depts.washington.edu/bioenrgy/research.html
Useful Links
“Presentation Tips.” Garr Reynolds.
http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/index.html
“SlideFest: Slide School 101.” Microsoft Corporation.
http://www.microsoft.com/office/powerpoint-slidefest/slide-school-101.aspx
“Unleashing the Power of PowerPoint.” University of Oregon Teaching Effectiveness Program.
http://tep.uoregon.edu/technology/powerpoint/powerpoint.html
TED Talks. Technology, Entertainment, Design.
http://www.ted.com/talks
Topics: PowerPoint. Mashable.
http://mashable.com/follow/topics/powerpoint/
Prezi: the Zooming Presentation Editor. Prezi.
http://prezi.com/
Robin Chin Roemer
Communication Librarian
robincr@american.edu