Guidelines for a Scientific
Presentation
Kam D. Dahlquist, Ph.D.
Department of Biology
Loyola Marymount University
February 21, 2011
The goal of a scientific presentation is to be clear
so that your audience understands you
throughout the presentation.
Outline
• How to organize a talk
• How to construct a slide
− titles
− layout
− fonts
− color schemes
• How to use slides during a talk
Outline
• How to organize a talk
• How to construct a slide
− titles
− layout
− fonts
− color schemes
• How to use slides during a talk
You Will Deliver One Main Message
During Your Talk
• “Tell them what you are going to say.”
˗ Your main message should be the title of the talk.
˗ Your outline should be a mini version of your talk.
• “Say it.”
˗ The body of your talk should have a logical progression of
results that support your message.
˗ Do not have separate slides for methods and results.
˗ Instead, combine the methods and results for each main
point you are making.
• “Tell them what you said.”
− Your outline then becomes your summary/conclusions slide.
The Title Slide Conveys Important
Information to Your Audience
• Begin with a title slide that includes:
− Title of your talk.
− Your name and affiliation.
− Location and date of the talk.
• The title for a research talk should be a phrase or
sentence that gives the take-home message for your
research.
• Journal Club presentations require additional
information.
− For journal club presentations, your title should be the title
of the journal article.
− Include the full citation for the article on your title slide
(authors, year, journal name, volume, page numbers).
The Outline Slide is a Mini Version of Your Talk
• The outline should be the second slide after the title.
• The outline summarizes each of the main points of
your talk.
• Do not use single words such as “Introduction”,
“Results”, or “Conclusions”.
− Instead, each bullet point on your outline should be a phrase
or sentence that gives the main message for that section of
your talk.
• Use the outline as a roadmap for your talk, showing it
again after you complete each section.
• Re-phrase your outline slide to make your Summary
or Conclusions slide.
Outline
• How to organize a talk
• How to construct a slide
− titles
− layout
− fonts
− color schemes
• How to use slides during a talk
Slides will Make or Break a Talk
• Keep them simple
• Use graphics (a picture is worth 1000 words)
• Make sure the slides are large enough to read
− for the size of the room
− for the size of audience
How to Layout a Slide
• Each slide should have a descriptive title.
− Use a phrase or sentence that describes the main
message of the slide.
• The body of the slide should use no more than
8-12 lines of text, fewer if a graphic is used.
• Use short phrases that expand and emphasize
key points of the presentation.
• Use color to focus attention on key points.
• Fill the space, leaving enough white space so
the slide doesn’t look crowded.
How to Use Graphics Well
• Simplify graphics as much as possible so that each
figure you show makes one point.
• Graphics that are good for papers are often too busy
to be used effectively in presentations.
• Make graphics as large as possible without losing
resolution.
• When enlarging graphics, preserve the aspect ratio
by holding down the shift key while dragging a
corner point.
• Lines should have a thickness of at least 2 points.
An example of a slide with a simple graphic:
Fonts: Why Not Times?
• Readability is the key to a presentation.
• There are two types of fonts:
Sans Serif (e.g. Helvetica, Arial)
Serif Font (Times New Roman, Palatino)
• Use bold, sans serif font for maximum readability.
• The skinny parts of lines on a serif font make them hard to
read at a distance.
Choose Appropriate Font Sizes
• The title should be 28-36 point type.
• Body text should be 20-28 point type, no smaller
than 18 point.
• Do not use more than three font sizes per slide
(e.g., 32, 28, and 24 points on same slide).
• The default size for titles and body text set by
Microsoft PowerPoint is often too large.
• You can more easily control the font size by
inserting your own text box instead of using
the default slide layout.
Proofread your Slides
• Make sure that your spelling and grammar are correct.
• It is best to use either all complete sentences or all
phrases on one slide.
• When using complete sentences, don’t forget the
periods.
Use a Consistent Color Scheme
Throughout Your Presentation
• Be careful, colors that contrast well on the
computer screen do not necessarily project well.
• Use the medieval rules of heraldry as a guide:
− Medieval coats of armor never put a “color” on a
“color” or a “metal” on a “metal”.
− The colors are: red, blue, green, purple, black.
− The metals are: yellow (gold), white (silver).
− In other words, don’t use a dark color on a dark color
or a light color on a light color.
− In particular, red text on a blue or black background is
a bad combination.
Acceptable Text Colors on a
White Background
• Black
• Dark blue
• Red (for highlights)
• Green (for highlights)
• Purple (for highlights)
Acceptable Text Colors on a
Yellow Background
• Black
• Dark blue
• Red (for highlights)
• Green (for highlights)
• Purple (for highlights)
(although this is not particularly attractive, it is readable)
Acceptable Text Colors on a
Black Background
• White
• Yellow
• The following colors look OK on the computer
screen, but do NOT project well:
Red, Green, Purple, Blue
• If you must use these colors, use light
versions of them:
Pink, Light Green, Lavendar, Light Blue
Acceptable Text Colors on a
Dark Blue Background
• White
• Yellow
• The following colors look OK on the computer
screen, but do NOT project well:
Red, Green, Purple
• If you must use these colors, use light
versions of them:
Pink, Light Green, Lavendar
Red or Green Backgrounds
are Problematic
• Almost all colors are difficult to see
when projected, except White.
• Black
• Dark blue
• Yellow
• Green
• Purple
Red or Green Backgrounds
are Problematic
• Almost all colors are difficult to see
when projected, except White.
• Black
• Dark blue
• Yellow
• Red
• Purple
Slide Transition Effects Detract More
from the Presentation than They Add
• The audience becomes distracted the first time you
use them and annoyed if you continue to use them.
• They can be distracting to the speaker because
they take an unexpectedly long time to run when
you are standing at the front of the room.
• An acceptable use of transitions is to simply
introduce each bullet point separately as you talk
about them.
Cite Your Sources
• If the data or graphics you show were not generated
by you, you must cite the source on the slide on
which they are shown.
• Use the short form of the literature citation in a
smaller font, e.g., Dahlquist et al. (2002) Nature Genet. 31:19.
• A URL is also acceptible, e.g., http://www.lmu.edu.
• For presentations in courses, include a references
slide at the end of your presentation.
• For journal club presentations, cite the article on the
title slide.
Outline
• How to organize a talk
• How to construct a slide
− titles
− layout
− fonts
− color schemes
• How to use slides during a talk
How to Use Slides During the Talk
• Spend about one minute per slide
− e.g., You will need 15 slides for a 15 minute talk.
• Use your slides as an aid to your memory.
• Lead the audience through the slide.
− It is OK to read your bullet points word for word.
− Then add details that are not on the slide.
− If you are not going to say it, don’t put it on the slide.
• Practice using a laser pointer.
− Brace your arm to hold it steady.
− Do NOT circle with the pointer.
Summary
• Organize your talk and your slides.
• Layout the slides for maximum readability.
−use graphics
−layout
−fonts
−color schemes
• During the talk, use your slides to guide
what you are saying.
Acknowledgments
(Note Correct American English Spelling)
Art of Lecturing
Gladstone Institutes
University of California, San Francisco
Mimi Zeiger
Robert Mahley