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Tips for preparing a great seminar

I would like to say up front there is no presumption here that after taking my advice you will
give a better seminar. In fact I know that a lot of you out there are already aware of these tips
and very capable of giving very effective seminar presentations. As some of you may know,
I teach BIOL 430 and in this course the students have to present a seminar on a current article
in developmental biology. For many students it is there first time they have to present a
seminar. You might ask yourself: Why do I have to give a seminar? I tell my BIOL 430
students that learning how to give an effective seminar is a skill that is required in many
careers not just science. If you plan to stay in science and academia you will definitely have
to give seminars and teach. Almost any industry whether it is consulting or biotech or
working at the metro zoo, you will have at some point in your career have to present your
work as a seminar—whether it be at conferences or staff meetings with your colleagues.
Remember science is not just doing the research,  but it is also about disseminating your
knowledge that stems from your research. You might argue that is what scientific journals
are for, the point is well taken, but  a very effective way to spread your knowledge is through
oral presentation –the seminar.
The analogy is like listening to your favorite CD. It's great to listen to CDs, but it's so much
better to see and hear it live at a concert!

As the title says “Tip on preparing and presenting a student seminar” I

want to say from the start that there is no one correct way of giving a
seminar. There are lots of different styles that suit various personalities,
for some people it works- others it doesn’t. You will eventually figure
out what works best for you and develop your own style. Don’t
try and be someone else. The tips I have included are tried and
proven tips and just mainly common sense.   I assume most of you
will use PowerPoint or other data projection  as your media source. But
keep in mind the good old chalk board talks stood the test of time and it
really takes a skilled person to give an effective "chalk talk".

The art of  public speaking:  Some people believe that this is a skill
that you are born with-either you have or you don’t. But trust me this is
a skill that you can learn, however for some people it comes more
naturally.  Most people can get up in front of an audience and read
straight from a paper, but that is not a seminar presentation—you really
have to speak to your audience with conviction and passion. The majority
of people find that  public speaking is a very nerve racking task. Don’t
worry this completely natural and it is one of those things you can get
over by practicing and you learn by doing it. In fact, you can use your
nervousness to fuel your enthusiasm -your nervous shake can be turned
into an animated gestures while you speak.
There are three points I want to make about public speaking. The first is
voice projection. If your audience can’t hear you they will either get
frustrated or fall asleep. You want to speak loud and clear but you don’t
want to shout. This can be very distressing to the audience and the
speaker. You need to engage your audience. This means making eye
contact with the crowd. Don’t stare down at your toes and speak to the
floor. Finally, be enthusiastic and animated. Fridays at 8:30am are a killer
time slot  for Queen’s students. Thursday night is usually the big party
night so there is a good chance that there will be a lot of tired people in
the audience. If you are animated and speak with enthusiasm in your
voice you will  have a better chance of keeping your audience awake. If
you don’t seem interested in the work how do you expect to have your
audience appreciate your work? They are surely going to loose interest.
Talks have a logical flow:  I have listed 5 categories here. First, the introduction, this is a 
very important aspect of your talk. This is when the audience gets their first impression of
you. Here you give some background, history, and the big picture. This is followed by your
specific question or hypothesis. This is where you tell the audience what your talk will be
about. Then go into the details –the strategy or methods  and results.  Finally tie up the talk
with a summary and conclusions. This is also the place to put up fanciful models stemming
from the research. It allows the audience to see how the current work fits into the big picture
and it may stimulate them to ask questions or comment on the work. You  guys should have
some individuality or uniqueness in how you present these sections, so I won't say too much
about this and leave it up to you. Everyone eventually finds a style that works for them.  The
more seminars and lectures you go to the easier it will be for you in find a presentation style
you like.
As you can see the layout of the seminar is essentially the format of a scientific paper. But
they do differ. You just can’t stand up here and read a paper.
The opening slide (or opening line): Keep it simple. Choose a level of scientific information
that you want to convey. The biology department is very diverse and you should assume that
"the audience is uninformed but infinitely intelligent". (This also  applies to grant writing
but that is a whole new story-see tips on grant writing) So if you explain something new
-explain it well and they will understand it. Then follow with specifics of the your
project/paper and how it fits into the big picture. You don’t have to tell us everything you
know about the subject. That is why there is a question period at the end. I think many
students are afraid that what they present may be too elementary. Trust me, many people like
to hear how the work is presented. Even if they know exactly what you are talking about.
Students tend to feel like professors know everything (we do know a lot, but we don't know
everything) and you might think that you are insulting their intelligence. It is actually very
flattering to hear somebody describe my work or work that I am very familiar with in a
coherent and intelligent manner.
The introduction is important because  if you blow the intro there is a very good chance that
people are not going to follow the rest of the talk. Begin with a clear statement of just what
your topic is and what you intend to do with it. I like to see what the big picture is. It's very
annoying and distracting to keep listening to a speaker without knowing just what he or she is
intending to talk about. Also, don't just jump into the research, you  need a little ice breaker,
maybe some history or background would be helpful. In any event, it is very important to
make sure the audience is not lost from the start.
Have an opening line that is simple. I usually start off. "My lab is interested in animal
development".
Here is an example of my opening slide from the last talk I gave. "My lab is interested in
animal development. This first slide depicts the central question in developmental biology.
And that is: how is it that these two cells- depicted here as egg and sperm fuse during
fertilization to form a 1 cell embryo—undergoes cell divisions to form this remarkable
multicellular organism". Almost everyone can understand the concept of this slide. In the
next slides I go on to describe my work and how it relates to this big picture.
It is much better than me saying at the opening: “My lab is interested in Eph Receptor
Tyrosine Kinase signal transduction during C. elegans neuronal and epidermal
morphogenesis....”
 
Font: This is fairly self explanatory.  Remember  to use a large enough font so your
audience can read it. A 12 point font may seem fine to you on your computer screen when
you are making your presentation but you can barely see it on the projection screen. In
general: Use no smaller than 24 pt. for text, 32 pt. for a list of  points and at least 40-48 pt
font for Titles. Also keep in mind the type of fonts. Helvetica and Ariel are good fonts to use.
Color: The option to use color is a very subjective issue. Some people like color some people
just like plain black and white. If you are going to use color keep it consistent and make sure
you use good contrasting colors. What may look good to you on your computer screen which
is a foot away  from your eyes may in fact look terrible on the screen. For example Blue on
Black is a terrible combination as is  Yellow on white. This is a common mistake in
choosing colors and I see it all the time, in part because it looks fine on your computer
monitor. However, when projected onto a large screen it is very difficult to read.  Use light
background for overhead presentations but dark backgrounds for slides and on-screen
presentations. A word about using Red and Green. Please keep in mind that about 7% of
the male population have some form of Red Green color blindness. So try and avoid
these colors if you can. Unfortunately,  many of the fluorescence microscopy pictures
use Green and Red fluorescent probes.
 
Too much information: Learn to cut out the fine details and list the main points you are
trying to get across. Unlike a scientific paper you don't have to go into the fine details or
methodology. Do not put everything you want to say up on the slide and read it. Split into
multiple sides. Keep in mind there is a dynamic between what you say and what is on the
slide.  Do not read verbatim from the slide. Remember that the slide is a visual aid to your
talk not a substitute. Put a picture in if that can explain what you want to say. A picture is
worth a thousand words. If you are not going to talk about something on a slide then don’t
put it on there.
Animations: PowerPoint has built in its program animation features. If a
picture is worth 1000 words then a movie must be worth 100,000 words.
However needless animations can only lead to distraction. This slide over
emphasizes the point (in the actual  PowerPoint file presentation all those
icons are animated).  Make sure there is a real pedagogic point to it. If I 
was talking about the movement of the C. elegans or what the nematode
C. elegans looks like then a movie of C. elegans might help. Otherwise
use animations sparingly. I think that when people first discover the
animation features in PowerPoint they get too carried away with it- resist
and use them when required. This applies to slide transitions too. This
slide also demonstrates the use of too much information (distraction). 
Say I wanted to point out the monkey with glasses then I drop all the
animations and I  would use the following slide:
No animation (distractions)  required!
Rehearsing: If there is one piece of advice that you should take form me, it would be to
practice your seminar talk. Practice practice practice. I can’t stress enough how much this
will help you. For those who get really nervous speaking in public then rehearsing will help
you with your nervousness. Don’t think that you can wing it and give it off the top of your
head.  
Practice in front of your roommates, your dog or cat. Practice with the actual slides in front
of you, either print them out or have them on your computer screen. Use your (laser) pointer
when you practice. The pointer serves to keep your audience oriented. You need to keep
their attention. So they need to look at what you are trying to describe. But don't draw circles
on the floor with the laser pointer or shoot it at the ceiling and wave it about as you speak--
this is very distracting to the audience.
Should you memorize? This is a bone of contention with some people. I have seen several
talks where it is obvious the person is reciting memorized work. This can be disastrous. But I
do think it is good to memorize some aspects of your talk. I ask my own students to write out
a script, just so they have the words they want to convey on paper. You can still have some
spontaneity when you give the actual seminar. 
Finally after all your practicing get a good night’s rest. Wake up the next morning well
rested. Don't stay up all night. Before you go on take a deep breath and relax. We all want
you to do well,  we are not out to get you!
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