PHYS 334 Oral Presentation Style Guide
You are expected to prepare a 20-minute presentation using PowerPoint, Keynote, Beamer, or other presentation software. You should convert it to a single PDF file and email it to the appropriate staff by noon on your presentation day.
The following points are meant as a guide to help you prepare an effective talk. A good talk is one which conveys the essentials in the minimum time with the greatest clarity for the audience – your classmates! Before the talk, practice your presentation several times using a stopwatch so that you feel comfortable and natural with your speaking pace.
Slide preparation:
Outline the essential points you will want to convey.
Prepare about one slide per minute of talk.
Don't put too much information on any slide.
Include only the information you will talk about on your slides.
Use photos, drawings and graphics, rather than text, whenever possible.
Use large fonts and graphics to fill the space on the slide.
You may use figures from the course wiki and from Python output, but add arrows or boxes with large fonts to emphasize the important points.
Avoid colored backgrounds and flashy slide transitions.
Contents of the talk
Start with a simple overview of the physics you were investigating.
Show a photo or graphic of relevant apparatus you used.
Referring to the apparatus graphic, give an example of how you took data.
Show an example of your raw data in graphical (not tabular) form whenever possible.
Show how you used the raw data to extract what you wanted. Explain your reasoning!
Identify and describe important sources of uncertainty in your measurements. Explain whether uncertainties were systematic or statistical.
When appropriate, show fits to your data and compare to literature values or theoretical predictions.
If relevant, explain how the measurements or analysis might be improved.
Also, see the Tips for Giving a Presentation slides (originally given in Autumn Quarter of PHYS 211).