Language Support for PhD/MPhil Students

Delivering an Effective Academic Presentation

This guide contains advice for preparing and giving an academic presentation. The ability to communicate the results of your work logically and clearly in a presentation is a key skill.

For detailed advice on preparing and delivering an oral defence as part of your PhD research, click here.

1. General Advice for Presentations

2. Overview of Presentation Structure

3. The Introduction
Introduction Example A
Introduction Example B

4. The Main Body

5. Conclusion

6. Handling Questions

7. Useful Signposting Phrases

8. Using Your Voice Effectively
Effective Delivery of a Presentation Example

9. Tips for Delivering a Presentation

10. Presentation Checklist

1. General Advice for Presentations

Giving an academic presentation in English can be challenging, even for native speakers. To help increase your confidence, it is important to spend time planning how your presentation will be organised and how you will communicate your message clearly and logically.

Below is a link to a transcript titled “Giving Effective Oral Presentations at University” which gives advice on the following aspects:

How to plan the content of your presentation
How to organise the content your presentation
How to deliver your presentation

Signposting language

An important element of delivering an effective presentation is the ability to clearly connect each stage of your presentation with the appropriate language.

2. Overview of Presentation Structure

In your presentation, you should include the following parts:

Step 1 Introduction

Use Present Perfect to describe background, e.g. this issue has become...

Introduce yourself
Give general background
Explain importance of topic
State aim of your presentation
Outline main points of your presentation

Use expressive language for emphasis, e.g. vitally important, rapidly developing, extremely difficult

Step 2 Main Body

Use signposting phrase to sum up when you finish each step, e.g. that is the methodology

Give an overview of each main point
Describe methods you used and why they were chosen
Describe key results
Explain contribution of your work
Discuss implications of your work

Use signposting phrase when moving to next step, e.g. having discussed the methods used, I’ll now move to the findings

Step 3 Conclude

Finish positively by thanking audience and use positive language when asking for questions

Sum up your main points
Restate significance/implications
Invite questions

Create a strong ending by reiterating significance of your research

3. The Introduction

There are many strategies that can help make your introduction interesting and well organised.

“Dynamic Presentations” produced by Cambridge University Press which gives useful tips for your introduction.

Below are steps that you can follow for an effective introduction.

Step 1 Say thank you

Thank person introducing you
Thank audience for coming
Thank organisers, if necessary

Begin positively to create good rapport with audience

Step 2 Introduce yourself & aims

Give your credentials
Give some personal background
Say what you will talk about

Refer to what introducer has said, e.g. As John explained, I am studying at …

Step 3 Introduce your topic

Give background information
Explain why you are interested in topic
Explain why topic is important

Use current information related to your topic for the background

Develop background information from more general information to more specific information

Step 4 Outline your presentation

Explain sequence of the points you will cover
Say when audience can ask questions
State how long your presentation will last

Use a range of signposting phrases when giving outline of your talk, e.g.
First, I’m going to
Then, I will
Finally, I will be explaining

3.1 Introduction Example A

Krispin Davis
PhD candidate
University of Calgary Mechanical Engineering Graduate Conference

Good morning everyone, my name is Krispin Davies I am one of the PhD students here in the department.

Introduces himself and his institution

Today I’m going to be talking to you about nonlinear model predictive control, simulation analysis and unmanned aerial vehicles.

States aim of talk

So, a quick overview of what I am going to be talking about. I’m going to start off with a bit of background that’s the problem I am working on. I am going to introduce nonlinear model predictive control. I’m going to talk about simulation based analysis. And I’m going to conclude with some of my future work.

Outlines how talk is organized

The first few of these points is going to take very little time, Simulation Based Analysis is where we are going to be spending the bulk of our time today.

Outlines timing of talk

So, consider for a moment search and rescue. You have a disaster that has occurred; an example might be this one here. There’s an entire area possibly a city possibly a nation that has been destroyed, it’s a very dangerous place. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, maybe millions of people who need rescuing and medical attention within the area and one of the key tools for rescue responders in the modern world are unmanned aerial vehicles kind of similar to this thrust vector and quad rota that we have developed here at the U of C.

Explains importance of topic and shows topic is current

So this quad rota provides not only the ability to fly around like a traditional quad rota, but the thrust vectoring allows you to build much larger quad rotas.

Introduces each subsection

So in this case we can use things like multi-spectral imaging which sensors are quite large to survey the area and to identify people who need medical attention and to actually figure out how best go about rescuing them

Develops background section from general to specific

So for that though, we have added we have added in addition to the four propeller speed controls four tilt rota controls as well

That gives us eight things we have to manage actively at any given time. And traditional approaches are capable of handling this level of complexity.

Explains problem he is researching

So we needed something more. Here we are bringing in a new control schema, specifically a non-linear model predictive control.

Introduces research project

3.2 Introduction Example B

Neil Patel
PhD candidate
Stanford University

Thanks Scott for that introduction and thank you all for being here.

Uses informal language to thank introducer

Today I am going to talk about my work on the design and usage of voice based social media for remote rural communities

Introduces topic

In the coming years more and more of the world’s population will be going online. Most of the new users will be in social, cultural, and economic contexts different from the one for which internet technologies were originally developed

Gives general background (world)

The next three billion online users will look less like this [shows picture of an old European] and more like this [shows picture of an Indian] many will be from poor marginal communities in rural areas around the world. To enable any new technologies, it must be appropriate to their unique contexts.

Highlights importance of research

Agriculture is the principle source of livelihood for the world’s poor. Over 80% of the labour force in the world’s low income countries depends on agriculture.

In India alone there are 600 million people who are agrarian.

More specific background (India)

The majority of Indian farmers are small scale and each growing season take on substantial debt in hopes of a successful harvest. However, with rising costs and stagnating productivity farmers are under intense pressure to make ends meet every season.

States problem

Improving livelihoods of farmers partly lies in equipping them with relative and timely information for good decision making. So many governments including the government of Indian invest heavily in what is known as Agricultural Extension which is basically adult education for farmers.

States possible solution to problem

It is a massive program in India, though it still struggles to reach everybody. Though a survey conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute found that only about 6% of Indian farmers reported that they had actually had an interaction with an extension officer.

Cites Sources

This statistic highlights the challenges to this the top down model of agriculture extension.

First it’s not comprehensive. An extension officer coming to your location may not have the specific knowledge required to help with your particular problems. And second it is not on demand. Though often times the farmer needs help right away he cannot wait for the officer to come round to his location

Evaluates possible solutions and highlights two problems

Many grassroots organizations working in rural areas around the world are trying to address these limitations. One such organization is Development Support Centre, which is based in Gujurat, India.

Over the past several the DSC has been producing a weekly radio program, which reaches hundreds of thousands of farmers throughout the state.

Describes second solution

Radio remains an effective medium for localized communication for rural communities and DSC has been using it to great effect for delivering relevant, timely agricultural advice.

However, radio is still mostly a one-way communication it is not easy for listeners to discuss the content, share their experiences or ask follow up questions, once the program goes off the air

In short, radio does not really tap a significant latent resource in local communities which are the farmers themselves. Working in rural areas over the past few years, I’ve been really struck by the ingenuity of farmers in finding solutions to common problems faced in their local context.

Evaluates second solution

Local knowledge from a progressive farmer like this one shown here, is contextually appropriate for others in his community

So we envisioned a platform that would complement radio to create a more interactive two- way communication channel

We wanted this platform to support many to may communication and it would be a way for people to give their voice and share what they know

Introduces main point of talk

Now to make this vision a reality we propose voice as the platform, as the platform for content media.

So, why voice?

4. The Main Body

You should aim for between three to four main points in your presentation. Each main point should be developed so that there is a logical progression within and between each point. To help your audience follow your talk, include clear signposting phrases and avoid presenting a long list of points.

You should define your main point, explain your point clearly, give examples, and remember to include citations when you refer to the work of others.

Step 1 State main point

Define main point clearly

Use signposting to tell your audience you are starting a new main point, e.g. I’d now like to turn to …

Step 2 Explain main point

Add sufficient detail so main point is clear
Include citations
Explain relevance or importance of point
Show how point is connected to topic
Ensure explanation is easy to follow

Sources should be correctly cited (see “Citing Sources in Academic Presentations” for more details.)

Step 3 Include supporting points

Use citations to support point
Include clear, interesting visual aids
Do not include too much detail

Use clear, up-to-date information to support your main point

Step 4 Summarise main point

Briefly restate your main point
Include signposting phrase to indicate you have reached end of main point

Use signposting phrases to indicate end of point, e.g.
I’m now coming to the end of …
Well, I think that covers … and now I’d like to move on to

5. The Conclusion

The conclusion should effectively restate the main message of your presentation and leave the audience with a positive impression of you. When delivering the conclusion to your presentation, you should:

Step 1 Announce to audience you are finishing

Tell audience you are moving to last part of presentation, e.g. this brings me to the end of my presentation

Signal you have reached conclusion

Step 2 Sum up main points you have made

Use present perfect tense to summarise, e.g. I have shown

Repeat aim or purpose of presentation
Summarise main findings presented

Rephrase findings, do not simply repeat what you have said

Step 3 Restate significance of your study

Develop comments on importance of your findings from specific results of your study to more general implications they have

Explain main limitations of the findings
Highlight importance of your work
Mention future direction of your research

Use expressive language to explain importance, e.g. vitally important, greatly beneficial, extremely difficult …

Step 4 End on positive note

If possible, address people by name when thanking them

Thank audience for coming and their time
Thank organiser(s) of event (if necessary)
Ask for questions from audience

5.1 Conclusion Example

This is an example of the conclusion to a short presentation on gene ontology. Some key phrases that guide the audience have been highlighted.

With that, I arrive at the conclusion of this talk.

Signposts conclusion

To sum up, the talk has shown that the use of the process of predicting the subcellular localizations of proteins can be done in the two ways discussed.

Summarises key points

Firstly, using profile alignment with the predefined gene ontology terms as features produced scores which can be compared to other systems.

Signposts key ideas e.g.
“in the two ways discussed.
Firstly…Secondly…”

Secondly, using accession numbers of query strings set against the gene data base, I was able to achieve an accuracy which was significantly higher than all other published results.

There remain a number of issues with the best way to construct GO vectors, and we are currently developing a new model that hopefully will be able to further improve the results that we have already achieved.

Points out limitations and further research

But, results open up reliable prediction for Proteomics research and most importantly are an essential step for improved drug design. In particular, it will be an essential step in annotating proteins and allowing for much faster experimental research.

Highlights key findings of research using positive language (in bold in text)

So, just before I finish I’d like to thank Wu Suiha and Jack Tang, who I have worked with closely and who have provided ideas and support. And I would particularly like to thank Dr. Wong for inviting me here.

Expresses gratitude

Thank you very much for listening.

I would be happy to answer any questions you have.

Invites questions

6. Handling Questions

Before your presentation, it is useful to anticipate questions the audience may ask you. Here are some strategies and phrases you can use to manage questions.

Answer questions honestly

If you don’t know the answer to a question, it is better to respond to the best of your ability rather than say something untrue. The strategies used in managing such circumstance include:

a. Admit that you don’t know the exact answer, but can tell audience what you do know related to the question;
b. Admit that you don’t know the answer, but will find out the answer after the presentation;
c. Admit you don’t know the answer and then ask the audience if they can answer the question.

The phrases below can be used.

On reflection, I should have spent more time on analyzing it…

This is something I hope to be able to examine in future…

I’m afraid I don’t have that information with me now, but I will look into this issue and get back to you later….

While I didn’t examine this issue, I understand that it could result in…

Yes, and this is one of the most important aspects of…

Support your answers

A simple “yes” or “no” answer is normally insufficient in answering questions at the end of an academic presentation. You need to provide reasons.

Yes, and the main reason I agree with that is…

I came to the same conclusion mainly due to…

Give well-considered answers

Do not rush into answering a difficult question. It is better to pause and give a well-considered answer. The phrases below can be used in this situation.

Could I have a moment to think about this…?

That is a good question…

Ask for clarification and/or repetition if necessary

If you don’t understand a question, don’t worry, ask for clarification. Giving an answer which does not address the question is worse than asking for clarification. The phrases below can be used.

What do you mean by…?

Sorry, do you mean…?

I understand the question you are asking is about…

Organise answers logically

You need to structure your answers logically so that the audience can understand your reasoning. Below are two examples.

Currently the effects are… but in the short term it may… In the longer term I feel it could…

One important way may be…; A second benefit…; In addition to this, it can also provide…

7. Useful Signposting Phrases

The transcript “Giving Effective Oral Presentations at University” highlights useful signposting phrases that can be used to structure a presentation. The phrases are colour-coded to show their functions.

8. Using Your Voice Effectively

The following transcript explains how to improve the quality of your spoken language during a presentation. It demonstrates the importance of using stress, intonation, pausing and spoken language during presentations.

Below is the transcript.

We have all been told about the importance of delivering a good presentation. We are told how important eye-contact is and how important it is to use gestures and you have probably been told how important your visual aids are.

But I would like to show you how to overcome the most serious problem faced by students when delivering their presentations.

That is reading.

Students prepare their presentation script too much, too well, in fact they are not really giving a presentation to the audience, they are reading.

And reading causes two big problems for the listener.

The first problem is it becomes difficult to follow and even boring because it loses the normal sound patterns of English. So, I’d like to introduce 3 ways you can improve the sound of your presentation as you deliver it.

I’d like to show you what I mean.

The first and most important is something called stress. In English stress is when you focus on a key word. You say the word slightly louder, and a little bit longer, slightly higher.

It is important to stress key words.

We stress words to add meaning.

Listen to this:

He helped me. He helped me. The meaning changes

In the first the focus is me: He helped me (not you).

In the second the focus is helped. He helped me (he didn’t ignore me)

Stress should be thought about when you are preparing your presentation.

The big problem we faced//was reducing the air temperature.

The big problem we faced//was reducing the air temperature.

In spoken English, it is important to PAUSE // before key ideas.

It is important to PAUSE at the end of a sentence//. But it is also important to PAUSE to emphasis meaning.

Pauses are key to a good presentation and should be thought about when you are preparing your presentation.

People who are reading or who have learnt their presentation do not pause enough. Look at this example

The big problem we faced was reducing the air temperature.

There’s no pause. If we read it again with a pause, the meaning is much clearer.

The big problem we faced//was reducing the air temperature.

So adding a pause to the script adds meaning and improves the delivery of your presentation

A final sound that is lost by reading is intonation.

Intonation is when you raise or lower your voice.

A raised voice normally means you haven’t finished. Lowering your voice means you have finished.

So here temperature is the last word. I drop my voice. Temperature, temperature. But faced is not the end of the sentence. To show the pause is not the end we raise the voice, faced.

The big problem we faced//was reducing the air temperature.

Stress, pauses and intonation are three keys to add meaning.

The second problem with reading is that you are reading written English. Written English differs in from spoken English. Here is an example of two sentences with the same meaning but very different words and grammar.

I got these results by…

These findings were obtained by…

In spoken English we tend to use simpler vocabulary. We say got but write obtained.

So it also important to remember when making notes and preparing your presentation, it is a NOT written document.

And don’t read. Make sure it includes these two features of spoken English:

The natural sounds that you need: pause, stress, raise and lower your voice.

And the second is to change the vocabulary to a more spoken style.

9. Tips for Delivering a Presentation

When preparing your presentation, you should consider how to deliver it effectively. Here is a checklist that highlights the key features of successful delivery.

Interact with the audience at the start
       “I guess many of you are aware…”
       “Good afternoon, especially to those of you I have not met before”
Don’t read from a script or/and notes.
Don’t read from the PowerPoint
Use a variety of language when referring to visual aids:
       “The next slide shows”
       “As you can see from these figures”
       “Turning to the next slide”
Give the audience time to read PowerPoint slides
Avoid standing behind a desk
Use gestures and maintain eye contact with audience
Maintain eye contact with audience
Use natural spoken English
       ✔ “I got these results by…”
       ✘ “These results were acquired by…”
Highlight key words with pause, stress and repetition
Pause to show emphasis

10. Tips for Planning a Presentation

It might be useful to use a checklist to find out if you have considered all the important aspects of the presentation. Below is a checklist that you might find useful.

INTRODUCTION:

Thank the person introducing you and thank the audience for coming
Introduce yourself
Introduce the topic
Explain why the topic is important
Explain why you are interested in the topic
Give background information on the topic
Give an outline of the main points
Tell audience how long your presentation will last
Tell audience when they can ask questions

MAIN BODY:

Develop your ideas with strong logic
Signpost what you are going to say
Use simple and clear visual aids
Refer to the content of your visual aids, but avoid reading
Summarise what you have said at the end of each section

CONCLUSION:

Tell audience you are coming to the end of the presentation
Summarise your key points
Highlight the significance of your findings
Finish on a positive note
Ask for questions in a positive way