Presentations and posters

Most presentations that you see are not using PowerPoint as effectively as they could and so are not necessarily examples of good practice. Simply following the style of many presentations you see is therefore not the way to produce the best presentations that you can - at university and beyond.

Many lessons come from the world of business which is now moving away from text-rich slides full of bullet points to more visually interesting slides. Death by PowerPoint is a phrase often used to describe a presentation that is so dominated by the excessive use of PowerPoint features (bullet points, animations, complex diagrams, clip art etc) that the important content is lost and any enthusiasm or interest that the audience had for the topic is killed by the end of it.

The pages in this guide will introduce you to good practice in creating and delivering presentations which should ensure that your content is given centre stage and your audience is engaged with both you and your material.

Presentation Workshops

Useful resources

Related books and eBooks from our collection

Slide:ology [book & eBook] by Nancy Duarte No matter where you are on the organizational ladder, the odds are high that you've delivered a high-stakes presentation to your peers, your boss, your customers, or the general public. Presentation software is one of the few tools that requires professionals to think visually on an almost daily basis. But unlike verbal skills, effective visual expression is not easy, natural, or actively taught in schools or business training programs. slide:ology fills that void. Written by Nancy Duarte, President and CEO of Duarte Design, the firm that created the presentation for Al Gore's Oscar-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth, this book is full of practical approaches to visual story development that can be applied by anyone. The book combines conceptual thinking and inspirational design, with insightful case studies from the world's leading brands. With slide:ology you'll learn to: Connect with specific audiences Turn ideas into informative graphics Use sketching and diagramming techniques effectively Create graphics that enable audiences to process information easily Develop truly influential presentations Utilize presentation technology to your advantage Millions of presentations and billions of slides have been produced -- and most of them miss the mark. slide:ology will challenge your traditional approach to creating slides by teaching you how to be a visual thinker. And it will help your career by creating momentum for your cause.

Resonate [book & eBook] by Nancy Duarte Reveals the underlying story form of all great presentations that will not only create impact, but will move people to action Presentations are meant to inform, inspire, and persuade audiences. So why then do so many audiences leave feeling like they've wasted their time? All too often, presentations don't resonate with the audience and move them to transformative action. Just as the author's first book helped presenters become visual communicators, Resonate helps you make a strong connection with your audience and lead them to purposeful action. The author's approach is simple: building a presentation today is a bit like writing a documentary. Using this approach, you'll convey your content with passion, persuasion, and impact. Author has a proven track record, including having created the slides in Al Gore's Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth Focuses on content development methodologies that are not only fundamental but will move people to action Upends the usual paradigm by making the audience the hero and the presenter the mentor Shows how to use story techniques of conflict and resolution Presentations don't have to be boring ordeals. You can make them fun, exciting, and full of meaning. Leave your audiences energized and ready to take action with Resonate.

Presentation Secrets [eBook] by Alexei Kapterev Plan, create, and deliver amazing presentations! Alexei Kapterev's online presentation on presentations has seen more than one million views, all with no advertising or promotion. Building on this hit, he now brings us Presentation Secrets outlining his successful tactics for planning, producing, and presenting memorable and unique presentations. The author shares his insight, wisdom, and advice with impressive clarity and detail, covering the three main components required to a presentation: storyline design, slide design, and delivery. Presentation Secrets lets you get to work immediately, fully prepared, armed with confidence, and ready to inspire. Teaches everything that goes into a successful and memorable presentation Helps create a storyline, from planning the beginning, middle, and end, to establishing key points, to making a presentation scalable Discusses how to design a slide template that meets your goals, ensure consistency, and find focal points Dissects the delivery of a presentation, including how to create "a character", integrate mistakes, listening to yourself, talking to the audience, and avoiding monotony Includes non-presentation metaphor to drive home your understanding of storytelling, improvisation, and delivery Also featuring real-world examples of presentations from the worlds of business, science, and politics, such as Steve Jobs, Hans Rosling, and Al Gore, this unique book delivers tried and tested secrets and inside tips for making a sensational presentation!

Presentation Zen [book] by Garr Reynolds Best-selling author and popular speaker Garr Reynolds is back in this newly revised edition of his classic, best-selling book, Presentation Zen, in which he showed students there is a better way to reach the audience through simplicity and storytelling, and gave them the tools to confidently design and deliver successful presentations. In this new edition, Garr gives his students new, fresh examples to draw inspiration from, with a whole new chapter for those who present on more technical and educational topics based on techniques used by many presenters who give high-level talks at TED and other powerhouse events. Whether the student is in research, technology, business, or education--this book will show them how to take what could look like a really dry presenation and reinvigorate the material in totally fresh (and sometimes interactive!) ways that will make it memorable and resonate with the audience. Staying true to the mission of the first), Garr combines solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity to help readers along the path to simpler, more effective presentations that will be appreciated, remembered, and best of all, acted upon.

Presentation Zen Design [book] by Garr Reynolds In his internationally acclaimed, best-selling book Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery, presentation master Garr Reynolds gave readers the framework for planning, putting together, and delivering successful presentations. Now, he takes us further into the design realm and shows how we can apply time-honored design principles to presentation layouts. Throughout Presentation Zen Design, Garr shares his lessons on designing effective presentations that contain text, graphs, color, images, and video. After establishing guidelines for each of the various elements, he explains how to achieve an overall harmony and balance using the tenets of Zen simplicity. Not only will you discover how to design your slides for more professional-looking presentations, you'll learn to communicate more clearly and will accomplish the goal of making a stronger, more lasting connection with your audience.

The Naked Presenter [book] by Garr Reynolds When we learn to present naked, we reach our audiences by communicating the essence of the message, stripping away all that is unnecessary and embracing the ideas of simplicity, clarity, honesty, integrity, and passion. If "slideware" is used, the slides never steal the show or rise above serving a strong but simple supportive role. The ideas in the presentation may or may not be radical, earth shattering, or new, but there is freshness to the approach and content that makes a lasting impression. In this invaluable resource from the author for the best-selling books Presentation Zen and Presentation Zen Design, you will discover how to get to the core of your message and deliver presentations that are as natural as they are memorable. Whether you are just in the planning stages or need advice for a talk that begins in an hour, you'll find wisdom in The Naked Presenter that you can use to connect deeply with your audience and deliver a great presentation.

Beyond Bullet Points [book] by Cliff Atkinson Unlock the amazing story buried in your presentation--and forget boring, bullet-point-riddled slides forever! Guided by communications expert Cliff Atkinson, you'll walk you through an innovative, three-step methodology for increasing the impact of your presentation. Discover how to combine classic storytelling techniques with the power of visual media to create a rich, engaging experience with your audience. Fully updated for PowerPoint 2010, and featuring compelling presentation examples from classroom to boardroom, this book will help transform your presentations--and your business impact!

The Non-Designer's Presentation Book [book] by Robin Williams These days, it's not just corporate marketing directors tasked with giving computer-based presentations--anyone forced to stand in front of a crowd and talk for more than three minutes had better know how to put together a slide presentation. You're not a professional designer, but you want your slides to look professional. What do you do? Enter Robin Williams, the beloved, best-selling non-designer's designer (with over 850,000 copies of The Non-Designer's Design Book in print!) who has taught an entire generation the basics of design and typography. In The Non-Designer's Presentation Book, Robin expands upon the design principles introduced in her award-winning Non-Designer's series. She explains four fundamental principles of good design as applied to digital presentations, and adds four more principles specific to clear communication with slides. Whether you work with a Mac or PC, PowerPoint or Keynote, let Robin guide you, in her signature, light-hearted style, through the entire process of creating a presentation--from using the right software to organizing your ideas to designing effective, beautiful slides that won't put your audience to sleep. In this essential guide to presentation design, you'll learn: What makes a good presentation or a bad one How to plan, organize, and outline your presentation Four principles of designing effective presentations Four principles for designing beautiful slides that communicate clearly An exhaustive list of timeless presentation rules. that you should totally ignore

102 Tips to Communicate More Effectively Using PowerPoint [book] by Dave Paradi Presenters can use these practical tips to improve the effectiveness of their communication when presenting. The tips cover Presentation Structure and Sequence, Slide Design, Slide Content, Presentation Delivery, and Handouts. These are not technical tips on how to use the software. They are tips that help presenters focus on communicating their message clearly when using PowerPoint. If you currently use PowerPoint when presenting, these tips will help you communicate more effectively.

Presenting Your Research [eBook] by Lucinda Becker For many researchers, the need to present relevant and engaging material in the most effective way in an unfamiliar setting presents a potential barrier to their success as professionals. This handy guide tackles the obstacles to effective and successful presentations, considering the range of material which might be presented, the occasions which suit different types of material and the skills needed to present research in a way that is engaging and persuasive. This book addresses questions such as: Why should I give a paper and where might I give a paper? How does the conference system works? How do I prepare an abstract/outline/synopsis? How do I chose my material and prepare it for a conference presentation? How can I prepare effective conference aids? How can I overcome my nerves? How can I prepare and present effective posters for poster presentations? As with the other titles in the Success in Research series, this guide takes a hands-on approach and includes checklists, top tips, exercises and examples to help you remember what you have read and put it immediately to work! The Success in Research series, from Cindy Becker and Pam Denicolo, provides short, authoritative and accessible guides on key areas of professional and research development.Avoiding jargon and cutting to the chase of what you really need to know, these practical and supportive books cover a range of areas from presenting research to achieving impact, and from publishing journal articles to developing proposals. They are essential reading for any student or researcher interested in developing their skills and broadening their professional and methodological knowledge in an academic context.