How to give an oral presentation

Congratulations, your abstract has been accepted as an oral presentation at a conference! Now you must make an engaging slide deck and stand up in front of an audience of experts, to explain your entire research in around 10 minutes.

It’s not unusual to feel anxious or intimidated before presenting. Here are some tips for creating and giving the best possible presentation.

Keep in mind how specialised your audience will be when planning your presentation. This may help you skip some of the basics in your introduction.

Get your requirements right

Make sure you are completely clear on the instructions you have been given by the conference organisers:

• How long is your time slot to present?
• Is there a limit on the number of slides you can use?
• Is there a mandatory slide template?
• What slide size/ratio should you use?
• Are there any other formatting instructions?

Structuring your presentation

• Start by stimulating interest: explain briefly why your good idea has led to a substantial outcome. Be clear about how your work is new, relevant, or important.
• Discuss the most important part of your work and focus most of your time on that. Focus on the most essential parts as you won’t have long to convey everything.
• Finish with a key message or call to action for your audience – ask a question, read or cite your paper etc.

Making your slides

• If there isn’t a template to use, pick a theme for your presentation and stick with it.
• Keep fonts, header sizes, colours, and animation styles the same.
• When using graphs or diagrams, make sure any lines are distinct enough to make them clear.
• Don’t overload your slides with lots of text. Use bullet points as prompts for you to explain things in more detail to your audience.
• Use visuals when you can (graphs, figures, photos etc.) but keep them clear and simple.

Bring back up!

Some conferences ask you to submit your slides in advance, whilst others ask you to upload them when you arrive at the venue on the day. Regardless, always bring a back up of your presentation, The easiest way it to save a copy on a memory stick.

Giving your presentation

To help ease any nerves, locate your room in advance and arrive a little early to introduce yourself to the chairpersons of your session.

When you are presenting, try to look at the audience and not just at your slides or notes. Look around the room, not focusing on one section of the room.

Don’t shout into the microphone (if you have one) but do talk loudly and clearly. If you have a handheld microphone make sure it is not held too close to your mouth. It should be held around 1-3 inches from the lips and at an angle similar to eating an ice cream cone!

Prepare for questions

You may have an allocated time for Q&A at the end of your presentation, or you may be taking part in a panel discussion with other presenters, find this out in advance. If necessary, manage your time during your presentation to ensure you have time left for questions at the end.

There may not be many (or any) audience questions – your session chair will likely have questions prepared.

To calm your nerves, consider asking a friend or colleague in advance to ask you a question during the Q&A session.

If in doubt, ask! 

If you have any queries regarding the poster submission process, don’t be afraid to reach out to the conference team - they are there to help you!