PRESENTER INFORMATION

Speaker Guidelines

The following tips and guidelines will help oral presenters prepare for a smooth and successful presentation at the Bay-Delta Science Conference.

Speaker logistics 

• 15 minutes to present + 3 minutes for Q&A + 2 minutes to transition.

• Slides must be 16:9 widescreen and submitted as PowerPoint or PDF.

• Your session chair/moderator will provide instructions for loading your presentation to the convention center laptop.

• Session laptops are Lenovo T490s with the latest version of PowerPoint and a wired Ethernet connection.

• Load your presentation and any accompanying video files at least one hour before your session. Run through slides and videos to make sure it all loads smoothly.

• Bring a USB-A backup of your presentation and any video files you will be presenting.

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Session chairs will strictly enforce the 20-minute schedule. A timer at the podium will help you stay on track:

🟢 0–15 min, Tell your story

🟡 15–18 min, Q&A

🔴 18–20 min, Transition to next speaker

On-site support 

• The Speaker Prep Room is Meeting Room 13. It will be open throughout the conference. 

• Laptops, USB drives, and power strips will be available in the speaker prep room.

• Each session room will have a moderator, AV technician, and conference volunteer. 

  • Moderators introduce speakers by name and affiliation and enforce the 20-minute schedule.

  • The AV technician will assist with presentations and technical issues. 

  • The conference volunteer will provide general support, including timekeeping and microphone assistance during Q&A.

Presentation tips: slide design and public speaking

Design slides for your audience

• Make sure you can read your slides when projected from up to 70 feet in a partially darkened room. Never use a font smaller than 24 point.

• One slide = one idea. If you have three ideas, make three slides!

Define your central message

• The most impactful presentations have a clear thesis or take-home message that is shared in the beginning, middle, and end of the presentation.

• Be sure to clearly state why the audience should care about your research?

• Develop a summary of your work that you can state in 25 words or less, using plain language.

  • Tool for crafting your message using plain language: Hemingway Editor

To clarify your talk and generate interest:

• Scientific talks contain many facts and data, so summarize. 

• Each slide title should state the main point. Instead of “Results” try “Restored wetlands retained more carbon than reference sites.”

• Consider: How might other disciplines or other research areas within my own discipline use this information?

• Make your talk memorable and relatable by including stories about the people and events that motivate you to do your work. 

Visuals

• Limit the use of text in your presentation. It is difficult for the audience to read your slides and listen to you talk at the same time.

• Avoid using all caps, as it is harder to read.

• Choose an easy-to-read font and simple color scheme that is consistent throughout.

• Don’t rely on color to communicate meaning. Use colorblind-friendly palettes and combine colors with labels, patterns, and symbols where appropriate.

• Use strong contrast between text and background.

Redesign figures for your presentation

• Figures used in peer-reviewed publications are typically unsuitable for presentations. Consider how you can adapt these figures to the main point in your presentation.

• Tables. If you must use, try to keep them to 4 columns and 3 lines. Text should be large enough for audience to easily read. Simplify column headers.

• Graphs/figures: 

  • Add a main takeaway title.

  • Relabel axes to match language used in presentation (in large font).

  • Slowly walk the audience through the figure, axes, legend, and main takeaway.

  • Remove any information that is not essential to making your main point.

  • Add labels on the graph to reduce amount of decoding the audience must do with a legend.

• Photos can be effective in making science tangible, help the audience relate to the scientist, create an emotional connection with audience so it is more memorable, and highlight the place-based nature of research.

Some great resources to help with designing slides:

• Echo Rivera, freelance science communicator, free starter kit, blogs, and videos.

• Harvard Catalyst Visualize Science with Slides

• MIT communication lab, Policy Presentation

Speaking techniques and tips

Almost all speaking hurdles can be overcome with practice, practice, practice.

Before your talk:

• • Practice out loud, all the way through, standing up as you would at the conference.

  • Time yourself. 

  • Practice and refine transitions between slides and ideas.

  • Test your opening and final takeaway with someone unfamiliar with your research.

During your talk:

• Slow down.

• Look up.

• It is ok to pause. This will help reduce the “ums” and fillers you might inadvertently add.

• Use your voice to emphasize what matters.

• When you mess up (no talk goes exactly as planned), don’t apologize. Back track or keep going. The audience probably won’t even notice.