In-class presentations are usually graded. It stands to reason, then, that your audience is really one person: the professor doing the grading. It also stands to reason, then, that the presentation is really about you - how well you know the material.
It's a mistake to think so, and in order to give a great in-class presentation, you have to completely change your mind about who the audience is and what the professor cares about.
The professor is actually the least important person in the audience. The reason this is so is that it is very likely the professor won't learn very much from your presentation. In some cases, the professor will know more about the topic than the presenter. In other cases, the professor may not know the topic deeply, but will be the most equipped person in the room to understand what you are saying. The professor will be able to "fill in the gaps" if you are less than clear.
But a good presentation isn't defined by the fact that the most knowledgeable person in the audience gets it - it's exemplified when most or all of the audience gets it. The professor is likely to grade you not based on what the professor gets out of your presentation, but rather what the professor guesses the weakest students in the class get out of your presentation.
Class time is valuable. There are only so many sessions in a semester, and if the professor is giving 2 or 3 or more class sessions over to student presentations, you can bet the professor is hoping that those sessions aren't wasted for the audience. The professor is expecting you to teach them - it's not just 15 minutes for you to show the professor what you know.
So what should you do? When designing your presentation, don't think about what the professor knows, think about what your classmates know. The more effective you are in teaching them, the more successful the presentation will be and the better grade you'll receive.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Who's speaking? You, or your slide?
Giving presentations in class can be a very intimidating experience. Probably the greatest fear a student has is forgetting what he or she wanted to say.
Most people defend against that by over-preparing. The whole talk is typed out, or paraphrased on note cards, or written on Power Point slides.
It's natural to be nervous before a presentation - arguably, you should be nervous. The problem is that we're nervous about the wrong thing. What we should be afraid of is not forgetting what we had intended to say - we should be nervous about losing the audience. Your job as a presenter isn't finished when you speak the words - you are also responsible for your audience understanding your words.
Well then, doesn't it make sense to write everything on your slides?
It turns out: no. Presentations "go well" when the audience is paying attention to the speaker - when your eyes are on the audience and the audience's eyes are on you. The last thing you want is your audience's attention diverted. Put words on a screen, and people will read them. That takes their attention away from you and your attention away from them.
Too many presentations become a room full of people reading, rather than listening and conversing. Think about your own experience as an audience member: when there is a lot of information on a slide, you feel rushed - you have to read quickly, because who knows when the slide is going to go away. If you can't keep up, you lose the "thread", become hopelessly lost, and give up trying to follow it. Presenters are likely to feel exactly the opposite: because it is all on the slide, because the presenter worked hard to craft the sentences "just so", because the presenter knows what came before and what's coming next, it is all too easy to assume your audience must understand what they are reading - and so you forge ahead quickly through the slides.
Here's a suggestion: when you are first working on a presentation, go ahead and write it all out on the slide. Then, as you rehearse, take words away. Replace words with figures or pictures.
When you present, keep your eyes on the audience. Resist the urge to do more than glance at your slides. When a slide is critical - when it shows an important results figure or diagram, walk over to the screen and point to parts of the slide as you talk. Direct your viewers - don't let their eyes rove on their own. Don't make them do the work. Lead them. Teach them.
Most people defend against that by over-preparing. The whole talk is typed out, or paraphrased on note cards, or written on Power Point slides.
It's natural to be nervous before a presentation - arguably, you should be nervous. The problem is that we're nervous about the wrong thing. What we should be afraid of is not forgetting what we had intended to say - we should be nervous about losing the audience. Your job as a presenter isn't finished when you speak the words - you are also responsible for your audience understanding your words.
Well then, doesn't it make sense to write everything on your slides?
It turns out: no. Presentations "go well" when the audience is paying attention to the speaker - when your eyes are on the audience and the audience's eyes are on you. The last thing you want is your audience's attention diverted. Put words on a screen, and people will read them. That takes their attention away from you and your attention away from them.
Too many presentations become a room full of people reading, rather than listening and conversing. Think about your own experience as an audience member: when there is a lot of information on a slide, you feel rushed - you have to read quickly, because who knows when the slide is going to go away. If you can't keep up, you lose the "thread", become hopelessly lost, and give up trying to follow it. Presenters are likely to feel exactly the opposite: because it is all on the slide, because the presenter worked hard to craft the sentences "just so", because the presenter knows what came before and what's coming next, it is all too easy to assume your audience must understand what they are reading - and so you forge ahead quickly through the slides.
Here's a suggestion: when you are first working on a presentation, go ahead and write it all out on the slide. Then, as you rehearse, take words away. Replace words with figures or pictures.
When you present, keep your eyes on the audience. Resist the urge to do more than glance at your slides. When a slide is critical - when it shows an important results figure or diagram, walk over to the screen and point to parts of the slide as you talk. Direct your viewers - don't let their eyes rove on their own. Don't make them do the work. Lead them. Teach them.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Who is they? What is it?
I vividly remember the first time my advisor returned to me a draft of a manuscript I had written as a senior in college. I considered myself a pretty good writer, but page after page contained corrections and suggestions that filled the margins. The comments were all written in red ink, which I'm sure made the situation seem worse than it was.
It turns out, though, that I wasn't a bad writer. I was in the same position that the vast majority of my students are in now - my writing was littered with little bad habits that collectively made my writing a lot less understandable than it could be. As a professor who now has to read student manuscripts, essays, and test answers, I'm impressed with how commonly-shared these bad habits are. This blog will provide writing tips (and presentation tips) each month in conjunction with the Psychology Department Newsletter.
Today's Topic: Who is they? What is it?
One of the most commonly repeated bad habits is the overuse of pronouns (especially "it" and "they").
1. Pronouns are ambiguous
One problem with overusing pronouns is that pronouns are often ambiguous. Consider the following example:
The funny thing is, it takes hardly any effort to be clear:
2. Pronouns get repetitive
Pronouns should only be used to avoid repetition, and only when the antecedent is unambiguous. Pronouns are best used when the antecedent is in the same sentence or in the end clause of the preceding sentence.
In my experience, though, students tend to use pronouns in a repetitive fashion when specifying the subject would not be repetitive. I have counted as many as 7-8 repetitions of "they" in a single paragraph. If anything, repeating "they" is more wearisome for a reader than repeating "the participants".
3. Pronouns make your readers work
Every time we encounter a pronoun, our brains have to translate that pronoun into its antecedent. A pronoun is a code. In the sentence:
(By the way, is it ever okay to use pronouns? Sure - in the previous example. The word "them" is code for "scores" - "The researchers standardized the scores before analyzing them" - but the antecedent is unambiguous, is only a few words away, and spares us the redundancy of saying "the scores" twice. Of course, better would be "The researchers standardized the scores before analysis" or, still better, "The researchers standardized the scores." So I got rid of the pronoun after all!)
The Tip
Don't fall into the lazy habit of using pronouns. Take he, she, it, they, them, and this out of your vocabulary. Or at least always ask yourself if you have a choice. If you do, and you can easily substitute a concrete subject for a pronoun, do it. Your writing will be livelier, clearer, and easier to read. And that's what "it" is all about!
It turns out, though, that I wasn't a bad writer. I was in the same position that the vast majority of my students are in now - my writing was littered with little bad habits that collectively made my writing a lot less understandable than it could be. As a professor who now has to read student manuscripts, essays, and test answers, I'm impressed with how commonly-shared these bad habits are. This blog will provide writing tips (and presentation tips) each month in conjunction with the Psychology Department Newsletter.
Today's Topic: Who is they? What is it?
One of the most commonly repeated bad habits is the overuse of pronouns (especially "it" and "they").
1. Pronouns are ambiguous
One problem with overusing pronouns is that pronouns are often ambiguous. Consider the following example:
Fifteen rats were tested by the researchers over a two week period. They were housed in standard shoebox cages and had free access to food and water.Who was housed in shoebox cages? The rats? Or the researchers? Surely, this is a trivial example - it must be the rats. But in many cases, the solution is less obvious.
Addiction to certain pain killers, such as Oxycontin, can cause hearing problems. This problem appears to be more common now than ever before.Which problem? Addiction or drug-induced hearing loss? Of course the answer may become obvious a few sentences down the road, but if your readers have guessed wrong, you've forced them to rethink or reread when they shouldn't have to. You want your reader to comprehend your ideas immediately and without effort.
The funny thing is, it takes hardly any effort to be clear:
Addiction to certain pain killers, such as Oxycontin, can cause hearing problems. Addiction to such drugs appears to be more common now than ever before.No more effort for you; far less effort for your readers.
2. Pronouns get repetitive
Pronouns should only be used to avoid repetition, and only when the antecedent is unambiguous. Pronouns are best used when the antecedent is in the same sentence or in the end clause of the preceding sentence.
In my experience, though, students tend to use pronouns in a repetitive fashion when specifying the subject would not be repetitive. I have counted as many as 7-8 repetitions of "they" in a single paragraph. If anything, repeating "they" is more wearisome for a reader than repeating "the participants".
3. Pronouns make your readers work
Every time we encounter a pronoun, our brains have to translate that pronoun into its antecedent. A pronoun is a code. In the sentence:
They were given a personality test.the word "they" is code for "the participants". This code is constantly changing. Later in the same paper, there may be this sentence:
They standardized the scores before analyzing them.in which "they" is code for "the researchers". But why write in code at all? Your job when you write is to be clear - if you have a choice to write "The researchers standardized the scores" instead of "They standardized the scores" - why wouldn't you?
(By the way, is it ever okay to use pronouns? Sure - in the previous example. The word "them" is code for "scores" - "The researchers standardized the scores before analyzing them" - but the antecedent is unambiguous, is only a few words away, and spares us the redundancy of saying "the scores" twice. Of course, better would be "The researchers standardized the scores before analysis" or, still better, "The researchers standardized the scores." So I got rid of the pronoun after all!)
The Tip
Don't fall into the lazy habit of using pronouns. Take he, she, it, they, them, and this out of your vocabulary. Or at least always ask yourself if you have a choice. If you do, and you can easily substitute a concrete subject for a pronoun, do it. Your writing will be livelier, clearer, and easier to read. And that's what "it" is all about!
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