SNU Presentation

Public Speaking: Giving a Great Speech : Public Speaking Tips: Body Language

2009-03-07T21:31:00.000+09:00

YouTube - Public Speaking: Giving a Great Speech : Public Speaking Tips: Body Language

This is one of many videos by this woman. I wish had her own site, so it would be easier to get her videos, but you can find the rest of her videos relatively easily at http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=expertvillage&view=videos&query=public+speaking

These are short, insightful videos on important public speaking skills. These overlap quite a bit with my own lectures :)

Cliché of the Week: Clip Art | slide:ology

2008-11-12T12:15:00.000+09:00

Cliché of the Week: Clip Art | slide:ology

Great suggestion for getting rid of clip art. Now, I'm not as militant as the writer, but I also agree that clip art is rarely a good idea. With that said, I'm guilty of using clip art myself when I'm in a hurry.

The Trouble with Transitions, Episode 1 & 2 | slide:ology

2008-10-31T13:42:00.000+09:00

Slide:ology has a lot of good, and often common sense, suggestions for what to do and not to do in presentations. Here is a two-parter (with somewhat humorous videos) on not using transitions. Not a must see, but certainly something to keep in mind. Transitions can hurt more than they help. Don't blindly use them.

Episode 1

Episode 2

You’ve Got to be Believed to be Heard | slide:ology

2008-10-21T13:03:00.000+09:00

You’ve Got to be Believed to be Heard | slide:ology

This is a little more about communicating with your eyes. The author understands her problem and consciously tries to fix it. We all need to understand what we do well and what can be improved. Only after we understand that can we consciously work on those improvements.

Learning the Art of English Conversation: 10 Tips on How to Speak Effectively in Public

2008-10-02T01:05:00.000+09:00

Learning the Art of English Conversation: 10 Tips on How to Speak Effectively in Public

Good suggestions for public speakers (all, not just language learners). Here is my summer, but I encourage you to take a look at the original for all it's glory.
1) look your best
2) stress important points
3) be humble
4) have a sense of humor
5) develop non-verbal language skills
6) careful with gestures
7) use simple language
8) engage audience
9) believe what you are saying
10) inspire listeners to take action

Handshake key to landing a job, scientists claim - Telegraph

2008-09-27T12:48:00.000+09:00

Handshake key to landing a job, scientists claim

I occassionally warn/inform my students about this perception in American culture. Handshakes are certainly common in Korean society, but what is considered proper firmness (and duration) is different. Koreans apply less force and tend to engage longer than Americans. Not to mention the fact that they tend not to maintain eye contact during the handshake. Additionally, women tend not to shake hands as much as they would in America and, if they do, the pressure is nearly indiscernible.

From my anecdotal data (personal experience and interviews), the reason for this are varied:
(1) Firm handshakes imply a confidence that is seen to be more aggressive, pompous, or otherwise disrespectful. This seems to be more of a no-no when dealing with someone that should be respected such as guests (me in most cases), elders, and superiors.

(2) Duration notes endearment or a desire to communicate affection (whether real or just the impression thereof).

(3) Lack of eye contact is similar to reasons in #1. This does not mean that there is no eye contact, but it is not sustained. Even if the gaze is in the region of the eyes, it's often just off the eye (eyebrow, nose, forehead, etc.).

(4) The handshake is still largely a male-male greeting. The more "westernized" people are, the more likely they are to shake your hand (both male and female). By westernized, I really mean that they have consistent contact with foreigners (non-Koreans & non-Korean residents), including those educated in English-speaking countries.

So, how do you explain proper handshake criteria to Koreans? You don't, just demonstrate it. If you need to explain it, you might say that the grip is firm enough to squish tofu, but light enough not to damage a grape :)

In addition, make sure they understand some of the cultural understandings (though these may differ from person to person or region to region). Weak handshakes may indicate moral/physical weakness, dishonesty, lack of confidence, and other negative characteristics. Strong handshakes are the opposite: moral/physical strength, honesty, confidence, and other positive characteristics (supported by the study above). These beliefs are not always (or even ever) true, but they are ingrained into the American psyche.

Twelve ways presenters can look more confident than they feel

2008-09-22T17:12:00.003+09:00

Twelve ways presenters can look more confident than they feel

This post has a number of good suggestions and even overlaps with a few in our course packet.

Acknowledge your fears
Respect your knowledge
Prepare your own visuals
Practice simplicity
Anticipate objections
Familiarize yourself with the presentation environment
Introduce yourself to your audience
Prepare a written introduction: Experience and Facts.
Start on time; Do not start with an apology; Reduces stress.
Project to your supporters
Never take walk-outs seriously; Nature calling; Unavoidable calls; Traffic.
Avoid prejudging your performance

YouTube - The Elevator Pitch

2008-09-21T18:49:00.000+09:00

YouTube - The Elevator Pitch

This is a great video about "elevator pitches". These are quick, 2-minute, presentations that attempt to sell your audience (small audience) on an idea in a short time. The focus here is on business pitches, but a lot of this can be applied towards getting your main ideas (most important ideas) across concisely.

Storytelling 101

2008-09-15T21:39:00.000+09:00

Storytelling 101

Nice presentation on making good presentations. Emphasizes the need for a good story behind the presentation.

Most academics seem to think that they just need to push the information out to the audience and that these types of presentations are for business or just "non-scientists". This is certainly far from the truth. You want people to remember your presentation and, in fact, remember you (conferences are more about networking than exchanging ideas). I'm sure that you remember good speakers much better than poor ones...which do you want to be?

Storytelling 101

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: sherlock rockstar)

Speech Made Simple

2008-08-27T21:04:00.000+09:00

Speech Made Simple

This is a very creative electronic book on public speaking. It was put together by a local teacher, Joshua Davies. I suggest you check it out.

It covers many of the things that we talk about through our session, yet in a cute package.

End of course party/lunch

2008-08-26T10:50:00.003+09:00

Hi ladies. The course came to fun end at the Omurice place and here's a picture to prove it.
Thanks to Soo bin for the picture.

Thanks for the great session and I wish you all great luck in your conference presentations and beyond.

- Dan

Example Presentations in the bio-sciences and elsewhere

2008-08-12T21:24:00.000+09:00

Here are some sample presentations of various quality (both in the content and media) that you can use to compare/contrast your performance with. Pay special attention to the organization of their presentations and the approaches that they take with their audience, their body language (when video of the speaker is available), and their spoken language.

SciVee TV - This is the coolest site that I've found so far. It's a video sharing site for scientific presentations. I think that you'll be impressed with the offerings.

Dr. Kronenberg research presentation - Actions of the PTH/PTHrP Receptor in Bone - Sept. 19, 2006 (video w/PPT -- 60 min)

Dr. Kronenberg research presentation - The Perichondrium in Bone Development - April 25-28, 2007 (audio w/PPT -- 30 min)

Rice University Webcasts - there are a great variety of topics associated with this site, with a good number being in the sciences. However, these are mostly in seminar formats around an hour in length.

MedicalRounds lots of great presentations in audio/ppt format. These are mostly longer presentations (around 1 hr). They mostly focus on medical clinicians, but could be for researchers as well.

Colons, commas and semi-colons, and particularly/especially

2008-07-22T14:27:00.003+09:00

There were some questions in class today on the following topics. Check out these resources for clarification.

Colon Usage
For more information on colons Wikipedia has a really good entry with examples at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_(punctuation)

Semi-Colon vs. Comma
The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) has an article on this at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_commacomp.html

Particularly/Especially
http://www.towson.edu/ows/comma.htm

Dan

Formatting Guidelines for Bio-Medical Journals

2008-07-22T14:19:00.001+09:00

Here are some resources on formatting guidelines for bio-medical journals.

* http://www.icmje.org/
* http://www.mlanet.org/publications/style/
* http://jama.ama-assn.org/misc/ifora.dtl
* http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html
* http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citama.htm

Craig Syverson on giving presentations

2007-11-12T17:06:00.000+09:00

Lab with Leo Laporte Episode 62 - Craig Syverson

This is a great video discussing how to give a good presentation. He repeats many of the things that I say in class, but it's certainly worth watching for a couple gems that I don't talk about (or that you slept through in my class :)

Dan

Clive on Learning: Clear and to the point

2007-10-30T13:03:00.000+09:00

Clive on Learning: Clear and to the point

This is a good review of a book that pulls out some helpful suggestions for using PowerPoint.

Here are the highlights directly quoted from the blog.

Present neither too little nor too much.
Build on your audience's prior knowledge.
Make sure the most important points stand out and that unimportant things don't.
Make differences clearly distinguishable.
Make clear what should be grouped together and what separated.
Where possible, make the form of an object compatible with its meaning.
If you vary properties, such as colour, size, font, transition, etc., do it to convey something meaningful.
Take account of your audience's limited capacity for remembering and processing information.

Check out the original posting for some criticism of these suggestions.

Dan

On the Academic Interview Circuit: An End-to-End Discussion

2007-10-12T07:21:00.000+09:00

On the Academic Interview Circuit: An End-to-End Discussion

Is it possible to have too much information? This might be, but it's great. Give it a read.

Dan

Academic, Faculty, Interviews, Questions

2007-10-12T07:20:00.000+09:00

Academic, Faculty, Interviews, Questions

A very good good-example/bad-example. The moral of the story is to be prepared to deliver what they want to hear.

Dan

Succeeding in Academic Interviews - Career Development - jobs.ac.uk

2007-10-12T07:18:00.000+09:00

Succeeding in Academic Interviews - Career Development - jobs.ac.uk

While academic interviews are a little off-topic for this blog, they are something that many students are going to encounter and should be prepared for. Also, the advice given on this topic is good for question and answer sessions at the end of presentations (and even preparing the presentation itself).

Dan

Do You Recognize These 8 Body Language Killers? at Ririan Project

2007-10-09T21:48:00.000+09:00

Warning: Do You Recognize These 8 Body Language Killers?

This is a pretty good list of don'ts that apply just as much in a conversation as they do in a presentation.

To summarize:
1. Keep eye contact
2. Don't let anything get between you and your audience (e.g., equipment)
3. Don't fidget.
4. Don't keep your hands in your pockets or clasped together
5. Don't stand perfectly still (look alive)
6. Don't slouch, lean back, or hunch over.
7. Don't use "phony" gestures. Don't practice your hand guesture too much. You want them to look natural.
8. Don't do any repetitive movements (similar to #3) that take attention away from your message (don't play with stuff in your pockets).

Dan

PubCon Street Tips: Giving a Kick Ass Presentation

2007-08-16T21:44:00.000+09:00

PubCon Publishers Search and Marketing Conferences 2007

This is a great article of giving good presentation. A lot of common suggestions and a few unique gems. The overall article is for presenters at technology conferences, but most of the advice is good for general presentations, including academic presentations.

Dan

How NOT to use a PowerPoint

2007-08-16T16:57:00.000+09:00

This is a very funny, yet very true video on how not to design a PowerPoint presentation.

Creating Photo Stories

2007-03-19T18:02:00.000+09:00

In our class, I am planning on doing a photo story. I see this as a way for you to create and present a presentation for all to appreciate, while remaining anonymous, thus removing some of the stress of presenting.

This type of project allows us to work on using visuals to convey meaning, pronunciation, timing, and organization. This will take us the rest of the semester to complete.

Take a looks at some of the examples below and let me know what you think about this.

Kids & Chess: A Photo Story

This one doesn't have anyone speaking, but it's funny :)
My Cubicle - Karaoke Version

Welcome to SNU Introduction to Presentation

2007-03-06T17:25:00.000+09:00

Welcome to SNU Introduction to Academic Presentations.

The Web is FULL of resources to help you to develop better presentation skills. From pronunciation help to structuring your presentation, there is something out there for you. This blog will help connect you with those resources.

Check back often for new postings.

Transitional Words and Phrases

2007-01-22T07:47:00.000+09:00

Here is a good list of transitions categorized by purpose. These are invaluable for both presentations and writing.

Dan

A Guide To Good Tables

2006-11-06T03:17:00.000+09:00

This is a good, yet slightly difficult to follow, presentation on the good use of tables in presentations.

We haven't talked much about the use of tables, so this is a good primer.

A Guide To Good Graphics

2006-11-06T03:15:00.000+09:00

Here is a pretty good, yet slightly difficult to follow, presentation on the good use of graphics in presentations.

Effective Use of Graphics - Kaiser Family Foundation

2006-11-06T01:34:00.000+09:00

This is a great presentation with PowerPoint-type slides and an audio commentary.

The presenter walks through many, many ways of presenting data. This is a great resource and I encourage you to watch/listen to it.

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information: Books: Edward R. Tufte

2006-10-18T12:41:00.000+09:00

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information is another book that has come highly recommended, including a recommendation from our own Kyoung Soo.

However, I have been warned that this book tends to focus on clarifying the design of data visualizations and not as much on the descriptions. I would appreciate any feedback on this that you have.

Dan

The Elements of Graphing Data: Books: William S. Cleveland

2006-10-18T12:38:00.000+09:00

The Elements of Graphing Data by William S. Cleveland has come highly recommended even though this is the 2nd edition of a rather old book. The contents focus on how and why we use visual data representations, which should also help you with the language that you use to describe data in both your presentations and writings.

Another of Cleveland's books comes highly recommended is Visualizing Data. This is a newer release (1993) and seems to focus a little more on the types of data visualizations and their usefulness.

Either of these books seem like they would be helpful to anyone who needs to work with and present data in the most eloquent way possible.

Let me know if you have any other suggestions.

Video: Giving Effective Presentations

2006-10-14T21:28:00.000+09:00

This is the video that I was watching before class started on Saturday. It looks like it is really good. The listening level is very high, so you'll need to watch this and pay close attention.

Communication Skills - making oral presentations

2006-10-14T21:20:00.000+09:00

This is a resource from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. The page isn't very attractive, but the information is very useful :)

5 Easy Steps to Bring Your Presentation to Life

2006-10-14T21:10:00.000+09:00

This is one of the Web pages that we looked for in class. I like their list of presentation mistakes and suggestions. I agree that the mistakes that they list cause presentations to took the audience to sleep. Check it out.

10 Tips for Creating Effective Presentations in PowerPoint 2002

2006-10-14T21:05:00.000+09:00

This is a good resource from Microsoft on creating presentations using PowerPoint. It was written for PowerPoint 2002, but I'm sure not much has changed in PowerPoint 2003.

SNU Presentation

Public Speaking: Giving a Great Speech : Public Speaking Tips: Body Language

Cliché of the Week: Clip Art | slide:ology

The Trouble with Transitions, Episode 1 & 2 | slide:ology

You’ve Got to be Believed to be Heard | slide:ology

Learning the Art of English Conversation: 10 Tips on How to Speak Effectively in Public

Handshake key to landing a job, scientists claim - Telegraph

Twelve ways presenters can look more confident than they feel

YouTube - The Elevator Pitch

Storytelling 101

Speech Made Simple

End of course party/lunch

Example Presentations in the bio-sciences and elsewhere

Colons, commas and semi-colons, and particularly/especially

Formatting Guidelines for Bio-Medical Journals

Craig Syverson on giving presentations

Clive on Learning: Clear and to the point

On the Academic Interview Circuit: An End-to-End Discussion

Academic, Faculty, Interviews, Questions

Succeeding in Academic Interviews - Career Development - jobs.ac.uk

Do You Recognize These 8 Body Language Killers? at Ririan Project

PubCon Street Tips: Giving a Kick Ass Presentation

How NOT to use a PowerPoint

Creating Photo Stories

Welcome to SNU Introduction to Presentation

Transitional Words and Phrases

A Guide To Good Tables

A Guide To Good Graphics

Effective Use of Graphics - Kaiser Family Foundation

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information: Books: Edward R. Tufte

The Elements of Graphing Data: Books: William S. Cleveland

Video: Giving Effective Presentations

Communication Skills - making oral presentations

5 Easy Steps to Bring Your Presentation to Life

10 Tips for Creating Effective Presentations in PowerPoint 2002

Top 10 Best Presentations Ever