Guidelines for PowerPoint Presentation of Your Research Paper

  1. Oral Presentation and PowerPoint Presentation to the class:

Your presentation should be about 7-10 minutes in length, including a minute or two to answer some questions. Practice your presentation before presenting it to the class. Of course, you may have notes—but not a full text—to supplement your oral presentation of the slides. You can print an outline format from the PowerPoint project to use as a guide. I will be grading not only on the PowerPoint, but also on your oral presentation.

  1. Content

You need to model your slide presentation on an outline that you can create from the finished paper. Your presentation needs to include 10-15 slides. Included is a list of suggested slides for your presentation.

  • Title page (maybe with your picture on it??)
  • One slide for the introduction—including the initial position statement (thesis)
  • One slide in which you explain why you selected the topic
  • At least one slide per “chunk” of your paper
  • One slide for the conclusion—with the position statement reintroduced
  • One appendix for works cited
  • Personal response to topic

You must emulate the format of your paper in the PowerPoint presentation.

  1. Design Principles

You want to engage your audience with an appealing, informative and tasteful presentation. Keep it unified with common threads, such as a common background for the slides and appropriate sound and visual effects. Distracting special effects do not add to the quality of the presentation. You will find lots of possibilities, but you must make good choices about what is appropriate to your presentation and your audience. The presentation should HIGHLIGHT the content of your research paper, not just the bells and whistles of PowerPoint. Also, this presentation accompanies your oral presentation as a visual aid. It is the not the “end all, be all” of the presentation. Remember that your audience (me) will be looking at HOW you are presenting (body language) as well as listening (what you say and how you say it). Please remember: Few words on a PowerPoint presentation are what you’re aiming for.

  1. Public Speaking Skills

You want to make this presentation easy for your listeners. With that in mind, remember the following:

  • Begin by introducing yourself and your topic—don’t jump right in with “Ah, I did…”
  • Thesis—begin your presentation with thesis and forecasting statements to let your audience know what you intend to communicate and the order in which you will present your material (forecast).
  • Let your reader know verbally that you are moving from your introduction to the first point of your body (with words such as “First, let me tell you…”).
  • Provide strong verbal transitions when you move from point to point—show relationships of ideas.
  • End your oral presentation with a summary of your main points.
  • Use your visual aid as clue for the above!
  • Make eye contact
  • Use your hands as you would in a comfortable conversation. Be careful not to lean on podium, chew gum, or look unprofessional.
  • Avoid distracting vocal mannerisms—“uh,” “like,” and “you know”
  • Speak loudly so everyone can hear you and speak clearly and distinctively. Nervousness may cause you to speak too quickly, so watch your pace.
  • Do not speak in a monotone; instead, let the pitch of your voice rise and fall naturally.
  • Dress appropriately for the audience and the situation. The focus should be your message, not your dress or lack thereof.