CVSSP seminars > advice
The purpose of 1st year seminars is to give students a first chance to speak publicly in front of a friendly audience. The experience it gives you will help you later during your transfer panel interview, and when you come to give conference presentations. Newcomers are only expected to speak for around 10 minutes as an introduction to your research topic. You are not expected to present results at this stage - although if you have some, please include them! Here are some suggestions for what you might include:
Second-year students are required to present their work at panel interview, so part of the transfer from MPhil to PhD includes giving a satisfactory presentation which can be rehearsed at an internal seminar. You will be expected to present preliminary results of your work, and demonstrate a knowledge of your specialist area. You should describe the methods you have used and your results, their advantages and disadvantages, and place them in context. How your results compare with those of others? Please be aware that CVSSP members span a wide range of signal processing specialisms and work on various kinds of application. Most people will not be experts in your field, so you need to think carefully about the level of knowledge that you can assume. These talks typically last for about 15-20 minutes, with 5-10 minutes for questions.
I assume postdocs, and others seasoned research students know what they're doing. A standard detailed talk would last 45 mins, but any longer and you'll have to wake people up when you leave!
Provide a title slide, with the title of your seminar, and your name (+ any co-investigators that have contributed significantly).
Provide a Contents slide with a short list of bullet points itemising the areas you will be discussing. Remember, your talk should have a beginning [Introduction], a middle [Method, Results], and an end [Conclusion & Further Work].
As a rough guide, you should anticipate about 2 minutes per slide for the main body of your talk. So for a 10 minute presentation, reckon on having approximately 5 slides of scientific information.
Keep the message simple - use a few key words, ideally as bullet points and don't clutter your slides with long sentences containing every word you want to say.
Non-serifed fonts (like this and this) are easier on the eye than serifed fonts (like this). Use a large font (at least 18pt) to ensure it is legible by all.
Use images or diagrams wherever possible - a picture can speak a thousand words.
It is good practice to acknowledge the assistance you have had from either collaborators and/or funding bodies. Medical charities, for example, often insist that their logo appear on your last slide as recognition of their funds.
...Wholesale photocopying of tables or graphs from textbooks. If you must copy a figure, make sure that all the text is large enough. Usually means you'll need to enlarge your copy by at least 200%. And don't forget to cite the source!
...Large tables of data, as they are confusing - only include the portion of the data that you wish to discuss.
...Complete paragraphs of text. Keep full sentences to a minimum. A few bullet points with just key words achieve much greater impact. This gives your audience some idea to focus on, while your exciting commentary brings it to life!
Many people will tend to speak too quickly (we all do sometimes) and too quietly. Public speaking requires you to talk LOUDER than normal, and more slowly! (It also helps fill the time!)
Rehearse - otherwise you will probably get your words muddled, especially if it is your first presentation. You also need to check your talk is the right length. Rehearsing will help you choose what is the most important part of your message, so you do not ramble on and lose your audience's attention. It builds confidence and, if you can grab a friend to listen, will give you a chance to improve the quality dramatically.
If there's anything you'd like to ask or suggest, I am contactable in my office or by email.
Good luck with yours, and I hope you enjoy the programme!
Philip Jackson, CVSSP internal seminar co-ordinator