A few tips about giving talks: -------------------------------- To calculate how many transparencies (xps) to make, use the following thumb rule: the avge time should be about 2-2.5 mins per xp. If you have more than 12 xps for a 20 min talk, among other things, you are violating the thumb rule above. Do not write too much on a xp. Write just the main points to help you in your flow and the people _listening_ to you. About 25--30 words/xp are enough according to me. (definitely not >35) Do not put things on the xp that you don't want people to read. It is unfortunate that people actually do this, especially when they xerox pages onto xps. Write BIG. Leave enough space between lines. Your xps should be easy on the eyes. And visible from the last bench, even if it is only the pigeons (or their legacy) that occupy it. It is foolish to write a complicated algorithm/proof on one xp (or even worse more than one xp) and expect people to read and understand it. Remember that if it takes effort to read your xp then there is a good chance that the audience is not listening to you. Unlike what your profs do, your intention is not to give good notes. Diagrams/Illustrations are often very nice things to have. These should help you put your point across. Give the main ideas, omit dull details. Remember: the objective is to get something across, not to impress the examiner with your ability to read the greek alphabet off a transparency. In fact, there is no need to write full sentences. Your talk and the xp should complement each other. If every word you utter is already written on the xp: the only thing the examiner is sure/doubtful of, is your reading ability. Your xps should be neat. Use colour pens freely but judiciously. You can also colour code--using different colours for highlighting etc. DO NOT flash a xp and take it away just because you have made it. It leaves a very bad impression and is a complete waste of time. If you are running out of time, skip xps. Your marks are not decided by the number of xps you flash. You need not present everything written in your report. But what you present should be very clear. Examiners are usually impressed by what they understand, not by what they do not understand. Talk slowly. It takes time for sentences to register, since in most cases, the examiners are also looking at your xps. Face the audience for most part, unless you have washed ONLY the back-side of your dress. Talk to the audience, make eye-contact, please. Do not talk to the board, the top-left corner of the room, or even worse to the slide projector. You might faint by staring at a bright light. Also, look at everybody in the audience. If you keep staring at the examiner only, he/she might faint. Try not to cover your transparencies and then slowly and dramatically reveal startling details. In fact you will not get into this mess if you don't have too much written on a xp. Overlays are ok though. And finally, Practice. It may not make you perfect but will definitely improve your presentation. It will also improve your timing. You MUST finish in your allotted time. It is ok to finish a couple of minutes early: you can see the glow on the examiner/chair's face on those rare occasions when this happens. The amount of work you have done may have no relation to the amount of time you hog presenting stuff. It is extremely irritating if the chairperson has told you to stop for the nth time and you are still trying to ghiss in a few words or even worse trying to shout him down. It may not be just lecturing that gives some faculty loud voices... Some people prefer using available S/W to prepare slides. SliTeX for instance. I prefer to write them. Also I personally prefer to see hand written xps unless neatness is an issue. There are benefits to slitex: neatness, convenience, but it loses part of the human element. You choose what you feel comfortable with. Answering Questions --------------------- When a question is asked, first understand it clearly and then answer the question precisely. Do not keep saying whatever you know on the subject or perhaps on other subjects. Talking about pineapple pakodas when you are asked a question on query optimisation is futile. For all you know the examiner may be allergic to pineapples. Any cover-up of your ignorance is usually obvious. If you don't know the answer, say so. If you need a few mins to think, ask for time. If you don't understand what is being asked, ask the person to repeat the question. Finally just to emphasise.. Your aim should be to make people in the audience understand what you have done. It is not to impress them about the work you have done. So, try and make difficult things easy rather than the other way around. Good Luck.