My 2-essentials for a successful presentation
In my line of work as a researcher, presentations in conferences are part of the job. I've learned a lot during these years from my supervisor, other researchers, failures, successes. I learned enough to find 2 essential elements that I would like to share with you.
Preparation and Humility.
It’s not good preparing last minute presentations. You make last-minute changes, but these are marginal. Every presentation must be carefully prepared. This is not only important to your performance, but - for me - it's a matter of respect to my audience, even if that implies a single person.
The first step in Preparation is preparing the "slides". Note I used the word "slides" instead of PowerPoint, because, honestly, it's not the best tool to prepare a presentation. Today people use other options like Prezi and in my case, Apple's Keynote. Short story about that.
I was in Dubrovnik (Croatia) attending a conference and present my work. It was the first time I was using Keynote in the iPad, so, yes, I was excited to show my results. Also, I commented with a colleague the change from PowerPoint and wanted to show the potential behind a tool such as Keynote. So I asked her to pay attention to the slides dynamics to see the difference. At the end she made unexpected comment "It's amazing how the slides followed your speech". Then I realized, and noticed in others' presentations, people often follow the slides and not the other way around. Slides are a but a visual illustration enriching your speech. Slides are not documents, but the background of your ideas, explanations, thoughts.
When you prepare a presentation, you're telling a story, even if it is technical. It should always involve you to a point the other feels involved. Once a research colleague told me "I wasn't familiar with the topic, but the way you spoke was clear and I felt involved in what you were saying".
Why all this? Preparation. I rehearse my presentation at least 10 times. I speak the words until I'm unable to pronounce them anymore. And during that process making sure I fulfill the exact time I'm supposed to, we come up with ideas to change the slides that may substantially improve your message.
Finally, humility.
In the first year of my PhD, I had to present some results and while preparing my presentation with my supervisor, there were several issues questioning those results unaddressed in the paper. I was nervous. I thought "why hasn't he told me this before? Why now when I have to make my presentation tomorrow?" Ok. I was not only nervous. I was MAD with my supervisor, but the outcome of that disappointment with myself was surprising.
It was D-Day. My turn to go on stage and make that "damn" presentation. The only words that came to my mind were my supervisor's advice "be humble". So, that's what I did. I sought to present my results in the most humble way I could. The result was awesome! Many people I had the utmost respect for their work congratulated me for my talk and share their impression I had great results. From that moment on, humility became the greatest quality to ensure a successful presentation. Humility means respect for the work you did, respect for the work others have done before, respect to your audience that is there listening to you instead of being in another session. Humility shows others the importance you give to the story of your work, the value it has for you, and the awareness it can always improve.
Preparation and Humility. Try it and you'll see.
