Planning and developing your presentation

Download this planning sheet  to complete as you work through this course The planning sheet includes a blank version which you can use to develop your own presentation, and an example version which you can use to analyse the various elements of an example presentation used throughout this course, in order to help you plan your own.

You can download a text only transcript of this video, or a transcript including the PowerPoint slides.

Watch this video from Tim Gordon, the 2017 University of Exeter 3 Minute Thesis winner.

Can you identify a through line for Tim’s presentation? Add this to your example planning sheet. Once you’ve done this, think about your own presentation. Can you develop a through line in 15 words or less? Add your ideas to your planning sheet.

For more information, check out this article by TED’s Chris Anderson.

You can download a text only transcript of this video, or a transcript including the PowerPoint slides.

The 3 Minute Thesis competition, which Tim won at Exeter, is targeted to a non-specialist audience.  How would that have affected his planning? What did he do to make it accessible? Write your ideas on your example planning sheet.

Now think about your own presentation. Who are your intended audience? Jot some thoughts down on your planning sheet. Consider how your planning might change if you were presenting to the following audiences:

• Undergraduates
• Experts in the field
• An interdisciplinary conference

Make some notes on how you could adapt to present to these different groups.

You can download a text only transcript of this video, or a transcript including the powerpoint slides.

Brainstorm ideas for a hook for your presentation, and add these to your planning sheet. For ideas, why not watch Mark Powell’s video on ‘How to open and close presentations’.

You can download a text only transcript of this video, or a transcript including the powerpoint slides.

Read this infographic or watch this TED Talk from Nancy on ‘The Secret Structure of Great Talks’.

Use the speech bubble icon to activate subtitles for this video.

Identify the situation, conflict and resolution from Tim’s presentation, and add these to your example sheet. Consider how you can apply a narrative format to your own presentation, and add this to your planning sheet.

For further resources, you can look at these articles:

• Scientific Presentations and the Art of Storytelling by Ondřej Černotík
• 7 Ways to Structure Your Presentation by Orana Velarde
• A Simple Plot for a Literature Review by Alan Klima

You may also be interested in this episode of the podcast R, D and the In-betweens where Researcher Development Manager Kelly Preece talks to Dr. Caitlin Kight about storytelling in research communication.

Kelly Preece has also produced two infographics summarising Will Storr’s The Science of Storytelling, which is mentioned in the podcast.

You can also download a text version of this infographic.