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An academic presentation: How NOT to look boring…

An academic presentation is so predictable. It uses a familiar-looking Powerpoint template, is crammed with text and has little or no images. Looks like a document. And reads like a document…
To look boring is easy. It’s almost everywhere in higher education settings. So now… how to turn an academic presentation into an interesting visual treat remains a challenge for both academics and students. Here I share a before-after slide deck and some simple tips to makeover your presentation.

Recently I received a request from my former technical staff, Rohaida Hamel, for some feedback on her slide deck. Currently she’s working in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. I’ve worked with her in several symposia/conferences organised by USM Pharmacy School. I like her design work on promotional items and name badges. There’re always some elements of unexpected surprises in her visual designs–edgy sometimes, but very interesting. A talent.

She was going to give a presentation on the literature review on ‘Internal Air Quality’ to fulfil the requirements of her postgraduate studies. I asked her to send a slide sorter view, which is as follows:

Before slides
(slide credits: Rohaida Hamel)

My feedback on the slide deck

Overall, I really like the circle theme used here. Light on text and looks quite simple. The ‘penguin colours’ (black and white) don’t look dull to me. Instead the starkly contrasting colours look great alongside playful circles and shades of grey. Good choice! Of course, one can apply complementary colours, but in this case, I feel, it would hardly be necessary. Especially if time is the essence here.

Besides that, images used in the slide deck look professional and are relevant to her presentation since it’s about internal air quality–potted plants, offices, desktops. She kept the integrity of the circular theme throughout the slide deck. So I had only few feedback. My feedback on the slide deck can be seen here.

Below, I share 3 simple suggestions to turn any academic Powerpoint presentations from boring to looking great:

Type (Font)

Use sans serif, instead of serif. For example, change from Times New Roman to Arial or Calibri. Typically Times New Roman works well for documents or articles where people spend time reading long text.

A presentation is briefer. One idea per slide is recommended.

And don’t forget about the size. The bigger the room you’ll be presenting, the bigger the text should be. My rule of thumb for font size in a 150-capacity lecture hall is anywhere between 28-36, minimum.  

Don’t cram everything…

on 1-3 slides. I understand you spend 6-9 months, say on reviewing 100’s of articles and books during the literature review phase.  But that doesn’t mean overloading the slides (and your presentation) with all those information. Spread out the main points in 4-5 slides.

During the lit. review stage, if unsure, ask yourself, “what are 3 key contributions of this article?” and “how would these key contributions relate to my study?” Then, share 1 main point with the panel/audience. Learning how to distil the essence of an area or a body of knowledge is a skill essential to any researcher.

Learn how I present a 9-month work under 10 minutes: 50-in-10 minutes. Pecha Kucha?

Buy me a coffee

An indispensable skill, but often overlooked, is the skill in presenting the essence and its relevance to your thesis. I believe, one should continue cultivating for brevity and clarity in communicating and presenting your ideas and work in the academic setting. Avoid cramming. Avoid verbosity. The adverse effects of more text in a presentation are boredom and sleep. A ‘cure’ for insomnia…

For any presentations, keep it light and simple.

References in academic presentations

Highlight the top 3 articles. Make them visual – screen capture the titles & authors of the articles. The slide with the rest of 10+ articles can be placed after the ‘Thank you’ slide, in case any evaluators or academics are interested to find out further.

Post-feedback on the slide deck

The revised slide deck is shown below. They look ‘crispier’ and easier on the eye. If I happen to sit in as an audience in Rohaida’s presentation, I would definitely enjoy it – a visual treat for an academic presentation =)

After slides
(slide credits: Rohaida Hamel)

Of course there are more elements in a presentation that one can manipulate to elevate your presentations. The elements are always under the surface. Invisible to the unaware.

Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it’s this veneer – that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.

Steve Jobs

Being aware of design elements and choices in a presentation goes beyond cosmetics. A well-designed presentation helps you communicate your ideas and move your audience beyond their own expectations. That’s a successful presentation.

The elements and choices in a presentation range from the wise use of spaces, colours, images, layouts, appropriate presentation delivery with a  storyline. Consider a suitable storyline for academic talks to captivate your evaluators and audience.


Interested in improving your academic presentation?

To find out further on academic presentations, of course you can google it… 😉 but here are links to some useful resources:

For more inspirations?

How to prepare an effective viva-voce presentation

In a viva-voce, a Ph.D. or Masters candidate typically has 15-20 minute to present a 3-4 years work. How to compress years of work in 20 minutes? And make it effective and compelling to examiners?

In Awesome PhD Presentations! workshop, I will share tips and strategies (and secrets) in crafting an awesome presentation for your viva. Open to a minimum 10 participants (max. 25). You can contact me: hello at draisyah.com

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