How to Become a Doctorate: Deliver a Great Presentation

Ideally delivering a presentations on your own PhD and updating the department faculty members and other students who will be present in the audience about your research progress should not be a problem because you are more aware of the topic than any one else in the room.


But is it so?


Have you often felt lack of clarity on your understanding?
Is the audience getting confused?
Do you fumble when pointing out important informations like names, dates and places?


Then read ahead for the know-how of a good presentations.

1. As soon as you are informed about the upcoming presentation, inquire duration or total time allowed to each scholar. Suppose you are told 30 minutes. So, plan your presentation for 15-20 minutes. Leave the rest for the obvious question-answer round. If you make the mistake of carrying on a lengthy presentation which lasts for 30 minutes, your audience will be bored and chances are you will be interrupted and told to stop because time is running out.
2. Many times the research aim and idea is clear in mind, but speaking about it is difficult. The scholar who is able to provide clarity to the listener about their chosen topic in simple terms not in bookish style, is the perfect speaker. Use clear and simple language, like you speak normally. Using too much of big words, jargons or heavy vocabulary may make someone uncomfortable in the reviewing panel/board or audience.
3. Your presentation should be such that even a person unaware of your topic can understand. Other than your Supervisor, frankly, no one knows what you are working on. So, you have to fill the gap and describe to whoever is present what your research project is. So, try to be less complex when explaining terms and concepts to your audience. You are not there to show how intelligent you are. You are rather telling them what knowledge you have gathered from the on-going research and what more needs to be accomplished.
4. To give great speeches/presentations, hear great speeches/presentations. Take time out to search YouTube or podcasts, and listen to speeches in your area of study. This will train you in the techniques of speaking well, how to use powerful language and what to emphasize on.
5. In order to gain confidence in your speech, assume that the audience is blank and knows nothing. If you put too much pressure on yourself and think that the audience is an expert on the topic, you will lack the confidence to speak well and become nervous.
6. While practicing at home, arrange the information and data in your speech carefully. They must be logically placed and spoken as if you are telling a story. Link each aspect and flow from one issue to another. In this manner, not only your audience will be engaged but you yourself wont forget the sequence of your speech.
7. When making PhD presentation, provide proper examples (verbal or visual) that support your research findings and validate your points/arguments. Examples removes any confusion over what you might be referring to when making an argument/point and what the audience is assuming. An easy way would be to first finish off drafting the speech and then add examples wherever you feel.
8. A lot times, when a scholar has reached almost to the finishing line and delivering the presentation on his/her research findings, too much effort is laid on resources used, literature read and findings. While, it is necessary to mention all those, kindly do not miss out on telling how your research in the larger sense adds to the knowledge and can help future researchers or your particular subject area.
9. Practice your presentation at home so well, that you do not need to peek into the notes again and again. One of the most off putting things about speeches and presentations is that the speaker rather than making an eye contact with people in the audience begins to read like a kid from a paper. If you think you will forget the sequence of the speech, make use of slides in which you can mention headings and sub-headings. But in slides too, do not begin to read slides in detail and forget the audience.

Public speaking comes with practice. And, it is an unavoidable part of PhD. You have to present it in verbal form at some stage in front of the examining broad or a larger audience. So, get a good grip over your dissertation/research, memorize the books and authors, and be confident in the knowledge gained.