Speaking & Presenting: Fundamentals and effective
strategies of formal presentations in academia
Martin Jirušek, Ph.D. 1
Presentations
 In academia and your future career you might be asked to present:
- your research (to your peers, supervisor, conference attendants)
- your position/opinion (at seminars, round tables)
- a teamwork (assuming responsibility for the others)
- practical implementation of your design (persuading your audience,
clients)
- yourself (during interviews)
Presentations
 Things to remember:
- purpose/targeted audience
- what will be assessed
- desirable content
- requirements (timing, use of equipment, interaction with audience...)
- Q&A session included?
- outcome (Will my presentation be distributed among the audience?
What will be the outcome of the session?)
Some mixed remarks...
 Warm up before giving presentation
- You will get warmed up eventually but it´s better to do it beforehand…
 Plan carefully (a rehearsal may be also useful) but...
- ...not everything should be scripted, be natural
 Take your time although time may seem to slow down 
- ...but keep up with the time frame (create ‘checkpoints’)
 Be natural and unnatural at the same time
 Stick to the topic (structure!)
 Mind your language & body language
 Keep contact with audience
 Be convincing but not intimidating
 Leave room for imagination
 Consider audience involvement
Giving a presentation is like...
 ...skiing down a mountain with a glass of wine, chocolate and little bit of love 
 Don´t panic – nobody has ever died because of speaking in front of audience 
Let´s give it a try…