Undergraduate Research

Sharing your work is an integral part of conducting research in order to share the results of your investigation, the methods that led you to the results, and why the results are important. Depending on the scope of your research project, there are multiple ways that you can share your research including presentations.

Presenting

Here are a few tips to help you succeed  in your presentation: 

• Preparing for your presentation
  • If you are using slides during your presentation, create engaging slides that are not saturated with words and that use relevant and evocative photos.
    • Click here to access MS PowerPoint templates that are specific to the University of Calgary. 
    • You can use websites such as Colourbox, Creative Commons Search and Unsplash to find photos that you can use in your presentation
  • Prepare a bulleted list of your talking points for each slide. Do not write a script!
  • Practice presenting as you would in front of your classmates, instructor and/or stakeholders. If there is a time limit, time yourself to make sure that you don't go over your allotted time
    • If presenting online, try sharing your screen and figure out your desktop set up so you can see your notes, the individuals you're presenting to, and your slides at the same time. 
  • If there is a Q&A portion at the end of your presentation, write down questions that you anticipate will be asked and your answer to them
  • Turn off or mute notifications on your device to reduce distractions for you and your audience 
• During your presentation
  • Make sure that the right screen is being shared
  • If there is a Q&A potion at the end of your presentation, 
    • Don't be afraid to ask for a question to be repeated 
    • Don't be afraid to say if you don't know the answer 
• After your presentation
  • Take a deep breath! What you just did was no easy task so pat yourself in the back!

Being calm and confident are key in delivering an impactful presentation, even in if you're presenting online. Watch the following video on how you can be calm and confident during your presentation: