Structuring Your Presentation
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The structure of your presentation is key in effectively communicating your project. Your goal is to present your information in a coherent and sequential manner so your audience can understand and follow. This section will briefly outline ways in which to successfully articulate your work and feel secure when presenting. The structure outlined here is only a recommendation, participants' intellectual and aesthetic freedoms are not bound by the outline detailed below.
Contents |
Suggested Schema
- Background information
- Objective
- Hypothesis
- Procedure
- Results
- Analysis
- Relevance
- Conclusion
Background Information
It is crucial that you set the tone for your presentation and build a solid frame of reference for your audience to enable them to place the information of your presentation in context. This is also an excellent opportunity to present the problem/solution formula. The research you are conducting is surely set to prove or improve something, therefore you should emphasize the status quo (how things are presently) and what aspects of it you are trying to improve. You are therefore stating a problem, and the research that you are presenting is the solution. Remember to keep information concise. An influx of information can confuse your audience, so remember to stress the important facts.
Objective
You should state the goal of your research in one or two sentences. The objective has to be very clear so your audience, especially your judges, can know precisely what you tried to accomplish.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis can be best described as an educated guess as to what results you are going to obtain. It is suggested to make your hypothesis in the form of an if/then statement.
Example:
- If students enjoy school science courses, then it can be hypothesized that they will really like participating in science fair!
This is an excellent way to shine and demonstrate your mastery of the subject. When stating the basis for you hypothesis, quote research. By quoting sources, you are providing concrete proof for your statements and also scoring points with the judges by showing them that you did your research!
Procedure
Do not go into detail when stating materials and methods. State the bare minimum, especially being that it is easy to lose your audience in technical explanations. One thing that can facilitate your explanation is an animation or diagram. Visuals are great ways to keep your audience on track and make information easier to integrate. You can have them on your board or integrate them in a PowerPoint presentation. To PowerPoint or not to PowerPoint.
Results and Analysis
The results and analysis part of your presentation are the two most important. This is the crux of your project. Show the data you obtained and then explain why you believe you got those results and relate it to the objective of your project.
Relevance of Research
A project is interesting no matter what you choose to investigate; however, in order to show the importance of it, you need to sate why it is relevant. This is a good spot to reinforce the problem/solution concept you brought up in your introduction. Put your results and research into context so that people see why it is important!
Conclusion/Future Research
In the conclusion, you should strive to tie in all of the information you presented to your audience. Reiterate each section outlined above in a few short sentences, especially the information related to the testing of your hypothesis. It is also important to outline future research to show that you have a vision for the project and it is something that can be sustained in the future. Lastly, acknowledge all of the key people who made your project possible, this includes teachers and mentors. Your project could not have been realized without their help, so it is responsible and professional to distinguish them either at the beginning, throughout or at the end of your presentation.
Tips to further enhance your presentation
The purpose of your presentation is to demonstrate your interest in the subject area and share your innovation with others. The best way to do so is to make your presentation well organized and straight-forward. The schema suggested above is modeled after the scientific method. This provides a very logical format for your presentation. By following this format, you can shorten or lengthen your presentation on command. Some judges, will ask very pointed questions and only ask for five minutes of your time, but you will be able to present all of the key concepts of your research within that time frame because you have condensed and grouped your information logically.
Being concise and coherent are important. Judges and public viewers are more impressed when you can conceptualize, break down and simplify difficult and detailed material. The importance is not in the number of facts and detail you can cram in a twenty-minute oral presentation, but how you present it in a clear and concise manner. Your articulation is the key to a successful project because it is coming from you, and it is the interest and passion that you communicate that will impact your audience most!
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