594 Great Presentations

Great Presentations is a hands-on, practice-intensive course that focuses on the most important elements of excellent formal presentations. The fundamental principles discussed and practiced in class can be applied in a variety of contexts, including the short research or lab talk, the formal conference presentation, a poster presentation, a job talk, an interview, an “elevator talk,” a class presentation. We talk about how to construct a logical and interesting presentation story, the design and best use of visuals, transitioning through the story and slides, fluent delivery, connecting with the audience, timing, coordination of movement with content, and key linguistic elements such as volume, pitch range, intonation, and ends of utterances. We also look at the art of asking and responding to questions. Our guiding principle throughout the course is the refinement of each participant’s individual speaking style and manner. Students will give talks of varying lengths followed by detailed feedback from the instructor and helpful comments from the group. We videotape all class presentations and post them on a website for student reference and review. Please contact Janet directly (kayfetz@cs.ucsb.edu) if you have any questions.