Special Research I

Session 2: (3) Making Effective Presentation at AECT(Chapter 3)

Do not put a “table of contents” on the second slide (Suzuki's personal opinion)

 Presentation slides are basically prepared according to the contents of the proposal. In order to communicate what kind of study was (or is going to be) conducted, explain the background, current progress, purpose, method, and (expected) results. Do not deviate from this royal road. On the other hand, try to “speak” by taking the difference between “writing” and “speaking” into consideration. I believe that a major difference lies in the ingenuity of how to begin.

 When you have 10 to 15 minutes for your presentation at an academic conference (or presentation of your study plan in front of professors), you are required to prepare for it thoroughly and elaborately. It would take more than a week to plan and prepare how to present what you would like to say in the short time. The first slide should show basic information such as the title and name of the presenter. The challenge is what to put on the second slide. A table of contents you often see on the second slide, which indicates what you are going to say in the presentation, is the worst way to start, according to my personal view. If you give a 90 minute lecture, showing a table of contents will be acceptable. To provide a half day or a full day's training, it is polite to show a training schedule with the table of contents at the outset of the day. However, you should not waste time showing a table of contents for a 10 - 15 minute presentation.

 I recommend that you “write what you want to say the most” on the second slide (and try to do so by myself in my conference presentations). Write a message that will make the audience want to listen to your presentation. In the case of a presentation of your study (study plan presentation), tell them “what was (is going to be) revealed,” or study conclusions and their significance. In the third and later slides, explain “why you did your study and how you reached such conclusions,” following the royal road.

 Say what you are going to say, say it, and say what you have said. This is the basic structure of a speech. It is the same in the case of a presentation at an academic conference. The important points will not reach your audience until you tell them three times. If you repeat them three times, make them wonder if it is true for the first time, make them think it all makes sense in the next, and finally, make them think it was wonderful and they were glad they listened to you (it is like motivational design using ARCS model). It is true that a table of contents indicates “say what you are going to say,” but it lacks substance. It only shows a frame of your talk, and I don't think it is the best way to start. Put your conclusion instead of a table of contents on the second slide. Go directly to the conclusion.

 I am trying to write as if I am speaking to you in a face to face lecture, and I think I have written the important thing three times. Have I reached you? Forgive me if I am too persistent, but I think it is very important to start off with your conclusions: it is similar to design your teaching starting from learning outcomes first, then design backwards – the ID way of goal-driven, objective-oriented thinking!