Crafting Your Message: How to Structure a Powerful Presentation

Academic Presentations are a key part of student assessment. They often require extensive research and a high level of engagement with the audience.

Whether you are giving an informal talk or a formal presentation, your aim is to communicate your work in a clear and engaging way. The following tips will help you achieve this.

1. Research

A research presentation is your chance to showcase your dedication and expertise. It can also be your gateway to engagement, discussion and feedback. In the academic sphere, presentations can even be your plea for research funding.

During the interpretation and discussion aspect of your presentation, you dissect your results, discuss their real-world significance and implications. You should also address any limitations of your study and suggest future areas for research.

It’s important to understand your audience’s learning style and knowledge level before developing your presentation content. A presentation that is too advanced for your audience will bore them and could leave them feeling overwhelmed. Similarly, a presentation that is too basic can appear unprofessional and lack credibility. The key is to strike a balance between the two.

2. Planning

Academic presentations can be delivered in a variety of ways. They may be an oral presentation with slides, a poster presentation or in written form. They can be delivered in a specialist audience of peers, lecturers or research practitioners or to a wider community at an academic conference. They are a common form of assessment at university.

Whatever the format, preparing, planning and structuring your presentation is important. It will help ensure that you are able to present the required information within the allocated time. In addition, it will help you to develop a clear purpose and a sense of direction in your presentation and to identify the key components that will be most relevant to your audience. It will also assist you in preparing your visual aids effectively and in keeping with any referencing requirements specified in the task sheet.

3. Structure

As with written academic work, presentations should follow a certain structure. They should start with a short introduction explaining the purpose of your talk and what is to come; then move into the body of your presentation; and finish with a brief conclusion.

It is important that you keep to this structure as this will help the audience to follow your talk and also allows them to take away key messages. In addition, audiences tend to retain structured information 40% more accurately than unstructured material.

The conclusion should reiterate the aims of your presentation and highlight how you have met them. It is also a good opportunity to summarise and thank the audience for their attention. This is a great time to include references too.

4. Visualisation

Using icons in data visuals can help to break up text-heavy slides, keeping them visually engaging and allowing audience members to navigate a presentation more easily. Aim to keep them simple and clear to avoid obscuring your key messages and insights.

Academic presentations can be informal such as a summarising paper in a tutorial, or formal like a talk with visual material for a specialist audience at an event or conference. They are often assessed by your lecturers and provide an opportunity to practice research, communication and leadership skills.

When delivering an academic presentation, the most important ingredient is energy. Nothing will engage and inspire an audience more than a speaker who believes whole heartedly in their topic, research or findings. This can be achieved through clear and concise writing, effective use of visual aids and the ability to read an audience.

5. Presentation

Often the presentation aspect of academic presentations is overlooked, however, a well delivered presentation will help capture an audience and encourage them to engage with the research. Energy is key and this comes from a speakers passion for the topic they are presenting.

Similarly, understanding the level of knowledge your audience will have before giving your presentation will also help you tailor the information you deliver. This may include providing a handout with essential words and visuals for your audience.

It’s all about striking the right balance, simplifying without dumbing down, and educating whilst not overwhelming your audience. Having a clear structure will make this easier to achieve.