Last update: Carlos Henrique Vieira Melo, Ph.D. (01.10.2019)
The “Scientific Oral Presentations” course will be taught in English using a hands-on, problem-based, step-by-step approach targeting MSc. and PhD students with a minimum B2 level of proficiency in English (≥ FCE, IELTS 5, BEC Vantage).
With a minimum and optimal class size of 12 students, the course will be divided into twelve, 90-minute-long, weekly lessons on designing and delivering scientific presentations and on verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
Every lesson will in turn be divided into 60-70 minutes of student activities followed by a 20- 30-minute presentation to prepare students for the following lesson. The presentations will teach both oral communication skills and the state of the art on scientific presentations, from assertion-evidence slide design through storytelling in science communication to cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression strategies. In addition, every week, each student will lead a specific activity related to a real-life context (poster presentation, conference talk, job talk, media interview, panel discussion, elevator pitch and science outreach, among others) in which all other students will also be actively involved. In the last two lessons of the semester, students will deliver their final presentations in a session chaired by one of their colleagues.
At the end of the course, students are expected to show proficiency in preparing and delivering effective scientific presentations with strong visuals while maintaining good posture, timing, pacing, linking ideas by signposting or transitioning and engaging the audience through effective verbal and non-verbal communication when networking, critically discussing scientific results, explaining abstract concepts or handling difficult questions. Ultimately, this course aims to develop oral communication skills crucial for future researchers, by giving graduate students the opportunity to present several times during a semester, to provide and receive both peer and instructor feedback, to enhance their oral proficiency in English and to improve their higher-order thinking skills.
Literature
Last update: Carlos Henrique Vieira Melo, Ph.D. (01.10.2019)
Articles:
Parker R. Skill Development in Graduate Education. Molecular Cell (2012) 46;4, 377-381 Alon U. How to give a good talk. Molecular Cell (2009). Oct 23;36(2):165-7 Sohn. E. The future of the scientific conference. Nature (2018) Dance A. Networking: High fliers. Nature (2017), 546, 691-692 Bourne PE. Ten simple rules for making good oral presentations. PLos Comput Biol (2007);3:e77 Garner J et al. Common Use of PowerPoint versus Assertion-Evidence Slide Structure: a Cognitive Psychology Perspective. Technical Communication (2009), 56 (4), 331−345 Alley M & Neeley KA. Rethinking the Design of Presentation Slides: A Case for Sentence Headlines and Visual Evidence. Technical Communication (2005), 52 (4), 417-426 Alley M et al. How the design of headlines in presentation slides affects audience retention. Technical Communication (2006), 53 (2), 225–234 Kwok R. Communication: two minutes to impress. Nature (2013); 494(7435):137-8 Holgate SE. Life inspires applications. Science (2014) 346, 6207, pp. 390 Krzywinski M and Cairo A. Points of view: Storytelling. Nature Methods (2013); 10, 687 Dance A. On the record. Nature (2018); 562, 153-155 Fiske P. For your information. Nature (2016); 538, 417–418 Senju A and Johnson MH. The eye contact effect: mechanisms and development. Trends Cogn Sci (2009); 13(3):127-34 Estrada CA et al. The 10-minute oral presentation: what should I focus on?Am J Med Sci (2005);329(6):306-9
Book Chapters: 1. Albuquerque UP. Types of Scientific Presentations. In: Speaking in Public About Science: A Quick Guide for the Preparation of Good Lectures, Seminars, and Scientific Presentations (2014), pp 15-21. Springer-Verlag 2. Alley M. Structure: The Strategy You Choose. In: The Craft of Scientific Presentations Critical Steps to Succeed and Critical Errors to Avoid (2003). Springer-Verlag, pp 55-60 3. Guest M. Transition Phrases in the Conference Presentations. In: Presentation English for Young Academics. Springer Texts in Education, pp 149-161 4. Edwards A et al. Building credibility with research. In: The Communication Age: Connecting and Engaging (2019). SAGE, pp 313-317. Third edition 5. Duarte N. Turn Information Into Stories. In: Resonate: Present Visual Stories that transform audiences (2010). Wiley; pp 110-112 6. Lindsay D. Timing your talk. In: Scientific Writing = Thinking in Words (2011). CSIRO Publishing, pp86-88 7. Alley M. Handling Questions (Even the Tough Ones). In: The Craft of Scientific Presentations Critical Steps to Succeed and Critical Errors to Avoid (2003). Springer-Verlag, pp 200-204 8. Alley M. Paying attention to yourself: movements. In: The Craft of Scientific Presentations Critical Steps to Succeed and Critical Errors to Avoid (2003). Springer-Verlag, pp 182-187 9. O’Hair D et al. The functions of nonverbal communication in delivery: II. Face, eyes and body in delivery. In: A speaker’s guidebook: Text and reference (2001) 10. Lucas SE. The Speaker's Voice. In: The Art of Public Speaking (2009). Tenth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill
Requirements to the exam
Last update: Carlos Henrique Vieira Melo, Ph.D. (11.02.2020)
Final Score = 35% Final Presentation + 10x5% Weekly activity* + 15% Individual Task - Final Presentation score ≥ 60% (Final Presentation = Exam) - Individual Task score ≥ 60% - Attendance ≥ 60% (= Active participation in at least 6 of 10 weekly activities) - Final Score ≥ 50% *Attendance is included in the final score through the weekly activity
Syllabus
Last update: Carlos Henrique Vieira Melo, Ph.D. (01.10.2019)
1. Introduction, needs analysis & course overview 2. Presentation style, layout & visuals 3. Signposting and transitioning 4. Common mistakes & handling mishaps 5. Audience awareness 6. Timing and pacing 7. Handing difficult questions and hostile audiences 8. Nonverbal comunication: posture, gestures and movement 9. Nonverbal communication: eye contact and facial expressions 10. Verbal communication: paralanguage (vocalics) and breathing techniques 11. Final Presentations: Colloquium 1 12. Final Presentations: Colloquim 2
