ILLOWA Presentations: Some General Guidelines.

Presentations should contain the following: Use bulleted overheads or power point slides (preferred!). Keep it short and to the point. Short sentences will do!  Introduce yourself to the audience.

I. An Introduction that includes purpose, relevance to past studies, motivation for doing the present study, and the research question/hypothesis!

II. The Method: Participants and procedure. (Keep it short and don't include unnecessary information!)

III. The data. "what does it show"  Use tables and/or figures were applicable.

IV. Interpretation and implications:  Mention how the data does or does not fit the hypothesis. Does it support or converge with data from former studies?  Does it differ from the findings of previous studies? Any practical applications? Any problems with data collection?. Subsequent experiments that may be needed. (Not all of these may apply to your study.)

V. SHORT Conclusion. Then ask for questions.

VI. Your ILLOWA presentation must be 10-15 minutes with 2 to 3 minutes for questions.

VII. Say Thank you!

Advice for effective presentations at ILLOWA:

• The oral presentation of a paper is usually limited to a 10 to 15 minute presentation of your research. Allow an extra 3 minutes for questions.
• Speakers should have handouts where applicable for supplemental materials.
• Notify the convention administrator (when you submit your abstract) via the if you need a 35-mm slide projector, an overhead projector for transparencies, or a computer/LCD projector for Powerpoint presentations. All of this is done via the Internet.
• Recognize the constraints imposed on your presentation:

• The context of the session in which people may enter and leave the room at any time causing distractions and a less than-ideal listening/learning situation.

• Therefore, it is recommended that in preparing your talk you:

• Get feedback from your instructor about your presentation before you go to ILLOWA.
• Do not read your paper. Speak your ideas directly to your audience, referring--if necessary only--to an outline of key points and transitions.
• Try to speak loud enough, clear enough, and with sufficient enthusiasm to hold the attention of your audience despite distractions (internal and external).
• State your final conclusions and end on time.
• Finally, make sure you get a good night sleep before ILLOWA and when you arrive at ILLOWA please act in a courteous and "lawful" manner.

Additional advice for effective presentations:

All good presentations include:

1. a clear statement explaining the research question being investigated,
 
2. an explanation of why this study is significant or important to do,
3. a description of the kinds of data or information being gathered (your data is a key element of a your presentation),
4. an explanation of the methods or procedures used to gather that information; and
5. a statement about the future implications of the study

Use technical terms only when necessary and define them when you do. Do not use acronyms that you have not defined. The use of over-head transparencies or slides is often helpful to explain complex systems. If you use these visual aids, keep your audience's ability to understand in mind. Be sure to explain what is being displayed. Often the graphic elements are clear to you, but not to people who've never even thought about the subject before. Do not show irrelevant slides/overheads.

A good research presentation should be well organized and have a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning of your presentation should include a clear statement of the research question or area being investigated and its significance. In sum, what is this project and why is it important to do?

The middle of your presentation should explain the kinds of data or information you were collecting, the methods you used to collect them, and what in particular about this process was very difficult and very successful for you.

The end of your presentation should explain the what results you were able to obtain and their significance. You should also explain the future implications of the work. Finally, conclude with a statement about what you learned from this experience.