Presentations+Viva

Assalamualaikum and hello everyone

This page is dedicated specially to archive all the tips I've gathered regarding presentation and viva preparations and experience. The tips will be all jumbled-up at first and incomplete but I'll arrange them in orderly fashion soon :)

Also, I have a dedicated post talking about my PhD viva-voce experience here Phd-oral-presentation-final-battle.

Here goes:

Preparing for a presentation (be it for a conference, a talk or even viva) covers 2 important aspects: the slides/visual aid and also mental preparation for the speaker.

I The Slides/Visual Aids/Tools

#1 Presentation Slides
Terrible Powerpoint slides leads to awful presentations (ouch!). The first tip is not to do your slides in the last minute. Perhaps you think this might make you remember your content better. Wrong!

From my own experience (and preference), I usually start by selecting a suitable Powerpoint template that suits the audience and the theme of my presentation. I find this task quite enjoyable as I get to experiment with different themes. You can find free templates at Free Powerpoint Templates and fppt.com.

Next is to prepare the main cover slide (where you put your presentation title etc), the table of contents slide, the slides titles and subtitles, the Acknowledgement and finally the References slide.

Fill in the empty slides with your presentation content. Keep it simple.

I love putting lots of pictures in my slides.

Cite your sources where necessary.

Always keep in mind what is the important message that you wish to put forward throughout the presentation.

Never use fonts smaller than size 16. Font type Calibri and Arial looks nicely when displayed. 

#2 Checklist of Important Tools and Supporting Materials
Laser pointer, full-paper submitted to the conference, full thesis (same like the one submitted to the examiners), a bottle of water, tissue

#2.1 Prepare a List of Possible Questions and Answers
And the list of answers too! Be witty and prepare to answer with a cool persona :)
#3 Laptop
Whose laptop will you be using? Will it be able to play your videos and display your slides without hiccup? A way to do this is to either arrive early at the presentation venue and test the laptop yourself or bring your own!

II Speaker's Mental Preparation

#1 Doa (Surah Toha (Chapter 20), verses 25-28, (excerpted))

Rabbishrah lee sadree Wayassir lee amree Wahlul ‘uqdatan min lisanee Yafqahoo qawlee

“O my Sustainer! Open up my heart and make my task easy for me, and loosen the knot from my tongue so that they might fully understand my speech.”

Maksudnya :- “Ya Tuhanku, lapangilah dada-ku. Dan permudahkanlah segala urusan-ku. Dan ungkaikanlah segala yang tersimpul pada lidah-ku. Dan mudah-mudahan mereka semua dapat memahami segala urusan-ku."

#2 Calm Your Heart

As Muslims, we need to remember to ask for forgiveness from all our family members and friends. This will contribute to our own peace-of-mind prior to our important presentation such as the viva.

All in all, do not panic! Think of positive and happy thoughts. Giving presentations makes everybody nervous. It's not uncommon. Begin with courage-booster sentences like: 'I am delighted to present to you a part of my PhD research in robot-based intervention for children with autism.'

#3 Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!

You must by-heart your presentation. That's the only way that you can be 110% confident. By rehearsing (in front of a mirror and with a partner) over and over again, you will train yourself to speak fluently to the audience, train your eyes on the direction to look at when presenting, time yourself accordingly and expunge the need to look/read your own slides. 

Remember to also present you ‘take-away’ message for your audience at the end of the presentation.

#4 Good Presentation Skills

Improving the presentation skills can reduce your public speaking anxiety and increase the joy of giving talks. Giving talks at group meetings and conferences is a common task in academia. But nobody finds this enjoyable.

#5 Who are your audience? 
Institutional policies and practices vary. Find out who will attend your viva (eg will a supervisor attend, will there be an independent chair?) and what their roles are.

In UiTM, the viva attendees are: the student, the student's supervisor (optional), an internal examiner, an external examiner (local) and an external examiner (international)

#6 Viva Preparation Checklist (Source: www.vitae.ac.uk)

• I know my thesis thoroughly
• I have written a one-page summary of each chapter
• I have continued to work with my thesis after submission or have begun to prepare a conference paper or publication
• I am able to explain how my thesis fits into the big picture
• I have kept up to date with relevant literature
• I know what the implications of my research are to both theory and practice
• I have had a mock viva with my main supervisor
• I have asked my peers to quiz and challenge me about my thesis
• I have explained my thesis to friends and family who are not familiar with it
• I have investigated the backgrounds and publications of my examiners
• I have looked at my institution's guidelines for vivas
• I have produced a list of likely questions
• I have identified areas of my thesis that are likely to be challenged
• I have marked up my thesis to help me refer to it in the viva
• I know how I will be informed of the outcome of my viva

#7 Enjoy!