Tips for Presenting a Research Podium

Written by Alisa Malyavko

1. Know your audience

The first step in creating your podium presentation is knowing who you’re presenting to. This determines how much background information to provide at the beginning of your presentation. If you’re presenting on your school’s research day, providing some general background information on your topic is important. It may seem basic to you, but those who aren’t associated with your field of research may need that information to understand your project. If you are presenting at a conference for a specific specialty, more detailed information about your particular study is appropriate. 

2. Structure your talk 

A PowerPoint presentation is a usual method of delivering a podium presentation. Most presentations range from 5 minutes to 10 minutes. Although the slide headings can vary, I wanted to provide an example presentation structure that I use for my podium presentations:

1. Title Page

   1. List the title, authors, and abstract/paper number if available

   2. Include logos of the institution(s) involved in the project

2. Disclosures

   1. List the disclosures or reference a portal where disclosures can be accessed

3. Background Information

   1. Refer to #1 to determine the content of this slide

4. Purpose

   1. Summarize the literature findings, where gaps in the literature exist, and how you’re addressing these gaps with your research

5. Study Aims

   1. Clearly state the goals of your project

   2. Include the specific groups, variables, and outcomes that were analyzed

6. Methods

   1. Briefly list your methods here

   2. Including a figure demonstrating the methodology can be beneficial

7. Results

   1. Graphs and tables are easier to interpret than written results

8. Discussion and Conclusions

   1. List a couple of key takeaways here

9. Limitations

10. Future Direction

11. “Thank You” Slide

12. References

Overall, limiting the amount of text on a slide makes the presentation easier for the audience to follow. Being able to talk about your presentation without having to read straight off the slide shows that you know the topic well. Additionally, images and diagrams are a great way to present information and keep the audience engaged. 

3. Practice, practice, practice 

Whether you’re confident in front of crowds or have jitters on stage it’s always a good idea to run through your presentation a couple of times. If you’re nervous, practicing in front of a mirror or with friends can help work out the kinks. It can also be helpful to go through the presentation with your research mentor who can provide a higher level of feedback. It’s also important to keep an eye on the time to make sure you fit within the allotted time frame. 

4. Prepare for questions

Whenever I finish a podium presentation, I get a rush of adrenaline. It feels great reaching the end of the presentation, however, that is not the true end. It is almost guaranteed that either the moderator of the session or a member of the audience will ask you at least one question about your presentation. This is the time to show the depth of your knowledge and expand on points you weren’t able to fully discuss during the presentation. Having your research mentor ask you questions during your practice session can be a good way to prepare for answering questions on the day of your presentation. One important thing to remember is that not every question has an answer – it’s okay to say you don’t know or that you hadn’t considered that point before. These are the questions that spark new ideas for future research projects.