Chemistry 294
Spring, 2010
General Requirements:
Guidelines for Seminar
Presentation:
The goal for the seminar speaker is
to disseminate important, relevant information to the audience in a manner that
is clear, organized, understandable, and even entertaining. Clarity and good organization are the two
most important features of the presentation.
Below are some tips on how to improve your seminar.
1.
Dress
appropriately for the occasion. Make a
good impression.
2.
Show up early to
make sure the A/V equipment is working.
3.
Have an overview
slide that gives a brief outline of what you will be discussing.
4.
Do not use slides
with too much information on them. Keep
it simple.
5.
If you present a
slide, talk about it.
6.
When a reference
is used, it should be cited on the slide.
7.
Be sure to
provide adequate background information such that the audience can understand
your talk.
8.
Use color to
highlight key points.
9.
Make sure
everything is large enough and has enough contrast so that your audience can
clearly read your slide.
10. Make eye contact with the audience. If you have your back to the audience
throughout the talk, they will likely lose interest in what you are
saying. Pay attention to how the
audience is reacting to you.
11. PRACTICE your
talk several times before you give it.
This will help you figure out what you want to say and how you want to
say it. It will also give you the
opportunity to find out how long your presentation will be. Remember: it should be approximately 45-50
min. Seminars lasting less than 40 minutes or longer than 55 minutes will not
receive credit for this graduation requirement, and seminar must be given again
on a new topic in a subsequent semester.
12. Have your research advisor, your peers, and / or the
seminar coordinator listen to your presentation. PRACTICE!
13. Watch how other seminar speakers make their
presentation. What did they do well and
where were there problems?
14. Make the most of the opportunity. This is your chance to share your knowledge
on a subject that interests you.
Seminar Evaluation and Acceptable Seminars
·
Student
literature seminars will be evaluated by faculty in attendance. (See the “Seminar Evaluation” handout.)
·
Either the
seminar coordinator or the student’s research advisor will meet with the
student after the seminar to go over evaluations and give suggestions for
improvements in future seminars.
·
A seminar will be
considered acceptable if every faculty member reviewing the seminar gives it a “pass”
grade
·
Students
receiving a majority of faculty evaluations of “fail” will be considered
unacceptable and the student will be required to give another seminar on a new
topic in a subsequent semester.
·
Students receiving
a mixture of both “pass” and “fail” marks will be required to meet with the
seminar coordinator to assess remediation.
Timeline
PLEASE NOTE: Students who sign up to give a seminar but
fail to do so will be required to wait out one semester before being allowed
another opportunity to give seminar.