Arias's Tips for Oral Presentations

• 1) Never forget these rules and always go over them no matter how many talks you have given.

• 2) Remember what you are proud of having done so you can emphasize it.

• 3) A good way to stress important points is to put them in short, clear sentences by themselves.

• 4) Know what you'll say (i.e., rehearse a lot) so that you can concentrate on speaking to the audience.

• 5) A good way to keep clear what you'll say is to speak in terms of lists. ("There are three important points here: 1) blah, blah, blah, 2) blah blah, and 3) blah.")

• 6) Another way to keep this straight and something that is important in its own right is to keep what you are saying very close to what is actually written on the view graphs. Change them if you must, but obey this rule.

• 7) Complex ideas are often best expressed pictorially. If you are having trouble saying something, draw it. Sometimes movable parts on figures can get across complicated ideas.

• 8) Stick to the basic point. Subtleties are for written papers [speaking too, if you are a nerd]. If you feel like you have too much to say, you are saying too much.

• 9) No fear. Don't rush if you feel uncomfortable; slow down, relax and speak to the audience; pretend that they are your friends.

• 10) Speak clearly; enunciate all of those consonants.