Presenting a thesis defense is like a rite of passage for Ph.D. students. After spending months writing your thesis, you must present your study in front of the research committee. It doesn’t get more nerve-wracking than that. There are so many things you have to keep in mind when working on your PowerPoint presentation.
It is the best option to make your thesis more visually attractive. But you’re all on your own for this. Online options like MyAssignmentHelp.com service offers writing help for students struggling with their thesis. You can also consult experts for topic ideas. However, for a presentation, it’s best to rely on your own ability. That’s because you will be the one presenting the thesis in front of the committee. So, you must customize your demonstration as you wish.
Here’s a small tip to get you started. Look up some PPT samples from MyAssignmentHelp.com service, and you’ll have a better idea. In addition to providing writing help, the website offers many PPT samples for thesis defense. A quick glimpse of these will help you map your presentation better. But you don’t want to stick to the basics, do you? Scroll down to go through some amazing tips that can help you personalize your presentation.
10 Helpful PowerPoint Presentation Tips for Your Research Defense
A PowerPoint presentation of your research defense doesn’t focus only on the content. It also focuses on the visual aspects. How you present your research defense is as important as what you present in the defense. That’s why getting writing help from professional thesis experts isn’t the end-all. Your PowerPoint presentation should be high-quality as well. Read on for more details.
1. Focus on the visual aspects
You’ll be presenting your thesis defense in front of the research committee. It’s a completely formal affair. Therefore, your PowerPoint presentation should also be formal. Consider the design, color scheme, font type, and font style of your presentation. It’s best to play safe and stick to Times New Roman or Arial. Avoid gaudy colors like cyan or fluorescent options when highlighting. Ask yourself the following questions –
- Does your presentation look professional?
- Is the font clearly visible?
- Have you maintained a balance between images and text?
If your answer is “Yes,” then you’re going in the right direction. Remember that first impressions matter a lot for visual presentations. If your PowerPoint slides are too cluttered, you’ll immediately create a bad impression.
2. Don’t overwhelm with data
When you seek thesis writing help from professionals, they will stuff your thesis with data. Now here’s the catch. There’s no harm in including data from authentic sources in your thesis. In fact, it increases your paper’s credibility. But in PowerPoint presentations, you must remember that less is more. You’ll be tempted to cram in as much information as you can on each slide. But this will make your slides too jam-packed. It will be impossible for the committee to detect the important points. That’s why you must exercise moderation.
When presenting a thesis defense, the committee doesn’t want to read chunks of text. They want to hear how well you can defend your thesis. That’s why each slide should contain only the IMPORTANT points. Try to use bullet points as much as possible. Condense each section into 3-4 points. Finally, consider the white space when crafting your presentations. Your audience’s focus shouldn’t go to the empty space but to your writing.
3. Highlight one section in one slide
You’ve got a lot of ground to cover in your thesis defense. There are so many points to highlight that you can go on about it for hours. But you don’t have that liberty. Oral presentations usually go on for an average of 30 minutes. So, you must condense your points accordingly. Dedicate one point for each slide. That way, you avoid overburdening your audience with information.
4. Avoid more than twenty slides
If you ever need writing help for a thesis structure, the experts will divide the paper into the following segments –
- Title page
- Introduction
- Literature review
- Research methodology
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
Maintain the same format in your slides. As mentioned earlier, you should include one point in one slide only. For the title page, introduction, and conclusion, it’s best to stick to one slide. If you include multiple slides for the other sections, add relevant details only. Don’t randomly include information that won’t add weight to your arguments.
5. Work on the visuals while writing
Visual elements play a significant role in your PowerPoint presentation. For example, you might include two points in a slide without much white space. So, you can’t decide on the visual elements after you finalize the text. Keep visualizing how you want to present your data on each slide.
Pick out the images you want to put in each slide. While doing this, keep your audience’s age demographic in mind. You don’t want to include any memes, or pop culture references that they can’t appreciate. Need writing help to balance the text and images in each slide? There’s no need to be shy. Consult professionals for some helpful tips.
6. Maintain consistency throughout
After finalizing what text you want to include, you must ensure consistency. Remember that you’re trying to make an impact. Don’t give the audience any reason to doubt your sincerity. For example, if you’ve chosen Arial in Slide 1, use it in the other slides. The moment you change the font, you break consistency. Other mistakes that you should avoid at all costs are –
- Making the text size too small
- Using font colors that aren’t visible
- Including excessive text on one slide only
- 10+ slides for one heading in a 16-slide presentation
These mistakes can cost you dearly. So ALWAYS proofread your slides before the presentation.
7. Do not confuse slide order
The PowerPoint slides act as visual cues for your presentation. If you accidentally mess up the order, you’ll lose track of your defense. You’ve already gone through the segments of your PPT presentation. So there is less chance of messing up there. But trouble arises when including multiple slides for one heading.
Thus, it’s always best to put your slides on autoplay before giving the presentation. PowerPoint can mess up the slide order for no reason. If you notice incorrect ordering during autoplay, opt for manual slide changes.
8. Ensure smooth transitions
Your research defense must have seamless transitions from one point to the next. Keep in mind that you’re giving an oral presentation. Your audience can’t go back to re-read what you’ve written. So, it’s your responsibility to make things easier for them. Include transitions where one idea flows into the other logically. The shift shouldn’t be very jarring.
Consider this example:
8.5% of the students in the locality have not had a proper education. They barely know more than three English words. Formal education is practically non-existent there. [Ending of one paragraph]
The government has tried to introduce various measures to improve formal education. But unfortunately, they all failed. [Beginning of a new paragraph]
The idea on which the first paragraph ends continues in the second one. This is a perfect example of a smooth transition. For writing help to master this technique, rely on professional academic experts online.
9. Consider the presentation room
Consider the presentation room’s lighting, seating arrangement, and shape when creating your PPT slides. If the audience is seated far from the screen, make your font bigger. Bold the important sections. Otherwise, the research committee members might not be able to see the writing. You certainly don’t want them to squint at your slides, do you? Read these tips to make your presentation more readable.
- Opt for a sans-serif font
- Maintain contrast ratio
- Go for dark text on light background
- Highlight sections using bold
If possible, check out the venue before your presentation. It will help you decide on the font size, style, color, and templates. Look at things from the audience’s perspective and not what you want. A personal touch is always welcome. But don’t forget to maintain a professional tone throughout.
10. Remain confident when presenting
Let’s admit the elephant in the room. Defending your research in front of a committee can be SUPER intimidating. Your heart will probably be beating at an absurd rate. Your hands will feel clammy. But through it all, you have to remain calm. Keep your voice steady, and make sure to pronounce each word properly. Have faith in your research defense and yourself.
In conclusion,
A PowerPoint presentation of a research defense isn’t very intimidating when you know what to do. Keep in mind that visual presentation is as important as your oral skills. So, review the tips in this article, and you’re good to go. Let luck be ever in your favor!