Group presentations are made up of five individual presentation of about 8 to 10 minutes each. However, you should work closely with your group to coordinate the presentations and create a coherent presentation of 40 to 50 minutes. You want to avoid overlap ad make sure that your presentations work well together. If you wish, you may use a single PowerPoint template for all five presentations.

It is strongly recommended that you use PowerPoint slides to support your presentation. Below are some tips for creating a good presentation.

If you can't bear to use slides, hand out a single page of your main points to everyone in the class.

A fabulous little essay on presenting written about academic conferences, but very appropriate to these presentations:

Let There Be Stoning

Supporting Slides

Content

• Rule of thumb: 1 slide = 1 minute of presentation time
• Focus on main logic of the argument, not the details, of your paper.
• Focus on a few main points that create a clear picture of what you want to discuss.
• Keep your content streamlined like an outline, not a paper.
• Think of a presentation as a good way to "sell" the audience on your ideas. Your goal is to interest them enough to evoke discussion and thought, not to explain every single point.
• Avoid presenting literature review information – use citations ONLY when crucial to your theory or findings
• Use visual materials to illustrate your points, especially if you are discussing specific media content like photographs, TV shows, movies, or visual internet spaces.
• If you present numerical data, do not present the entire table of findings – focus instead on the most important, relevant, or significant figures. Large tables result in font too small to read and are useless to your audience.
• If you MUST provide extensive numerical data, create a paper hand-out, not a projected slide, for that table.
• Qualitative data such as quotes should also be carefully selected to include only the most illustrative or relevant.

Design and style

• The biggest mistake people make in presentations is using cluttered (too full) slides and using font that is too small. Keep slides VERY simple.
• Generally, PowerPoint Design Templates create a good format for your slides.
• Do not use sound effects – they distract the audience.
• Use high contrast colors – Black on white, white on black, or other high contrast combinations. Projected slides are always harder to read than they appear on your computer screen.
• Use LARGE font – a minimum of 26 point – everywhere, including graph labels. If your content won't fit, use multiple slides or cut it down to only the most important points.
• Never use full sentences in presentation bullet points. Use the 6x8 rule as a guide: 6 lines, 8 words per line (although a few more can be used if your screen doesn't look too full).
• Do NOT skip lines bewteen bullet points. It is a waste of screen space and encourages font that is too small.

Speaking Style

• First and foremost, a presentation is a PERFORMANCE. This requires high energy, rehearsal, the right costume, and clear delivery. Find what excites you about the topic, and express that enthusiasm! If you're not feeling enthused, find something that does ethuse you.
• A presentation is closer to a conversation than a paper. Use accessible language and ideas, not the formal writing of your paper.
• NEVER read your paper in a presentation – it suggests lack of preparation and is hard for the audience to follow.
• Never simply read your slides – the audience already has that information. Add to your bullet points on the screen with verbal explanation that clarifies your paper's argument.
• For new presenters, writing a presentation script can be helpful.
• Make sure you time your reading to ensure you'll get through it all.
• If you use a script, make sure it is written more conversationally than your paper and that you practice enough to look up from it sometimes.
• Eye contact and a relaxed body language help your audience understand your words better.
• The second biggest mistake people make in presentations is poor timing. Make sure you do not get off-track by explaining too much about background, literature, and context.
• Practice, practice, practice!