Mastering Your Thesis Presentation: Tips and Tricks for a Successful Defense

[Pyrrhus]

Hey PF!, i don't know if you guys remember but i was asking a while ago for a possible investigation topic for a thesis. Well guess what, it's done and is on pavement engineering.

Now i need some tips i could use to do a well presentation. Maybe some tricks to keep the jurors happy, like some really sticky gum to make sure they keep their mouths shut

 

[mgb_phys]

Things to do at your Thesis Defence
http://people.msoe.edu/~taylor/humor/defense.htm

 

[Dr Transport]

Keep your charts uncluttered, they need to be simple and straightforward.

My suggestion to you is to go to your advisor with an outline of your talk. Let them help you in the preperation of it becuse I have seen many times where the student wil have 2-3 times the charts necessary for a good talk and will end up spending a lot of time working them only to not have them presented.

 

[Timo]

Taking the risk of mentioning trivialities: Practice your presentation. Depending on your presentation skills, give the talk at least 1-3 times in front of some audience (ideally at least once in front of people actually knowing something about the topic -> your supervisor).

 

[robphy]

a classic: "Suggestions For Giving Talks" http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9703019

 

[Mororvia]

Keep your charts uncluttered, they need to be simple and straightforward.

My suggestion to you is to go to your advisor with an outline of your talk. Let them help you in the preperation of it becuse I have seen many times where the student wil have 2-3 times the charts necessary for a good talk and will end up spending a lot of time working them only to not have them presented.

Yes! Excellent advice. Also, don't put exactly what you're saying on your slides. I've seen people basically just read from their slides. They're meant to help clarify/illustrate what you're talking about, not provide a script.

Good luck!

 

[Pyrrhus]

Hey!, good news!, the thesis defense went ok!. Currently, I'm awaiting the graduation celebrations and preparing for grad school, thanks everyone for the advice. It's good to have finished all the program coursework and get the degree (Bsc Civil Engineering).