How to Prepare and Deliver Talks

Promotional image for talk: Elements of a successful scientific talk

Speaker(s): Peter N. Saeta

Like a well-written paper, an effective talk should begin with a shared context, state the problem to be addressed and the main points to be made, and use visuals for clarity and redundancy. Unlike a paper a talk proceeds synchronously and demands that the speaker provide more explicit reminders of the underlying structure of the presentation to keep the audience following along. I will discuss strategies to help you organize your talk, prepare your slides, grab and hold your audience members’ attention, and maximize the chance that they will take away the primary message of your presentation.

Colloquium

Junior and senior physics majors attend our biweekly colloquium series, held on Tuesday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. in Shanahan B460. The talks are open to all students and to the public, and are frequently attended by scientists from the other Claremont Colleges, Cal Poly Pomona, and others. The series features speakers from a broad range of institutions and fields of physics.