The 35-mm slide--is blue better?

The 10-minute oral presentation: what should I focus on?

BACKGROUND

Little empirical evidence is available in the medical field defining the most important features of a scientific presentation. We sought to empirically identify what features of a scientific oral presentation experienced reviewers focus on when asked to identify the best features and areas to improve.

METHODS

Observational study of 44 presenters at a scientific meeting over a 4-year period. Reviewers observed presenters and identified the best features and made suggestions for improvement using an open-ended form. We developed a coding form based on three domains: content, slides, and presentation style. Two raters blinded to the presenter then coded the comments, and disagreement was resolved by concurrent review.

RESULTS

Reviewers made at least one comment about content in 42 (95.5%) of the presentations, about slides in 38 (86.4%), and about presentation style in 42 (95.5%). The most frequently extracted comments on best features of presentations in the domain "content" were identifying a key concept (43.2% of presentations) and relevance (43.2%). Similarly, best features in the domain regarding "slides" were clarity (50.0% of presentations), graphics (27.3%), and readability of the text and font size (22.7%). Finally, best features in the domain regarding "presentation style" were clarity (59.1% of presentations), pace (52.3%), voice (47.7%), engaging with the audience (43.2%), addressing questions (34.1%), and eye contact (22.7%). Various other comments were noted to improve presentations.

CONCLUSIONS

Important features during oral presentations relate to specific areas of content, clear slides, and a presentation style that was well paced, engaging, and clear. Nonverbal communication is important in oral presentations.