Giving a math talk: tips for the bachelorseminar

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I will try to make this short. Here are some common mistakes made during presentations (here I am assuming a slide presentation).

  • The title page says nothing: the title is full of jargon that is not explained.
  • The second slide is a table of content: before putting a table of content one should motivate the talk, i.e., why should we listen to the talk.
    • The table of content does not provide new information (either it has a standard structure or again it is full of jargon).
    • The truth is that a table of content is not needed for short talks. Skip it if possible.
  • The slides contain too much information or too much text, and you do not give time to read the slides.
  • Not defining well the mathematical notation or the concepts.
  • Not giving motivation for the problem or topic that you are presenting.
  • Not explaining why you are explaining what you are explaining (i.e., where are taking us?). 
  • Not drawing conclusions or giving a clear message at the end (what is the take-home message?).
  • Wanting to explain too much for the time allocated to the talk (if you have X minutes, do a maximum of X/2 slides). Less is more.
  • Speaking too fast or never making pauses or silences.
  • Speaking beyond your allocated time. 
  • Thinking that your audience is super-smart and, of course, they only need two seconds to understand what took you an hour of study.

A talk is successful if the audience leaves with a clear message at the end, so do not be scared of going slow, repeat key points, and give examples. There is just as much new information that we can absorb, and only if delivered at a given pace. Try to make it easy for the audience.

 

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