Oral Presentation Information

Oral Presentations

Oral Presentations at Student Scholars Day are twenty minutes in length.  The first fifteen minutes of the presentation are for the presenter.  The final five minutes should be allotted for a question and answer period.  The length of the presentation is not negotiable due to the number of presentations on the day of the event.  The presentations are timed by SSD Volunteers.

If you believe that your presentation merits a greater length, we would encourage you to contact ours@gvsu.edu.  Some oral presentations are better suited as performance art, or a panel discussion.  We would be happy to explore these options with your prior to the registration deadline.

Each Presentation room is equipped with the following:

  • Computer
  • LCD projector and screen
  • CD/DVD Player
  • USB Port

If you have needs beyond these items, you should note that information in your registration.

Oral Presentation Guidelines

Oral presentations come in many different forms.  If you will be preparing Power Point slides to go with your presentation, you may wish to use the following guidelines:

  • Save your Power Point document on your N-drive for quick, easy access.  In addition, bring a back-up flash drive containing the saved document, in case of technical difficulties
  • Each slide or transparency should contain only a few key ideas in large font
  • Outline form is preferable to complete sentence structure. You will say more than is written on the page.  It is often helpful to prepare separate "note sheets" for discussing each slide
  • Pictures or sketches are a good way to convey information. They may be presented individually or in conjunction with a few words
  • You should spend about one minute on each content slide or transparency, so you should be concious of the number of slides you have in your presentation: you should include a title/introduction slide and a slide of references
  • Include the following statement for any project involving human or animal subjects: This project has been approved by Grand Valley State University’s , ,

If applicable, clearly state when a project is a literature review or theoretical exercise

When speaking to an audience, slow down your speech and use your best clear and loud voice. Think of your presentation as a professional experience.  Prepare well, be organized and practice!

Need more Help?

If you need additional assistance or tips in preparing your oral presentation beyond the scope of this document, the following faculty may be able to help you:

Page last modified August 15, 2012