The Primary Goal is to give students the opportunity to prepare research-oriented seminars in a supportive environment.

This usually involves library/literature investigations rather than the presentation of original data. There may be exceptions to this. However, thesis or dissertation research is best given in other seminars that are designed for this.

I plan to let students choose their own topic.

Topics should include a significant amount of botany/phycology. If you plan to give a seminar that diverges from this, please discuss it with me. I believe in academic freedom but it is important to remember that this is a Botany Department.

Secondary Goals include the following:

Learn how to acquire and make illustrations for your presentation. This can include photography (macro & micro), scanning of prints, negatives & slides. Processing and Labeling illustrations.

Important notice: I can help you with all of the above IF you agree to preview my Tutorials. These can be accessed from my WebPage (http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/webb/default.htm)

I like to hear "Dr. Webb I tried to solve this problem by doing a, b, c, d but I am stuck. Can you help? YES!!!!!!!

Most seminars are designed to last approximately 50 mins., with 35-40 mins. for an organized presentation and the rest for questions & discussion.

However, you can decide on how you want to organize your talks. Some people would like to stimulate discussion with the audience. Others would like all questions to be delayed until the presentation is complete. The latter is generally the preferred scenario.

You need to decide how you want the seminar to be organized and let the audience know this. You can make changes as you proceed.

Some people like to ask a lot of questions. This can result in a protracted Q & A period that cuts a major chunk out of your seminar and may disrupt the flow of ideas. You can cut off questioning as you see fit. You may tell the audience that you need to press ahead and take more questions later.

You can also decide how you field questions at the end of the seminar. If one person is asking a blizzard of questions you may have to politely say that you will get back to him/her later and move to other people who have questions.

If you don't understand a question, ask the person to rephrase it, or restate it yourself and answer the question you have stated in your own words. Don't answer a question that you don't understand!

If you can't answer a question immediately but think that you have the answer tucked away in your brain, tell the questioner that you will get back to this later. It is common to have an answer pop into your brain while you are answering another question. You could pause, answer the prior question, then proceed.

Remember that this is not a trial, and you are not expected to be an encyclopedia of knowledge. The purpose of your talks from my perspective is to communicate the knowledge you have gathered and to generate some discussion with the audience. It is up to the audience to participate in the discussion. However, this is an opportunity for you to fashion your presentation skills and prepare for situations, like job interviews and lectures in courses where you are the faculty person.

The most powerful way to give seminars today involves their display from a computer. We have the capabilities to do this and you should plan to give your talk this way.

Computer Images, Photographic Slides and Overlays are typically used for seminars. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Computer Images & Slides are good because they don't move around, stick together or fall on the floor. Furthermore they impart a more polished, professional style to the talk.

Computer Images & Slides can illustrate complex structures with a lot of detail and color. However, you can't easily write on them or go back to them readily. Slides can get jammed or be upside down, or out of order. The computer may malfunction. However, technical problems can usually be resolved in short order. Everybody has his or her slide horror stories!

Overlays are OK. They are easier to make and can be made with color (I am not sure how to do this but I can find out). You can write on them and can go back to prior ones, if you keep the stack of used overlays neatly. The ability to write on overlays is good for discussion. Overlays are not so good for presenting pictures of real-life items like flowers, fruits, microscopic sections etc. However, they may be good enough.

All of the above can be made by the same computer program and it is possible to have overlays which are mirror images of slides. You might want to make some critical overlays to aid in discussion. They can also be used to insert some last minute material.

Most presentation graphics programs allow you to make handouts for the audience. These could be useful, especially if you want to explore something complex, or if you were talking to a large group in which some people could not see your slides clearly. The handouts can also help the audience mark down questions for later exploration. It may be overkill but it is worth considering if you think it will help you communicate with the audience. These could also serve as a security blanket for you and there is nothing wrong with that. Any live performance can be rough and you might get flustered (this has happened to me). Handouts, overlays etc. show the audience that you are prepared, and they can help you get back on course.

It is always good to have a title slide. However, the convener usually blurts out your title and most speakers are uncertain of what to do when they show their title slide. Tell the convener to inform the audience of the general topic for your talk, and save the specific title for yourself.

It is an excellent (essential) idea to have a slide or overlay which shows the major parts or topics of your presentation. This helps the audience and it also helps you. You can regard the outline as your home base.

It is important in most talks to bring the audience back home occasionally, especially when the presentation is complicated. This helps everyone, including you, to keep track of where you have been and where you are going.

One way to do this is to have an outline slide with a different color for the topic at hand. Return to the outline slide after you have finished one topic and have the next one highlighted. This may seem pedantic but it works.

This idea fits many situations. Furthermore, most of your presentation will be taken from the scientific literature which conforms to this general organizational pattern.

Sonata Form is common in "classical" music of the 18th & 19th century. It consists of three movements (A, B, A) The first movement (A) presents the themes. The second movement (B) consists of thematic variations. The final movement (A) resolves the variations from B and reiterates the themes in the first movement.

I think that this simple organizational pattern could be used for many things, including your seminars. The first movement could be the introduction and statement of the main themes of the talk.The second part would consist of the development and elaboration of the themes.The final part would contain the summary which brings you back to the themes of the first movement. The materials and methods could be included as another movement (A, B, C, A).I am sure that there are other ways to organize your talks. As long as you let the audience know how you have organized your talk, and remind them of that periodically, your talk will go well.

One potential problem arises during most talks. It is common to have extraneous thoughts while you are giving your talk. In most cases these have not been fully thought out and can lead you into dead ends. This is usually BAD but can be GOOD.

It is bad if it disrupts the flow of your talk and makes you sputter around after that. Hence the importance of the outline slide or overlay.

It is good if you want to stimulate discussion and explore areas with the audience.

If you are really on top of things, you could write these ideas down while you are talking and open them for discussion or cremation at the end of your presentation.

The general format of your talk can be like the following.

Proceed from the General to the Specific

Proceed from a Broad Topic Area to the Specific Topic(s) of your Seminar

It is good to start out by discussing the broad topic area in which your seminar topic can be found.

One way to do this is to present your Title which is specific. Show your Outline Overview

Then, devote your first section to look at the broader area of study in which your topic belongs.

Finally, lead the audience towards a specific knowledge of your particular seminar topic (s)

Example

I will give a demonstration seminar on the use of two species in the Cyperaceae for the construction of mats by ancient Hawaiians.

I will introduce the topic by talking about the different types of mats made by the Hawaiians until I arrive at the mats that I studied. Then I will talk about the history of these mats and their significance in Hawaiian society. Then I will define the specific nature of the research problem and present my specific research goals.

This is work that I have actually done. I have always found it easier to organize my own work. It is harder to do this for a library type seminar.

Give the Key Procedures the Audience Needs to Know to Understand your presentation.

Assume that half of the audience knows little about the methods you plan to discuss. It is better to err on the side of being too simple rather than being too superficial concerning your methods.

For example: I may know the basics regarding nucleic acid analyses. However, these are not topics that I think about every day. Thus, if you want me to be on board for your talk, you should take a little time to present a clear, simple explanation of the key methods you wish to discuss, and illustrate the type of data that they yield. If I need to be brought on board so will a lot of other people in the audience. It is easy to pick up speed once the audience is on the train. It is relatively easy to snow an audience and leave them in the dust. However, I don't think you would want to do that. This would obviously change if you were giving a talk to a group of specialists.

Aside -1: I have been on several search committees and have listened to faculty analyzing the talks of prospective job candidates. Invariably, the candidates who took the time to carefully explain what they were doing, and what they discovered received high marks, and got the jobs. In some cases I have thought that applicants presentations were too simple but I was in the minority. If people do not understand what you are presenting, they will have a negative reaction.

The classical way to do this is to present all the M&Ms at the start of the talk.

However, It could be a better to present key M&Ms immediately before the audience needs to understand them. Thus they will not need to remember them for a relatively long time.

Find or create SIMPLE DIAGRAMS which CLEARLY ILLUSTRATE important procedures.

I have always found the diagrams in "Scientific American" to be the best. You may not be able to achieve such a high standard but you could pick up a lot of "pointers" by examining these.

This depends on the nature of the work. You may present parts of a comprehensive study or individual cases or other examples.

This is where you present important factual information.

The Results section of a scientific paper does not generally contain interpretation. The latter is reserved for the Discussion.

However, Results and Discussion can be combined especially if it is going to be difficult to remember the data until the end of the talk.

This is where you place the interpretation of the results and provide the synthesis of  different cases.

This should relate these back to the goals of your seminar that you stated in the Introduction.

Based on my investigations I conclude that Webbium minimus and W. maximus are in different families (specific). This means that the entire family (Webbaceae) must be revised (more general). Furthermore, the relationships between various families in the class Webbium must also be reconsidered (more general).

This can be one of the most important parts of your talk. This is most certainly true for your own research. It is harder to do this for a library seminar.

Most people usually leave this until last for obvious reasons.

Failure to have a Summary Slide is the most common flaw in oral presentations.

You should have one or two Summary Slide(s) which contain the major aspects of your talk.

It is possible to make elaborate, ornate, animated computer generated AV materials. However, a lot of this detracts from the actual presentation.

A little glitz goes a long way. However, this is an area where you can display your own style.

In general a Dark Blue or Black background is best.

A gradient background is OK as long as it is not too extreme.

White and Yellow letters are best with the above backgrounds

Some people can't see red very well.

Try to use fonts that are easy to read. Use BOLD lettering in general

Most of these are made with word processors like Word or presentation graphics programs like PowerPoint.

That doesn't mean that you need to make yours that way. As long as the illustration is effective it is good. However, you will be expected to know how to do this eventually as your career progresses.

Most presentation graphics programs are made for the corporate world.

The corporate world is a horizontal world. Don't ask me why. I am a vertical person and most of my slides are vertical. However, some places are not designed for vertical slides. So be warned! I have been at meetings with sophisticated amphitheaters which could not accommodate vertical slides.

Use Horizontal  (Landscape) orientation for your slides!

Aside 2: When I was a grad. student I went to a meeting at the U. of Calgary in Alberta. My friend was about 6' 4' with afro-style hair. They had ultra-modem lecture halls with large horizontal screens. His slides were all vertical and they stretched from the floor to the ceiling. He was so excited when he gave his talk that he stood in the middle of his slides gesturing furiously. I guess I did the same.

The templates that are contained in presentation graphics programs err on the side of presenting too little information on each slide. You could plan to have twice as many points on a slide than the number suggested by the computer program.

You can change the page layout from Landscape (horizontal) to Portrait (vertical) and the template will automatically format itself.

Your seminar outline might have 10 points or more. If you bring the audience back to this slide every time you deal with one of the points, then they can follow you.

You might have a complicated ecological diagram or biochemical protocol which could be used in the same way as a complex outline.

It is very important to check out the room in which you will be giving your talk and be certain that everything is in order and works.

You should check things out at least an hour ahead of time! Leave the computer projector running once you have made sure that it is working!

Aside 3: I once went to meetings which used rear projection screens. No body told us ahead of time. All of the slides of the first two speakers were backwards. Thereafter pandemonium reigned as slides were reshuffled put in upside down and backwards.

Most rooms are not sufficiently dark for good slide viewing. I usually use slides which are slightly overexposed rather than those which are darker.

We do not have that problem in 007 but in general rooms will be too light.

Some room like 011 have switches which control room lighting. You should learn how to do this yourself even if you have a convener. He/She may not know!!!!!

If you use a slide projector, it may need to be turned off if you want to use overlays on the same screen. Some of the newer Kodak projectors will not project light unless a slide is present. You could plan to have the screen go black at intervals in your talk where you want to use the screen for other illustrations by leaving blank slides at critical places.

There are two screens in 007 and you could use both.

Make sure that you have a pointer and that you use it to point at something rather than wave it all over the place.

If there are trends in the data use the pointer to trace them.

Like it or not we are going to see most colleges and universities move towards computerized methods of presenting and storing information. It is in your best interest to learn enough about computer techniques to show people that you are capable in this area.

One of the TV ads I detest is the one where the slogan is "Image is Everything"! Image is not everything but it is Something.

People will evaluate your teaching potential on the basis of your job interview seminar. Furthermore, your overall evaluation will be aided by a "state of the art" seminar.

It is best to aim for a straightforward serious style. This is most important when you give talks to audiences who don't know you and might not understand your sense of humor.

Aside4: I once gave a talk about social insects when I was an undergrad. It turned out to be hilarious, although I hadn't intended it to be funny. The teacher almost fell on the floor with laughter. When it was over someone commented that it was good to have some comic relief. That comment stung me!!!!

I like to use slides as cue cards. I tend to err on the side of having too many slides in my talks. The general rule is to have 1 slide for each minute of your talk. A minute can seem like an eternity unless you can fill it without resorting to visual aids.

Be sure of exactly what you want to say for each slide. If you are unsure, discard the slide.

For Graphs be sure to do the following.

Explain the x and y axes.

Identify the different subjects, measurements, data sets (i.e. white light, red light, green light, blue light and dark treatments).

Clearly point to key observations or results. Do not just wave your pointer around, or ignore the graph completely and let the audience struggle to comprehend it.

If you show a series of similar graphs, you do not need to go over the basics again but clearly point out the results that you want the audience to see.

For Tables keep them simple and be sure that the audience can read the important information.

Proceed as you would for graphs and carefully lead the audience through the table so that it is easy for them to see the data. Most Tables copied from scientific articles are not well suited for seminars and it is usually best for you to make a copy which is easier to comprehend and which only contains the data that you want to present.

Most people talk too softly. If you are soft spoken, I will get a microphone for you. Some people talk too rapidly. I don't have an easy remedy for this.

In General, try to face the audience as much as possible when you are speaking. If you must face the screen or chalkboard, increase your volume.

Another option is to have the podium located behind the audience so that they are looking at the screen and you are talking towards the screen. I like doing it this way especially when I am using the computer. It is harder to communicate via body language this way, however.

Speech professionals will tell you to look at the audience and make eye contact.

My advice is to treat the audience as a blur. Look over the heads of the audience or scan them from side to side. If you start looking at faces in the crowd you are likely to get distracted and possibly distraught. This is one reason why I like to use slides. The room must be dark and it is hard to see the faces of the crowd. Eye contact is good if you are trying to sell something.

It is not good to look exclusively at the screen.

Try to use simple language.

Avoid "Trailing Off" at the end of sentences. "Trailing off" occurs when your speech volume diminishes at the end of sentences.
This is one of the most common mistakes made by speakers.

You need to be sure to deliver the last words of your sentences with as much emphasis as the first words.

As my old Drill Sargent would say "WEBB!!! I can't hear you!!!!!!"

Practice Out Loud!!!!!

It is extremely important that you practice your talk several times OUT LOUD before you make your final seminar.

It is best to do this with an audience of people who can make suggestions and throw things at you to keep you on your toes!.

If you have problems pronouncing something in practice, you will be able to overcome this with further practice or find another word. You don't want to be groping for words during your seminar.

Furthermore, you really can't get a good estimate of the time required for the talk unless you practice it out loud.

Finally, this will also tell you which illustrations to keep and which to discard.