Instructions for Oral Presenters

 

The FIP PSWC is a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and speak with pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists from around the world. To optimise your communication with multilingual audiences, we offer the following pointers for preparing your presentation(s).

 

Tips for visuals

 

• Use a sans-serif font, such as Calibri, Cambria, Arial, Tahoma or Verdana, and make sure your presentation is in 16:9 PowerPoint format.

• Consider carefully the choice of your background and the colour of your text: both should facilitate reading.

• Use a font size of at least 18 so that it is big enough to see from a distance.

• Don’t put too much text on your slides (no more than 7 lines is recommended). It may be difficult for participants whose first language is not English to read quickly. Adjust the number of slides according to the time available for your presentation. As a guide, no more than 1 slide per minute of presentation is recommended.

• Whenever possible, use an image or diagram to make a point or explain a concept. All language groups generally more easily understand images.

• Avoid excessive use of animation and complicated slide transitions. These can be distracting and add to the time taken to deliver your presentation.

• Keep your presentation slides simple and clear. If you are using moving pictures/videos, bring your own laptop and/or double-check the functionality in advance of your presentation in the lecture room.

• Presentations should include bibliographical references for further information on the topic. If you are using other people’s material, it should be appropriately acknowledged.

• Make sure the last line of your slides is not too close to the bottom of the slide, otherwise participants may have difficulty reading it.

• Don’t forget to spell check your slides before presenting them.

 

Points for speaking

 

• Keep in mind that the first language of many in your audience is not English. Speak slowly and clearly. Speak loud enough and close to the microphone.

• Unless instructed otherwise by the chair of your session, prepare your talk from a global, rather than a national perspective.

• Avoid acronyms – e.g. say “World Health Organization” instead of “WHO”.

• Avoid slang, idioms and jargon. Those outside the language or national group rarely understand them.

• Use generic names of medicines (and avoid branded names or any form of advertisement).

• Use supporting visuals (e.g. PowerPoint presentation) whenever possible. This helps your audience to fill in comprehension gaps.

• We recommend that you do not read from your manuscript.

• Do not exceed the allocated presentation time. We suggest you keep your presentation 5 minutes shorter than requested in order to allow time for audience interaction.

* You are required to hand in your presentation PowerPoint at the media room at least two hours before your session in order for your slides to be formatted correctly by the audio-visual team and sent to the correct session room.