NATURE/ECOLOGY PROJECT TOPICS
Here is our list of topics and who is doing them (last updated on November 20th, 2023)
- The Bison of Yellowstone – Christian Campbell
- The Bears of Yellowstone – Nicole Read
- History of Yellowstone as a National Park – Lia Lemieux
- Forest Fires in Yellowstone – Jason Rosenbloum
- Elks on the Northern Range – Megan McGinnis
- The Petrified Forests of Specimen Ridge – Grace Hall
- The Flora of Yellowstone – Logan Evans
- Fishing and Fisheries Management in Yellowstone – Euwan Kim
- Indigenous Culture and History of Yellowstone – Emily Nagamoto
FORMAT
1) How long should the presentation be?
10 minutes + 2 minutes for FAQ
2) How many slides should I have?
That depends on how information-rich your slides are (see below for some suggestions about this). The “1.5 Slide Rule” is a good start: take the number of minutes your talk should be and multiply this by 1.5 – voila that is how many slides you should have (not counting title and reference slide). You may of course have more if you are only saying a few quick things per slide, or you are just showing pictures.
3) What about slide background?
Powerpoint provides a variety of templates for making slide presentations. Unfortunately, they are all based on the “text here” style – which is why so many people just have text slides and few to no pictures. Whatever background style you pick or make yourself – be sure to keep it consistent throughout the presentation. Choose warm colors – avoid gaudy, in-your-face color backgrounds. Studies have shown that the greatest retention rate is still achieved by good old white background and black writing. If you pick other colors, make sure your text has enough contrast from the background without being painful to the eye.
4) Should I number my slides?
Putting a small number in each slide’s corner helps during the question and answer session. Someone might ask you to go back to “Slide 5” and you will immediately know which slide that is. Make sure you keep your slide numbers the same as ppt numbers them (your title slide is slide number 1).
5) What kind of font and size should I use?
That is up to you but try to keep it consistent: use the same font for text lines and headings throughout the presentation. Use a different font to label diagrams or pictures. Pick one size for your headings and another for your textlines (slightly smaller) – keep this consistent throughout.
6) How much text should I use?
This is perhaps the most important question a presenter must ask themselves. Most people mess this up. Here are a few pointers: DO NOT use your slides as if they were notecards from which you are reading. In other words, do not simply read the lines of slide text to the audience. Make sentences AS SHORT as possible; many times a single keyword is enough. Studies have shown that if you have too much text, especially lines that you are repeating almost verbatim, your audience will read your slides instead of pay attention to your talk. This is confusing and distracting. It is also boring and rude. Why give a talk when I can just read everything off your slides? You could have just sent it to me to read rather than making me sit through a talk.
7) How much information should I cover per slide?
Your goal should always be: “One Slide – One Idea”. You will find this impossible to follow but it is a solid foundation to start with. Your slides should NEVER have more than two bullets or paragraphs of text – anything more is TOO much. Indeed, try to avoid “bullets” altogether – they are boring and quite frankly, amateurish.
8) What about pictures?
Following the guidelines in point 7 above should allow ample space for images, photos, and graphs. My personal motto is “why use text when the same can be expressed as a figure, graphic, photo, or animation”? If you are going to use photos or images be sure to FRAME them (by choosing Outline or Picture Border). This makes them look more professional and “clean”. If you need to cite the figure – put the citation in small letters in the lower right hand corner of the image. Be sure your images are sharp and of sufficient contrast.
9) How much should I animate text?
The rule is: as little as possible! If you want to make text appear on the slide as you go along use either “appear”, “fade in”, or “wipe in” for text. Avoid anything else especially fly ins, bounce ins, pop ins etc. and in the name of sanity NEVER use sound effects for text animations!
10) Avoid Slideuments
“Slideuments” are basically a hybrid between a slide and a document – they contain so much information (either as text or graphic or both) that they are confusing, illegible (text is too small), or crowded. If you find yourself having to say something like “I know this doesn’t show up really well” or “I apologize for this slide being too busy” than you are doing it wrong.
11) Graphs
NEVER use more than two graphs at a time. Studies have shown that any more graphs and your audience will begin to “wander around your slide” while you are talking. Make sure your axes are all labeled, that the text is large enough to see etc.
12) Video
If you are going to use video – embed them directly into the slide rather than using a hotlink to some other program – that costs time and disturbs the flow of the presentation. Convert your video into WINDOWS MEDIA FILE or QUICKTIME (if you use Mac) – other versions will play in ppt but not very well. Make sure your sound is working BEFOREHAND if you need sound.
13) Your presentation
You may use note cards to aid you while giving your talk, however, they should be used as “occasional reminders” only, NOT crutches. In other words, do not simply read off your cards, or rely to heavily on them. The best talks are given without note cards – it shows you know and understand your material, have practiced, and carries an aura of professionalism.
Let me know if you have any questions!
