Presentation Skills Handout

Presentation Skills – Winter 2024Orange box with charts and graphs representing a slideshow presentation

Presentation and public speaking skills are required of all graduate students and postdoctoral scholars for success in their programs and chosen career fields. For English language learners, additional resources are available to help address the challenges of communicating in a non-native language.

Workshops and Events

Road to Grad Slam: Info Sessions
Date / Time Location Registration
February 1, 2024, 1pm - 2pm 1220 Walker Hall (Gibeling Room) Register with 1-click!
     

Grad Slam is an annual contest in which master’s and Ph.D. students across UC campuses – in all disciplines ranging from natural sciences to the arts and humanities – compete to introduce their research to a general audience. Participants are judged on how well they engage the audience, how clearly they communicate key concepts and how effectively they focus and present their ideas—all in three minutes or less.

At the Road to Grad Slam: Info Session, we will cover all of the training opportunities that lead up to the Winter competition, including how to access training and support, the structure of the competition, and how to prepare for the recorded and live components. 


Make Your Presentation a GradSlam Dunk: Crafting a Memorable and Effective GradSlam Submission 

January 18, 2024, 1pm - 2pm, 1220 Walker Hall (Gibeling Room)

Register with 1-click!

Come to this 1 hour workshop to learn how to pack your research into a 3 minute presentation. Learn about story development, balancing breadth vs. depth of content, designing concise, effective visual aids, and more. Appropriate for graduate students from any discipline at any stage of their graduate career. 

Dr. Beth Tweedy is the STEM Librarian for Life Sciences in the Researcher Services Department at the UCDavis Library. She has an M.S. in Biology, a Ph.D. in Ecology &Evolutionary Biology, and five years of experience as a librarian supporting graduate student and post-doc research, including presentations. Beth has received several presentation and teaching awards in her graduate and profession career and has advised, consulted, and mentored graduate student presenters who have won conference awards and presentation competitions with their own research presentations. In addition to this workshop, she offers group and individual consultations to graduate students, post-docs, and other researchers to support their presentations and research in general. 


CEE - Presentation Skills Consultations

Schedule a Consultation - be sure to click 'Request a Graduate Student/Post-doctoral Scholar Consultation' on the page and select 'Presentation Skills' as a Consultation type. 
Available through a partnership with the Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE), receive feedback to make your presentations more engaging and better learning experiences for your audience.

UC Davis Library - Presentation Skills Consultations

Presentation Consultations @UC Davis Libraries offers free advice for members of the University of California - Davis research community who are seeking to improve their presentations.

You can schedule a consultation to receive help with any or all of the following:

  • Topic Selection
  • Researching appropriate data
  • Organizing and refining information
  • Outlining main points
  • Crafting a narrative/story
  • Source citation
  • Presentation delivery
  • Visual aids (e.g. PowerPoint, graphics, posters, etc.) 
What to Expect

Presentation Consultations @ UC Davis Library offers personalized instruction to students, faculty, or staff experiencing communication apprehension or "stage fright" as well as help with overall presentation design and organization. They work one-on-one or with groups within the UC Davis community from the initial brainstorming all the way through practice delivering presentations.

Grad Slam

The annual Grad Slam competition provides an opportunity to hone public speaking skills through a competition to find the best three-minute research presentation given by a UC Davis graduate student. The winner of the campus-wide competition will compete in the UC system-wide competition in the spring quarter. Prizes are awarded at both competitions.

Teaching and Presentation Anxiety

Fear of public speaking is common and highly treatable.  Receive tips for controlling teaching and presentation anxiety by making an appointment with a counselor at Counseling Services.

Courses for English Language Learners

The quarters offered and credits vary by term. Please go to the website to find the most up to date information.

Additional Resources for English Language Learners

 

Additional Handouts:
Success and Socialization | Writing and Publishing | Presentation Skills | Teaching and Mentoring
Leadership and Management | Professionalism and Ethics | Career Management | Wellness and Life Balance

URL for this page: https://gradpathways.ucdavis.edu/presentation-skills

GradPathways logo with rainbow road

 

Contact Us

  • Office Phone: 530-754-1457
  • Email: gpi@ucdavis.edu