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This chapter explains the importance of visuals in a presentation. Visual displays are the most important part of scientific presentations because they show the actual data. Appropriately chosen and well-designed diagrams, figures, and cartoons make a presentation successful. Earlier, slides and overhead transparencies were the common means of data presentation; now, computer-assisted projection is the norm. Among the available programs, Microsoft's PowerPoint has emerged as the universal standard. PowerPoint not only allows high-quality visual displays but also full audiovisual integration, thereby contributing to the convenience and flair. The basic guidelines for the design of visual displays are the same, whether the image is presented on a conventional slide or a transparency or through computer-assisted projection. The three important prerequisites for visual images are that they should be carefully prepared, simple, and necessary in the storyline. Uniformity of style throughout the presentation accentuates and underscores the flow and coherence of the talk. Images can be enhanced by adding a title or a conclusion. Intricate diagrams can be simplified by showing the basic components and by gradually increasing its complexity. They can also be simplified through the creative use of colors. When designing a PowerPoint presentation, it is important to remember that simplicity is classy and that excessive use of visual effects becomes a distraction.

This chapter lists the principles for structuring a scientific presentation in a focused and coherent manner. The presentation should be like an exciting and interesting story that is being told. The story should have one focus and convey one major message. Zooming in is an effective method for putting a presentation into perspective. Zooming emphasizes that the presentation bears relevance to an important scientific principle and defines the intellectual borders of the presentation. When putting a presentation in historical perspective, it is necessary to always give appropriate credit to contributions that have been made by others in the field. To construct a plot for a scientific “story,” it is helpful to phrase the basic idea underlying the talk as a question. The presentation should proceed as a logical unfolding of information and provide an answer to the question. The presentation should have a specific plot. Separate the central, relevant issues from merely supportive peripheral information and do not allow the direct line of thought to be interrupted by sidetracks. Time spent on an aspect of the presentation should be directly proportional to the emphasis that is to be placed on that aspect. The conclusions should demarcate the end of the lecture and be firm and decisive. It should consist of a major statement that delivers a concise take-home message. The most important rule for a scientific presentation is to finish on time and on a clear and resonant note.

Publisher Summary Delivery is important in establishing the impact of a scientific presentation on the audience, and speaking skills can be the determining factors for success in scientific careers. Effective use of voice, pause, stress position, eye contact, posture, gestures, and enthusiasm contribute to the stage presence of a speaker and distinguish a routine presentation from a memorable one. The force of delivery may make the difference between whether or not a job offer can be got and whether or not a grant proposal is approved. It is the delivery and not the content that makes the last impression. Being a confident and powerful speaker is not only a talent but also a skill that can be acquired. The characteristics of delivery in terms of voice control can be separated into several interrelated properties: sound, volume, speed, and intonation. This chapter discusses the challenges for non-native English speakers along with the ways to deal with them. Genuine enthusiasm accounts for 90 percent of the speaker's success, and slowing down the rate of speech is the remedy for 90 percent of most speakers' problems, while monotony is the greatest enemy of a scientific presentation. Articulation and eye contact are the two most important components of voice projection. Take the time to articulate every word of each sentence clearly, while maintaining eye contact with the audience. Nervous and hurried speech leads to inaccurate articulation. Restating conclusions or reminding the audience of a conclusion reached earlier in the talk, which serves as a basis for additional arguments, is an effective means of emphasizing important aspects of the presentation's content.

This chapter explains the major points to remember while preparing a scientific presentation. It is important to identify the audience and understand what they want. Each seminar should be prepared for every individual occasion de novo, with the specific audience in mind. Communication is the key to an effective scientific presentation. The presentation should be looked upon as a dialogue with the audience and not as a monologue. To communicate scientific information effectively and maintain the attention of your audience, adhere to the old rule: Tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you have told them. When preparing for a presentation, the allotted time must be divided and a defined number of minutes must be assigned to each section of the presentation—for instance, 10 minutes for the introduction, 30 minutes for the main body of the presentation, and 5 minutes to summarize and conclude. A rule of thumb is to keep the presentation at a length that is 80 percent of the allotted time and allot approximately 1 minute of the presentation for each PowerPoint image. When preparing a 45-minute presentation, making 45, or at most 50, PowerPoint slides is an ideal number. The presenter should dress keeping in mind the audience that is to be addressed. Accurate, complete, and well-phrased descriptions of scientific information portray the speaker as a knowledgeable and reliable source of information. In contrast, glib and inaccurate statements that are open to multiple interpretations elicit skepticism and distrust.

Integrating multiple incoming messages simultaneously and discriminating ‘meaningful' signals from spontaneous neural activity represent central problems to the nervous system. One mechanism by which signal integration and signal-to-noise resolution are achieved is the formation of temporal coincidence circuits by interacting transduction pathways. Signal integration via temporal coincidence detection is exemplified most readily by the way in which neural adenylate cyclases are regulated. This review will discuss the role of adenylate cyclases as coincidence detectors in the nervous system with special focus on adenylate cyclase type III, an isoenzyme that is found in large quantities in olfactory receptor neurons. The notion that olfactory transduction might also utilize an adenylate-cyclase-mediated temporal coincidence circuit strengthens the idea that signal integration via temporal-coincidence pathways is a universal feature of all neural adenylate cyclases.