CSM Seminars

Talk Guidelines

Below are some guidelines for both giving a talk and participating in the sudent seminar.

• Slides should be prepared using LaTeX or PowerPoint. Slides should not be hand-written, and board talks are not allowed.
• The talks should be no longer than 25 minutes and no less than 15. These are typical time limits for conference talks. If you would like to practice a proposal or final defense, please let me know at least the week prior to your talk. That way everyone knows to expect a longer talk.
• Titles and abstracts for your talk should be submitted to me no later than the Tuesday morning prior to your Wednesday talk. If you want help in writing your abstract let me know.
• The talks will be moderated. Be prepared for technical questions and presentation suggestions. Please keep in mind that the goal of the seminar is to improve your presentation skills and to help you build a presentation library. Do not take any of the criticisms personally. Pertinent questions can be asked, and should be, since those questions will help the speaker identify problems in their presentation. Please save remarks on presentation style until the end. However, technical questions may be asked at any time.
• Thanks to everyone who agreed to participate. While it may seem painful at first, by the end of the semester you will gain lots of confidence in your presentation abilities and will have prepared presentations from which you can build future talks.