tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post7614128868802606377..comments2024-03-14T04:53:49.513-05:00Comments on FemaleScienceProfessor: What Is Your Slide Number?Female Science Professorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-68081390332982507602011-10-17T08:53:40.598-05:002011-10-17T08:53:40.598-05:00Chemistry (nanotechnology): I clock about 1.5 to 2...Chemistry (nanotechnology): I clock about 1.5 to 2<br /><br />Many slides are highly visual (the image *is* the data). Very few equations. (other than physics and maths folks, sparse few care about the equation itself.<br /><br />Balancing: grew up with a Prof. of Speech, and was an English major. <br /><br />I go through a lot of slides, but I know I do a good job when we get to the questions and they are intelligent and relevant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-55104990293555150222011-10-16T19:04:02.602-05:002011-10-16T19:04:02.602-05:00Minimalist - for a 15 min. talk, maybe 5 slides. ...Minimalist - for a 15 min. talk, maybe 5 slides. All slides are for me are placeholders for my information delivery. Bullets are brief, only a few words so that I can elaborate. If I have a figure I will use my green laser pointer to point out aspects of the figure instead of using animation. I only use animation if I am withholding information on data to build up the audience's anticipation for the final results. To be perfectly honest, I really have better things to do with my time than to make slides.Optixmomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00777379336330312818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-22535842664207094012011-10-16T10:33:26.436-05:002011-10-16T10:33:26.436-05:00Ned, for digital video, the standard is 29.97 fram...Ned, for digital video, the standard is 29.97 frames/second. Old-school film at 24 frames/second is so 20th century.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-37814786657152555912011-10-15T23:04:29.023-05:002011-10-15T23:04:29.023-05:00Being from the Hollywood school, normal is 24 fram...Being from the Hollywood school, normal is 24 frames/sec = 1440 slides/minute.<br /><br />I am closer to 1.5 slides/minute.Ned Wrighthttp://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmolog.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-48051190832697109262011-10-15T06:39:11.818-05:002011-10-15T06:39:11.818-05:00My rule of thumb is:
Slides with significant text...My rule of thumb is:<br /><br />Slides with significant text content -- 1 slide = 1 min<br /><br />Slides with only photos [that don't need excessive explanation] 1 slide = 0.25 - 0.5 min<br /><br />Yes, everything depends on the exact content, the style of talk and presentation, etc., etc., but the rule of thumb works pretty well as a ballpark guide.<br /><br />Incidentally; like most people I often repurpose talks and often start to build a slide set by combining a couple of talks and then winnowing out slides. With this method it is crucial to have a reasonable rule of thumb to target, or else it is very easy to go overboard.....David Gabanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-72019985036902281902011-10-14T09:46:27.805-05:002011-10-14T09:46:27.805-05:00I avoid slides and use a blackboard whenever it is...I avoid slides and use a blackboard whenever it is at all possible. <br /><br />If I am forced to use slides, the number varies greatly, depending on how many figures and pictures I need for a particular talk, versus just text.Pagan Topologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01611788563582362688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-55314066893788486582011-10-13T12:05:48.448-05:002011-10-13T12:05:48.448-05:00Depends! An equation slide or a complicated plot ...Depends! An equation slide or a complicated plot gets 2 min or more, a simpler slide may get <1 min, maybe only 20seconds if it's for a joke or a pretty picture to drive some point home or show off, say, my beach shack in the Caribbean :) I definitely believe that for most slides, if it takes more then ~1-2 minutes to get through it, then there is too much content on that slide, the font is too small or it is too busy and should be broken up.Loves2talknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-62236130783862228222011-10-13T10:39:01.718-05:002011-10-13T10:39:01.718-05:00Social Scientist super-minimalist here....
I usua...Social Scientist super-minimalist here....<br /><br />I usually have around 9-12 slides for a 50 minute lecture...<br /><br />and I go by the rule of no more than 7 words per a slide.<br /><br />(I like to talk with my audience)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-15200315685684308802011-10-13T10:03:06.158-05:002011-10-13T10:03:06.158-05:00I'm probably a moderate to minimalist. I try ...I'm probably a moderate to minimalist. I try to focus on images and leave text off slides (as I've read studies show too much text on slides actually detracts from understanding). I think the fact that I have so few slides is probably indicative of the fact that I can condense a lot of information into single plots. Some people don't have a way to show their information in just a single plot and have to show many...or in some cases, I'd say it's poor judgement because they *should* condense the information to make it easier to compare but choose not to, for some reason.Cherishhttp://cherishthescientist.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-44941260916934364252011-10-12T20:51:53.724-05:002011-10-12T20:51:53.724-05:00I don't think it "depends" on the ty...I don't think it "depends" on the type of talk as much as some people think it does (I do believe it depends on field, though). I think these things are totally characteristic of people and you are either someone who tends to show lots of slides/talk or someone who doesn't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-76911799121912850362011-10-12T19:53:04.641-05:002011-10-12T19:53:04.641-05:00This conversation is completely worthless, as no o...This conversation is completely worthless, as no one is specifying the exact information content of each of their slides.Comrade PhysioProfhttp://freethoughtblogs.com/physioprofnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-59938863253568771012011-10-12T19:31:25.932-05:002011-10-12T19:31:25.932-05:00I'm an Ns~1, an experimental physicist. I thi...I'm an Ns~1, an experimental physicist. I think if you are talking to a "specialist" audience, N~2 or more is ok. However, I always find that there is someone in the audience who is behind (I am sometimes that person in talks that are outside of my specific field...I am a chemist turned laser physicist). I think it's best to talk a little below the level of your average audience member. It bugs me when people assume that I know what bizarre acronyms stand for, much less what their significance is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-58058310192625593992011-10-12T19:31:03.654-05:002011-10-12T19:31:03.654-05:00I recently was in a meeting where the 6 presenters...I recently was in a meeting where the 6 presenters were supposed to talk 10 min each. The 3 people before me were maximalists, the slides sparked a lot of discussion, so from 10 min we got to 45 min each. <br /><br />Needless to say, my presentation (minimalist, 6 slides for 10 planned, 15 actual minutes) had to get postponed to the next meeting. <br /><br />I don't understand these people that bring 50 slides for a 10 min presentation. It is so unreasonable.Isabellanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-15039601901655010612011-10-12T16:19:30.198-05:002011-10-12T16:19:30.198-05:00about 1.5 minutes per slide, which i thought was...about 1.5 minutes per slide, which i thought was too many slides, and never thought of as minimalist. And a fair number of my slides are transition slides with only a picture + a few words or a joke or a quote which i flash pretty quickly. Your colleague's speed sounds about similar to mine, or fairly fast.Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12518980340179305767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-74521490797936872442011-10-12T16:18:13.019-05:002011-10-12T16:18:13.019-05:00I can speak for an hour with 10 slides, although I...I can speak for an hour with 10 slides, although I don't always do this. It really depends on the level of abstraction in the subject matter. Very Abstract means long explanations for each small diagram, peppered with historical anecdotes etc.Keahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05652514294703722285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-47328070656141107622011-10-12T16:17:46.363-05:002011-10-12T16:17:46.363-05:00Very much a minimalist - in a 20 minute talk, I mi...Very much a minimalist - in a 20 minute talk, I might have five to eight slides. There will only be a few key quotes or other textual elements.<br /><br />I try to include as many important illustrations as I can muster, of course, but there aren't a huge amount of images available for my topics so I'd rather have fewer slides and take a bit more time to 'unpack' each.Janicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14093558563358431804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-67599988979334974422011-10-12T15:43:05.162-05:002011-10-12T15:43:05.162-05:00Astrophysicist. Ns = 0.5. I like to talk around ...Astrophysicist. Ns = 0.5. I like to talk around things, and you never run over time if you have a few good figures and talk around them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-7067564395274525712011-10-12T15:31:39.407-05:002011-10-12T15:31:39.407-05:00Moderate. If I'm giving a timed talk, I stick ...Moderate. If I'm giving a timed talk, I stick to the one slide per minute rule, but I tend to spend a little less than one minute on each slide, so that ensures that I don't go over and leaves time for questions. My last presentation had 71 slides, was scheduled for 1 hr and 15 minutes and took 1 hr.Heathernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-64330134839041045952011-10-12T14:59:49.401-05:002011-10-12T14:59:49.401-05:00Ns = ~1Ns = ~1Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-46728566708305786532011-10-12T14:37:00.853-05:002011-10-12T14:37:00.853-05:00Moderate (Ns=1) in biological sciences, although I...Moderate (Ns=1) in biological sciences, although I tend to use a lot of transition slides (usually diagrams and summary figures) and sometimes repeat the same figure every few data slides to make my talks flow better.Dr. Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11790026573432534602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-61160573944085712092011-10-12T14:36:42.578-05:002011-10-12T14:36:42.578-05:00chemist-moderate for a research talk.
Much, much ...chemist-moderate for a research talk.<br /><br />Much, much less for teaching.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-13892118889419368602011-10-12T13:47:01.223-05:002011-10-12T13:47:01.223-05:0015 minute talk N~1, 1 hour talk N~0.8, 2 hour lect...15 minute talk N~1, 1 hour talk N~0.8, 2 hour lecture N~0.25 which of course involves a lot of other talking and reinforcing, so its very variable, but would have to have lots of images and transitions to be N>1.2.<br />Economist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-69954655854593499262011-10-12T13:41:50.549-05:002011-10-12T13:41:50.549-05:00I think it depends radically on what sort of infor...I think it depends radically on what sort of information you're presenting. If it's visual information (here's a big tumor, here's a smaller tumor), that can go by as fast as you can say what it is. If it's complex data or mathematics (here's a big ugly plot, here's a Fourier transform), then you have to go much slower if you expect the audience to follow.<br /><br />I learned the N = 1 rule, and the "any slide with an equation counts double" rule. I probably stick to this on average.<br /><br />This discussion prompted me to delete two slides from the lightning talk I'm giving after lunch. (~8 minutes, still 11 slides. But no math.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-35523613320936942272011-10-12T12:46:53.779-05:002011-10-12T12:46:53.779-05:00I take presentation giving very seriously, and for...I take presentation giving very seriously, and for something like a talk, I find you want to be close to 1 for a couple of reasons. Unless your slides are very, very sparse, going through them at 30 seconds or less per slide is going to throw off audience members who are trying to comprehend both the visual and the audio. I'm good at comprehension, but I feel that people who spend that little on all their slides are rushing, and that's not likely good for your whole audience. As for a "minimalist approach" this can work, but only if your slides have a reasonable amount of information and animation is used effectively to keep things moving, because humans have nonexistent attention spans. Even good, academic humans.<br /><br />Now, in more talks, the average is 1, but the pacing changes throughout. I'll always have more introductory slides, and then I slow way down for data analysis, which is common in most research talks I go to.<br /><br />For teaching, I often have less slides, but they have more information associated with them and I do use animation effectively,Girls Are Geekshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07630505337360921604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-31635811568813746412011-10-12T12:45:54.143-05:002011-10-12T12:45:54.143-05:00For research presentations, N=1(ish). For teachin...For research presentations, N=1(ish). For teaching, I can usually plan to get through 15 or so slides in a 75 minute lecture (though the time spent per slide varies widely).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com