Oral Presentations are brief discussions, in the form of a short talk, delivered to a group of listeners forming an audience by a Presenter on a focused topic to impart knowledge or to initiate a discussion. A Standard-type Presentation is aided by sufficient number of Powerpoint Slides (usually timed as 1 Slide/minute for an effective presentation) containing text and illustrations describing the theme of the talk.

Giving a prepared Talk on a topic of one’s choice, with the limited use of 4 Powerpoint Slides and minimal text, to enhance the conversational skills of an already good speaker, is the objective of this event. On the lines of famous T.E.D. (Technology Entertainment Design) Events, participants confident about their presentation skills and eager to further hone them, are hereby strongly encouraged to apply for this opportunity as a preparatory step and an experience for self, in delivering a free talk in future at respective workplaces.

12 minutes, 4 slides and your Talk is all you have got, to make the audience envisage your work. Its suggested and required to devote careful attention on the choice of words and sentences, which should be aided with examples, facts and figures, while presenting your work. The slides shall consist of key representative pictures only to aid your explanation. Are you ready for the Challenge?

For your information and to obtain an idea about its conduct, kindly go through the below mentioned link.

Posters are, as they sound like, an effective and popular means of communicating concepts and data to an audience using a combination of visuals and text. They are held at different location, at pre-designated location for every presenter together with their Posters mounted on an already available Poster Board. They allow the presenter to meet and speak informally with interested viewers being approached thereby facilitating a greater exchange of ideas and networking opportunities than with Oral Presentations.

Usually, a Poster is prepared in specific format and size (A0/A1/A2), but the interested participants are free to even bring A4/A3 sized printed sheets, to be put together on the Board already placed at the location. Kindly note that the participants need to bring their Posters printed and get it mounted on their allotted locations in morning before the start of the Symposium. For further assistance, please feel free to contact us by going to the contact page.

The basic guidelines that should be kept in mind while preparing for Oral presentation, Talk or Posters are mentioned below: -

(1) Keeping it Simple. Signifying that some one with no prior knowledge of a specific subject (that is, even a layman) or someone joining even halfway should be able understand and comprehend.

(2) Organize it Elegantly. Cramming in too much in a slide, together with smaller fonts and flashy colors are cited as reasons for rejection. It is advised to keep a slide simple with Keywords as text (rather than complete sentences) and size appropriate enough of being viewable even from last seats, in case of Powerpoint slides.

(3) Making it Interesting. Simplified illustrations in the form of graphs, drawings or fun representations and many pictures with limited text can make a difficult presentation effective and appealing to everyone.

(4) Timing it Well. Time is the key. An Oral presentation too long will make it boring and uninteresting, whereas too short will end up leaving the audience confused. Hence its important to time it will. There is nothing quite like a presentation that finishes on time without rushing on the details. A poster session is rather free-talk as per the discretion of visiting viewers and presenter.

(5) Use simple English. In a multi-cultural setting, it is expected from the presenters to use simple and plain English for everyone to be able to understand and enjoy the presentations rather than core technical jargons, which would otherwise make the presentation difficult and mundane for the audience.

(6) Don't forget to bring your curiosity. A successful symposium is a give and take Event, incomplete without its two main components, namely an Effective Speaker and a Curious Audience. Kindly listen attentively to everyone’s talk attentively, hold your questions until he/she finishes, interact and share ideas, and meet as many people as possible!

(7) Prior Submission. The selected participants are required to submit their final powerpoint presentation a day before the Symposium, for the organizer to ensure its proper working. Students who intend to bring their own PC, please go through the below mentioned facilities available on the spot, and kindly meet get the compatibility of your PC checked before the beginning of your Session. In case of Posters, please bring them directly to the Venue and get it mounted in the morning before the start of the Symposium.

A sample and representative abstract of an oral presentation from 2011 is provided. It can also be downloaded here.

Presentation Title: Scenes from a Memory reconstructing Japanese performances of the Meiji Era

Researching the performing arts of Meiji Era can be a rewarding, but also tremendously frustrating work.

Information on first Japanese pre-modern performances is scarce and fragmented. We are unsure of how exactly shows of the superstar Kawakami Sada looked, not to mention hundreds of less known stagings. Even when rejoicing upon finding some previously unknown footage or documentation, one still feels oddly detached from the very nature of the theatrical experience depicted there.

This of course applies to studying and describing any performance that we have not ourselves witnessed. However, Meiji stagings are a special case, for we posses neither the priceless example of kata, passed down from generation to generation and thus giving us a glimpse into the ways of old, nor the products of advanced video and audio recording technology, that can become a simulation of witnessing performances that took place more recently.

Having this in mind, it is crucial for researchers, who deal with reconstructing Meiji theatre, to maintain a certain discipline. Three vital aspects that must always be taken under consideration in our research are: space, text and the performers themselves. It may sound obvious, yet still too many of us fall into the trap of freely interpreting or plainly imagining what the performances we deal with might have looked like. The only way to make our field coherent and grounded is to shed the false pretenses of ‘artistic creativity’ or ‘scholarly imagination’ and force upon ourselves strict discipline - a cornerstone of science. (249 words)

In order to assist the students with the preparation of their Powerpoint slides effectively for Oral Presentation or Talk, a 2-hour Workshop will be organized 2 weeks prior to the Symposium, which will include a presentation given by an experienced professor on “How to give a Successful Presentation” featuring the efficient ways of communication as well as focus on powerpoint preparation, followed by a Mentorship program in small groups of students and organizing committee members with professor for feedback on one’s work.

All the presenting students, are encouraged to join the workshop in order to progress towards giving an all-embracing presentation dynamically.

The students will be required to bring their presentations (in complete or partial form) to be able to discuss at the workshop and consequently obtain feedback.

The University of Tokyo

Multi-Disciplinary Student Symposium 2013