“Lack Of Direction, Not Lack Of Time, Is The Problem. We All Have Twenty-four Hour Days.”

15 steps on making a sweet sweet powerpoint presentation*

*for class presentations and seminars, like at conferences or meetings. Lecture notes for teaching are different, though some of these may still apply:

Tell a story. A story always has 3 parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. Create a compelling narrative so the audience feels invested in knowing what’s next. 

Know your audience, and adjust accordingly. Presenting to people with our same background (like students in our program) will differ from presenting to a broader audience like the general public, who may not care (or understand) nitty gritty detail. 

Use large readable font. Especially on graphs and figures, and..

Limit text. A busy intimidating slide = a distracted/zoned out audience

Refrain from using pastel colors with a white background, or dark colors with a dark background. Projectors =/= your computer screen, and these colors may not have the same contrast during a presentation. 

Also related, be considerate of the color-blind/visually impaired. Make figures accessible to them by not just relying on color but also patterns, shading, symbols, etc.

Show only what’s necessary. Try not to overwhelm an audience who’s seeing all this for the first time. Always remember: presentations are not data dumps; they’re stories. Simplify figures by remaking them if possible, or block out unimportant areas. 

And walk the audience through complicated slides. We should never assume everyone in the audience knows exactly what we’re talking about. Use animations to show only one point or figure at a time if necessary.

Speaking of figures, use high-quality ones! None of the deep fried-jpegs please. 

Also refrain from putting things that have no meaning. Examples include gratuitous eye candy (which are only acceptable in title and closing slides) or points that won’t be talked about. They’re just distracting.

Show interest when speaking. If the speaker sounds bored talking about their work, then I assume it’s boring and not worth my attention.

Refrain from going wild with that laser pointer. It’s there to bring attention to certain key points, not to continuously circle around the entire slide like we’re playing with cats. (If your hand holding the pointer is shaking, it helps to grab your wrist with your other free hand, or rest that arm on something (like the podium) to “root” it.)

Refrain from going wild with the animations/transitions also. Super cool in 4th grade; slightly nauseating at a national meeting. A simple “appear” animation will do just fine. 

Rehearse rehearse rehearse. Being well-prepared can combat stage-fright, as it takes away the anxiety of “not knowing what to do next” or “mental freezes”. You may also find yourself editing a few things as you rehearse, because something that seemed ok while making the ppt may not flow so well when you actually get to talking about it. Also, pay attention to the usage of filler words (like “um”, “sorta”), and body language: are you leaning on the podium too much? pacing a lot? looking at the screen and not the audience? 

Adopt a “power pose” to instantly feel more confident and relaxed. Stand up straight, chest out, shoulders back, uncross those arms, and smile. Hold yourself up like royalty, baby! Here’s a TedTalk on power poses. 

Study Break Ideas!

* go on a quick walk or run!

* there are good yoga videos on Youtube that are 5-30 minutes long, just enough time to give your mind a break! some of my favorites are 

Quick Stress Fix - 5 Minute Sequence (5 minutes)

Yoga For Focus & Productivity - 10 min practice (10 minutes)

12 Min Yoga For Brain Power | Yoga With Adriene (12 minutes)

Stress Melt - 26 Min Yoga Break | Yoga With Adriene (26 minutes)

* draw something! 

* watch youtube or a quick episode of the office (ONLY ONE EPISODE I KNOW IT’S HARD) 

* tidy up the space you’re working in! This can help you clear your mind and come back with more focus. 

* go get a snack and water—always make sure to stay hydrated! 

* call a relative or friend who you haven’t seen in a while (especially college people, talking to someone you love can be such a stress reliever, and you always have the excuse that you need to study in case the conversation goes on too long. you can also complain to them)

* dance party—my personal favorite. great stress reliever. 

* watch a cool TedTalk or numberphile video! 

How to build your confidence – and spark it in others | Brittany Packnett

Mindset is Everything | Cole Bennett | TEDxUIUC

The Magic of Not Giving a F*** | Sarah Knight | TEDxCoconutGrove

How to Get Your Brain to Focus | Chris Bailey | TEDxManchester

and the master playlist: The 20 Most-Watched TEDTalks

* when all else fails, BuzzFeed quizzes. 

my masterpost | my studygram | ask me anything

[click images for high quality]

[transcript under the cut]

Other advice posts that may be of interest:

How To Study When You Really Don’t Want To

Active Revision Techniques

How To Do Uni Readings

How to Revise BIG Subjects

Weiterlesen

hey!! to celebrate my birthday month and autumn in general, i thought it would be nice to post a challenge! i always wanted to do my own one. anyone can join, you don’t have to do every day and it’s okay to switch days if the challenge is inconvenient that day. don’t forget to use #nostalgicautumn so i can find your posts. I would appreciate a reblog so as many people as possible can join! so here it is:

let’s get it! set some goals: what do you hope to achieve this october? include some autumn activities.

create an autumn playlist to keep u company this month! (on spotify and post the link, or just write down the songs on here)

what’s your favorite drink for autumn and why? post a recipe if it’s something fancy.

light a candle for today’s study session & post a pic.

write a short love letter to yourself and put it into your jacket pocket to be your lucky charm. if it’s not too personal, post it on here to. otherwise just recap how it was writing to yourself: was it easy or did you struggle a bit?

how do you say “autumn” in your native language / the language you’re learning? plus points if you google the origin.

read this poem. what did you think of it?

give your notes / your bujo some autumn vibes: doodles, autumn colors, … be creative & post a pic.

what’s your favorite quote?

fav study snack this autumn?

today’s to-do: reading! get yourself cozy and enjoy your book.

are you affected by bad weather? what do you do to make yourself feel better?

what’s your morning routine? is there’re something you could do to make it more enjoyable?

night routine?

record yourself explaining your study material and take a walk outside. did this method work for you / will you try it again?

my hands always get super dry when it gets cold outside. so today’s task is easy: use some handcream! any recs?

watch a documentary or a short educational video on youtube. it can be about anything! some ideas: environment, space, crime, famous people (buzzfeed unsolved counts too ;))

what’s your favorite thing about autumn?

stretch when taking a study break today. what stretches did you do? how did it feel?

do you get nervous for exams? what do you do to deal with nervousness?

post a pic of your study space.

collect some leaves, get some fresh air and take some pics. don’t forget to press the leaves!

document your day with some pics. what are you most proud of for getting done today?

describe your ideal autumn day.

how do you study?

get something done today you have been procrastinating on for weeks. it doesn’t have to be study-related and it’s okay if you only spend 5 mins on it! something is always better than nothing.

have you ever had any magical or paranormal experiences?

time to journal! make yourself some tea and let your thoughts out.

give someone a compliment today. what was it?

what was this month’s biggest accomplishment?

time to take a break & enjoy halloween! what are your plans?

“If you were alone, feeling could overtake you and stick to you like a shadow.”

— Beloved, Toni Morrison

Can I just share how I failed a subject because of my anxiety? Or maybe my laziness, I don't know what fits.

I'm trying to remove the toxic mindset of a student which is the idea that "Grades are ALL that I am." It was good, my grades are getting better except for one subject (if you follow my blog u know which one).

Something about either the subject matter or the instructor or maybe even the schedule puts me off in taking that class. Every time I see my instructor I get the feeling that she's judging me. I know she hates me or my habit of being late/absent in her class but the fact that she looks at me at a certain way added to my nervousness that I usually end up avoiding it altogether. I missed three meetings out of 12-ish meetings, and it's not good (since we can only miss three. yikes)

I know I should've dealt with this better but I can't seem to get past my fear of my instructor. I don't know how will I fix this (or if I can even fix this) but i'm really torn right now. I don't know if my bad grade is because of my performance on the specific subject, or the mindset of not treating my grades as important as before.

Some words of encouragement or advice would really be a great help. :(

small studyblrs reblog!

if you’re a small studyblr (<100 followers) and active, reblog this post! i want to queue original content from my fellow small studyblrs

the only way to grow in prayer is to pray.

The First Semester is finally Done and I've checked out of my dorm! My semester finished earlier than others, and it was fun to just lounge around my room until it was the time to go home.

Today, I offer you pictures of Iska sleeping at our common area. Tomorrow? Who knows?