thesis presentation

How to design an impactful 3MT slide (with examples!)

things going into a funnel to make a 3MT slide

What can you do in three minutes? Brush your teeth, make a coffee?

How about explain your entire PhD thesis? 😅

Believe it or not, that’s what thousands of people do each year in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT ® ); a global public speaking competition where PhD students explain the scope and impact of their research in, you guessed it, just three minutes . ⏰

And if you’re reading this, perhaps you’re an aspiring 3MT-er yourself, on the hunt for some inspiration to design an impactful 3MT slide to accompany your talk.

Sound like you? Then you’ve come to the right place.

Previously, we gave you some tips and tricks on how to write a winning 3MT script , but in this instalment of our 3MT series, we’re switching gears to cover another very important aspect:

We’ve trawled the internet to discover what actually makes a good three minute thesis slide, and in this blog, we’ll cover some do’s and don’ts to help you design one that’s memorable and impactful. To help bring these concepts home, we’ll also include some examples that we love from past 3MT winners and finalists.

But before we do that, let’s recap some important rules related to the 3MT slide:

So, in short, the 3MT slide obviously needs to be fairly simple. But that doesn’t mean it has to be boring.

Hold up… if the 3MT is a public speaking competition, why is the slide even important? Surely only what you speak about matters, right? WRONG! 🙅‍♀️

The 3MT competition is about so much more than just what you say. It’s also about what you do and what you show And what you show during your 3MT is where your nifty little slide comes in.

Not only is the PowerPoint slide a key component of the 3MT judging criteria , it also helps create a lasting mental image for the judges. After all, you can’t win the 3MT if the audience and judges can’t even remember what your research is about!

So, hopefully we’ve been able to convince you about just how important having a good slide is. But how do you design an impactful 3MT slide, you ask?

Well, here are 5 of our top tips:

Tip #1 : Avoid data dumping 📊

You might be familiar with those boring old PowerPoint presentations that seem to appear at every conference. You know the ones I’m talking about. The ones cluttered with complex graphs, huge tables, and enough numbers to put even the most experienced professors to sleep.

May I present to you… Exhibit A:

Look familiar? Good. Now lock the memory away in a distant room of your mind palace, because that’s exactly what you DON’T want in a 3MT slide (or really, in any slide for that matter…)

Unlike a conference presentation, your 3MT slide should simply act to enhance and complement your script, rather than be used to display complex data and graphs. In fact, I would suggest avoiding the use of any complex graphs and data tables at all, because they just end up detracting attention from what you’re saying.

If you choose to present some important data or statistics in your 3MT slide, consider swapping out graphs with simple infographics , like pie charts or diagrams:

an image displaying From This to This turning a graph into an infographic of a salad bowl

As you can see, simple infographics and eye-catching figures are a much more visually stimulating way to present information, especially compared to data-heavy graphs and tables. And they’re surprisingly easy to make using tools like Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Express .

So, if in doubt, leave complex data out. 🚫

In fact, you’ll find that most successful 3MT-ers show little to no data at all in their slides and intentionally keep them very conceptual, which brings me to tip #2 .

Tip #2 : Keep it conceptual 💡

Perhaps you’re sensing a general theme here… that typically less is more when it comes to a 3MT slide. This allows the focus of the presentation to be on the speaker, the slide simply acting as a visual aid to complement the story . And when it’s a public speaking competition, I’d say that’s pretty important.

In our humble opinion, some of the most effective and memorable 3MT slides are those that present an image or diagram that conveys a single underpinning concept or idea .

You might recall from our ‘ How to Write a Winning 3MT Script ’ blog post, that many successful 3MT scripts incorporate things like humour, analogies , or fictional characters. In these situations, it can be helpful for the contents of the slide to reflect this.

One of my favourite examples of this comes from 2016 Asia-Pacific 3MT Winner, Joshua Chu-Tan , who spoke about his research on gene therapy treatments for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) to target the root of vision loss. In his winning presentation, he says:

quote for Joshua Chu-Tan, winner of 3MT, about age-related macular degeneration

Rather than using complex diagrams to show the theory, he opted for this simple, yet extremely powerful image that highlights the impact of vision loss from age-related macular degeneration. And, seeing as this image has stuck in my memory for years, I’d say it was a pretty good choice.

As another example, back when I won the 3MT , I used an analogy to draw parallels between A) cars carrying passengers on a highway, and B) nanoparticles carrying drugs along a blood vessel. So, my 3MT slide portrayed a busy highway with signage to show which hypothetical organs the cars were headed towards:

3MT quote from Cintya Dharmayanti, 3MT winner, about nanoparticles being tiny carriers on a highway

Basically, the overarching message is to keep it simple.

And that’s all well and good… But where do you even start?

Your first step is to write your 3MT script . Then, once you have your script prepared, use it as a tool to help you brainstorm ideas for your slide. Note whether you’ve used any analogies, introduced any characters, or covered certain concepts, and then based on this information, find or create a visual to match! 🖼 This might be a little different to your usual scientific presentations, where you would normally prepare your slides first, then come up with what you are going to say after, but trust me – it works!

Tip #3 : Choose an eye-catching visual… or make one 👀

In the same way that ‘ the hook’ in your 3MT script helps to pique the audience’s attention, the slide is another important tool to capture their attention and keep them engaged. But to do this, it needs to be eye-catching and interesting .

We’ve noticed that most winning 3MTs have slides that generally fall under one of two categories: images or diagrams .

These are usually photographs or illustrations that complement the script in some way — containing a reference to the concept, analogy or character(s) that were introduced in the script.

For example, let’s say you introduced a fictional character in your 3MT script. By visually showing this character in your slide, it helps the audience form a connection with them and taps into their sense of empathy. Let’s look at an example:

Amanda Khamis, 3MT winner, on treatments for babies with cerebral palsy

As you can see, using this photograph makes for a really effective and impactful slide because it elicits a strong emotional response. Come on… how can you not love that adorable little face, right? 🥺

However, the images don’t have to be of people to be effective – they can also be more conceptual.

For instance, one 3MT finalist spoke about their research on detecting diseases, like cancer, based on characteristic molecules present in the breath. In their slide, they showed an illustration of breath molecules exiting the lungs and mouth to be caught in a net:

Merryn Baker, 3MT winner, quote about a material that can capture molecules from the breath like a net

Not only is this image a great reference to the net analogy used, but we (as the audience) are able to get a basic idea about the research concept based on the slide alone, which really helps it stick in our memory!

Of course, while we’ve highlighted some great examples, you should choose whatever image speaks to you and your research. Some useful resources to find images for your 3MT slide include iStock Photo and Adobe Stock Photos (making sure to provide attribution where required), or you can even be extra creative and take your own photo, or create your own image ! 📸

Aside from images, schematic diagrams can be another great way to conceptualise and visualise your research. However, to be effective as 3MT slides, the diagrams need to be simple and easy to understand.

Ideally, they should be short, and the outcomes immediately recognisable . Avoid using complex diagrams that you’ve directly copy-pasted from a paper, as these generally take a lot more time and concentration to understand.

A good example of a diagram for a 3MT slide was used by the 2020 Asia-Pacific 3MT winner , whose research focused on the development of a liquid glue to help measure electrical signals from plants as a way to measure their health:

example slide from Luo Yifei, 3MT winner, about developing a liquid glue that can detect plant electrical signals

In this example, it’s easy to understand what the research is about, what’s being measured, and what the desired outcomes are, thanks to the clear illustrations and emotive flower drawings.

So, if done well, diagrams can be a really powerful tool to conceptualise your research. If you want to try and create one yourself, there are lots of useful tools you can use, like Adobe Illustrator , Canva , or BioRender , to name a few.

Get creative!

Tip #4 : Minimise text 💬

When it comes to presentations, there’s nothing worse than being in the audience, staring at a PowerPoint slide, only to find a wall of text staring back at you. Not only is it super distracting, but aesthetically, it also leaves much to be desired.

And let’s be honest, if the audience is reading your slide, then they’re not listening to you… and vice versa. Which, for the 3MT, is a very big problem.

To prevent this, try to avoid including large bodies of text on your 3MT slide . See if you can verbally communicate the information instead, or alternatively, replace the text with an image that conveys the same message. After all, they say a picture speaks a thousand words.

If you really need to include some text, as in the case of simple diagrams, try to keep it to a minimum and limit yourself to 15 words maximum.

Any text you do include should use a font size that can be easily seen from the back of the room (i.e., 24 pt. minimum). And, while they sometimes have their time and place, try to avoid using any cursive, funky, or hard-to-read fonts . Comic sans, I’m looking at you. 😒

Tip #5 : Negative space is your friend 🔲

You might be tempted to fill every visible inch of your PowerPoint slide with images, diagrams, or just something to compensate for the very little time you have to present your 3MT.

Though, you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you did, because a little negative space can go a long way towards designing a great 3MT slide.

But what is negative space? Put simply, it’s the empty space around and between objects.

explaining negative space. the black plant is the main focal point, while the orange background represents negative space

Leaving some negative space in your slide gives the audience some breathing room and helps them focus on what’s important .

For photographs, this might mean choosing an image that has one focal point. This doesn’t necessarily mean the background needs to be plain, but it may simply be out of focus to allow the objects in the forefront to stand out.

For diagrams, this means leaving some empty space between sections so that there’s a clearer distinction between them, or reducing the number of sections entirely.

Here are some great examples of 3MT slides that use negative space to draw our attention to a particular person or object:

By leaving some negative space, our eyes are immediately drawn to one particular focal point, letting us focus on what’s important: You.

The take-home message 📝

And that brings us to the end of the second blog for our 3MT series!

The 3MT slide can truly make or break a 3MT presentation, but the right one can take it to the next level. And, by following these simple tips, you’re well on your way to designing a slide that captures your research in an effective and impactful way:

Avoid complex graphs and data

Keep it conceptual

Choose an eye-catching image or diagram, or make one

Keep text to a minimum, and

Don’t be afraid of negative space

So get creative! And remember, if you want to learn more about how to create amazing graphics, or how to up your public speaking skills, we’d love to show you how in our in-person science communication workshop s or online courses!

Cintya Dharmayanti

Dr Tullio Rossi

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8 Tips to Ace Your Thesis Defense Presentation

By Judhajit Sen
June 7, 2024

If you’re a graduate student nearing the end of your degree, you’re likely familiar with the term “thesis defense.” In many countries, completing a graduate degree involves writing a thesis—a substantial paper based on your field of study topic.

After submitting the formal presentation on your thesis, you’ll be given a date for your defense. This meeting usually includes you and a committee of two or more professors from your program and sometimes other professionals from related fields. During the defense, you’ll answer questions about your work to demonstrate your understanding of your field and focus area.

A thesis defense has two main parts: the thesis and the defense. The thesis shows your understanding of your program and major, and it’s more than just an extended essay. It asserts something significant about your research topic and is one of the most crucial documents you’ll produce during your academic career.

The defense is where you present evidence to support and prove your research. You must be prepared to answer questions from the committee and any other panel members. It’s your job to convince them of your thesis’s validity with ample proof. Before your academic literature review, carefully determine the evidence you’ll present to support your thesis best.

While the thesis defense might seem daunting, it’s often more of a formality to ensure you understand your work thoroughly rather than an intense interrogation.

The following are eight tips for acing your thesis defense presentation.

Key Takeaways

Focus on Main Ideas: Prioritize the most critical points and keep your presentation templates simple with minimal text to ensure clarity and engagement.
Emphasize Core Concept: Highlight your thesis’s main idea and unique contributions. Use appropriate design elements and visuals to support your message and make it understandable for a diverse audience.
Smooth Transitions and Practice: Ensure logical flow between the templates and practice your presentation thoroughly. This preparation helps maintain audience engagement and boosts your confidence during the defense.
Anticipate Questions and Stay Calm: Prepare for potential questions from the committee. It’s OK not to know every answer; handle unknown questions thoughtfully. Manage nerves through deep breathing, rest, and planning a post-defense celebration.

Choose Which Ideas to Present

When preparing your effective presentation outline , it’s important to remember that you won’t have time to cover everything. Focus on the most critical ideas that best illustrate your research. Prioritize the main points and key findings you can visually represent in your ppt.

Your presentation time is limited. For a 45-minute defense, you’ll have about 10 minutes per project, shorter than a typical research conference presentation. Concentrate on the big picture and leave the finer details for the Q&A session. Keep backup slides with additional information ready, as these might come in handy if the committee asks specific questions.

Remember, your audience has seen many good presentations packed with data and details. Avoid overwhelming them with too much information. Instead, simplify your deck by focusing on one point per slide. This approach helps the committee follow your argument more easily and makes your defense more effective.

Use minimal text on your slides. The committee wants to hear you speak passionately and authentically about your research, not read blocks of text. Each slide should act as a cue for your discussion. Ensure there’s enough white space to keep the audience’s attention on the critical elements of each slide.

You don’t need to include everything from your paper in your presentation script . Narrow down your ideas to the most critical details, such as your statistics and findings. If the committee wants more information, they’ll ask during the defense.

Explore the Main Idea of Your Thesis Presentation

When preparing for your thesis defense, remember that your audience includes your committee members, researchers from other fields, and the general public. Your goal is to show everyone why your study is essential and how it makes a difference. For example, if you’re in engineering, explain how your work can be applied practically. Highlight the problems with current practices, what needs to be fixed, and the benefits your research offers.

Your thesis has a main idea, which should be clear in your presentation title page. Everything, from the design to the text, should reflect this core concept. A well-designed persuasive presentation helps engage your audience and shows your deep understanding of your research area. Before you start designing your slides, define your main idea. Use fonts, images, and best colors for ppt presentation that support your message. For example, avoid playful designs if your research is about vulnerable communities. Instead, use bold and clear fonts to emphasize important points.

Every image and visual element should support the accompanying text. Ensure your slides look professional, are free from clutter, and are easy to understand. If your answer to whether each slide meets these criteria is yes, you’re on the right path.

Choose a Google Slides or PowerPoint template that fits your thesis topic. Your design should reflect your central theme, guiding your color, font, and image choices. These design elements must align with your thesis’s message visually and contextually.

In your thesis PowerPoint presentation, continually emphasize your unique contributions. Clearly distinguish your work from that of others. Explain what problems your research solves and the breakthroughs you’ve made. Highlight why your methodology and outcomes are exceptional.

Remember, not everyone in your audience has your background knowledge. Focus on the big picture and use simple language to explain your methods and results. Your committee has read your dissertation, but others may not have. Ensure your presentation is understandable to all, keeping technical details to a minimum. This approach will help everyone understand your work’s significance and why you deserve your Ph.D.

Your Slide Transition Must be Smooth and Logical

Smooth and logical transitions between slides are crucial in your thesis defense. You are presenting a long and detailed research project, so it’s important to remind your audience of what you have discussed and what comes next. Use slides specifically designed for transitions throughout your presentation. This helps keep the flow consistent and is an excellent audience engagement strategy .

Avoid making your slides too busy with excessive indicators or information. Simple and clear transition sentences are vital. These sentences should summarize the main points you’ve covered and introduce the upcoming topic. If you tend to forget these transitions, write a note on your presentation slides. This note can be a complete sentence or keywords to jog your memory.

Ensure that each slide logically follows the previous one. Consistency is vital, not just in content but also in design. Stick to one color scheme and layout template throughout your presentation. Avoid sudden style changes, as they can distract your committee and make it harder for them to follow your argument. A smooth, logical progression in both your content and design is an effective presentation technique that will help keep your audience on track and engaged from start to finish.

Practice Your Presentation

After spending months on your thesis, writing up your findings, and creating an excellent presentation, you don’t want all that hard work to go to waste. This could happen if you don’t practice your delivery. Practice until you know your thesis defense inside and out. No academic panel will be impressed if you stumble through your presentation or read straight from your notes. Know every slide and what you want to say with each one.

Even if you feel confident, review your materials. You can carry a hard copy of your thesis, but don’t rely on it during your presentation. Know your paper thoroughly to avoid getting lost.

It’s OK if your oral defense sounds scripted. This is expected. Practicing is crucial, especially if there’s a time limit. Make sure your slides fit within the allotted time. For instance, a 15 to 20-minute presentation shouldn’t have a hundred slides, and a one-hour defense shouldn’t have just ten slides. Practice in front of an audience for a more effective rehearsal.

Remember, you might experience complete silence in the defense room. You could feel awkward because you’re the only one speaking most of the time. Practicing this scenario is normal and can help you feel more comfortable.

Incorporate Data Visualizations, but Don’t Go Overboard

When presenting your thesis, the main goal is clearly explaining your research’s ideas. People respond well to visuals, including the panel evaluating your work. Using colorful and engaging infographics can make your results stand out.

Adding facts and figures to your presentation is essential because it shows you’ve done thorough research. However, you must be careful about how much data you put on each slide. Your audience must understand what’s on the screen while listening to your public speaking . If your data presentation is too packed with information, it can be overwhelming and distracting, causing them to miss your key points.

Only include data that adds value to your argument to keep your audience focused. Use visuals like original or stock graphics to present this information. Research indicates that visuals can boost the brain’s learning ability by up to 400% , making it easier and faster for people to process information. By incorporating dynamic pictures that explain your data, you help the committee understand and absorb your findings more effectively.

Be Prepared to Answer Questions

When you’re gearing up for your thesis defense, being ready to tackle questions is critical. Here’s what you need to know:

Anticipate Questions: You can get ready for most of the questions coming your way. Take a good look at your thesis and jot down possible questions while you read. Also, check out who’s on your committee and what they specialize in. What topics are they likely to focus on? Sitting in on other defenses with these committee members can give you a heads-up on their questioning style.

Know Your Committee: The panel is there to challenge you, often with tough questions. They want to see if you know your stuff and are well-prepared. But don’t sweat it! You’re on the right track if you’re confident about your research.

Stay Confident: No matter what questions they throw at you, keep your cool. Make sure what you say during your defense matches what’s in your thesis. As long as you’re solid on your paper’s details, you’ve got this!

When You Don’t Know the Answer!

One scary scenario in a thesis defense is the chance of getting a question you can’t answer. You can prepare for many questions, but you can’t predict everything that will be asked. Remember, your thesis defense isn’t about being perfect or knowing everything. It’s about how you handle challenging situations.

Examiners sometimes ask questions they themselves don’t know the answer to. They might do this out of curiosity or to see how you think. It’s OK to say, “I don’t know,” but try to add something like, “I don’t know, but I would think […] because of x and y. To find out, you would need to do […].” This shows you can think like an academic.

Don’t make up something without proof or context if you don’t know the answer. Giving a baseless answer can hurt your credibility in a speech . Instead, be honest and thoughtful. This approach shows your integrity and ability to think critically under pressure.

It’s OK to Be Nervous

It’s completely normal to feel nervous during your thesis defense. Your examiners know this and will expect it. They have seen many presenters in your position and are usually willing to help, such as by repeating questions if needed. Remember, it’s a myth that thesis committees are out to get you.

When you’re nervous, you might talk fast or laugh without reason. Here are some tips to help you manage your stress:

Meditational breathing: Try some calming breaths right before your defense. Exercise and sleep: Get plenty of both in the weeks leading up to your defense. Preparation: Have everything you need ready the night before. Processing questions: Allow yourself to think about each question before you answer. Post-defense plans: Plan a fun activity with friends or family, like dinner or mini-golf, to look forward to after your defense.

Remember, it’s OK to take your time during the defense. Pausing to gather your thoughts is better than rushing through your answers. This will help the committee clearly understand what you are trying to say.

Your defense won’t be perfect, and that’s OK. Mistakes happen. Careful preparation can help you feel less stressed. Planning something enjoyable afterward can also give you something positive to look forward to.

Shine in Your Thesis Defense Presentation

Mastering your thesis defense is a crucial step in your academic journey, and preparation is critical. Focus on presenting your main ideas clearly and concisely. Prioritize significant points and findings, and use simple slides with minimal text to engage your audience effectively. Ensure your core concept is highlighted, and your unique contributions stand out.

Smooth transitions between slides maintain the flow of your presentation. Practice your delivery extensively to ensure you know your material inside and out. Incorporate data visualization in your presentation wisely to support your arguments without overwhelming your audience.

Anticipate potential questions from your committee and prepare thoughtful responses. If you encounter a question you can’t answer, admitting it while offering a logical next step is OK. Remember, defense is not about perfection but about demonstrating your understanding and ability to handle challenging situations.

Nerves are normal, but manage them through deep breathing, adequate rest, and exercise. Preparation and mindfulness can reduce stress, helping you perform confidently. Plan a rewarding activity after your defense to celebrate your hard work. With these strategies, you can confidently ace your thesis defense.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is thesis defense? A thesis defense is a formal meeting where you present your research to a committee of professors. You’ll answer their questions to demonstrate your understanding of your work and field.

2. How should I prepare my presentation slides? Focus on the main ideas and critical findings. Support your points with minimal text and clear visuals. Ensure your slides are professional and easy to understand, avoiding clutter and excessive details.

3. What should I do if I don’t know the answer to a question? It’s OK to admit if you don’t know an answer. Try to think through the question and suggest a logical next step. This shows your ability to think critically and handle challenging situations.

4. How can I manage my nerves during my defense? Feeling nervous is normal. Practice deep breathing, get plenty of rest, and exercise regularly. Being well-prepared can boost your confidence. Remember to take your time when answering questions.

Master Thesis Defense Presentation with Prezentium

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For a more tailored approach, our Presentation Specialist s can transform your notes and ideas into a refined and captivating presentation. They’ll work with you to create custom designs and templates that reflect the essence of your research, making your thesis defense informative and visually compelling.

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Don’t let the stress of creating a presentation overshadow your academic achievements. Contact Prezentium today and let us help you make a lasting impression with the best thesis defense presentation ppt.

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Home Powerpoint Education Professional Master Thesis Presentation Templates

Professional Master Thesis Presentation Templates

Master Thesis Presentation Template for PowerPoint and Google Slides

The Comprehensive Master’s Thesis Presentation Template is meticulously designed to aid students in presenting their thesis in a professional and structured manner. This Master Thesis template, compatible with both PowerPoint and Google Slides, offers a sophisticated and sleek design, ensuring your research stands out with clarity and impact.

Featuring multiple slides tailored for various sections of a thesis, this template includes slides for the introduction, methodology, literature review, research tools, results, discussion, and conclusion. Each slide is carefully crafted to highlight key aspects of your research, allowing you to present complex information in an organized and engaging way.

The dark blue color scheme exudes professionalism, while the layout ensures your content is the focal point. Visual aids such as charts, graphs, and images can be seamlessly integrated to enhance the comprehensibility of your data. Additionally, the master thesis PowerPoint template includes a slide for contact information, making it easy for your audience to follow up with any questions or for further discussion.

Whether you are presenting your research to your advisors, peers, or at a conference, this PowerPoint presentation education templates ensures your work is presented with the utmost clarity and professionalism. The intuitive design also makes it easy to customize, allowing you to adjust the slides to fit your specific needs.

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Other user cases of the template:.

Academic conferences, research seminars, project presentations, dissertation defense, academic lectures, grant proposal presentations, educational workshops, faculty meetings, research group discussions, student symposiums.

Can I customize the PowerPoint templates to match my branding?

Yes, all our PowerPoint templates are fully customizable, allowing you to edit colors, fonts, and content to align with your branding and messaging needs.

Will your templates work with my version of PowerPoint?

Yes, our templates are compatible with various versions of Microsoft PowerPoint, ensuring smooth usage regardless of your software version.

What software are these templates compatible with?

Our templates work smoothly with Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides. Moreover, they’re compatible with Apple Keynote, LibreOffice Impress, Zoho Show, and more, ensuring flexibility across various presentation software platforms.

Thesis Defense PowerPoint: Presentation Structure and Slides Content

Last updated on July 13th, 2024

Writing a thesis is as important as defending it. The goal is not only to present one of the largest papers you ever worked on throughout the university years but also to build a strategy and create a presentation that answers all questions the audience might have.

Of course, today, this task is largely facilitated by modern technologies. PowerPoint and other programs let you create a perfect background for your defense. It helps you stay in control of the whole presentation and also includes all the important numbers and facts for the audience.

Thesis Defense PowerPoint: Presentation Structure and Slides Content

Creating a presentation for a thesis is not a piece of cake. Many students would say that they’d rather write a paper than work on a PowerPoint presentation. Since it’s academic, it also has its requirements and specifics. Of course, companies where you buy college essays can help you with pptx files as well. Yet, knowing all dos and don’ts to add your own voice to the presentation can help you ace your defense.

That’s why we decided to analyze a few structure and content tips to help you author your thesis defense presentation and make sure you get a high grade. But let’s discuss best presentation-making practices first.

What Should You Know About Presentation Making?

Before you start working on a presentation, you have to understand the level and the needs of your audience. If we talk about a thesis defense presentation , you will present your research paper to people knowledgeable in your field. There is no need to translate terminology in this case.

Remember that your presentations should be simple and easy to read. If you basically copy-paste the text from your thesis to the slides, you’ll create a wall of words. This brings zero value. Instead, you should make every slide look engaging. This can be achieved if you set to add only key facts there.

There is a golden rule for presentation making. Create no more than 10 slides, take no more than 20 min, and use a font size of no less than 30 points. If you follow it for every academic work you need a presentation for, you’ll most likely get a high grade.

How to Structure Your Presentation and What Content to Include?

Here are some slide guidelines that you can consider for thesis defense presentations if you are wondering what to put in a research defense PowerPoint presentation:

1. Title Slide

The title page starts the whole presentation. It gives the audience an idea about the thesis and the course. Make it simple but appealing to highlight your scientific goals while following best academic practices.

A regular title slide page includes the thesis title, your name, university, and course details. Sometimes, it’s recommended to mention your advisor’s name on the title page as well. A title slide for a thesis presentation typically fits in one single slide.

2. Introduction of the Presentation

There is no surprise that your presentation will repeat the structure of your thesis to a certain extent. That means you’ll have to include a proper introduction into your presentation as well.

On that slide, you’ll need to mention the topic once again to keep the audience focused. Also, you’ll be giving more details about the questions and goals of your research. Your audience has to understand the purpose of the paper that is in front of them. You have to make it clear for them what things you are investigating in particular.

3. Acknowledgements Slide

Say Thank you to your collaborators for their help in putting this presentation together. You would also like to thank the teachers and professors who have helped you during the preparation of the thesis. Here is the place to do it. The acknowledgments slide can be added at the beginning of your presentation, or at the end.

4. Literature Review Slide

This slide is not a requirement. However, if you want to render literature sources that you used for your research based on certain criteria, this is the right place to do it. You can provide your audience with a brief understanding of the resources you relied on.

First of all, you can specify the theories that you consider in your research. Secondly, you can highlight weaknesses that exist in current research. In certain cases, it can help you avoid some uncomfortable questions throughout your defense.

5. Methodology Slide

Every thesis paper is written with its own methodology. It’s better to define the tools and methods right away to add a framework to your paper.

This part helps you narrow down your thesis, actually. This is a good thing because you won’t be asked questions pertaining to methods and information not used within your research.

How many slides you need to dedicate for the Methods content? The total number of slides will depend on the case, but typically you can consider from one to three slides. Slide 1 for Study Design, Slide 2 for Measures and Slide 3 for the Sample.

6. Presentation of Results

A few slides that show results should be one of the most comprehensive parts of your presentation. We highly advise you to check this section for all relevant numbers and findings to make it informative.

The thing is that thesis papers crafted by companies where you can order cheap essay online may not include formulas or calculations for diagrams and charts. Nevertheless, you’ll have to include infographics in your presentation.

This is why you have to request these calculations and formulas from your writers or ask them to work on the presentation as well. The point is that you have to know the depth of your research before you start defending it. These details are a part of your grade.

7. Discussion

The discussion part of your thesis presentation should focus on major findings from your research with regard to the discipline program and the goals of this study. You need to explain why you believe these findings are relevant and that much significant. Also, you may provide a few ideas on how your findings relate to what others found in the past. In addition, this is the part where you explain outstanding data or unusual results.

Remember that you are not limited by the number of slides in this section. However, you should keep in mind that only the most important ideas should go into the presentation.

8. Conclusions

To finalize your presentation, you must end it with a proper conclusion. Again, the best practices of presentation making suggest that you should include only key ideas in your slide. You need to convey the rest in a verbal message. This is a bit hard to do when it comes to the conclusion.

However, the goal is to answer the questions you set at the beginning. If you can prove or debunk your thesis statement, consider you have fulfilled your research mission.

9. Future Works or Future Directions slide

In order to make the most of this thesis presentation, future work will involve a number of different people. Some of these people will be responsible for creating the slides and videos that are used in the presentation, while others will be responsible for making sure that all the materials are up-to-date and error-free.

A timeline for this future work can be included in a future work slide, but what to include on this slide will depends on a variety of factors. In this slide, you can present the audience how you envision the future work of your research, who will be doing it, what resources are required, and the different milestones. Typically, a timeline slide design can be used in this section, but you can also use a multi-step slide to describe a list of points. This can be a final slide of presentation unless you want to give space for questions and answer section (Q&A).

Building your thesis is already a tough task. Presentation is considered an add-on that has recently become a must. That is why you should take it seriously and make sure you follow the tips above to ace your defense and wow everyone with your research.

PhD Defense Template

You’ve done the hard work to prepare your PhD dissertation, and now there’s only one step left: your defense. And Beautiful.ai has the perfect presentation template to help you along the way.

These customizable template slides have all the basic elements of a PhD defense presentation, including an abstract, methodology, research findings, executive summary, and more. The result? A streamlined presentation that’s as professional as it is impressive. All with just a few clicks of the mouse.

Our PhD defense template can also help you:

Customize your PhD presentation for different audiences
Synthesize months of academic work into a concise presentation
Successfully defend your PhD thesis to your panel

Use our template to create an effective PhD defense presentation

Your PhD defense presentation is a critical step in your academic journey – one that requires a smart and sophisticated format, layout, and story flow. That’s why our template includes everything you need to create an effective presentation. Tailoring this defense template to your unique PhD thesis is simple. Whether you need to create additional data points or showcase more findings, you can quickly bring your visions to life with these customizable templates and our entire library of professionally designed template slides.

Pro Tips for creating your own PhD defense presentation template

When you are thinking of creating your own impactful Phd defense presentation, keep these best practices in mind:

Condensing hours and hours of research can be daunting. Build an outline or table of contents first, then simply stick to that structure as you create your presentation.

It can be easy to get caught up in your research and findings, but don’t forget to answer critical questions like, ‘Why is this important?’ and ‘What results have you achieved?’

Remember: You aren’t recreating your entire thesis into a visual presentation. Limit the amount of content and data you add to each slide.

Your PhD defense presentation is your chance to share all of your hard work. Don’t be afraid to showcase bits of your personality throughout.

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