``Studies show that fear of public speaking ranks higher than the fear of dying. I guess this means that most people at a funeral would rather be in the coffin than delivering the eulogy...''
Jerry Seinfeld

ften in your career you will be faced with the prospect of ``giving a talk,'' that is, making an oral presentation before an audience. These notes are a collection of a few simple guidelines for preparing and delivering a ``talk.'' The basic principles are applicable in defence of your thesis, at conferences, in giving research progress reports and the like.
These notes are intended to supplementrather than replacestandard texts on public speaking and effective oral communication. The suggestions given here have worked well for the author and his friends; perhaps they will work well for you too!

• Define your message.
• Know your audience.
• Prepare well.

• Tell'em what you're going to say...
• ... Say it ...
• ... Tell'em what you've said.

• One slide, one simple idea.
• Use lots of pictures, few equations.
• The mechanics of slide preparation.

• Relax!
• Learn by Observation
• Further Reading