To print in PDF you need to use the Chrome browser.

Recommendations for synchronous Oral Presentations

The institution proposes some practical tips that can help students prepare and carry with their Oral Presentation.

1. Preparing the Presentation

1.1. Oral presentation initial arrangements

After submission of the Final Report, the FP director will contact the Secretariat of Oral Presentations to arrange the schedule of the event. The Secretariat will contact the student and the Evaluation Committee to confirm the type of presentation (in-person or online) and the earliest available dates.

The date of the Oral Presentation will approximately be arranged between 15 to 30 days after the Final Project submission. In the case a student would need to arrange a later date (over 30 days ) due to travel arrangements or similar, they should warn the Secretariat of Oral Presentations in advance.

Once all the parties have confirmed availability, Secretariat of Oral Presentations will send an e-mail with all the information: place of the presentation, date and starting time. If the Presentation is to take place online, the e-mail will include the link to access the Virtual Room and a link to access a Dummy Virtual Room so the student can test the technical access.

The Virtual Room hyperlink access is exclusive of each student. If the confirmation e-mail goes missing, students should be able to access their Virtual Room through the icon “Virtual Room” in PANAL, below Final Project, only on the scheduled date and time.

1.2. Technical Resources

Computers, connectors and projector are available for students in the headquarters. Other necessary resources must be requested to the location in advance.

Students who do an online presentation must confirm that they have all the technical resources they need (computer, microphone, camara, presentation file and internet connection) before starting the presentation. They must also make sure that there will be any interruption.

1.3. Timetable for the presentation

The following timetable should be taken into consideration for the Oral Presentation planning.

  • Introducing the presentation and the Evaluation Committee: 1-2 minutes.
  • Student’s Oral Presentation: 20-25 minutes.
  • Questions by the Evaluation Committee: up to 10 minutes.
  • Student’s Answers: up to 10 minutes.
  • Deliberation of the Committee on the grade of the FP: 5-10 minutes

1.4. Structure of the presentation

The presentation should follow the same structure of the final project, that is to say, it must collect all the chapters, as shown in the presentation template:

  1. Final Project Title (along with the student’s and director’s name)
  2. Introduction – Problem statement – Objectives (general and specific)
  3. Methodology
  4. Results
  5. Conclusions

Use headings in order to structure the presentation. Decide what are the main ideas of each slide.

1.5. Support Material

  • Download and use the following template for your presentation.
  • Respect the margins of the slides. Exceeding the margin limits might undermine the presentation.
  • Never use a font size smaller than 20, since it makes reading difficult for viewers. If what you wrote does not fit in the slide in font size 20, it is probably too wordy.
  • Preferably, use Arial or Calibri, font size 24 to 36 for the body text, and 40 for the title of each slide.
  • Keep the color used in the title of the slides.
  • The presentation must contain a minimum of 9 slides and a maximum of 12 slides.
  • Write brief texts in the slides. Remember that the Court will also assess the summarizing skills.
  • Never fill a slide with text. Your presentation will be monotonous and you will lose points.
  • Present images when they are relevant to your work. often in relation to the materials, methods, and results.
  • Be careful with the audiovisual resources: use them only if really relevant. Do not use very long audiovisual resources.

1.6. Rehearsal

  • Rehearse your presentation at home. Remember that you’ll have a maximum of 20 minutes to present a summary of all your work. It is better to be brief than to exceed the time.
  • If possible, rehearse with colleagues and family and ask for suggestions.
  • The presentation could generate some anxiety: it is normal. One of the best ways to manage nerviness is through rehearsal and preparation.

1.7. Final Revision

Make a final revision of the support materials. Check the following key points:

  • Is the justification of the study clear in the introduction?
  • Are objectives, methodology, results and conclusions coherent and consistent?
  • Are the main results properly highlighted?

2. Advices for the presentation

2.1. Key Points

  • Plan enough time for the Oral Presentation
  • Make sure that the PowerPoint file or PDF is on the computer that you will use for the presentation.
  • Have an extra copy  of the presentation in a different support (cloud, pendrive, email) in case the primary source fails.
  • Check software compatibility. The current version works with Adobe Flash Player, by which you may experience problems if you carry out the virtual presentation using Safari. Chrome or Mozilla are more compatible in such a case.

 2.2. Advice for the presentation: Development

  • Make the introduction, development and conclusion clear.
  • Be careful with the voice tone, gesture and posture.
  • Be sure to look at the committee, or in the virtual presentation, look at the camera.
  • Keep to the maximum of 20 minutes . Much shorter or much longer presentations will receiver lower marks.
  • If you notice mistakes in the slides during the presentation, briefly mention the correction and continue speaking.

2.3. Advice for the presentation: Conclusion

  • Make sure at the end of the presentation that the objectives presented at the introduction were achieved.
  • A personal analysis of the limitations of the work can be included at the end: everything you would like to have done and was not possible, factors that adversely affected the implementation of the project, etc.
  • It is not necessary to present a bibliography at the end.
  • Clearly mark the end of the presentation. For example, add a slide with a “thank you”.

2.4. Adressing the questions by the Evaluation Committee

The following tips can help you prepare for the questions by the Evaluation Committee.

  • Consult complementary readings as part of the presentation preparation.
  • Always be open to suggestions/criticism.
  • If you do not know the answer, admit it. Giving inconsistent or far-from-the-facts answers may negatively affect the presentation.
  • Always answer confidently.
  • Thank the committee for their contributions.
  • Remember that the purpose of the Evaluation Committee is not to test the student’s knowledge of the topic.  The Oral Presentation aims at making suggestions to improve the project. While it could be a milestone in the project, and that makes students nervous, it is also a closing movement of an academic stage,  and you should enjoy.  Remember that nobody knows the project better than yourself.

3. After the presentation

3.1. Evaluation Committee

After the students answers the questions and comments of the Evaluation Committe, the Committee will deliberate. The student will be asked to exit the room (or the Virtual Room) and to come back after five minutes.

After the deliberation, the Committee will inform the student of the final grade. The final grade will be based on the Master’s Degree Final Project Evaluation Grid

3.2. Requesting the Master’s Degree Diploma

After the oral presentation the Evaluation Committee will upload the grades to the system. Then, if the rest of the academic transcript is correct, the student can request the Master’s degree diploma.

Any doubts regarding the arrangement or development of the face-to-face presentation must be addressed to the Oral presentation Secretariat.