PhD Dissertation Tips: Your Presentation is Really Important

You have spent months and possibly years getting your dissertation ready. Now, the time is near when you will have to present your dissertation to a committee. You may feel daunted, intimidated, nervous, etc. This is normal. Taking steps to practice the presentation will assist in making you more confident and poised in front of the committee.

Know Your Audience

Most of the time, at least some of the committee members will be known to you. Even so, make an effort to check them out in terms of their professional experience, research specialty and published works. By arming yourself with this information, you will be able to get an idea of what types of questions each person may ask you as well as some comments to make that might catch the interest of each committee member. When you target your presentation to the committee that will be assessing it, you have a better chance of it being approved.

Choose your Key Points

While you are editing your dissertation you should make notes about the critical points and ideas in the paper. This will assist you in creating a memorable and organized presentation. One way to make this a bit easier is to and to keep it in order in the process is to make note cards for each point that you will discuss. Number them so that you keep them in order. Yo can write a specific point on each card along with related information that you will convey during the course of your presentation.

Anticipate Questions

Even though the presentation is generally a positive experience, it is technically supposed to be a defense of your dissertation. There will be questions that you will need to answer and if you paid attention to the tip above about researching the committee members, you will be able to anticipate the area of the questions and have responses prepared in advance.

Practice

They say that practice makes perfect and you should definitely practice to an audience of friends, family members or whoever. This will make you more comfortable when the time comes to do it for real.

f you follow these tips, you will be able to present your dissertation with the confidence and ease of being prepared. Your being relaxed and confident will actually make the committee members more relaxed and open too. You will find that you get through it and then you can go celebrate!