Presentation Guidelines

Presentation Guidelines

The interactive presentation is a widely used form of academic presentation. Using text, images, interactive laptop displays, artifacts, and oral presentations, the presenter can communicate their research or academic projects effectively and interactively with the audience.

The Capstone Symposium at HPU uses an interactive presentation format in order to promote active presenter-audience interaction. Presenters' pre-recorded presentation videos and presentation slides are posted on the event website before the event so that audience members and judges can view them ahead of the live event. 

During the live event, audience members and judges join the presenters' Zoom meeting rooms at the assigned time to interact with the presenters. Since the audience can join and leave presenters' virtual rooms freely, a presenter may interact with different audience groups during their presentation time.

See examples of past presentations here.

Before creating your presentation, you must successfully submit an abstract and be accepted to present at the Capstone Symposium.

DEADLINE FOR 2023 APPLICATION: 12:00 noon, Monday, April 10, 2023

ACCEPTANCE NOTIFICATION: Friday, April 14, 2023

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION:  Your proposal must include a title (maximum 20 words) and an abstract with content appropriate to your capstone experience category (maximum 200 words).

What to include in your abstract:

  • RESEARCH category: include theoretical framework, research questions, methods, findings, and implications
  • PROJECT WITH PRACTICAL APPLICATION category: include purpose, theoretical background, relevance, outcomes, and broader implications
  • CREATIVE WORK category: include motivation for work, description of work, innovation or creative aspects, how the work demonstrates a culmination of learning and broader connections
  • INTERNSHIP/PRACTICUM EXPERIENCE category: include a description of the internship site, learning points gained in experience, the connection between practice and theory, and implications for future career and broader audience

Refer to the questions you will see on the submission form to help you prepare your abstract. 

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL through the EASYCHAIR conference management system. You will need to set up a free account with EasyChair, log in to your account, then click again on the link to the EasyChair conference given above. You can then enter as an AUTHOR and submit your proposal. It is important to click on the EasyChair conference link again after you have logged in because your account does not automatically link to the current year's Capstone Symposium.

Each proposal must be endorsed by a Capstone Mentor via this Mentor's Endorsement Form.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, see presentation guidelines and past symposia.

Once your abstract proposal is accepted, it is time to start preparing your presentation. Use the following information to help guide you with this process. 

 

EFFECTIVE interactive PRESENTATIONS ALWAYS:

  • Focus on a single message
  • Use visuals to tell the story
  • Use text sparingly but effectively
  • Keep the sequence in order

PRESENTATION LENGTH:

  • Your pre-recorded video presentation should be about 7 minutes.
  • Your interaction time with the audience and the judges is the time slot given to you and is the entire Zoom meeting that you host.

SUBMISSION OF MATERIALS:

Before the event, presenters 

  • upload their presentation video (narrated slides, narrated infographics, Prezi video, recorded presentation with a paper poster, etc.) in a designated Youtube channel, and a link will be created to point to the video from the event website. 
  • upload a PDF version of their presentation slides, infographics, or other materials, and a link will also be created to point to the PDF from the event website.

WHEN DESIGNING AND DELIVERING your PRESENTATION, KEEP THESE POINTS IN MIND:

  • Check the rubric for your category so you know what the judges are looking for (see "Awards and Rubrics" below)
  • Determine your message and your audience and let the visuals speak for themselves, as much as possible
  • Decide on your layout, color scheme, and font size
  • Know who your audience is and adjust your language to suit them
  • Avoid confusing technical jargon so that people from other fields can understand you easily
  • Tell your audience what your objectives are and clearly lay out how you achieve those objectives
  • Do not simply read aloud your text; engage the audience

See INSTRUCTIONS FOR PRESENTATION PREPARATION AND DELIVERY in the tab below.

 

 

Instructions for preparing, uploading, and sharing your presentation are posted in this Google document.

 

 

Presentations will be evaluated for several awards in each category and division (Undergraduate and Graduate). Please note that more than one award may be given out under each award category based on the volume of presentations in that category. 

The awards are (click on links for rubrics):

The judges will use the rubrics linked to the awards listed above. It is very important to read the rubric before you prepare your presentation so you know what the judges are looking for.