Background
This webpage provides some general feedback regarding your talks. What is included are the lecturers’ general impressions of your talk across four categories (Presentation, Audio-visuals, Content and Overall). As you will see in the summary graphs below, these impressions do vary — as they would for any audience. But this is to provie a general guideline for what you need to work on in future. There are also some (limited) comments about what the lecturers enjoyed, and what requires work. Please remember that we only had a few moments to jot down these points, so extensive comments were simply not possible.
Abbreviations
Some common problems were abbreviated:
- TTS = “Text too small!”
- FTS = “Figure/s too small”
Rubric
The rubric below was used to assess the four categories: 
Student Feedback
213265818
| Confident and speaks clearly. |
| Graphs were clear. |
| Black/red on blue difficult to read. |
| Rainfall in ml ? Error bars? Red on blue is illegible.. |
| Table lacked structure. Black or red on blue is difficult to read. Could not interpret a table if not given sufficient time. |
214044777
| Interesting project. |
| Interesting study. |
| Spoke clearly. Good pitch and pace. Good posture, but try limit the amount of hand waving. Enjoyed the times when you engaged and we could see some excitement from you. |
| Slides difficult to read. |
| Reading. Needs more practice! Slides colours - hard to read! |
| Read the talk. Text too small in graphs. Photos too dark to see in the presentation. Too short. |
| Need to check that the contrast is great enough to see what you are talking about. I couldn’t see the water on the Google Earth image. Draw a polygon around it to make it bold for the audience.Contrast, contrast, contrast — could not read your text on many slides (dark text on dark background). Try be a bit more upbeat. |
215067118
| Great audio visual use.Short and to the point. left out some info from the write up that could have been useful |
| Enthusiastic and interested. |
| Excellent graphs & stats, including presentation of these aspects. |
| Great engagement with the audience. Video was very explanatory. |
| Content and presentation confidence. |
| A lot of text. |
| Contents could have been a bit more focused. |
| Can reduce text further. Colour scheme (green background with black writing) not very clear |
| Data visuals not clear. |
215185129
| Hmmm? |
| You speak well, but your reliance on your notes lets you down. |
| Reading, very little eye contact. |
| Reading. Not reading very well!! Text too small. Axis titles? Figure titles too small. |
| Read the presentation. Photographs must retain their original orientation. Graphs illegible. Could not read the legends either. Don’t report p-values, tell us about the outcome. Conclusions not made. |
| Very limited engagement with the audience. TTS; FTS; You need to focus on what is your walk-away message — you told us a lot of data, but not why we should care about it. |
215230361
| TED talk! Intro nice. |
| A very fresh approach. |
| Interesting talk. Well done. |
| Great, great, great opening. Loved it! Enthusiasm! Wow! |
| Error bars. |
| Light intensity misspelt. What was said did not make a great deal of sense! Some of what was said was actually very incorrect! Make sure of facts before presenting. Practice in front of supervisor!! |
| Graph text too small. |
| Need to just make figures bolder and easier |
215329147
| Speaks well confident. |
| Spoke clearly and with enthusiasm. Enjoyed your talk! Lovely to see you smile and engage the audience. Excellent engagement with the questions. |
| You speak well, and you’re clear as to what the importance of your research may be. |
| TTS!!!! slides not clear. |
| TTS. Too reliant on notes. |
| Title slide and table text too small as was the relevance slides - you had a lot of free space. |
| TTS!!! WE COULD NOT SEE YOUR RESULTS/TEXT. REALLY LET YOU DOWN! |
216020123
| Good use of pictures with very little text, nice science. |
| Nice slides. |
| Enthusiasm for the topic. The science was excellent. |
| Spoke very clearly (but too fast). Your narrative was well explained. You gave lots of really good information, but slow down, slow down over the important points |
| Reading, sounded hesitant at times. |
| Reading a lot. Small axis labels. A bit informal when answering questions - could come across as unprofessional. |
| Read the talk. Text too small in graphs. Some colours are difficult to see. Consider a flash for the photos. |
| Reading makes you talk fast. Too fast! You need to work on weaning yourself off your notes. Slide colours — ensure lots of contrast! |
216352606
| Speaks with confidence. |
| You speak well. But try say less, but focus on what it is you say. You spoke too fast because you tried to fit in too much information. |
| Slides not very clear, umm, too long so rushed at the end. |
| Does not understand what she did at all. Called a DCA ordination a diversity plot!! |
| Using the PowerPoint as notes. Text too small. PowerPoint too text rich. Text too small in graphs. Did not understand DCA, but still included the graph. |
| TTS! Try to find images to support what it is you’re saying. “Nurse plants”, “Bush clumps”. Slides too small. Such great data — but I can’t seeee it from the back here! Need to make sure you know which stats describe which part of your results. |
216360838
| Interesting study. |
| Interesting project. |
| Interesting study. |
| Clear diction, good pitch. Good to focus on a few of your methods. But you need to focus on your main message. Would have been a great 20 minute talk, but you have five minutes! Need to reduce what you say, slow down, and try not feed us the “burger”. |
| So!!!! Very nervous, slides busy, reading intro too long , text too small. |
| Reading. Too much text. Stretchy images. Web citations! Too much text. Text too small! No s.d. for means? |
| Read the talk. Time managment could be improved. Text too small. Use a flash for the photographs. |
| Too much text. You spoke fast without varying your speed. Difficult to figure out what your important points were. Couldn’t read your results on tables (aaarrgghh — your main results). Tried to share too much. |
216432707
| Speaks clearly and confidently. |
| Clear presentation: spoken and photos. |
| Great intro hook! Fantastic opening! Good framework for the listener to your talk. |
| Error bars, graphs not clear, talks too fast. |
| Mentions differences but no stats support this? Error bars? |
| Blank title slide? Text too small in the graphs. Averages presented without stats. Too short. |
| Your teeny tiny graphs let down your talk! Aaaggh. I want to see your axes and results!!! |
216650380
| Good incorporation of background info and project content. Clear objective. Questions handled very well, excellent presentation. |
| Good media, speak well. Understands the study. |
| Excellent study. Succinct presentation with good use of time |
| Great, great, great talk. But slow down your take home message. And don’t read it out. |
| Text a bit small. |
| A bit too much text. Gave a high mark but considered lowering it because of the planted question. |
| Photographs should be taken with a flash. The text in uppercase was challenging. Last slide too verbose. |
| Don’t flip through images too quickly. Make your text large? (Why was “food?” so small?) |
217049362
| Good approach to audience. |
| Speaks well. Didn’t read at all. |
| Well presented. Clear talk. |
| Good pose and speaking. Little wooden — need to work on trying to engage with the audience a little more. |
| Didn’t sound very enthusiastic, error bars. |
| Error bars on graphs. |
| No stats shown in PowerPoint. |
| Try use some photos or diagrams to assist with your long introduction. You shared a lot of information just by talking — fantastic — but you then need to repeat yourself. When repeating figures across slides — keep the y and x limits the same. The shift was a bit misleading until you showed it together. |
217050867
| Didn’t read at all. |
| Interesting study. I liked the conclusion slide. |
| You speak clearly and have good projection. |
| Graphs way too small. |
| TTS. Too much text. Needs to practice more. Graphs too small - illegible!! |
| Text too small. Graphs very small. Use a spell-checker. Tried to present too much information. |
| Far too much information per slide and text way too small. MAKE YOUR FIGURES BIGGER!! SHOWING LESS, SHOWS MORE! You need to have a clear message. Don’t blast us with data. Data is meaningless unless you tell the story behind it. |
217092195
| Nice micrographs. |
| What a cool study!! |
| Your use of photos to explain what you did was great. |
| Text on graphs to small. |
| TTS. Incorrect axis titles. |
| Text too small in the graphs. Don’t use codes for samples. Use the names of the sites. |
| Figures too small — we couldn’t see the results. Take time and break down the figure and explain to us why it is important. |
217093264
| Nice study. Nice science. |
| Interesting data. |
| Appropriate use of slides in a talk. Good job! Good photos. |
| Need to work on ways to engage the audience (something to hook them into your talk). Your basics are great — need to take it to the next level. You’ve got the potential to be an AMAZING speaker |
| Referred to notes a lot (distracting!) needs to just speak. A bit too much text. |
| Hesitant. Needs practice. Figure text too small. Species without italics. |
| Graph legends and text must be visible from the back of the room. |
| You can reduce a lot of the text on your slides. Text too small in conclusion slides. Use your figures to share your main results. |
217104959
| Good hook, then lost momentum. |
| Answered the questions excellently. |
| Loved the interesting start! Fascinating science. Talk lacked structure. This led to it being too long and hard to follow. Question too long. |
| You speak well. But try say less, but focus on what it is you say. You spoke too fast because you tried to fit in too much information |
| Content well developed and presented. |
| Sounds uncertain in presentation, esp after dramatic start, terminology? your off the cuff speaking eg in your questions was far better than the presentation. Presentation too rehearsed perhaps? |
| Too much reliance on on notes.Running out of time. |
| Work on avoiding starting most sentences with “so”. Map text too small. |
| Make sure you know what your terms mean — are Porteaceae Keystone group? You spent too much time on your introduction! Aaaaagh. You had five minutes. |
217106668
| Nice presentation of sites. |
| The graphs were legible. Interesting study. |
| Confident speaker. |
| No error bars not very engaging. |
| Figure legends? Error bars? |
| Background too complext for the text on it. Statistics not presented. No legend presented. The introduction promised a lot of information. Give the major outcome of your study in the talk. |
| Need to explain how your results talk to your conclusions. Why are your results relevant — need to hook the audience into why they need to listen to you. |
217121969
| Didn’t read at all, confident, speaks well and clearly. |
| Spoke clearly. The science. |
| Great study. Shared your research well. You speak freely |
| Slides could have been clearer. |
| TTS. Some problems with statistics & experimental design. |
| Video not really useful. The quality of the photographs could be improved by using a flash. Test too small in graphs. |
| TTS; Figures too small; Explain your figures; Need to make everything bigger and bolder on your slides. Bigger photos! |
217140750
| Good science and experimental design. |
| Speaks clearly and confidently. |
| Excellent experimental design. |
| Those moments you stopped talking from notes. So much more relaxed! You explained the experiment well! |
| Data presentation, visual aids good. |
| Dramatic sigh at start. |
| Reading a lot. A lot of text. Short. |
| The sigh at the start! Read the presentation. Too short. |
| I know it’s difficult (so difficult), but you need to talk without the aid of notes. Slow down and explain the figures. Text way way too small. Try use all your time. |
| Data explanation not clear. |
217174019
| Good use of slides. |
| Speaks well. Understands content. Didnt rely on notes. |
| Interesting study. |
| Great pitch and very clear. Great body posture and posture use (but you only used your left hand?). Good return to your main question. Good use of images — but your data figure was poorly used — it was there and we could not engage with it. |
| Audiovisuals well-used with only minor issues or inconsistencies; figures and tables clear and well-explained to the audience. |
| Spoke too fast could have explained the science of the herbicides better. this is in the essay. Didn’t make purpose clear enough. |
| TTS. Watermarked images??!! |
| Text too small. Graphs had unexplained abbreviations. Used a copyrighted image. |
| TTS! Introduce your data slowly to your audience. Too much on your graph. Battled to follow the main trends, see what was going on. Try use most of your time. Possibly tried to share too much information — or return to your question in relation to your data. |
217240216
| Enthusiastic, well delivered content. Questions done well. Good science. |
| Funny and easy to listen to. |
| Excellent scientific approach. Engaging |
| Great opening. Fantastic engagement throughout. Findings were well explained (BUT we couldn’t see what was on the slide! — What a pity!). GO BIG on your slides. |
| Small text graphs small, spoke to the board a lot. |
| Text too small (TTS). Axis titles and units? |
| Text too small. |
| Text too small. Use pictures to say what you wrote on the slides. All of your audiovisual were mostly too small to be seen. |
217247121
| Nice stats. |
| Nice data, god understanding of the project. |
| Interacted with the presentation. Relaxed approach. First graphs was good. |
| Good interaction with your audiovisuals. |
| TTS. |
| What does a p-value tell you? Second graph text too small. Photographs should be adjusted for contrast and clarity. |
| TTS; Figures too small; |
217256023
| Enthusiastic, well spoken, good visuals. |
| Lovely PowerPoint. Spoke clearly. |
| Error bars! |
| Specific epithet in upper case?!? |
| Species name incorrectly written. All-caps is difficult to read (and is “shouting”). Photographs should be adjusted for contrast and brightness. |
| TTS |
217268250
| Nice topic. Good research. |
| Speaks well and with confidence. |
| Presentation of the graphs. Good graphs. Spoke to the PowerPoint |
| Great interaction with your AV. Your slides and what you were saying interacted to make a great talk. |
| Graphs not very clear to interpret. |
| Be more enthusiastic! It is a nice project with good results. |
| Adjust images for contrast and brightness. A white background creates a problem. Used yellow on white. More useful to use time rather than a date. |
| You cracked it. Well done. |
217372066
| Enthusiastic, science good. |
| Speaks well, confident. |
| Interesting speaker. Spoke clearly and with enthusiasm. The science. |
| Very clear. Great enthusiasm. Good message, but related to your data? |
| Text too small, slides to dark. |
| TTS. Too much text. Very emotive argument, but a bit thin on the data. |
| Text too small throughout. Photos should have been taken with a flash. |
| TTS! Can’t read your text. TMT. |
217488803
| Good understanding of the material. |
| The PowerPoint was image-rich. Most graphs were clear, except for the use of yellow lines. |
| You explain well. You speak well. But you’d be next level if you can get away from your notes. You had an interesting point — but you need to focus on it. I felt there was useful information, but much of it may not have been needed. |
| Did not sound enthusiastic about the project, text on some graphs too small. |
| TTS. |
| Photos could be adjusted for clarity. Unable to adjust for the previous speaker. Some of the graphs could not be seen from the back. Did not demonstrate an understanding of phytoplankton groups and pigment composition. |
| Try not to read — or have notes. It slowed you down and you continuously looked down. You lose engagement with your audience. Need to work on your engagement with your AV. Contrast, contrast, contrast. Don’t have dark text on dark background! Make sure your figures are large. Cannot see from the back here! |
217556183
| Interesting project! |
| Good interaction with the PowerPoint. |
| Good use of AV and you spoke to your slides. |
| Very nervous, too long,no error bars. |
| Slide colour scheme difficult to read (clouds). Text in table much too small. |
| Background too complicated for the text-over. Black on blue does not work. Adjust photographs for brightness and contrast. Reduce the use of “like”. Table not legible from the back of the room - not given enough time to consider the table. Spell check the presentation. Check scientific names. |
| Need to lighten up your slides; make sure your text stands out. Don’t have dark text on a dark background. Italicise your species names. TTS! |
217662870
| Excellent intro!!! Nice science. |
| Speaks well and understands the science. |
| Attractive presentation. Interesting study. |
| You present and speak very well. Your use of images was great (but need to find a better way to deal with figures and your audience). You need to work on interaction between what you say and your slide: presentation-VA interaction. |
| Spoke very fast. |
| Not much wrong. Little bit of information overload. Would benefit from slowing down and explaining more about less data. |
| Graph legends not visible from the back. Give us enough time to understand the graphs. |
| Need to put a lot more effort showing where on the graph you are looking. Lots of data, plus lots of graphs, and not sure which part of the graph you are talking about. |
217749429
| Good legible slides. |
| Beautiful study, talk, interaction with the PowerPoint. Good connection with the audience. |
| You speak well and interact with your AV great. But you need to focus on what it is you want to share. SHOW IMAGES. |
| Legend too small. Photos too small. |
| Make your images bigger. Bigger. BIGGER! We can barely see what it was you are talking about. |
217842860
| Dealt with questions well. |
| Answered questions well! |
| The science |
| Very well spoken. Clear. Need to slow down a bit. Try find a hook with the audience — some way to engage with them (to take your talk to the next level). Kept to time well. Great question and answering — good focus. |
| Content, clear problem statement . |
| Small text. |
| Text too small on some of the graphs. There is no legend on the graphs. |
| Text was was way too small… |
| Visuals not very clear. |
217872883
| The question time handled well. |
| Very nice compact presentation - got the message across with very few slides. |
| Data presented well (apart from the graph text size). Interesting presentation. |
| You’ve got the promise to be a great speaker. Good pitch, good explanations. But… |
| Reading, issues from question time could have been addressed in the talk. |
| Reads a lot! TTS. Figures too small. Nervous! |
| Text too small in the graph. Read some of the presentation. |
| Reading really let you down. It placed a barrier between you and the audience. You speak so well!!! Try leave the notes behind. Graphs too small! You need to interact with you AV — you gave us facts with information rich slides — very difficult to figure out what you were talking about. |
217967779
| Enthusiastic presentation. Questions handled well. |
| Speaks well, confident. |
| Excellent visual designs (even though text size marginal). Spoke very well. |
| Good delivery. |
| Text a bit small. |
| Text too small. |
| All-caps is difficult to read (and is used for “shouting”). Graph text too small. Averages presented without stats. |
| FIGURES TOO SMALL!!! SPLIT INFO ONTO MULTIPLE SLIDES! TTS |
218010842
| Speaks very well. Conveys message well, nice science. |
| Speaks clearly and with confidence. |
| Delightful presentation. |
| Great interaction between what you are saying and your AV. Fantastic. |
| Text a bit small. |
| TTS. Text too small and difficult to read on the black background. |
| Images should be adjusted for contrast and brightness to clarify their content. |
| TTS; Graphs — your hard won data — was uninterpretable as you went through it too quickly and the text and lines were too small. |
218035195
| Short and to the point |
| Very interesting and knowledgeable. |
| The science. |
| Very little wording on slides. Nice. Good return to your question given your findings. Well spoken. Well done. |
| Visual presentation. |
| Speaks very softly. |
| Text too small. Too short. Too soft. |
| Text was far far too small. Fewer words. Larger font. Needed to show both phylogeny and geography together. |
| Confidence. Not sure of take home message? |
218089767
| Confident. |
| Speaks clearly and confidently. |
| Interesting PowerPoint design. Interesting study. |
| You speak clearly. |
| Text on slides too small. could not interpret. seminar like. |
| TTS. Text colour on same col background. Error bars on bar graphs. TTS!!! Short! Conclusion? |
| Text too small in graphs. |
| CANNOT SEE YOUR FIGURES. TOO SMALL. MAKE LARGER, MAKE LARGER. YOU TOLD US INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THE FIGURES BUT WE COULD HARDLY SEE THEM. |