I made this presentation for a great bunch of undergrads.

All have been doing amazing research projects this summer as "Chlapaty Fellows" at the University do Dubuque.

They will present their results at the University of Dubuque's "Apex" conference later this year.

I gave them seven tips for making a great presentation: three principles to keep in mind, and the four necessary slides.

Principle 1: Tell a story.

Every research project is a story waiting to be told, an adventure of discovery. You went on an amazing quest, so tell it that way.

Human beings make sense of everything through stories.

If you tell a story, a beginning, middle, and end with a mystery you solve, you can draw in all the non-specialists -- which is most of your audience.

Principle 2: Eschew obfuscation.

... Which means "don't use big words." Only you, and your research advisor know the technical vocabulary of your field.

The physicists and the marketing folks are both smart. They just speak different languages.

Your job is to use the kinds of words everybody in the room can understand.

Principle 3: Guns don't kill people; bullet points kill people.

If you stand there and read your bullet points, your audience will die of boredom.

If your slides have lots of text or tables of data, they will die of frustration. Especially when you move to a new slide before they finished reading the first one.

People cannot listen to your story at the same time as they read your dense slides.

The story coming out of your mouth is the one that matters.

Slide 1: Your question.

Every research journey starts with a QUESTion. Your QUEST is to find the answer.

So start by clearly explaining what your question was--do this even if, in reality, the question only became clear long after you started the project.

Tell them why this question matters. Will it help solve a longstanding mystery? Will it help teachers, or accountants, or some other kind of practitioners?

2. What did you do to find the answer?

In a scientific paper this would be the "methodology" section.

No matter the field, a fascinating part of the story is finding the path that will lead to insight, knowledge, wisdom.

So did you collect samples and run tests? Did you interview members of a community? Did you read through standard curricula on a particular topic? Did you immerse yourself in archival papers? Did you run fancy statistical programs?

Why did you think these things would help?

Slide 3: Obstacles and oddities.

The story becomes exciting when you face unexpected challenges. Where did you have to stretch beyond your abilities?

Along the way you may have discovered answers to unexpected questions. Was there some strange thing that will become your dissertation some day?

We're there twists and turns and dangers in your journey?

Slide 4: The answer.

Did you find the answer to the question? Your audience needs to know the "Eureka!" moment.

Can you tell us what you are going to do with your discovery?

What is different now that you know this?

Are you changed? Can you tell us how the world is changed?

It is okay if the change is small.

Add up small changes and you get big changes.

Result? Everything you need. Nothing more.

Tell your story, your adventure of discovery, in simple words and evocative images, and your audience will be with you, rooting for you, all the way.

Garr Reynolds uses a "bento box," the beautiful Japanese lunch, to illustrate his ideal for presentations. Both nutritious and beautiful, the bento box pleases and satisfies.

So will your presentation.

I highly recommend his book and blog, both called "Presentation Zen."