Strategies to avoid rudeness during presentations: Opinion

In a recent article for Inside Higher Ed, Toni M Whited discusses strategies that academics can use during seminars to avoid rudeness or presentation hijackings with irrelevant questions. Whited recommends beginning with the specific research question, keeping the talk’s introduction concise, including an organized literature review, and provide occasional summaries to help those who may have become distracted to catch up on the presentation. The author recommends that slides have effective titles and a high ratio of white space to text so that listeners can focus on the verbal delivery of the presentation’s key points. Whited encourages presenters to listen attentively to each question and avoid formulating an answer before hearing the whole question, and notes that presenters can put off questions that will eventually be answered.