Oral Presentation and Q&A Session
At the regional and national levels of the Competition, along with displaying a poster, you present your research in the form of an oral presentation. Then you answer questions from a panel of judges about your work.
The presentation is open to the public; however, the question-and-answer (Q&A) session is in a separate and private room with only you and the judges. Practice your presentations in front of an audience, so you are better prepared.
All results and data presented during the oral presentation, poster and Q&A session must be documented in the original report.
Oral Presentation
Your presentation is timed and can be no longer than 12 minutes. You are given a signal after 11 minutes, so you can conclude your report in the remaining minute. You are encouraged to time your presentation prior to the competition and ensure that it is less than 12 minutes. No materials may be distributed during the oral presentation. All team members should participate in the oral presentation.
Your presentation should primarily focus on the overall importance of the research, but should also include enough detail to engage the interest of the more knowledgeable audience members. You are presenting to a panel of judges who have read your Research Report and reviewed the references you cited. The audience may also include individuals who are unfamiliar with scientific research.
Your presentation should include a:
- Clear statement of the problem and its importance
- Summary of the key elements of your research and your key findings
It should answer these questions:
- What is the most important thing about this research?
- Is something about this research novel or of substantial significance?
- All claims of novelty and/or substantial significance must be documented. If you choose to use superlatives such as "never before discovered," "state of the art," "best study to date," "new and novel idea," and similar superlatives, be prepared to provide extensive detail to support these statements. Documentation may be requested at any time (including after the Competition, after winners have been selected and after awards have been provided) to support the research submission and any unsubstantiated claims, including but not limited to computer source code, software, lab journals, cited references, and/or underlying mathematical formulas.
This is also the time in which you acknowledge those mentors and others who have assisted and inspired you in this research.
Almost all scientific presentations employ visuals. A well-thought-out graphical presentation helps you communicate more clearly with the audience. You may use Microsoft PowerPoint or other methods to present your visuals. Your visual presentation must be supported by a PC. The universities supply computers for you to use and do not support MAC-based formats.
All information you wish to include in your 12 minute oral presentation must be contained within the PowerPoint or the format in which you are presenting. You may not include links to display external information from websites, and you will not have internet access during the presentation. You may, however, show video clips as long as they are embedded within your presentation.
Please note: You may not present any new research or information that was not provided within the original submitted research report.
Ensure that your presentation is easy to read:
- Use thick, block type for visuals; avoid italic, script, and thin letters.
- Use a combination of capitals and lowercase; avoid only capitals.
- Use only a few colors; avoid too many colors or light colors, such as yellow.
- List references on the same slide with the cited information. All other references can be listed at the end of the presentation.
The day before your formal presentation to the judges, you are assigned a time to practice your presentation. During the practice, a College Board staff member will be available to assist and time your presentation. Be sure to have the time within the 12-minute limit.
Your visual presentation (e.g. PowerPoint slides) must be finalized prior to your practice session. No changes to your visual presentation are allowed after this time.
You are required to bring a printed copy of your visual presentation which will be collected by the College Board staff member during the practice. The presentation must also be saved on a USB/flash drive and brought to the practice session. Please name the file you save to the USB as follows: "Last Name, First Name - Team or Individual." A university AV person will load your presentation from your USB onto the laptop that is used during your formal presentation. In case of failure with the computer, you are required to bring a backup of your visual presentation. Therefore, we encourage you to bring your presentation on both a CD-ROM and USB (in case one doesn't load properly) or on a laptop computer, if you have one available.
Q&A Session
Immediately following the oral presentation, you are guided to a room with approximately 10-12 judges for a private Q&A session.
The Q&A session gives you the opportunity to answer any questions that the judges may have about your report and the fundamental science behind what you have done. The judges will ask questions about background of the project, the specific work that you did, your interpretation of the data, your conclusions, possible future directions, and other scientific details. Teams will also be asked about how each member contributed and how each role is appropriate to the nature of the study. Although notes are not allowed in the Q&A session, the judges will have a copy of your research project and a copy of your visual presentation for reference. A flipchart or whiteboard is available to you in the Q&A room. The Q&A session may last up to 14 minutes at the Regional Competition, and up to 12 minutes at the National Competition.
After your turn is complete, you return with the judges to listen to the remaining oral presentations.
Please note: You will not be allowed to have any electronic devices with you in the Q&A session.
Presentation Protocol
There are a few rules to follow regarding the presentations.
- All students are expected to observe all the presentations during the weekend.
- The presentation room doors are closed during each individual student or team presentation. No one is allowed to enter or leave during this time.
- Cameras, video equipment, or other recording devices are not allowed in the presentation rooms at any time.
- Extend courtesy by turning off your cell phones and scheduling rest room visits during breaks.