Microsoft PowerPoint - Do the Research!

When preparing for a presentation, you often need to research facts and figures, as well as find quotes and opinions, before you draw your own conclusions (or to back up your own opinions). It's important to get the facts right.

How do you research a topic? Where do you go? Of course, it depends on your topic, but the principle is the same: look for non-partisan, original sources of the highest caliber.

Look for Academic Sources
In the field of multimedia, for example, look for academic sources. There's a fair amount of research that's been done in the field. In business, you can also look for academic research on marketing, human resources, productivity, and more.

Find Writers Who do their Research
You might not have the time or resources (such as subscriptions to the journals) to do all of your own research. In this case, you may want to rely on articles that others have written. If you do so, you need to carefully judge the credentials of the author and the thoroughness of the research.

Look for articles that include references, indicating that the author did the research you don't have the time to do. Also, when you do a search on the Internet, go to Web sites that have reputable names.

Keep Track of your Sources
Write down and keep your sources, making them as complete as if you were creating a bibliography. This means you should include the following:

•  Author
•  Name of book or article
•  Date published
•  Journal or publisher
•  Place published (if a book)
•  Issue number (if a journal)
•  Page number
•  URL, if any

Verify your Sources
If a claim seems doubtful, try to find corroboration.

Citing Opinions
Opinions are different. Anyone has the right to an opinion, but whose opinion do you trust? Whose opinion do you want to put out there as authoritative? Therefore, look for the most well-known and respected sources for opinions.

Of course, you're entitled to your own opinions. And in fact, a presentation is stronger when you have a point of view and have drawn a conclusion from your research. But make clear that the opinion is yours. Don't pass it off as absolute fact. If you can cite respected third-party opinions, and bring the audience through your facts, data, and logic, you'll be able to bring them around to agree with your opinion. That will be an impressive success!