Presenting Conference Talks

# Slide Templates: Beamer and PPTX

Complete templates for generating conference presentations in both Beamer LaTeX (PDF output) and python-pptx (editable PPTX output).

---

## Beamer Template: Oral Talk (16:9)

```latex
\documentclass[aspectratio=169,12pt]{beamer}

% --- Theme ---
\usetheme{metropolis}
\usepackage{appendixnumberbeamer}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{tikz}

% --- Color customization (adjust per venue) ---
\definecolor{primary}{HTML}{003366}
\definecolor{accent}{HTML}{CC0000}
\setbeamercolor{frametitle}{bg=primary, fg=white}
\setbeamercolor{progress bar}{fg=accent}

% --- Metadata ---
\title{Your Paper Title Here}
\subtitle{Conference Year}
\author{Author One \and Author Two \and Author Three}
\institute{University / Lab}
\date{}

% --- Speaker notes setup ---
% Uncomment for dual-screen notes: \setbeameroption{show notes on second screen=right}
\setbeameroption{hide notes}  % Comment out to show notes

\graphicspath{{figures/}}

\begin{document}

% ============================================================
% TITLE
% ============================================================
\maketitle

% ============================================================
% OUTLINE (optional)
% ============================================================
\begin{frame}{Outline}
  \tableofcontents
  \note{
    [1 min] Overview of the talk structure.
    We'll start with the problem, then our approach, evaluation, and wrap up.
  }
\end{frame}

% ============================================================
% SECTION 1: PROBLEM
% ============================================================
\section{Problem}

\begin{frame}{Problem Context}
  \begin{itemize}
    \item Domain importance — concrete numbers
    \item Scale of the challenge
    \item Why existing approaches fall short
  \end{itemize}
  \note{
    [2 min] Start with the big picture. Use a concrete example the audience
    can relate to. State the problem in one sentence.
    Transition: "So what are current systems doing about this?"
  }
\end{frame}

\begin{frame}{Motivation: Gaps in Existing Systems}
  \begin{columns}[T]
    \begin{column}{0.5\textwidth}
      \textbf{Gap 1}: Existing schedulers assume ...\\[0.5em]
      \textbf{Gap 2}: No system handles ...\\[0.5em]
      \textbf{Gap 3}: Current approaches lack ...
    \end{column}
    \begin{column}{0.5\textwidth}
      \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{motivation-figure.pdf}
    \end{column}
  \end{columns}
  \note{
    [2 min] Walk through each gap with evidence.
    Point to the figure showing the limitation.
    Transition: "This brings us to our key insight..."
  }
\end{frame}

% ============================================================
% SECTION 2: APPROACH
% ============================================================
\section{Our Approach}

\begin{frame}{Key Insight}
  \begin{center}
    \Large\textbf{[System Name] is better for [Y] in [Z]}
  \end{center}
  \vspace{1em}
  \begin{itemize}
    \item One-line explanation of the insight
    \item Why this insight enables a better design
  \end{itemize}
  \note{
    [1 min] State the thesis clearly. This is the most important slide.
    Make sure the audience remembers this one sentence.
    Transition: "Let me show you how we designed this..."
  }
\end{frame}

\begin{frame}{System Architecture}
  \begin{center}
    \includegraphics[width=0.85\textwidth]{architecture.pdf}
  \end{center}
  \note{
    [2 min] Walk through the architecture diagram.
    Highlight the novel components. Explain the data flow
    for a concrete example request.
    Transition: "Let me dive into the key components..."
  }
\end{frame}

% Progressive reveal example for design walkthrough
\begin{frame}{Design: Component A}
  \begin{itemize}
    \item<1-> What Component A does
    \item<2-> Design choice: we use [X] because [reason]
    \item<3-> Alternative considered: [Y] — rejected because [trade-off]
  \end{itemize}
  \only<3>{
    \begin{block}