What is the significance of the overview slide in a presentation?

Question

The first slide which follows the title page of my presentation is the overview slide. It has the title for each section to follow in the talk (thank you Latex!).My question is how much time is to be spent on the Overview slide, given the talk lasts twenty minutes? Should I talk about each section's one-line-synopsis to let the audience mull it over? If the answer is no, how do I transition smoothly from the Paper Title Slide to the one on Motivation for the talk (For example : Why I love Science?).

Answer 1

The purpose of an overview slide is to share the outline for the presentation so the audience is comfortable in their understanding of what they're about to hear and see. It's a tool to swat away any confusion on what's to be covered so they can give you their attention.

You don't need to read the slide to them, bring the slide up and share your thoughts on the general outline of the presentation. Share the major areas you'll be covering, perhaps a brief thought as to why these items are going to be covered. This can all be done in 1 minute.

As for the transition into the first section, there's a reason why its the very first thing you'll be speaking on, so use that as your transition. If it's of a personal nature like what you mentioned, a brief anecdote or story is a good way to warm a crowd up before sharing more conceptual content.