Presentation Strategies

1
Presentation Strategies

• Tips for Effective Communication

2
Introduction

• The target audience.
• Presentation formats.
• Visual aids.
• Tips for presenting.
• Words of encouragement.
• The Design Proposal Presentations.

3
The Audience

• What are their needs and interests?
• Do they want to hear about the adventure to the
  result, or about the result itself?
• Do they want flash or content?
• Express, not Impress

4
Presentation Format

• Major sections
• The opening background and overview
• The body 3 to 5 main points
• The closing summary of the main points
• A short question period
• Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
  Communication

5
The Opening

• Contents
• A greeting and/or a grabber
• An outline of the presentation
• A value statement why the audience should
  listen
• Housekeeping information
• Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
  Communication

6
The Body

• Organizational Patterns
• Time sequence
• Selling
• Problem solving
• Spatial relationships
• Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
  Communication, pp 157-160

7
The Body Time Sequence

• To lead the audience through a process
• The company was formed in 1990 to produce
  Today it is engaged in It is now expanding
  rapidly and is about to move into
• Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
  Communication, pp 157-160

8
The Body Problem Solving

• Why a particular solution was chosen
• Describe the problem, explain the impact on the
  audience, offer a solution and explain the
  benefits
• Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
  Communication, pp 157-160

9
The Body Spatial Relationships

• Application, overview and description an
  approach for providing technical detail
• An optical character recognition system transfers
  information from hardcopy to softcopy. The
  system requires a scanner and specialized
  software to convert the scanned image into a text
  file. The scanner works by
• Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
  Communication, pp 157-160

10
The Closing

• Reminds the audience of the purpose of the
  presentation the take-away message
• Through my presentation youve begun to
  understand the exciting telecommunications
  opportunities of the next two decades. I urge
  you to study this topic further.
• Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
  Communication, pp 157-160

11
The Question Period

• Treat questions as compliments
• Repeat a question or paraphrase it
• If you dont know the answer admit it
• Be polite and respectful
• Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
  Communication

12
Visual Aids Slides

• Increase the impact of the presentation
• A title slide, name of presenter, affiliation
• Bulleted lists should strive to follow the 5
  words per line by 5 lines per slide (5x5) rule
• Visual effects, slide transitions and backgrounds
  should be conservative
• Use n simple font
• Graphics and diagrams should be simple and
  uncluttered
• Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
  Communication

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Visual Aids Slide Font
Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
Communication
14
Visual Aids Tables
Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
Communication
15
Visual Aids Tables
Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
Communication
16
Visual Aids Graphics
Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
Communication
17
Presentation Tips

• Body language.
• Voice.
• Speaking style.

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Tips Body Language

• Includes all aspects of appearance
• Eye contact especially important at the start
• Use of space and movement size gestures and
  movements to the space available
• Gesture use open body and hand language, avoid
  pointing, steepling, crossed arms, arms on hips
• Posture straight and natural, stand on both feet
• Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
  Communication, pp174-180

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Tips Voice

• Reading voices are more monotone and less
  interesting than speaking voices
• Projection voice should project without being
  loud
• Pitch low-pitch is pleasant and projects
  authority, pitching up at the end of a sentence
  sounds tentative
• Pace slow pace is dull, should be varied to
  enhance the message. Pauses should be used to
  create emphasis
• Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
  Communication, pp174-180

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Tips Speaking Style

• Listeners require shorter sentences, simpler
  words and more repetition than readers
• Personalize use personal pronouns such as you,
  your, we, our and us (most of us rather than
  most people)
• Use clear simple language audience does not have
  a dictionary
• Avoid jargon can be alienating, find everyday
  alternatives, provide analogies/explanations
• Minimize filler sounds and words um, ah, eh,
  like, basically, right, you know, okay
• Stevenson/Whitmore Strategies for Engineering
  Communication, pp174-180

21
Words of Encouragement

• No one wants to see you fail you will find
  audiences quite forgiving.
• From USA Today People are more afraid of public
  speaking than of snakes or being in a car crash.

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The Design Proposal Presentations

• 15 minute presentations including time for
  questions.
• Suggested time distribution
• Opening overview 3 min
• Body technical content 8 min
• Closing summary of main points 2 min
• Questions 2min

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The Design Proposal Presentations

• Held during your scheduled lab section for two
  consecutive weeks (see the course timeline).
• Location ECERF W3-087
• Time 2PM start
• Please be in attendance for all presentations for
  your lab section (attendance will be taken).

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Design Presentations

• Added complexity of presenting as a group.
• Contribution of all team members during the
  presentation is expected to be equal!
• Evaluation scheme will be posted on the course
  website. It involves evaluation of
• Presentation skills
• Presentation format
• Technical content and understanding.

25
Design Presentations Equipment

• A Windows-based PC
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Adobe Acrobat
• Data projector
• Overhead projector
• Dry erase board with markers
• Network connection is not guaranteed bring your
  presentation on a USB memory stick.