On DeliveringEffective Technical Presentations Gannon University Dept. of Electrical Engineering

On Delivering

EffectiveEffective Technical

Presentations

Gannon UniversityDept. of Electrical

Engineering

Technical Presentations.2

Part I - Outline

• Types of Presentations

• Goals

• Verbal Guides

• Visual Aids

• Visual Guides

Effective Technical Presentations

Technical Presentations.3

Types of Oral Communications

Manuscript Memorization Extemporaneous Speaking Impromptu Speaking Aided/Unaided

Technical Presentations.4

Presentation Goals Have audience understand and retain

• Specific portion(s) of talk

Get the Point• (Make sure you have at least one)

Jog their Memory• Read everything? NOT!NOT!

Technical Presentations.5

Parts of Speech Introduction Body Conclusion

Tell them what you’re going to tell them

Tell them

Then tell them what you just told them

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Verbal HintsAlways : know your audience (best of your

ability) (appear to) be sincere, prepared,

enthusiastic (appear to) know your material follow your outline maintain a good pace/speed summarize in a useful form use appropriate visual aids engage your audience

Never : panic use repetitive or awkward motions draw undue attention to the speaker, away from content of talk apologize run on, digress talk too fast/slow; pause randomly fail to conclude draw attention to the delivery, not material loose your audience

Technical Presentations.7

Visual (and other) Aids

Good pictures convey ideas well

Bad pictures muddle things

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Types of Visual AidsType Pros: Cons:

Flip Charts Interactive Pace

Overheads Summaries Boring

Presentation Graphics Interactive Hard to change

35mm Slides Summaries Sleep Factor

Chalk/Whiteboards Interactive Pace, loss of data

Film/Video Entertaining Sleep Factor

Live Demos Entertaining Distracting

Technical Presentations.9

Visual HintsAlways : Depict what you want them to

remember Depict what is conveyed best in

pictures Few key points in each image Talk about what they should see in

an image Maintain a good pace/speed Use few words Use large fonts Use good contrasting colors Give them time to digest what is

depicted before them

Never : Depict what isn’t worth remembering Use figures where words would be best Too many things in one image Skip description of a graphic, key points to be seen from graphic Run on, digress Visualize paragraphs Use small fonts, illegible scripts Use low/no contrast loose your audience

Technical Presentations.10

Part II

Public Speaking Public Speaking PrimerPrimer

Carnegie, Dale, The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking, 1962

Technical Presentations.11

Acquiring Basic Skills Take heart from experience of others Keep your goal before you Predetermine your mind to success Seize every opportunity to practice

Technical Presentations.12

Develop Confidence Facts about fear of speaking in public Prepare the proper way

• Never memorize• Assemble your ideas beforehand• Rehearse with your friends

Predetermine your mind to success Act confident (Fake it ‘till you make it)

Technical Presentations.13

Speaking Effectively Speak about something you’ve earned

the right to speak about Be sure you’re excited about your

subject Be eager to share with your listeners

Technical Presentations.14

Earning the right to talk Limit your subject Develop reserve power Fill your talk with illustrations and

examples Use concrete, familiar words that create

pictures

Technical Presentations.15

Visualize the talk Choose subjects you are in

earnest about• Be in earnest about your subject

Relive the feelings you have about your topic• Have feelings about your topic

Act in earnest

Technical Presentations.16

Sharing with the Audience Talk in terms of your listeners’ interests Identify yourself with the audience Make your audience a partner in your

talk Play yourself down

Technical Presentations.17

Making a talk to inform Restrict your subject to fit in the time at your

disposal Arrange your ideas in sequence

• Someone’s got to sweat - better you than them

Enumerate your points as you make them Compare the strange with the familiar

USE VISUAL AIDS

Technical Presentations.20

Delivering the effective talk Crash through self-consciousness Don’t imitate others - be yourself Converse with your audience Put your heart into your speaking Practice making your voice

Strong and Flexible

Technical Presentations.21

Where to go from here Get serious about speaking Recognize its importance Earn the right to be up front speaking,

and realize it Practice, Practice, Practice Use tools

Technical Presentations.22

Part III

Technical Speaking Technical Speaking PrimerPrimer

Garland, James, “Advice to beginning physics and engineering

speakers,”Geophysics, the leading edge of exploration, October, 1992, pp. 50-52

Technical Presentations.23

You are presenting yourself Present your ideas

• clearly, persuasively

• with self-assurance and skill

Come across as reasonable, orderly person

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Gauge your audience Don’t talk to just the experts

• Alienate and annoy your audience

Devote 1/2 to 2/3 of talk to careful introduction • Set up your work/problem clearly

Save highly technical material for last Summarize at the end

Technical Presentations.25

Fit your talk to the allotted time Come across as an egotistical S.O.B. Short time limits do notnot mean:

• generalities only

• gloss over specifics

Short time limits mean:• weed out extraneous material

• carefully select the scope of your talk

Technical Presentations.26

Use techno-babble sparingly Equations, schematics make talks

• hard to follow

• easy to loose your audience

• slow, ineffective in delivery

Techno-babble only that which is absolutelyabsolutely necessary

Technical Presentations.27

Be sensible about visuals Expect to spend 2-3 minutes PER

SLIDE• Audience needs time to absorb material

Don’t write full sentences Don’t write meaningless lists of words Manage your technology seamlessly

• show up early and practice

Technical Presentations.28

Practice your talk Rehearse in front of colleagues Get good criticism Tune your delivery, visuals, transitions

• find those hard-to-verbalize ideas

• smooth them out

Avoid writing out your talk, nervous mannerisms

Technical Presentations.29

Dress appropriately Button your fly Look like you deserve to be up there Don’t draw attention to yourself - and

away from your talk

Technical Presentations.30

Interact with your audience Make eye contact, speak up Ask for, handle questions

• Let your questioner finish the question

• Rephrase the question if necessary

• KEEP YOUR ANSWERS SHORT

• Confess your ignorance

• Deflect hostile questions

Technical Presentations.31

In Summary Work hard to make your presentation

clear, well-focused and understandable Let your work speak for you Be in earnest Practice