Effective Technical Presentations

1. Effective Technical Presentations

2. How to Deliver an Effective Technical Presentation • Know your subject • Know your audience • Organize your talk • Prepare • Practice • Practice • Practice

3. Subject Matter • Know your subject thoroughly • Make an outline • Write the presentation out from your ‘head’ knowledge • Use a logical, flowing order • Limit the talk to no more than three key ideas

4. Prepare the Talk for This Audience • Learn as much as you can about the audience ahead of time. • Note any special characteristics about the audience • Tailor your jokes to what you’ve learned • Map your terms to theirs • Aim below their level slightly • Vocabulary simplified (if and whenever possible) • Concepts explained simply • Use “analogies” for concepts when possible • Compliment / flatter the audience, but don’t overdo it

5. Consider the Formula for Persuasive Arguments • PREP (Point-Reason-Example-Point) • Start by clearly making a single point • State a reason for making that point • Give an example that supports your point • Conclude with a restatement of your original point • OREO (Opinion-Reason-Example- Opinion) • Same idea, but states the presenter’s opinion instead

6. Organize Your Presentation Carefully • Provide an introduction • tell them what you are going to tell them (the point or opinion) • Provide details in the body • deliver the message (tell them) • End with a summary or conclusions • tell them what you just told them • Your objective is to communicate

7. Divide the Presentation into Clear Segments • Deliver the message • The first visual should be a title slide containing • the title of the presentation (or project) • your name • the date of the presentation • Introduce your main point on the second visual • Include an outline (if the presentation is long enough)

8. Use Your Visuals as an Aid for Your Audience • Remember the Golden Rule in the body: • Use 5-6 main bullets per slide maximum • Incorporate pictures, graphs, drawings wherever possible • Summarize your main points • State future extensions to your work • End with a conclusions slide • Invite questions, as time permits • Thank your audience, and let them know you will be happy to discuss your talk further with on an individual basis.

9. Practice the Presentation • Know your material • Practice a few times • Time your presentation • Know the subject and your presentation • Do not memorize! Do not “read the slides”! • Stand near the projected image • Avoid blocking the image (laser pointer) • Have another student advance the slides, or use a remote mouse • Practice!

10. Vary the Presentation • Include both words and graphics in the presentations • Limit text to 5 or 10 lines per slides • Use letters large enough for all the audience to see clearly. • Bold fonts give better contrast • Present graphics with an appropriate level of detail • Use a block diagram rather than a detailed circuit • unless you want to discuss the circuit • Use diagrams whenever possible • Use UML rather than lines of code to present software • unless you want to discuss significant aspects of the code

11. Take Your time • Allow time to explain each slide • Include main points on the slides • Spend an average of 3 to 5 minutes on each slide • Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words!

12. Use a Consistent Style • Keep to one sentence per bullet • Consider using phrases • Avoid mixing sentences and phrases on one slide, however! • Sub-bullets can be 3 to 4 points smaller than main bullets • If you prefer that style • Vary capitalization? • Be consistent with punctuation

13. Practice! • Practice will improve both your presentation and your visuals • Make adjustments to both as needed • Rehearse several times • in front of a mirror • in front of a friend • in front of a video camera • Stick to the established timeline • Time your talk • Forty minutes is the absolute maximum

14. Conclusion • Know your subject • 6-P principle, PREP, and OREO • Know your audience • Organize your talk carefully • Divide into segments, use good visuals, ‘mix it up’, • Prepare in advance (don’t forget technical set up!) • Practice, Practice, Practice, Practice!