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Professional Presentations

Professional Presentations. Material Adapted From:. Colley Hodges, UH Writing Center “Presentations on Presentations” by Paul Ruchhoeft, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering “Slides Are Written Documents” by Jenna Terry, ENGI 2304, Spring ’04

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Professional Presentations

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  1. Professional Presentations

  2. Material Adapted From: • Colley Hodges, UH Writing Center • “Presentations on Presentations” by Paul Ruchhoeft, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering • “Slides Are Written Documents” by Jenna Terry, ENGI 2304, Spring ’04 • “Oral Presentation” by Kyung-Hee Bae, ENGI 2304, Spring ’04 • “Posters” by Elena Poltavtchenko, ECE/MECE/INDE 4334, Fall ’04

  3. Presentation Outline • General presentation information • Structuring your presentation • Composing your visuals • Conclusion

  4. Presentation Outline • General presentation information • Structuring your presentation • Composing your visuals • Conclusion

  5. Presentations • Know the Situation • Know your Task • Know your Audience • Know your Material

  6. Know the Situation • Consider the location, size, and spatial arrangement of the presentation area • Consider the length of time for the speech, and match the length of time with the focus of your topic • Are there other situational constraints?

  7. Know Your Task • Identify the topic of your presentation and its significance to the listeners • Consider any background information relevant to the topic • Identify key points that you want the audience to understand • List the important questions that you want to answer in your presentation

  8. Know Your Audience • What are the notable characteristics of this audience? • What is the extent of their knowledge on the topic? • Does this audience respect a formal or informal style? • Does this audience value simplicity or complexity?

  9. Presentations • Know the Situation • Know your Task • Know your Audience • Context • Information • Attention • Know your Material

  10. Three Audience Principles • The audience will learn easily if information is presented in context • Only a small amount of information can be absorbed in a short time • The audience will not learn if they don’t pay attention to you

  11. Principle 1: Context • “interrelated conditions in which something exists” (www.m-w.com) • Basically context is additional or background information the audience needs to understand what you are presenting

  12. Principle 2: Information Information Paradox • By presenting less information, more information is communicated to the listener. • This does not seem to make sense, but it is true.

  13. Know Your Audience • Context • Information • Definition • Limiting • Presenting • Attention

  14. Defining Information Information is knowledge … • Derived • Gathered • Used … for aspecific purpose.

  15. Limiting Information Each slide should contain only … • 1 clear idea or concept - or - • 2 or 3 related ideas or concepts

  16. Presenting Information • Repeat key concepts or points by expressing one idea in several different ways, thereby reinforcing important points • Different ways are oral, visual, experiential

  17. Principle 3: Attention In order to keep the audience’s attention: • Engage the audience • Change or vary delivery

  18. Know your Materials • Practice your presentation to make sure it fits your time constraints • Practice in the setting in which you will deliver the presentation, if possible • Remember, practice will also make you more at ease during your presentation

  19. Delivery • Don’t just read your slides, verbally expound on their information • Maintain eye contact with the audience • Use natural hand gestures • Limit body movements • Maintain appropriate voice volume • Maintain a constant rate of speech

  20. Presentation Outline • General presentation information • Structuring your presentation • Composing your visuals • Conclusion

  21. Structuring Your Presentation • Outline • Introduction • Body of Information • Conclusion

  22. Outline • It is helpful to have an overall outline slide that you refer to throughout the presentation • This helps the audience keep up with the progression and relevance of the material

  23. Introduction The Introduction should… • Immediately gain the audience's attention by connecting their needs, values, and knowledge to the topic • Create expectations that you will fulfill in the course of the presentation

  24. Introduction At a minimum, your introduction should … • Get the audience’s attention • Identify your topic • Express why the audience should care – the significance of your topic

  25. Attention getters … • Technology – some presenters use a video or flash intro to their presentation • Visual display – some presenters include an elaborate visual aid • Emotional connection – others immediately try to connect with the audience emotionally

  26. Introduction Familiarity and Credibility: • Credibility is a prerequisite to your audience taking what you present seriously • Tell the audience who you are and why you are qualified to speak to them on this topic

  27. Body Break information into pieces: • Try to identify several main points you want the audience to grasp by the end of the presentation • Reinforce those points in different ways, including oral, visual, experiential, and through a review at the end of the presentation

  28. Conclusion Your conclusion should provide … • A summary of key points and/or sections of the presentation • A reminder of the significance of your topic (what is important about your topic/position on the issue, and why the audience should care )

  29. Linguistic Clues Provide clues that you are ending: • “In conclusion …” • “As I have demonstrated today …” • Thank the audience for their participation/attention

  30. Presentation Outline • General presentation information • Structuring your presentation • Composing your Visuals • Oral Presentations • Posters • Conclusion

  31. Evaluate Slides Critically Check your slides for appropriate: • Layout • Sequencing • Text • Graphics • Colors

  32. Layout • Try to have a logical, consistent layout for your slides • That way the audience learns where to look for information

  33. Sequencing • Make sure the order of your slides makes sense • It helps to have an outline slide that you present in the introduction and refer to as you switch to different sections of your presentation

  34. Text • Follow all rules of good writing • Use concise but information-rich text • Keep slides readable

  35. Concision In an effort to maintain grammatical correctness, connective coherence, and stylistic flair, sentences may contain words extraneous to the most important information and simply become too long for an audience to read in the time allotted.

  36. Concision • Use phrases or bulleted points • Choose information-rich words • Minimize extraneous words

  37. Arranging Text Visually • Color tends to draw attention • Color is relatively inexpensive to use when presenting and printing. • Don’tusecolorinwaysthat distract from, confuse,orhideyour point.

  38. Font Selection • Use large fonts (18 point minimum) • Use “sans-serif” fonts • Avoid using ALL CAPS or underlining • Titles and figure labels, even though they’re not a main part of the text, should also be readable

  39. Slide Background • Light background with dark text works best • Otherwise, it strains the eye and makes things seem dark and gloomy

  40. Graphics • Select types of visual aids well matched to the needs of your audience • Present visuals that correspond to specific portions of your presentation

  41. Graphics • Table - presents groups of detailed facts • Bar graph - represents numerical qualities • Line graph - shows changes as a function of change in another quantity • Pie graph - depicts the parts of a whole

  42. Graphics • Diagram – assists in understanding of process or structure • Flow chart - represents succession of events • Organizational chart - depicts hierarchical arrangement

  43. Graphics Critique your graphics from the perspective of the audience • Is it large enough to be easily seen or too small and detailed? • Is the contrast/color effective or distracting? • Does it clarify a difficult concept or introduce confusion?

  44. Types of Graphics Example • What is the main message of these graphics? • Which one conveys this message clearer, distracts less, and looks more attractive?

  45. Effective Title Examples Which is the best title for this chart? • Figure: Group B • Figure 1: Earnings Breakdown • Figure 1: Group B 3rd Quarter Earnings

  46. Evaluate Slides Critically Check your slides for appropriate: • Layout • Sequencing • Text • Graphics • Colors

  47. Presentation Outline • General presentation information • Structuring your presentation • Composing your Visuals • Oral Presentations • Posters • Conclusion

  48. Posters • deliver a clear message • are highly visual • are easy to read from 1-2 meters away (about 3-6 feet)

  49. Common Problems Many posters suffer from problems that make them ineffective, including: • text too small • poor graphics • objective and main points hard to find • poor organization

  50. Poster Layout • Headings direct readers to key information • If possible, use both text and graphics • Use white space effectively to define flow of information • Don't fight "reader gravity" that pulls eye from top to bottom, left to right

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