KJC001 (talk.ppt – September 22, 2003)

How to Give Engineering Presentations for Foundations of Engineering K. J. Christensen Department of Computer Science and Engineering University of South Florida Tampa, Florida 33620 christen@csee.usf.edu Here acknowledge any funding sources if this work was completed under a grant. KJC001 (talk.ppt – September 22, 2003)

Agenda • Introduction • Key parts of a talk • Preparing slides • Summary • References KJC002

Introduction • This talk is about how to give an engineering talk • Being able to give good presentations is very important • A good talk is based on, • A message – you have an idea or a finding • A good organization • Well prepared slides • Many engineering firms practice “Engineering by PowerPoint” - This may not be ideal, but it is reality KJC003

Key parts of a talk • The key parts of a talk are: • 1) Cover slide • 2) Acknowledgements (if needed) • 3) Agenda • 4) Introduction • 5) Problem statement • 6) Solution • 7) Evaluation of solution • 8) Summary and future work • 9) List of references This is for an “idea talk” KJC004

Key parts of a talk continued • Introduction • Describes the landscape • Motivates the problems • Defines terms KJC005

Key parts of a talk continued • Problem statement • Clearly describe the problem • What is it that you are solving? • How will you know when you have solved the problem • State constraints, assumptions, etc. KJC006

Key parts of a talk continued • Solution • Describe the solution • How did you solve the problem? • Use the language and style of the discipline and audience • Use figures!!! KJC007

Key parts of a talk continued • Evaluation of the solution • Describe the evaluation and/or analysis of the solution • How do you know that the solution is “good”? • Describe trade-offs KJC008

Key parts of a talk continued • Summary and future work • Summarize what you have said • Identify any holes or bugs (future work they will be) KJC009

Preparing slides • Some rules-of-thumb… • 1) No art - this ain’t art class (use company style) • 2) One slide per minute • 3) A bullet never exceeds one line - slides are not to be read • 3) Use hierarchies of bullets • 4) A picture is worth 10K words (50% of slides should be visual) • 5) Minimum font size is about 18 point • 6) Using color sparingly and meaningfully (see also (1) above) • 7) Each slide should contain a slide number and logo KJC010

Summary • Giving talks is key to your success as an engineer • “Engineering by PowerPoint” is real • Organization is key to a good talk • “Clean” slides are important • Follow the given rules of thumb KJC010

References • Some of the ideas in this presentation come from • R. Anholt, Dazzle ‘Em with Style: The Art of Oral Scientific • Presentation, W. H. Freeman & Co., 1994. • This book is summarized at: • http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/writing/Supp/dazzle.html KJC012

KJC001 (talk.ppt – September 22, 2003)