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

“Oral Presentation” by Kyung-Hee Bae, ENGI 2304, Spring ’04

“Posters” by Elena Poltavtchenko, ECE/MECE/INDE 4334, Fall ’04

Presentation Outline General presentation information Structuring your presentation Composing your visuals Conclusion


Presentations

Know the Situation Know your Task Know your Audience Know your Material

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?

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

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?

Presentations Know the Situation Know your Task Know your Audience

Context Information Attention

Know your Material

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

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

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.

Know Your Audience

Context Information

Definition Limiting Presenting

Attention

Defining Information

Information is knowledge … Derived Gathered Used

… for a specific purpose.

Limiting Information

Each slide should contain only …

1 clear idea or concept

- or - 2 or 3 related ideas or concepts

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

Principle 3: Attention

In order to keep the audience’s attention:Engage the audienceChange or vary delivery

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

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


Structuring Your Presentation

Outline Introduction Body of Information Conclusion

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

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

Introduction

At a minimum, your introduction should …

Get the audience’s attention Identify your topicExpress why the audience should care – the significance of your topic

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

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

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

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 )

Linguistic Clues

Provide clues that you are ending: “In conclusion …” “As I have demonstrated today …” Thank the audience for their

participation/attention

Presentation Outline General presentation information Structuring your presentation Composing your Visuals

Oral Presentations Posters

Conclusion

Evaluate Slides Critically

Check your slides for appropriate: Layout Sequencing Text Graphics Colors

Layout

Try to have a logical, consistent layout for your slides

That way the audience learns where to look for information

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

Text

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

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.

Concision

Use phrases or bulleted points Choose information-rich wordsMinimize extraneous words

Arranging Text Visually

Color tends to draw attention Color is relatively inexpensive to use

when presenting and printing. Don’t use color in ways that distract

from, confuse, or hide your point.

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

Slide Background

Light background with dark text works best

Otherwise, it strains the eye and makes things seem dark and gloomy

Graphics

Select types of visual aids well matched to the needs of your audience

Present visuals that correspond to specific portions of your presentation

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

Graphics Diagram – assists in understanding

of process or structure Flow chart - represents succession of

events Organizational chart - depicts

hierarchical arrangement

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?

Types of Graphics Example

What is the main message of these graphics?

Which one conveys this message clearer, distracts less, and looks more attractive?

Effective Title Examples

Which is the best title for this chart?

Figure: Group B Figure 1: Earnings

Breakdown Figure 1: Group B 3rd

Quarter Earnings0

102030405060708090

100

1stQtr

3rdQtr

GroupB

Evaluate Slides Critically

Check your slides for appropriate: Layout Sequencing Text Graphics Colors

Presentation Outline General presentation information Structuring your presentation Composing your Visuals

Oral Presentations Posters

Conclusion

Posters

deliver a clear message are highly visual are easy to read from 1-2

meters away (about 3-6 feet)

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

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

Layout in Column Format

Columns let your audience read the entire poster as people proceed from left to right

Poster organized in rows Rows may

force viewers to fight their way back to the beginning once they finish the first row

Sequencing Supply clues to

help viewers follow your presentation

Arrange the panels in logical sequence

Panels placed in regular columns are easier to follow than panels placed asymmetrically

Indicate the Sequence

USE … numbers, letters, arrows, or color

coding.


Conclusion We covered the most important aspect of

presentations: dealing with the situation and the audience.

As we went on, we discussed effective ways to deliver your information through text and graphics

Anything you want to review?

The End