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