HOW TO

GIVE

AN EFFECTIVE PRESENTATIONDr. Lester A. GerhardtActing Dean of EngineeringProf. of Electrical, Computer & Systems Engineering, Computer Science and Information TechnologyRensselaer Polytechnic Institutegerhal@rpi.edu

1600 SATsand a Teacher’s Comment

“Never Has So Much Been Said So Well About So Little”

● LEARNING• Native Language

- Speaking- Reading- Writing- Grammar

• Second Language- Grammar- Writing- Reading- Speaking

• Papers- Writing- Reading- Speaking

SO

1) Technical Papers Are a Lot Like Learning a Second Language

2) What We Do Last in Each – Speaking –

We Tend To Do Least Well

● A Good Paper Deserves A Good Presentation

● A Fair Paper NeedsAn Even Better Presentation

● A Great Paper DeservesA Truly Great Presentation

As a Result

___________________ ___________Level of Presentations > Paper Quality If Not

Papers and/or Presentations Are Below Standard

THE ANALYST’s APPROACHSOME NUMBERS

IF Preparation of Paper

6-10 Pages @ 1-2 Hrs/Page6-20 Hrs

Class Preparation1 Hr Lecture Requires 3 Hrs Prep.

THEN For A Quality Paper Presentation

25%-30% of Paper Preparation TimeOr 2-6 Hrs If 10 SlidesImplies 12 Minutes to 36 Minutes/Slide

Is Not Unreasonable

¼ to ½ Hr Preparation Time/Slide

P R E S E N T A T I ON

- Passion

- Relevance

- Extemporaneous

- Selective, Yet not Superficia l

- Emphasis

- Navigator

- Title

- Articulate

- Timely And on Time

- Impact

- On one hand; On the Other Hand

- New And Notable

EMPHASIS

WHY NOT CHANGE THE WORLD?

WHY NOT CHANGE THE WORLD?

WHY NOT CHANGE THE WORLD?

The ‘Holy Grail’ of PresentationOR

•Tell Them What You Plan To Tell Them

•Tell Them

•Tell Them What You Told Them

Navigating the Audience

Engage The Audience –Use a Catchy Title

Stimulated Emission of Xenon Seeking Employment in Xtapa Superiority & Excellence in Xylography Spectacular Expressions of Xmas Society of Epsilon Xi

Or Just Plain

S E X

SO WHAT?

On Society On The Field On the P. I.

IMPACT

Power Point (or equivalent) Hints Plan 1-2 Minutes/Slide

- 2 minutes for up to 10 slides- 1 minute above 10 slides

Keep Density Low Keep Font High Make Effective Use of Figures & Charts A Video Clip If Possible Make Slides ‘Printer Friendly’

Power Point (or equivalent) Hints

Don’t Let The Power Point PIZAAZ (P3)Overwhelm The Power Of The Paper (P2)

ORP2 > P3

1 > P or Keep ‘Pizaaz Factor’ Modest

AMENAvoid Maximizing Equations & Numerics

“POWER CORRUPTS, AND POWER POINT CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY”

-- Vint Cerf ‘Father of the Internet’

DETERMINING

THE BEST FONT SIZE

TO USE IS CRITICAL TO

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A TALK. OFTEN A SPEAKER

CHOOSES A FONT SIZE SO THAT EVERYTHING THE SPEAKER WANTS

TO FIT ON ONE PAGE DOES FIT, WITH LITTLE REGARD AS TO WHETHER THE

PERSON IN THE LAST ROW CAN SEE IT

ALWAYS CONSIDER THAT THE PERSON IN THE LAST ROW MAY BE YOUR NEXT DEPARTMENT CHAIR.

Some DOs Stress What You Did and Why You Did It. Highlight How Emphasize Impact of Results Emphasize the Value Added – What’s New and

Unique? Emphasize the Value Added By the Presentation Make Effective Use of Figures & Plots Engage Audience Pick Three to Four People in Audience,

Distributed in Location, and Making Eye Contact, Speak to Them. Remember Your Future Dean/Dept Chair in the Last Row.

Some More DOs Speak Clearly and Sufficiently Loudly Do a ‘Dry Run’ For Your Friends Use a Laser Pointer Leave Sufficient Time for Q&A Relate Paper to Session Intent and Other Papers ‘Leave Something on the Plate’

- Future Research to be Done- Questions to be Answered- Give Web Site- Contact Information

Some Don’ts or Nos Don’t be Neutral

- Be An Advocate For Your Paper

Don’t ‘Parrot’ The Written Paper

Don’t Read Your Presentation

Don’t Talk To The Screen Or Your Computer

Don’t Overrun Your Time

Some Knows Know Your Session Chair

- Contact Before Session Know Your Audience

- Background/Educational Level- Size

Know Your Room Know The A/V Facilities Available

(Floppy vs CD Drive, Projector, etc) Know Your Session’s Content and How Your

Paper Fits In

Seeing a Broadway ShowORA Fine MovieIs A Lot DifferentThanReading The Screen Play

LESS

IS

MORE