Presentation Techniques

Organization of Information

• Transparency of structure (clear beginning,

middle and end)

• Organization of content (identify clearly main

points and supporting points)

• Adequate sign-posting (use of linking phrases or

other indicators)
 Use of Language
• Fluency (not too many restarts)
• Grammar
• Pronunciation
• Vocabulary (appropriate level and
terminology)
• Linguistic techniques (sentence lengths,
loud and clear voice, silence, questions,
humor)
 Delivery of Information
• Image (formal/informal, relaxed?)
• Body language
• Audience considerations (meet their
interests and level of knowledge)
• Audience involvement (call for response)
• Use of manuscript (cue cards, bullet
points)
• Visual aids (objects, transparencies, PP)
 Sequencing Language
• firstly, secondly, thirdly…
• then, next, finally, lastly…
• let’s start with…
• let’s move on to…
• that brings us to…
• that covers…
• let’s get back to…
 Highlighting Important Points
• in particular…
• with regard to…
• specifically speaking…
• whilst on the subject…
• for instance…
• case in point…
• allow me to illustrate my point by….
 Summarizing/Concluding
• to sum up…
• in brief…
• in short…
• on the whole…
• in conclusion…
• to round up…
• to conclude…
 COMMUNICATION
• 15 % VERBAL
• 35 % VOCAL
• 50% VISUAL

• Preparation
• Practice
 Oral presentations provide an opportunity to share the
results of research with a large audience, here are some tips.

• Don't try to fit every detail of the research into the presentation.
Provide an adequate summary, but remember the limitations of
oral presentation formats. People will only be able to digest a
certain amount of material in 10-15 minutes. If you stick too
closely to details, the audience will lose the point of the
presentation.

• Make use of Power Point slides. Let the audience follow along
the outline of the presentation as you go. If a person temporarily
loses track of the presentation, they can always catch up by
looking at the presentation slide notes you provide.

• A standard format is 15 minutes for each presenter. Plan for 12

minutes of presentation and three minutes of questions. In your
12 minutes, spend around four minutes setting up the problem,
two discussing the methodology, two discussing results, and four
for the discussion.
• Memorize the first few minutes of the presentation word for word.
This will get you started and help with the initial nervousness.

• Do not read your talk. You will bore your audience and you will make
it impossible for them to pay attention. Instead, use Power Point slides
as a memory cue and speak spontaneously.

• Have notes prepared. If you panic and are unable to remember what
you wanted to say, you can use them for backup. You can consult your
notes without reading them to the audience. It's acceptable to pause
between sentences and think about what you want to say next.

• Do not talk in a monotone.

• Anything in a Power Point slide should be printed neatly in large, bold

type. It is very frustrating struggling to read the slides during a
presentation.
• Keep your visual aids simple. The audience has a limited amount of
time to read and understand them. If everyone is struggling to
understand what's on the slide, nobody will be listening to you.

• Never present a page full of statistics or text and tell the audience to
read it for themselves. If it's important for the audience to read
something, read it to them. If doing this makes you feel like you're
spending too much time reading to the audience, you are. Present
fewer pages of statistics.

• Do not assume that the audience will be able to see something just
because you put it in a slide. There may be obstructions, or it may be
hard to see from the back of the room. Always describe what you're
presenting.

• Do not hover around the projector. Never point to anything on the

projector, point to the screen. Standing by the projector is likely to block
the audience's view.
•Feel free to move around, but so much that you distract the audience.
• Rehearse the whole presentation at least once, and try to rehearse in
front of an audience. Let the test audience help you decide if the talk is
clear.

• Dress up for the presentation.

You will probably be nervous before the presentation. Here are

some tips to help settle your nerves.

• Rehearse thoroughly. If you know what you want to say, you will feel
better about saying it. Also keep these things in mind.

• Fifteen minutes goes by very fast when you're speaking.

• If you don't know the answer to someone's question, you can say "I don't
know." You can also try to involve the person asking the question in speculating
about the answer.

• You can direct the audience's questions to topics you know. For example, you
might say "the exact details of this procedure aren't essential, but if you would
like to know them, we can discuss it in the question period." Try not to do this
too much, because it can be annoying.
Here are some ideas for creating a presentation:

• Video tape someone you consider to be an expert

• Interview a teachers, students and administrators on their use of
technology
• Create a timeline
• Create a flyer or a brochure to demonstrate what you have learned
• Do some case studies (school issues, local issues, community
concerns, etc.)
• Write a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on your topic
• Use a graph or chart to show information gathered
• Create a Power Point presentation
• Create a homepage for your presentation with links to appropriate
resources

• What ever you choose to do, do it with thought, organization, and

planning.

• Use eye-catching colors and materials. Always give credit for

information
or images collected from other sources. Be enthusiastic!
 The following slides are
examples of Charts and
Graphs that could be used
to summarize complex data
in a graphical form suitable
for presentation.
 Of 100 AnyTown High School
Students

• 67 plan to attend college

9
• 6 plan to enter the military
18

• 18 plan to seek
employment 6 67

• 9 are undecided

Pie Chart
Student Scores on Assembly Modeling Exam

Third Quarter Results Stacked

Column
Graph

61% 61%
86% 65+
55-64
0-54

23% 22%

16% 17% 10%

4%
Period 3 Period 6 Period 7
 Solid Models Completed
1999 - 2000 School Year Line Graph

23 26
22
22

16 18 John S.
13 16 Nicole G.
12 Robert J.
9
6
4

October January April June

 Comparison of Career
60
Choices
50

40

30 AnyTown H.S.
Class of 2000
20

10
Clustered
0 Column
Graph
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Humanities Majors Pre-engineering majors Business Majors
Mock-up: A physical model constructed from inexpensive materials
to represent a design concept. The model is created is proportional
but not necessarily to scale.
Prototype: A full size, functional model of a product completed
before the product is manufactured, which allows testing and
analysis prior to production.
Computer Graphics

•Power Point slide presentations

•Solid Models
•Part Model
•Assembly Model
•Animation clips
•HTML documents
Microsoft PowerPoint is an extremely versatile multi-media
tool enabling the user to create colorful, interesting
presentations.
 Solid Model Examples
Part Models Assembly Models
Animation Clip From an Assembly Model

Click each image to

see the animation.
HTML: Hypertext Markup Language
The standard language used to create web pages.
Written Documentation

•Engineering Notebook
•Specification Sheets
•Technical Drawings
•Graphical Organizer
•Technical Report
Engineering Notebook: a document used by an engineer to record notes,
sketches and other design information.
Sample Specification Sheet
Sample Technical Drawing
Flowcharts
Graphic Organizer
Graphic Organizer
A Technical Report is information which relates to the research, development,
engineering, evaluation, production, operation, use, and maintenance of a
product, process or service. The following text is an abstract of a 200+ page
technical report.

Connecting Homes to the Internet: An Engineering Cost Model of Cable

vs. ISDN
Using the World Wide Web at 28.8 Kbps (or less) can be a frustrating
experience: a multimedia page that takes a fraction of a second to
download at Ethernet speeds takes many seconds at modem rates. Two
enhancements to existing infrastructure have the potential to deliver more
satisfactory residential Internet access: ISDN telephone service, and
upgraded cable TV networks. While ISDN dedicates bandwidth to each
user, cable networks support a shared bandwidth approach similar to that
used in computer Local Area Networks (LANs). This report describes the
technologies and evaluates qualitative differences between the two
approaches. The report finds that cable's shared-bandwidth approach
has superior economic characteristics. Cable-based access also has
better service characteristics: it can support both full-time Internet
connections and higher peak band widths, such as a 4 Mbps cable
service that provides thirty-two times the peak bandwidth of ISDN.
Furthermore, monopoly control of residential communications
infrastructure—whether manifest as high ISDN tariffs or simple lack of
interest from cable operators--limits business opportunities for Internet
Evaluation of Oral and Written Presentations
How to Give a Succesful
Powerpoint Presentation
 Organization
• Put slides in order of your presentation for
smooth transitions and so it is easy to
understand

• Try to keep one idea limited to one slide

• If you have one thought and then...

 Organization
• it’s on another slide, that is very
distracting!

• Include any visuals that may help to

explain your idea
 Organization
• Sometimes a
picture is all you
need!
 Organization
 Allow the points to cue you so you know what
you are going to say.
 Do not put every single thing you are going to
say and then simply read, the purpose of
Powerpoint is to provide support to what you
say, not say every single thing that comes
out of your mouth. If every single thing you
say is on the slide, then there is WAY too
much text and the audience will get
distracted and overwhelmed and that defeats
the purpose of using Powerpoint.
 Organization
• Instead, consider jot notes, for example:

• Powerpoint can provide lots of visuals to a

presentation

• Main points can support what the

presenter is saying, but should not have
EVERYTHING the presenter is saying
 Adding videos
 Insert
Movie and
Powerpoint
will let you
customize
how it
starts
 Nicer to
embed
video
 Adding videos
• Or add a link (but must be connected to
internet!)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teV62zr
m2P0
 Visuals
Choose a font that is appropriately sized.
 Too small and no one will be able to see it!

Too big and you

can’t get your whole
point across!
 Animations
• Animations can be fun to include.
• But they can be distracting as well.
• Moderation is key.

• Animations may help,

• if you want to hide something and reveal it
at a certain point in time.
 Delivery
• Speak in a controlled and professional
manner

• Project your voice to ensure EVERYONE

in the room can hear you

• Make eye contact with everyone in the

room at least once
 Delivery
• Do NOT read from the slides or notes!

• You should have a good working

knowledge of your topic and be able to
explain concepts from memory!
 Delivery
• If you have enthusiasm, then the audience
will have more enthusiasm

• Feel free to interact with audience

members to ensure they are
understanding the presentation

• Use them as examples, props,

demonstrators, etc.
 Delivery
• If presentations make you nervous,
rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!

• Rehearse in the room you will be

presenting

• Rehearse in front of friends or family

• While presenting, find a friendly face and

 As an audience member
• Show interest and enthusiasm

• Be polite!

• Ask questions if you are interested or

something that will make the presenter
confident

• Give constructive criticism

 DO’S AND DON’TS OF
POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS
OVERVIEW

DO provide an overview page

Slide Content
Slide Design
Presentation Strategies
SLIDE CONTENT
Don’t put too much text on one slide. It’s overwhelming
for your audience, and can lead to you reading the
slides instead of presenting information and using the
slide only as an aid. In general avoid using complete
sentences. If there’s too much text, the audience will
concentrate on reading the text rather than listening to
you speak. And, they probably won’t even be able to
read everything before you get done with that slide
and move on to the next one.
SLIDE CONTENT

Too much text

Too little text

DO focus on one topic per slide

 Slide Design
• DO consider your audience
– Choose an appropriate design
– Choose appropriate colors
– Choose appropriate visuals
 SLIDE DESIGN
Use animations
Sparingly
Only when you want your audience
To focus
On 1 point at a time
And you’re going to expand on each point
Before moving on to the next
 Slide Design
• DO choose appropriate fonts & colors
Tone of font Fun vs Serious
Size & weight
Colors are readable
Be consistent
• Within one slide
• Across slides
 Slide Design
 Consistency is the key!

 DON’T use multiple slide designs in one

presentation

 Why?
PRESENTATION STRATEGIES

DON’T
Read from slides
Stare at screen

DO
Use slides only as an aid
Make eye contact with the audience
PRESENTATION STRATEGIES

DO have a concluding slide

Work Cited
Cite your pictures as you use them

Thank you.
Are there any questions?
 Resources
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/ssfd0/presgood.html
http://www.cse.ucsc.edu/~karplus/185/s96/node16.html
http://www.msu.edu
http://www.wihe.com/
http://www.sme.org
http://www.swe.org
http://www.iteaconnect.org
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/YF-23