Tips on Giving a Presentation Delivery: Don't talk with your back to the audience (at least, not too

often). Sustain eye contact with the audience as much as you can. You should, in general, stand still. Don't pace or shuffle your feet. Know your audience and their background (level of discussion). Avoid blocking the screen. Use your hand or pointer and point to items of interest on the screen. Do not, in general, cover half your transparency to create suspense. For some people, this technique only creates annoyance. Gesticulate for emphasis only. Pace your delivery. Don't worry about awkward silences; they are never as awkward to the audience as they seem to you, the speaker. Silence is, in fact, useful when asking a question. Question ... Pause ... Answer Gives audience time to think of an answer themselves. Vocal delivery also affects attentiveness. Speak normally, then at crucial point lower voice or speak slower. Introductions and Conclusions are the most important. Research shows audiences listen more at the beginning and end of a presentation. Above all, try to appear relaxed. Never let them see you sweat! Transparencies: Never clutter or crowd a slide (list essentials only). Thumb rule: 5-7 items per slide; each item 3-5 words long. Never write full sentences on a slide: use keywords or brief phrases. You should, however, speak in full sentences. Make your transparencies interesting and easy to read. Use boldface, italics, etc. for emphasis. Use visual aids whenever useful: tables, figures, graphs. Organize your material carefully. Spend a good time planning the transparencies. Proofread again and again for correctness! Creating an Outline: Outlines are helpful in planning a paper or a talk. The outline is not usually the first step, although it is often thought to be. First part of planning process are asking these three questions: 1. What is the subject? 2. What is the purpose of the talk/paper? Purpose is not passing a course! Focus on what you will describe--what you want to show or explain. 3. Who will be the audience? Once questions are answered, then create an outline: 1. Decide upon a tentative title. (Flashy titles are better!) Title may change after information for talk/paper gathered. 2. Introduction: State theme and purpose clearly so audience knows your intentions. 3. Body of the Presentation: General and specific points that will be discussed. 4. Summary. Format of Outlines: Preliminary: ``scratch'' outline of possible topics. No order necessary as you are the only one likely to see your outline. Outline Styles: Most common outlines are by topics. Usually list information in brief phrases (no punctuation).

Developing Confidence (From Dale Carnegie): Get the facts about fear of speaking in public: You are not unique in your fear of speaking in public. A certain amount of stage fright is useful! Professional speakers even state that they never completely lose all stage fright. The chief cause of your fear is simple that you are unaccustomed to speaking in public. Prepare in the proper way: Never memorize a talk word for word. Assemble and arrange your ideas beforehand. Rehearse your talk (and questions) with your friends. Practice with a timer. Decide in your mind to succeed. Lose yourself in your subject. Keep your attention off negative stimuli that may upset you. Give yourself a pep talk. Act confident. Miscellaneous Tips: Be eager to share your talk with your listeners. Identify yourself with the audience. Restrict your subject to fit the time at your disposal. Converse with your audience. Put your heart into your speaking. Get attention immediately Begin with an example or incident. Arouse suspense. State an arresting fact. Ask for a show of hands. (Warn the audience beforehand.) Promise to tell the audience how they can get something they want. Avoid getting unfavorable attention. Do not open with an apology. Avoid the ``funny'' story opening. Helpful Grammar and Style Points To receive a high grade on your weekly reports, you should use maximum creativity and ensure your paper is carefully written. In other words, spelling, grammar, writing style, and creativity all count. I encourage you to purchase W. Strunk, Jr. and W.B. White, The Elements of Style, Macmillan Publishers, New York, New York, 1979. As Boston Globe states on the back cover of the third edition: No book in shorter space, with fewer words, will help any writer more than this persistent little volume. Usage Rules from Strunk and White 1. Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding 's: Tracy's friend or Tracy's friends Charles's poem 2. In a list, use a comma after every term except the last: red, white, and blue you, me, or Susan 7. Use a colon before introducing a list: I hate three things: cold weather, spelling errors, and flat Coke. Style Rules from Strunk and White 14. Use the active voice: Yuck: The first class I taught will always be remembered by me. Better: I will always remember the first class I taught. 15. Put statements in positive form: Yuck: Often he was not on time. Better: He usually came late. 16. Use definite, specific, concrete language (especially in technical writing!): Yuck: A period of unfavorable weather set in. Better: It rained every day for a week. 17. Omit needless words: Yuck: this is a subject that Better: this subject Yuck: the reason why is that Better: because

19.Express coordinate ideas in similar form: Yuck: A time not for words but action. Better: A time not for words but for action. 20. Keep related words together: Yuck: She noticed a large stain in the rug that was right in the center. Better: She noticed a large stain right in the center of the rug. 21. In summaries/conclusions, keep to one tense. A Few Matters of Form from Strunk and White and/or: a shortcut that often damages a sentence. Yuck: I love black and/or red. Better: I love black or red or both. can: means ``am (is, are) able''. Don't use as a substitute for may. etc.: literally ``and other things''; equivalent to ``and so forth''. Don't use if reader is in doubt as to any particulars. In addition: At the end of a list introduced by such as, for example, or any similar expression, etc. is incorrect. In formal writing, etc. is a misfit. An item important enough to call for etc. is probably important enough to be named [1]. however: avoid starting a sentence with however . Yuck: However, he said that he was going to come. Better: He said, however, that he was going to come. kind of/sort of: only use in familiar style (i.e., not technical writing). like: do not use in place of the conjunction as . Yuck: The sun is hot, like everyone knows. Better: The sun is hot, as everyone knows. most: do not use in place of almost in formal writing. Yuck: Most everyone agrees that UNIX is here to stay. Better: Almost everyone agrees that UNIX is here to stay. so: avoid in writing when used as an intensifier, e.g., ``So bad'' split infinitive: don't do, unless emphasizing the adverb Yuck: I was hoping to clearly see the eclipse. Better: I was hoping to see the eclipse clearly. this: the word this can not always carry the load of a sentence or clause. Avoid overuse. very: use this word sparingly. Where emphasis is necessary, use strong words instead. Yuck: These notes are very good. Better: These notes are wonderful. Other Points Road maps within a paper (in introduction and between sections) makes reading easier. Always try to hand hold the reader through the text. Since we now understand how the environment is deteriorating, we discuss methods that can improve our situation in the next section.'' SPELL correctly! (A checker is such an easy thing to use. It's very irritating to read a paper with spelling errors!) Plagiarism: DON'T DO IT! Suppose Santa Clause wrote: The weather outside is frightful. If I say: The weather outside is frightful. I have plagiarized! I can say: Santa Clause said, ``The weather outside is frightful'' [7]. Or I can say: The weather is cold and snowing. Any direct verbatim copying (whether it be a sentence or a full paragraph) is plagiarism. If you use more than a sentence, the verbatim part should be set off from the rest of the text (see etc. citation above). Avoid informal language. Yuck: If the system is up, Better: If the system is operational, references: list in order of citation or in alphabetical order. Be sure to cite each reference in text at least once. Multiple citations are ok: Officers stop red sport cars more than any other car [3,9]. When citing an author within the text, only use their last name (or names). Yuck: The book by W. Strunk and E.B. White is excellent. Better: The book by Strunk and White is excellent. Summary: if summarize the topics in the paper. Conclusion: only if conclude something not discussed in paper, else use ``Summary''.