• How to make an effective technical presentation?

This Lecture • A picto-journalistic approach to improve

technical presentations.

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A picto-journalistic approach can improve technical
presentations

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 Picto-journalistic presentations blend the
verbal and visual with the oral
Headline or title Executive
for all slides: summary:
11 words or less. Outline slide
upfront.
Perverted pyramid
Pictograph: structure:
7±2 elements. Outline followed
by inductive trail.
Well spoken:
Matches visuals. Text + Pictures:
Slides should be
Numbering: combinations of
All slides should both.
be numbered. KISS:
Keep it simple
stupid.
First two minutes:
Perhaps the toughest, gain composure, spend it on your introduction + Title slide. Use “we”
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not “you”.
Delivery is 39% of technical briefing
effectiveness
Technical Briefing Effectiveness

11%
Content
13% Audience Analysis
39% Visual Aids
Organization
Delivery

17%

20%
All part of a chain and the chain
would break at its weakest link.

Robert Weaver, Air Force Institute of Technology, 1987 4

Audience attention wanders at the 10-minute
mark

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Shift gears at intervals of 10 minutes or less
• Around 5
Overheads minutes

• Around
Machine 10
off minutes

• Around
Video 14-15
minutes

• Around
Flip Charts 18
minutes

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 We have limited capacity for processing
information
Short term Long term memory
memory (> 30 seconds)
(< 30 seconds)

7 ± 2 elements Almost zilch

“The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information”,
George Miller, March 1956 (One of the most highly cited papers in Psychology) 7
We have limited capacity for processing
information

Brand slogans 8
We have limited capacity for
processing information
• Every slide
• A title
• 7 ± 2 lines
• 7 ± 2 ideas
• Every line or idea should be explained in 7 ± 2
words.

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First impressions last the longest in our
memory

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Strong presentations are most memorable
front and back
• Tell them what you want to
tell them
• A good outline highlighting the
main points of the
presentation.
• Tell them
• The main points and
supporting details in a logical
and orderly manner.
• Tell them what you told them
• Repeat the main points and
conclude.
• A good summary slide.

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 The “perverted pyramid” perverts the
journalistic inverted pyramid organization
Inverted Pyramid (Journalism) Perverted Pyramid (Technical Presentations)

“5-W” lead Executive Summary

paragraph
Decreasing ↓
importance of
story.
Inductive
reasoning
↓
trail

Conclusion
“5-W” = Who, What, When, Where, and Why.
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“Storyboard” your draft slides to assure a
coherent presentation
• A storyboard is a series of
drawings that visually tells a 1 2 3
story.
• Invented in Hollywood.
Re-arrange order
• Time for Storyboarding
• 30 times the presentation’s
duration.
4 5 6
• 300 minutes or 5 hours for a 10 Close gaps
minutes presentation. Avoid redundancy
• Respect time 5 1/2
• Do rehearsals. 7 8
• Time yourself.
(Same as #3)
• Try to finish in the allotted time.

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 Two elements of a slide can boost clarity
Headline:
Simple declarative sentence; 11 words or
less.

Pictograph:
Picture of the idea described in the title;
The picture should have 7 ± 2 elements.
This one is slightly more cluttered.

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 • (safe image area)
Viewgraph • 9’’ wide by 7’’ tall
format • Leave 1’’ margin from all sides.

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The top left quadrant of a slide draws the
most attention
40%
Eye grabber 20%
Most important information
should be here.

25% 15%

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People read a slide or visual in a clockwise
fashion
• First • Then…

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Sans serif means better legibility than serif
for viewgraphs
I’m better. I’m better.
• Sans serif is the font without • Font with handles, such as Times
handles, this one’s Helvetica. New Roman.
• Cleaner, bolder, more modern • Good for large bodies of text
looking. • Books
• Good for short bodies of text • Reports
• Viewgraphs • Manuals
• Billboards • “Handles” ease eyes forward
• Print ads through lots of text.
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Lower case letters are more legible than
UPPERCASE LETTERS

flashlight
Lowercase Uppercase
Easily deciphered because Needs to be deciphered

FLASHLIGHT
of distinctive shape. letter by letter.
More natural as nothing is Slows reading time by
uniform in the universe. 15%.
An email in all caps is
considered rude.

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The most legible colour combination is black
on yellow
Black on Yellow is the most legible combination.
Followed perhaps by Green on White.

Followed perhaps by Yellow on Blue.

Followed perhaps by White on Blue.

Black on White gives you the best contrast.

White on Black looks lousy.

Red on Green is perhaps the worst.

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Skilful speaking matches what a slide says
and shows What the visual says?

• What the presenter

says?
• “The ionospheric
detection of explosive
events….”
• What the presenter
shows?

What the visual shows?

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Let your audience easily see
you and the projected image
• Get out of their way.
• Face forward
• Make eye contact but
don’t be awkward
• Must make eye contact
especially when
answering questions

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Talk your audience through the information on screen

• Read the title

• Describe the graphics
• Discuss the meaning of the slide and explain to
the audience how it relates to what they saw
already and what they’ll see next.
• Transition statement

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Make a short transition
statement before you show
your next overhead
• Make a transition statement then move to the next
slide
• Say something like “Next, we’ll see….”

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