ENGG 2100 Communication Tips PDF

ENGG 2100 University of Guelph Ctd: Engineering & Design New: Oral Communication 1 You are here Highlights/Announcements Reminder: Presentation Signup (courselink) Group Signup (in-lab) Solidworks can be downloaded (see Engineering Software Catalog...

ENGG 2100 University of Guelph Ctd: Engineering & Design New: Oral Communication 1 You are here Highlights/Announcements Reminder: Presentation Signup (courselink) Group Signup (in-lab) Solidworks can be downloaded (see Engineering Software Catalogue) 2 Design & Engineering 1. The key difference is in the application of engineering science in the design process (thermodynamics, mechanics, fluids, circuits, dynamics, heat transfer, control theory, statistics, etc., etc…) 2. The recognition that engineering design also often requires the safeguarding of health Engineering design is a ‘design process’ that employs at least some engineering science in the process 3 Design & Engineering Characteristics of a designer:  Imagination or insight  Ability to visualize  Organization  Drive or motivation  Knowledge Characteristics of an engineering designer:  All of the above  Knowledge of engineering sciences  Knowledge of engineering tools including project management and communication skills  You will hone these skills in this class! 4 Design & Engineering Is every Engineer a designer? 5 L02 Summary Key Takeaways (from last lecture) Brief history of Canadian engineering Why and how professional engineering organizations came to exist Definition of engineering Differences between design and engineering design Characteristics of a designer and an engineering designer 6 Communication in Engineering Everyengineer will be required during their professional lives to prepare and deliver presentations Important to clearly present ideas Delivery affects effectiveness Seminar(this course) = opportunity to practice your oral presentation skills in a low-stress environment Next slide: what makes a good presentation? 7 What makes a good presentation? ⓘ Start presenting to display the audience questions on this slide. 8 1. The “Hook” Kelly McGonigal: "How To Make Stress Your Friend" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcGyVTAoXEU 9  2. Use of Visuals Hugh Herr: The new bionics that let us run, climb and dance. https://www.ted.com/talks/hugh_herr_the_new_bionics_that_let_us_run_climb_and_dance?subtitle=en 10 2b. Use of Visuals Hans Grosling, Global Population – Box by Box (e.g. start around 6:00, : https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_global_population_growth_box_by_box?subtitle=en 11  3. How you use your voice Julian Treasure: "How To Speak So That People Want To Listen” (from 4:20 – 8:00): https://youtu.be/eIho2S0ZahI 12 Tips for your presentation Strong, clear voice, easy to listen to, enthusiasm Well organized, had a plan, succeeded in plan, audience learned something Clear, thoughtful, well-organized slides Eye contact strong, felt presentation was for me/us 13 Characteristics of Poor Presentations TIME…..  Budget ~1 minute per slide  if over time, no option for highest grade of “Impressive” Speaking:  Too quiet, mumbled, monotone Structure:  Poorly structured, no plan, little organization, tried to do way too much and thus achieved little Body Language:  Minimal eye contact, no feeling that the audience matters Effort:  Little to no effort evident, ad lib attempt 14 Slide Design Content layout can affect understanding Slides can be overwhelming and distracting Extraneous information takes away from main message 15 Cognitive Load Theory Information processing capability based on a limited working memory and unlimited long-term memory Cognitive overload inhibits the learning process 16 Working Memory Short half-life  Information forgotten Low capacity Overwhelming the working memory inhibits transfer to long-term memory Miller’s Law: Working memory limited to 7±2 things 17 Working Memory Bottleneck 18 Expert-Novice Divide Experts recall large amounts of related information as a single chunk  E.g. chess piece placement; learning a dance routine Slides can be cognitively simple for experts, but overwhelming for novices Introduce a single idea from the novice’s perspective on a slide 19 20 Pop quiz: What factors affect anode instability? 21 Dual Channel Theory Verbal and Visual Channels Working Memory can store:  1-2 seconds of speech  1-4 images Overload occurs when one channel is overloaded 22 Dual Channel Theory – Slide Design Use images that reinforce the text directly Avoid text-heavy slides where text is read aloud Simplify? Allow time to read? Highlight key points? 23 Revisit the last example 24 What do you see? 25 Gestalt Principles People automatically group visual objects by similar characteristics Colour Proximity Motion Size Continuity Slide Design: group similar information Compare the next two slides… 26 Slide A 27 Slide B 28 Constructivism All learning is based on previous knowledge New knowledge is situated within existing knowledge as new links are created Best Approach: guide audience when engaging new material  Draw from common experiences 29 Minimizing Distractions Audience attention can be affected by: Perceptual Salience Top-down vs bottom-up attention Focused vs Divided attention 30 Perceptual Salience Whydo some objects in a scene have a greater chance of being stored in a memory? Perceptual Salience refers to any of our senses  e.g. eyes drawn to titles & bold  Avoid unintentional visual salience  E.g. changes in font  Leverage motion and gaze following  E.g. Hans Grosling, population growth TED-talk 31 Can you find the T? 32 Make Good Use of The Title! (or subject line in email, etc) This is a good example of “Top-down” attention People look first for information where relevant information is expected to be (e.g. the title) Use the title to explain why the slide is important 33 Focused vs Divided Attention Eliminate extraneous details 34 Compare: 35 Slide Design Summary Don’t overwhelm working memory (visual, auditory) Keep slides simple & focused  Use effective images  Group information  Minimize clutter & distractions 36 References “ENGG 2100: Engineering Design II”, Lecture Slides  Fall 2019, Dr. John Runciman  Fall 2018, Dr. Andrew Gadsden  Winter 2024, Dr. Ryan Clemmer All images and videos are self-referenced 37