Technical Presentations Skills for Engineers PDF

Technical Presentations Skills for Engineers Tools and Techniques  Technical Presentations As engineers you will present our work many times throughout our careers Interviews, reports to management, design reviews etc Engineers are often trying to persuade som...

Technical Presentations Skills for Engineers Tools and Techniques  Technical Presentations As engineers you will present our work many times throughout our careers Interviews, reports to management, design reviews etc Engineers are often trying to persuade someone to our own way of thinking Engineers are often presenting highly technical information It is in our best interests to put forward our arguments as clearly and concisely as possible  Basic Layout A typical presentation will comprise Introduction (& outline of what is to come?) Problem statement Main body Methodologies, theory development Results and discussion Conclusions and recommendations A good presentation: “Flows” – it defines a problem or an argument and then systematically addresses it Not necessarily chronologically…….. Speaks in terms appropriate to the audience  Using Powerpoint / Graphic Aids The way you use Powerpoint can make or break your presentation It is an aid to you, not the whole story in itself Following are a few common errors in Powerpoint usage... www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/04/05/powerpoint The Three Most Important Elements of a Technical Presentation Organization Visual Aids Delivery and Style: Your Presence and Preparation Technical Presentations DH 2005 Before You Present… Technical Presentations DH 2005 Identify the Purpose What is your general purpose? What is your specific purpose? What do you want your audience to learn? What action should be taken next? Technical Presentations DH 2005 Perform an Audience Analysis Identify who your audience will be Identify your objectives for the audience Identify their understanding of the subject Determine how willing they will be to accept your ideas Technical Presentations DH 2005 Organization Technical Presentations DH 2005  Organization: Introduction Identify who you are/establish your “presence” Why should they listen to YOU? Express your qualifications, passions, become a bit “human” to the audience Earn the audience‟s attention What will they get from listening to you? Why should they listen? Give a roadmap: Tell them what you‟re going to tell Explain where you plan to go, set up the story Explain what the audience can anticipate Technical Presentations DH 2005 Organization: Introduction cont. Don‟t say “Before I begin” Don‟t apologize for being nervous Don‟t read the introduction Don‟t use a dramatic, irrelevant opener Don‟t make the introduction too long Technical Presentations DH 2005  Organization: Body Create main points to express key ideas and major claims Present points as declarative statements Keep speech points unified, coherent, and balanced Verbalize connections between points Technical Presentations DH 2005  Organization: Transitions A word or phrase that signals when a speaker has finished one thought and is moving onto another These are the turn signals necessary for changing lanes. 2 parts to a transition: Transitions state the idea that the speaker is leaving (the review part) and the idea that the speaker is coming up to (the preview part) Ex: Now that you know what the TPS report is (review), I will discuss its functions (preview). Technical Presentations DH 2005  Organization: Conclusion Purpose: Tell „em what you told „em Offers audience a sense of closure Reinforces thesis Tips Signal the end verbally and non-verbally Restate the thesis using a strong concluding statement Make conclusions strong and brief Technical Presentations DH 2005  Organization: Conclusion cont. Don‟t drag out the conclusion Don‟t end on a weak or rambling note Don‟t introduce new points Don‟t say “so in conclusion” Don‟t end with “Any Questions?” (if the audience was engaged, then they will have questions) Technical Presentations DH 2005 Visual Aids Technical Presentations DH 2005 Fonts Are Important! Use Microsoft sans 40 point Title serif fonts 28 point Heading 24 point Sub-headings Use readable font 18 point References and Labels sizes Avoid using 12 point font or smaller Use appropriate color combinations Technical Presentations DH 2005  Preparation - Slides Use Images & Graphics Minimise text & numbers Light text on dark background Avoid distracting backgrounds Use large sans serif fonts Helvetica or Arial rather than serif fonts like Times 24 pt is minimum, 32 pt, or even 36 pt is better Preparation - Slides ALL CAPITALS IS HARDER TO READ, ALTHOUGH IT MIGHT BE OK FOR THE ODD TITLE Use Images & Graphics Minimise text & numbers Light text on dark background Avoid distracting backgrounds Use large sans serif fonts Mix upper and lower case Fonts Will Make or Break a Presentation Use sans serif fonts 40 point Title 28 point Heading Use readable font 24 point Sub headings sizes 18 point References and Labels Avoid using 12 point font or smaller Use appropriate color combinations Technical Presentations DH 2005 Make Sure You’re Grammar is Correct Affect v. Effect Affect (verb) influence or change Effect (verb) bring about or (noun) result Whose v. Who’s Whose means belonging to whom Who’s is a contraction of who is Your v. You’re Your is possessive You’re is a contraction of you are Its v. It’s Its is a pronoun indicating possession It’s is a contraction of it is Technical Presentations DH 2005  The Abuses of Capital Letters Bullet points typically have one capital letter at the beginning Just because You think a word is Important does Not mean it should be Capitalized ALL CAPITAL LETTERS MAKE IT HARDER FOR YOUR AUDIENCE TO DECIPHER WORDS Technical Presentations DH 2005  Text Don’t just fill the page with slabs of text. It looks like hard work for the reader, and does little to highlight the key points of your argument. It also has the tendency to drag you into rote reading of your presentation slides, which disengages you from the audience, (and also tends to reduce your voice to a monotone). Powerpoint defaults to a “dot-point” style which actually suits the intent of the medium – to provide the key points and data that define your argument, and then allow you to entertain the audience with the details of your story. Avoid Using Too Many Words Use Bullet Points Use Condensed Sentences No parking structure will be considered if the cost per stall to erect the structure is greater than $11,000. Parking structures will cost less than $11,000 Technical Presentations DH 2005 The Infamous Laser Pointer Practice with the laser pointer. Use sparingly: Only when necessary Technical Presentations DH 2005