Arrive Prepared!!

Use Nervousness to Energize Presentation Prepare for the impossible! Show up early Bring backups Check marathon schedules Prepare for the impossible! Show up early Bring backups Check marathon schedules Nervousness cured Gave me a great opening Nervousness cured Gave me a great opening

Extemporaneous Prepared Valuable method for presentation preparation Know your key points: the content, the approximate timing, and the transitions. Rehearse your section of the presentation Have notes, but not a pre-written speech Don’t be afraid to be spontaneous Have a story in reserve Plan your transition strategy

Employ Body Language Effectively Crossed arms: discomfort, uncertainty Open arms: exchange of ideas, openness Crossed arms: discomfort, uncertainty Open arms: exchange of ideas, openness

Employ Eye Contact Effectively Appropriate levels of eye contact: Present to your entire audience Make eye and break eye contact repeatedly Presentations aren’t bar fights: don’t lock eyes

The Value of the Selfie To understand your body language & presentation traits, film yourself presenting Ignore the weirdness of watching yourself How well do maintain eye contact? Do you pace? Ring your hands? Air guitar? Blink eight times per second? Too many filler words: “um,” “ah,” “uh,” “hm” How is your pace? Do you use pauses?

Best way to lose marks: Resist your addiction: Put down your phone Resist your addiction: Put down your phone Staring at your phone while others are presenting will result in a loss of marks Develop listening skills

Question and Answer Strategies Answer honestly: if you don’t know, don’t guess Take time to answer: pause & think Answer the question asked, not the question you wished was asked Use Q&A to fill in details you skipped in the presentation

A Few Practical Tips Put your names on the title slide State your name again when you start talking Use IEEE references for all sources IEEE references can be at the end of the presentation or throughout. Decide which is appropriate for your presentation Use an MTS checklist: Story? Credible? Curse of Knowledge?