The Craft of Scientific Presentations [Feynman] developed into an accomplished and inspiring teacher and lecturer, who gave virtuoso performances full of showmanship, humor, with his own inimitable brilliance, style, and manner. Jagdish Mehra
Presentations can be viewed from three stylistic perspectives Structure and Speech Delivery Archives, Cal-Tech Visual Aids
STRUCTURE
audience purposeoccasion You begin preparing a scientific presentation by analyzing your constraints who are they? what do they know? why are they here? what biases do they have? to inform to persuade to inspire to teach formality size time
BeginningBeginning EndingEnding Middle As with documents, the structure of presentations should have clear beginnings, middles, and ends
Beginnings prepare the audience for the work to be presented Defines work Work = A + B Maps presentation A B C D Shows importance Gives background
The middle presents the work in a logical order post-combustion methods combustion methods pre-combustion methods
pre-combustion methods combustion methods post-combustion methods combustion methods In the middle, you make smooth transitions between major points
The ending summarizes main points and places those results in the context of the big picture point 1 point 2 point 3 point 4 point 5 point 6 point 7 point 8 point 1 point 7 Summary Big Picture
VISUAL AIDS
One type of visual aid that deserves reflection is the presentation slide
Audiences remember more when you use well-designed slides Recall (%) Hear and See See Hear
Choose a format that is easily read Arial BOOK ANTIQUA Choose legible type Choose a helpful layout words
Color can distinguish a presentation
Color affects how fast the audience can read The color combination that is read most quickly is black on yellow.
Color affects how fast the audience can read What is important is that the combination has contrastthe one on this slide fails to do so.
Color affects how fast the audience can read Combinations of red, green, and brown are difficult for many people to read
Color affects the emotions of the audience Avoid having a hot color such as red or orange as your background color.
Headline Body Recommended here is a sentence-headline design that quickly orients the audience The sentence headline succinctly states the main assertion of the slide Body supports with words Body supports with images compressor combustor turbine
Secondary flows enter the primary flow through film-cooling holes and dilution jets Turbine Vanes Secondary Flow Primary Flow Secondary Flow Dilution Jet Combustor Simulator Film-Cooling Holes
DELIVERY
Include slides that accent important details Results Four warmest years of century The world is warming Images Neptune has three moons
Include slides that show organization Beginning Title Mapping Middle Middle 1 Middle 2 Ending Conclusion
Cynthia Schmidt Mechanical Engineering Department University of Texas Methods to Reduce Sulfur Dioxide Emissions From Coal-Fueled Utilities
Three classes of methods exist for reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide post-combustion methods combustion methods pre-combustion methods
90% removal capability low capital costable to use in existing equipment high operating cost ability to use different grades of coal separator air inlet cleaned exhaust grid The most effective combustion method is an atmospheric fluidized bed
Percentage Reduction of SO 2 coal cleaning coal switching fluidized bed absorption adsorption % 80% 90% 95% 80% In summary, by using these methods, coal utilities can greatly reduce SO 2 emissions Questions?
Avoid complex images DEAR- ATOR HOT WELL RGF A B Avoid filler information Roentgen discovered x-rays in He found that a cathode-ray tube produced fluorescence in a distant plati- num-barium-cyanide screen. Avoid long lists Corrosion Acid rain Toxic materials Pulsed combustion Energetic materials Pyrogenic materials Smog Exclude details that the audience does not need or cannot remember
Presentations can be viewed from three stylistic perspectives Structure and Speech Delivery Archives, Cal-Tech Visual Aids
Delivery is the speakers interaction with the audience Cal-Tech Stage Presence Voice AIP Movement Cal-Tech
You have several choices for how you deliver your speech Memorizing the Speech + allows eye contact - difficult for long speeches - room for precision errors - no room for improvising Reading From a Text + ensures precision - does not sound natural - no room for improvising - hinders eye contact Winging It + sounds natural - has much room for error Speaking From Slides + insures organization + allows eye contact + allows improvising - some room for error
In summary, another way to approach presentations is to focus on three critical steps for success Cal-Tech Know the subject Have an acute awareness of the audience AIP Be genuinely enthusiastic about the subject Cal-Tech