ISM20 – Project management and Research Methods Research Methodology Making presentations.

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Making presentations.  The aim is good, clear communication.  Most people are afraid of public speaking.  There is no substitute for preparation.  Collect and order relevant material.

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Put your audience first!  Prepare the opening sentences carefully.  Use a non-technical opening…… but only if it’s relevant.  Avoid openings like “Thank you Mr Chairman for those kind words. It is a great pleasure to be here again in this great ……”  Throw your audience straight into the story “Is it possible to improve on the reliability of Airbus software?”

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Speaking style.  An informal, conversational style is best.  Avoid long, complicated sentences.  Vary tone of voice to give expression.  Vary the speed of delivery to provide emphasis.  But don’t speak too quickly: fast deliveries are difficult to understand.

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Time keeping.  Don’t speak for too long.  People remember up to 40% of a 15 minute talk, but only 20% after 45 minutes.  Assume a presentation rate of 100 words per minute.  Keep to time!

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Using notes.  NEVER read a script.  Write out the text.  List the key words to form your notes.  Produce notes on cards rather than paper.  Keep notes in order with a treasury tag.  Practise… in front of a mirror!

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Composure.  Hold your notes in one hand; let the other hang by your side.  Look at the audience - but not at one person!  Start slowly, having learned the first sentence.  Be aware of mannerisms and repeated gestures.

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Practical issues.  Explore the layout of the lecture room BEFOREHAND.  Understand how to control the projectors, microphones, lights, video…..  Do not speak while turning away from the microphone to look at a slide.  Overhead projectors should project upwards  Do not obscure the slide projection.

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods A pitfall to avoid.  Never, NEVER apologies for being an inexperienced speaker.  Never say “You will have seen all this before” “You will know more about this than I do”  Audiences will be embarrassed - they are on your side.  Nervousness leads to uncertainty about your material.

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Another pitfall to avoid.  Never try to be a stand up comic.  Be humorous, but humour is often at someone’s expense - make it your own.  It is easy to offend people - and lose their sympathy.  Humour depends on timing.  A joke that falls flat is embarrassing.

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Preparing the content.  The old salesman’s adage contains a good deal of truth: Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em; Tell ‘em; Tell ‘em what you’ve just told ‘em.  Don’t pack too much information into a talk.  Start with a brain map - and then order the material into a sequence.

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Visual aids 1.  OHPs can build on one another and are easy to produce.  35mm slides are more professional, easier to manipulate but more difficult to produce.  Computer screen projection is becoming the preferred option.  Laser pointers need practice and can be dangerous.

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Visual aids 2.  To point to an OHP place a pencil on the projector.  Slides should not be cluttered with information.  Use colour to emphasise a point and not for its own sake.  The minimum size font on an OHP should be 16 point.

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods What makes a good presentation? - Some guidelines  Guideline 1 - Consider whom the presentation is designed for.  Think about the audience. Do they know much about the subject?  Are you using jargon or symbols that they are unfamiliar with?  If you are talking to a small number of people, then they should be able to see the computer screen without any problems. If there are a large number of people, then you will need to use a projector of some sort.  Guideline 2 - Keep the charts simple and uncluttered.  Don’t put in any more or any less than is required  Guideline 3- Make sure that the charts are legible, even from the back of the room.  If you are making a presentation using a projector, then the characters need to be a minimum of 0.5 cm high for members of the audience who are 100 metres away. For more mature people, the minimum height needs to be 1 cm.  Guideline 4 - Highlight key information  Make it easy for the audience to pick out the most important details.  Guideline 5 - Focus attention on one concept at a time  Make sure that you are not giving the audience too much to think about at any one time.  Guideline 6 - Reinforce your conclusion  Finish the presentation with a summary of the main points that you want to make sure that the audience has understood.

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Good presentation guidelines  Guideline 1 - Consider whom the presentation is designed for The audience Terminology, Jargon or symbols Number of people

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Good presentation guidelines  Guideline 2 - Keep the charts simple and uncluttered. Don’t put in any more or any less than is required

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Good presentation guidelines  Guideline 3 - Make sure that the charts are legible, even from the back of the room If you are making a presentation using a projector, then the characters need to be a minimum of 0.5 cm high for members of the audience who are 100 metres away. For more mature people, the minimum height needs to be 1 cm.

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Good presentation guidelines  Guideline 4 - Highlight key information Make it easy for the audience to pick out the most important details

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Good presentation guidelines  Guideline 5 - Focus attention on one concept at a time Make sure that you are not giving the audience too much to think about at any one time

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Good presentation guidelines  Guideline 6 - Reinforce your conclusion Finish the presentation with a summary of the main points that you want to make sure that the audience has understood

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Presentation Guidelines  Who the presentation is designed for  Keep charts simple  Charts must be legible  Highlight key information  One concept at a time  Reinforce your conclusion

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Project Costs

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Project Costs

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Cost by Category

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods References  Campbell, J., (1990), Speak for yourself, BBC Books, London, ISBN  Boothe, V., (1984), Communicating in science: writing and speaking, Cambridge University Press, ISBN X  Tufte, E., (1983), The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Graphics Press

ISM20 – Project Management and Research Methods Good luck: better still, prepare thoroughly!