Cleveland State University ESC 720 Research Communications Oral Presentations Dan Simon

Oral Presentations 1.Organizing a Presentation 2.Dealing with Nervousness 3.Presentation Tips 4.Common Mistakes 5.Responding to Questions 2Oral Presentations

1. Organization Title slide: Title, name, company, date, acknowledgments – Let your audience know what they are going to hear and how it will help them – You are competing for your audience’s attention Outline and introduction Body of presentation (sections) Summary and conclusion 3Oral Presentations

1. Organization Outline and introduction – your first impression Create a favorable atmosphere – Introduce yourself if your listeners don’t know you – Take your time introducing yourself – Confident but not overbearing Get the listeners’ attention (story, statistic, …) Relate the subject to the listeners’ interests Preview the main ideas in a clear, concise way 4Oral Presentations

1. Organization Body of Presentation Support your central idea (your thesis) Maintain audience interest Be accurate and organized – mistakes are AMPILFLIED on a screen Allocate your time carefully Transition smoothly from one topic to the next 5Oral Presentations

1. Organization Presentation and Conclusion Better too short than too long – “less is more” Conclusion – Restate your central idea (your thesis) – Propose action, response, or future work – Invite discussion and questions; make sure that you’ve allowed time for questions – References are optional 6Oral Presentations

1. Organization Repetition is needed to a certain extent “Tell your audience what you’re going to tell them, and then tell them, and then tell them what you’ve told them.” Repetition is needed to a certain extent 7Oral Presentations

1. Organization Number your slides When giving a presentation to management or supervisors, prepare handouts Why is good organization more important in a presentation than in a paper? 8Oral Presentations

1. Organization Number your slides When giving a presentation to management or supervisors, prepare handouts Why is good organization more important in a presentation than in a paper? – Audiences are often reluctant to ask questions – If your audience gets lost, they are gone for good 9Oral Presentations

1. Organization Prepare handouts for your audience But handouts could be misleading by themselves … 10Oral Presentations In this example, six slides fit on each page of the handout

1. Organization How many slides for a presentation? – Fewer is better; the audience should focus on you, not on your slides – Between 30 and 60 seconds per slide But it depends on the content of the slide Use bullet points, not full sentences Do not read your slides Oral Presentations11

Oral Presentations 1.Organizing a Presentation 2.Dealing with Nervousness 3.Presentation Tips 4.Common Mistakes 5.Responding to Questions 12Oral Presentations

2. Nervousness Top fears according to a Gallup Poll, Feb Iatrophobia: Going to the doctor – 9% 9.Brontophobia: Thunder and lightning – 11% 9.Demophobia: Crowds – 11% 9.Cynophobia: Dogs – 11% 8.Aviophobia: Flying – 18% 7.Musophobia: Mice – 20% Oral Presentations13

2. Nervousness 6. Aichmophobia: Needles and getting shots - 21% 5. Arachnophobia: Spiders Entomophobia: Insects 4. Claustrophobia: Confined spaces – 34% 3. Acrophobia: Heights – 36% 2. Glossophobia: Public speaking – 40% 1. Ophidiophobia: Snakes – 51% Oral Presentations14 27%

2. Nervousness Why am I afraid of public speaking? Oral Presentations15

2. Nervousness Why am I afraid of public speaking? I may be judged by all those people They won't like me I might make mistakes and be humiliated I’ll never be as good as ______ (fill in the blank) They won't understand what I’m trying to say Oral Presentations16

2. Nervousness How to handle nervousness 17Oral Presentations

2. Nervousness How to handle nervousness Expect to be nervous Have some water (or beer) Your audience is probably not aware of your nervousness Nervousness energizes you Your audience is there to learn Distract yourself while waiting to begin your talk Be prepared 18Oral Presentations

1.Organizing a Presentation 2.Dealing with Nervousness 3.Presentation Tips 4.Common Mistakes 5.Responding to Questions 19Oral Presentations

3. Presentation Tips Rehearse: Practice makes (almost) perfect Use graphics liberally – Use Color! – No page limit! (But plan for at least 30 sec/slide) – Keep your slides simple: “less is more” Maintain eye contact (convey credibility) Use a pointer (laser or stick) 20Oral Presentations

21 Documentation Software Requirements: 35% Microcontroller System Requirements: 75% Software Design Document: 10% Software process management plan: 0% – Schedule, change control, verification, etc.

3. Presentation Tips Use humor spontaneously and carefully Ignore distractions Use visual aids if possible Ask questions (maybe rhetorical) Move around Be energetic and passionate Use interesting factoids, stories, and quotes to spice up your presentation 22Oral Presentations

1.Organizing a Presentation 2.Dealing with Nervousness 3.Presentation Tips 4.Common Mistakes 5.Responding to Questions 23Oral Presentations

4. Common Mistakes Reading your slides or notes (boring) Talking at the screen Slides are cluttered or wordy Font is too small Presentation is too short or too long – Don’t cram too much material into your talk Not enough time on each slide Too much math, too many equations 24Oral Presentations

4. Common Mistakes Oral Presentations25 Graphics are not suitable for presentation

4. Common Mistakes Speaking too softly Speaking too fast or too slow Blocking the screen Not setting up ahead of time Assuming that your PowerPoint slides will look the same on every computer – Instead create a PDF 26Oral Presentations

4. Common Mistakes Verbal tics: “you know, uh, I mean, like, …” – A thoughtful pause is better Physical distractions: jangling keys, tapping pencil, … Not being prepared for mishaps: projector or computer failure Oral Presentations27

Oral Presentations 1.Organizing a Presentation 2.Dealing with Nervousness 3.Presentation Tips 4.Common Mistakes 5.Responding to Questions 28Oral Presentations

5. Responding to Questions Make sure you understand the question Don’t make up answers Even if you don’t know the answer, still address the question – Turn the question back to the audience – Don’t be afraid to postpone your answer – Suggest how to find the answer – Suggest further discussion after the meeting 29Oral Presentations

Conclusion Be organized Be interactive Be interesting Deal with your nervousness Practice out loud, not just in your mind 30Oral Presentations

Conclusion How to Give a Bad Talk, by David Patterson and Mark Hill 1.Thou shalt not be neat. Why waste your research time preparing slides, worrying about spelling, and so on? 2.Thou shalt not waste space. Disk space is expensive. Cram as much as possible onto each slide. 3.Thou shalt not covet brevity. Use complete sentences, never just key words. If possible, use whole paragraphs and read every word, because maybe the audience can’t read. 4.Thou shalt cover the screen. The suspense will add an aura of mystery to your presentation. Anyway, people should look at you, not at the screen! Oral Presentations31

Conclusion How to Give a Bad Talk (continued) 5.Thou shalt not write large. Be humble; use a small font. Anyway, important people sit in front. Who cares about the riff-raff in the back? 6.Thou shalt not use color. Flagrant use of color indicates sloppy research. Serious reseach is not colorful. It's also discriminatory to emphasize some words over others. 7.Thou shalt not illustrate. It takes too much time to create graphics. 8.Thou shalt not make eye contact. Avert your eyes to show respect. Oral Presentations32

Conclusion How to Give a Bad Talk (continued) 9.Thou shalt not skip slides in a long talk. You prepared the slides; people came for your whole talk; just talk faster. Skip your summary and conclusions if necessary. Or just go over your allotted time; after all, your talk is more important than the next person’s talk. 10.Thou shalt not practice. Why waste your time practicing a talk? It could take a full hour out of your two years of research. How can you appear spontaneous if you practice? If you do practice in front of others, argue with any suggestions that you get to establish your expertise. Oral Presentations33

Acknowledgments Technical Communication, by Mike Markel (Chapter 21) Pocket Book of Technical Writing, by Leo Finkelstein (Chapter 17) A Guide to Writing as an Engineer, by David Beer and David McMurrey (Chapter 9) Oral Presentations