1. Technical Presentations Using Tables and Drawings
Jeffrey Donnell
MRDC 3104

2. Agenda How to organize the talk The deliverables we need to see
How to use and display graphics:
Specification lists
Function trees
Morph Charts
Concept drawings
Evaluation Tables
Warnings about slide design

3. For Mini-project presentations
Display
Illustrations of your design(s)
Planning or analysis tools (as called for)
(Limit text to labels and table entries)
Speak
Identify and describe drawings
Identify and describe planning tools

4. Before and After the Talk
Face the audience
Remove your cap
Introduce yourself and your team
End the talk with this statement:
“Thank you. I’ll be happy to answer questions.”

5. Guidelines for Presenting Images
Describe and explain the diagrams and charts that you display on the screen
Use a pointer to highlight the things you talk about
Use specific, descriptive words to name your concepts, their subsystems and their components
Avoid Photographs

6. Questions to Address During the Talk
For Systems or Subsystems
What makes [this] good or bad?
What should we remember about this design?
For Evaluation Tables
Which two criteria have the biggest impact on the rankings?
For Planning Tools,
How were values determined?
How will the information in [this tool] be used later?

7. Displaying Figures and Tables on slides
Choose light backgrounds
Make displays fill the screen
Show descriptive slide title OR figure caption
You must describe your figures and tables to the audience:
What is it?
Why is it presented?
What should the audience notice about it?
Some planning tools require reformatting for screen display

8. Specifications Slide Title (compress to make room for image) Focus on
Your Input !
Spec sheet is cropped to allow for larger fonts

9. Function Tree Slide Title Rows align to demonstrate consistency
Text boxes use one noun and one verb per box

10. Morph Chart Row heads from Function Tree small diagrams
Two or three words per cell

11. Conveyor Concept Descriptive Title is shown on the slide This Drawing:
Claw arm
Conveyor Belt
Wheels
Grabbing Arm
This Drawing:
Fills the slide
Has labels
Shows complete system

12. Second Level Evaluation Matrix
Concepts identified by name, by drawing or both
Large font makes criteria easy to see
Fonts around 20 pt.

13. Focus, color and information
Important information must visually dominate any figure or table
When possible, important information should be clustered and centered
Color is best reserved to highlight important information
Light colors often give you the greatest flexibility

14. Clustered information permits focus

15. Motion, Sound and information
Motion should highlight important information
Animated concept drawings are very helpful
Sound is best avoided
Unless the sound IS the information

16. Don’t make anything move unless it needs to move!
Any motion is more interesting than you are

17. Claw arm
Conveyor Belt
Wheels
Arm to steal Opponent Rats/insects

18. Strong colors obscure information
Strong colors obscure information. Motion can make us look away from the drawing

19. Photographs are not good enough
Mousetraps
Sliders for mobility
Gravity-deployed ramp
Pneumatics for whacking arms

20. Light is hard to control

21. You control the light in drawings
Return motor/spindle subsystem
Control box
Rat-whacking arm/mousetrap subsystem
Primary release solenoid
Drawer slider arms
Cross support/diversion arm mounting bracket
Diversion arm
Weight for arms
Bug chute
Diversion arm launch mousetrap