2. How to Give a Good Technical Presentation Dean F. Hougen REAL Lab (Robotics, Evolution, Adaptation, and Learning Laboratory) School of Computer Science University of Oklahoma

3. Outline Introduction Purpose of technical presentations Main Message – Have One Other Considerations Quiz Conclusions Have a point Keep things simple

4. Intro: Purpose Fifteen minutes is short

5. Intro: Purpose Fifteen minutes is short Technical material is technical

6. Intro: Purpose Fifteen minutes is short Technical material is technical Therefore, purpose cannot be to explain everything

7. Intro: Purpose Fifteen minutes is short Technical material is technical Therefore, purpose cannot be to explain everything Purpose is to explain why your work is worth knowing about

8. Main Message Have a main message

9. Main Message Have a main message “Take home message”

10. Main Message Have a main message “Take home message” Know your audience

11. Other Considerations 15 minutes → 15 slides

12. Other Considerations 15 minutes → 15 slides Include Title Outline Main Body Conclusions

13. Other Considerations 15 minutes → 15 slides Include Title Outline Main Body Conclusions } Tell them what you will tell them – Tell them – Tell them what you told them

14. Other Considerations 15 minutes → 15 slides Include Title Outline Main Body Conclusions References Acknowledgements (e.g., NSF) Questions } Tell them what you will tell them – Tell them – Tell them what you told them

15. Quiz True?False?

16. Quiz Microsoft PowerPoint has this “really cool feature” that automatically reduces the font size of the text that you are typing in order to fit all of your text within the boundaries of the text box you are currently using so that you don’t have to worry about running out of room, as you would if it kept the font size “fixed” (unchanging) when you enter more text. (Note that this feature may be available in other presentation software in addition to Microsoft PowerPoint but I am most familiar with Microsoft PowerPoint and it was used in the creation of the presentation you are viewing at this time.) You should always make use of this outstanding feature. True?False?

17. Quiz You should always use complete sentences in your presentations, rather than phrases, sentence fragments, or bulleted lists. True?False?

18. Quiz You should never use figures. To describe a process or object: use text to describe the parts and the connections between them, or wave your hands around. True?False?

19. Quiz You should use every available inch of the slide because you’ll never run into projector imperfections. True?False?

20. You should use as many “cool” features of your presentation software as you can. True? False?

21. Conclusions Have a Main “Take Home” Message Keep Things Simple Introduce, Explain, Emphasize Fewer Words/Larger Fonts/Nothing Fancy Use Figures

22. Acknowledgements Thanks: National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Site: Integrated Machine Learning Systems This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. IIS/REU/0755462

23. Questions?