This is the power point slides of a talk on technical presentations intended for post graduate and graduate students in Engineering. May be useful to any one interested as well

1. 10/9/2012
Different types of
presentations
GOOD QUALITY TECHNICAL
 Seminar presentations in a class
PRESENTATIONS  Paper presentations in conferences
 Project presentations as part of class work
 Project presentations for research grants
Prof K P Mohandas
Dean Academic, MES College of Engg, Kuttippuram  Research updates or reviews
(email: kpmdas@ieee.org)  Thesis presentations (oral examinations)
1 2
Why presentations ? Remember !!!
Effectiveness of visual presentations TELL ME , I WILL FORGET !
It is estimated that we can retain or
remember
SHOW ME, I WILL REMEMBER !!
Hardly 20% of what you HEAR
Nearly 40 to 50% of what you SEE
Almost 70-80% of what you DO INVOLVE ME , I WILL LEARN !!!
 It is not always possible to make others
DO, so next choice is to SHOW or use
VISUALs
3 4
A presentation has Being an oral presentation take
care of the voice : The voice has
 Content : information that listeners need to  Volume : loud enough to be heard, voice
modulation helps in better attention and avoids
hear. monotony
 Structure : It has a logical beginning, body  Tone: The Characteristics of a sound, a voice that
and end. It contains only information that can contains fear can frighten the audience, one that
carries laughter can make them smile
be understood within the time.
 Pitch : High or low voice , medium preferred
 Packaging : It must be well prepared  Pace: How fast the sound lasts, not too fast, not
 Human Element: A good presentation will be too slow either
remembered because it has a person  Colour: If you overact and mix emotions in
presentation, sometimes it works wonders;
attached to it
5 6
1

2. 10/9/2012
If you want to improve your HOW TO PRESENT THINGS?
voice
 Listen to it: practice listening to your voice  Printed or typed text
while walking, working etc  Tables of data
 To really listen: Cup your right hand around  Charts
your right year and gently pull the ear  Graphs , Pie charts, line graphs
forward.
 Pictures
 Next cup your left hand near your mouth and
speak. This will make you hear your voice like  Video clips etc
others hear it
7 8
Tables of data – avoid it Graphs
 Line graphs
6
co
5
4
Series 1
3
Series 2
2 Series 3
1
0
Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4
9 10
Bar graphs Pie charts
6 Sales
5
4
Series 1 1st Qtr
3
Series 2 2nd Qtr
2 Series 3 3rd Qtr
4th Qtr
1
0
Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4
11 12
2

3. 10/9/2012
Why use tools? Body Language
 Easy to use different types of features  Eye contact: Helps communication and so never
loose eye contact with listeners
 Automatic size of letters and formats
 Facial expressions: Smiling transmits
 Titles and subtitles choice of proper sizes happiness, friendliness and warmth
 Easily Incorporate figures and graphs  Gestures: Some gestures can avoid boredom
 Include Animations and special effects  Posture and orientation: Moving while talking
helps, bending (leaning) forward shows you are
 Links and moving forward and backward in more approachable, receptive and friendly
slides  Proximity: Not too close or too far
 Colour choice – artistic effects or esthetics  Voice : Modulation helps avoid boredom
13 14
Steps in preparation How many slides ?
 1. Choose a topic or area of interest  Time available for presentation
 2. Search for relevant material in text
 Content and depth of the topic
books, encyclopedias ,journals, internet etc
3. Prepare a write up on the topic in your  Nature of materials to be presented like
own language after understanding the mostly text material or
contents text and numerical data and tables
4.Logically arrange the sequence of text, tables and graphs
presentation
pictures and videos
5. Rehearse thoroughly monitoring time
Maximum 2 minutes for each slide
15 16
Good quality slides Contents of each slide
 Good visuals can strengthen your  Not too many lines of text ( 7-8 lines)
presentation significantly , but they are rare.  Size of letters big enough to see for all
 The keys to good visuals are:  Not too many equations (?)
 1. FEW just enough to illustrate the points  Use plenty of graphs rather than tables
 2. BIG so that they are easy to see and read  Use pictures with proper titles and legends
 3. SIMPLE , so that they are easily  Animations and special effects should not be
understood too distracting
17 18
3

4. 10/9/2012
Language in presentation Things not to be done
 Simple and precise  Never read from the slides or depend totally on
the slides. The displayed slides are for the
 Not pompous or flowery language audience to follow your seminar not for you
 The audience wants to understand the  Never use light colours for text and figures
technical contents, not the beauty of the since this will not be visible for those who sit in
language the back
 Liberal use of figures, pictures or even videos  Choose proper font size (at least 18 point) so that
it can be read easily.
to illustrate the points
 Do not give complete derivations, only highlight
the significance of terms and equations
19 20
Not to be done (contd) Preparation for presentation
 Do not overcrowd the page with lot of text or
figures  Rehearse as many times as possible
 Note the time taken and keep it within the
 Do not make slides by photocopying directly allotted time strictly
from printed books or journals as letters will  Allow some time for discussion
be too small  Respond to questions after hearing it fully
 Choose different types of  Repeat the question loudly for others to hear
letters, bold, italics, capitals etc to emphasize  Answer clearly if you know the answer
points.  If not use your ingenuity in coming out of the
situation
 Letter size not less than 18 point or more  Accept mistakes pointed out by audience
 Never get into an argument with the questioner
21 22
Inter personal communication Active listening
tips  Active listening is NOT the same as hearing!
 Never loose EYE CONTACT with audience Hearing is the first part and consists of the
 Talk loudly and clearly perception of sound.
 Listening, the second part, involves an
 Never turn your back to the audience attachment of meaning to the aural symbols
 When responding to questions wait for the that are perceived.
questions to be completed  Passive listening occurs when the receiver has
 Repeat the question for the audience little motivation to listen carefully.
 Answer clearly, if necessary using board .  Active listening with a purpose is used to gain
information, to determine how another person
 If you don’t know the answer, you can request feels, and to understand others.
any one else to answer or get out of it using your
ingenuity
23 24
4

5. 10/9/2012
Some good traits of effective Feedback is important
listeners are
 Spend more time listening than talking (but of course, as a
presenter, you will be doing most of the talking).  1. Evaluative: Makes a judgment about the
 Do not finish the sentence of others. worth, goodness, or appropriateness of the other
 Do not answer questions with questions. person's statement.
 Aware of biases. We all have them. We need to control  2. Interpretive: Paraphrasing - attempt to explain what
them. the other persons statement mean.
 Never daydream or become preoccupied with their own  3. Supportive: Attempt to assist or bolster the other
thoughts when others talk. communicator
 Let the other speaker talk. Do not dominate the  4. Probing: Attempt to gain additional
conversation. information, continue the discussion, or clarify a point.
 Plan responses after others have finished speaking...NOT  5. Understanding: Attempt to discover completely what
while they are speaking. Their full concentration is on what the other communicator means by her statements.
others are saying, not on what they are going to respond
with.
25 26
Always remember Are you nervous?
 You are speaking to an audience  The main enemy of a presenter is tension, which
ruins the voice, posture, and spontaneity. The
 The presentation is for them voice becomes higher as the throat tenses.
 It is absolutely essential to: Shoulders tighten up and limits flexibility while
the legs start to shake and causes unsteadiness.
 Keep them interested in your talk  The presentation becomes "canned" as the
 Make them understand what you speak speaker locks in on the notes and starts to read
directly from them.
 Get them involved in the process  First, do not fight nerves, welcome them!
 Get their response and react to them  Then you can get on with the presentation
instead of focusing in on being nervous
27 28
Use some relaxation methods Relaxation
 Before the presentation: Lie on the floor. Your back should be  Mental Visualization: Before the
flat on the floor. Pull your feet towards you so that your knees are
up in the air. Relax. Close your eyes. Fell your back spreading out presentation, visualize the room, audience, and
and supporting your weight. Feel your neck lengthening. Work you giving the presentation. Mentally go over
your way through your body, relaxing one section at a time - your what you are going to do from the moment you
toes, feet, legs, torso, etc. When finished, stand up slowly and try
to maintain the relaxed feeling in a standing position. start to the end of the presentation.
 If you cannot lie down: Stand with you feet about 6 inches  During the presentation: Take a moment to
apart, arms hanging by your sides, and fingers unclenched. yourself by getting a drink of water, take a deep
Gently shake each part of your body, starting with your
hands, then arms, shoulders, torso, and legs. Concentrate on breath, concentrate on relaxing the most tense
shaking out the tension. Then slowly rotate your shoulders part of your body, and then return to the
forwards and the backwards. Move on to your head. Rotate it presentation saying to your self, "I can do it!"
slowly clockwise, and then counter-clockwise.
 You do NOT need to get rid of anxiety and
tension
29 30
5

6. 10/9/2012
Start and beginning Prepare well or fail
 Give an overview of the presentation in the
beginning ( one slide)
 Remember
 Give a summary in the end (one slide)
Some references for better communication:  If you fail to prepare
1.www.allaboutcommunication.com
2.Today’s Engineer IEEE, USA
 You are preparing to fail
31 32
6