EFFECTIVE ORAL PRESENTATIONS
INTRODUCTION (What We Plan To Do) ä Introduce ten points for preparing and delivering an oral presentation about technical material ä Whole - Part - Whole organization ä Emphasize that presentation is for the audience
1. Know Your Audience ä Know what your audience already knows ä If it’s your boss, know what’s necessary for further selling ä Try to determine the mindset
2. Put it on Paper (or in an outline form) ä The best way to organize your thoughts
3. Draw a Picture ä Visuals are critical to a good presentation ä Should be pleasing to the eye ä Avoid excessive words ä Use handouts ä Always avoid excessive use of equations - Put derivations in handouts use of equations - Put derivations in handouts ä Use to support points
4. Show and Tell ä Use physical samples if possible ä Technical audiences are “touchy - feely” oriented
5. Don’t be Afraid to Repeat Yourself ä Whole - Part - Whole ä Introduction (Tell them what you’re going to tell them) ä Body (Tell them) ä Summary (Tell them what you told them)
6. Practice, Practice, Practice ä The more you do it, the easier it gets ä Don’t memorize, know material know material ä Timing is very important important ä Eliminate “um’s” and “you know’s” and “you know’s” Practice Practice Practice Practice Practice Practice Practice Practice PracticePracticePracticePractice
7. Be Ready to Answer Questions ä Goal is to entice audience to want to understand and know more ä Set aside time for questions ä Watch audience for unasked questions ä Answer question to best of your ability, if you don’t know the answer - say so and offer to find the answer
8. Let Your Body Do The Talking ä Show confidence and interest ä Maintain eye contact ä Watch your hands ä Personal appearance appearance (pride) (pride)
9. Don’t Forget the Details ä Is the equipment there? ä How does the equipment work?
10. Listen ä Engineering no longer the exclusive domain of white males ä Must listen closely with sensitivity ä Try to understand where other disciplines are coming from
SUMMARY What We’ve Done Today ä Introduced and discussed ten points for preparation and delivery of an oral presentation ä Discussed the Whole - Part - Whole technique ä Emphasized that the presentation is for the audience
Questions? ?