2. Course Website: http://www.comp.dit.ie/bmacnameehttp://www.comp.dit.ie/bmacnamee Problem Solving, Communication & Innovation: Presentations

3. 2 of 21 Contents In today's lecture we’ll discuss giving good presentations –Presentation PMI –Edward Tufte’s Tips –Death by PowerPoint? –How to use PowerPoint well –Other presentation tips –Presentation assignment

4. 3 of 21 Presentation PMI Let’s do a quick PMI on presentations that you have been at –P: What things have people done in presentations that have worked well? –M: What things have people done in presentations that have worked badly? –I: What interesting things have you seen people do in presentations?

5. 4 of 21 Edward Tufte’s Presentation Tips Edward Tufte makes the following suggestions for giving presentations: –Show up early –Have a strong opening What's the problem? Who cares? What's your solution? –On every subtopic move from the particular to the general and back to the particular –Give everyone at least one piece of paper –Know your audience

6. 5 of 21 Edward Tufte’s Presentation Tips (cont…) –Rethink the overhead –The audience is sacred –Humour is good –Avoid masculine (or even feminine!) pronouns as universals They has been accepted by the Oxford English Dictionary for years –Take care with questions –Let people know you believe your material –Finish early –Drink lots of water

7. 6 of 21 Edward Tufte’s Presentation Tips (cont…) –Have a strong conclusion –Think about all presentation possibilities –Practice, practice, practice Film your presentation Play it back and watch yourself Watch it without the sound Listen to it without the picture Watch it at twice the normal speed –Have your first couple of lines rehearsed

8. 7 of 21 Rethinking The Overhead “PowerPoint presentations too often resemble a school play – very loud, very slow, and very simple” -Edward Tufte “The Cognitive Style Of Power- Point: Pitching Out Corrupts Within”, Edward Tufte, 2006 Edward Tufte is an analytical design (who would rail against being on this slide!)

9. 8 of 21 NASA & PowerPoint After the Columbia space shuttle crashed in 2003 the Columbia Accident Investigation Board fingered PowerPoint as a culprit NASA, had become too reliant on presenting complex information via PowerPoint New York Times Article: PowerPoint Makes You DumbPowerPoint Makes You Dumb

10. 9 of 21

11. 10 of 21 Should We Abandon PowerPoint? ?

12. 11 of 21 Let’s Assume We Don’t! Tips for good PowerPoint presentations –Include only necessary information –Avoid long paragraphs of text –Don’t overcrowd the presentation –Don’t forget to spell check –Don’t be afraid to use pictures – but be careful of overused clip-art –Be consistent with formatting –Have a backup plan –Remember slides are not the same as notes

13. 12 of 21 PowerPoint Tips: Colours & Fonts Colours: –Limit the number of colours –Use contrasting colours for background and text –Try to think about accessibility Font: –Always use size 20 or bigger –Larger font may be used for emphasis Somebody who is colour blind won’t be able to read this!

14. 13 of 21 PowerPoint Tips: Colours & Fonts (cont…) Using too small font is impossible to read CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY Don’t use complicated fonts Using a font colour that does not contrast with the background colour is hard to read Using a different colour for each point is unnecessary –Using a different colour for secondary points is also unnecessary Trying to be creative can also be bad

15. 14 of 21 PowerPoint: Colours & Fonts (cont…) Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from Always be consistent with the background that you use

16. 15 of 21 PowerPoint Tips: Animation Using animation in PowerPoint is almost always a bad idea! It just confuses people and makes your slides take forever to appear Also you spend all of your time pressing the next slide button So don’t do it! Except when it adds to the clarity of your presentation

17. 16 of 21 Oral Presentation Tips Some tips for oral presentations: –Body language is important –Speak loudly and clearly –Try to put some feeling into your voice –Do not read from notes –Maintain eye contact with your audience –Speak to your audience –Don’t be afraid to take a pause –Don’t be afraid to correct yourself

18. 17 of 21 Handling Questions Questions at the end are just about the most important part of a presentation –Repeat the question to the audience –Restate or ask for clarification if necessary –Request that questions are asked during the talk or afterwards –Avoid prolonged one-to-one discussions –If you can’t answer a question, just say so –Have a dedicated questions slide

19. 18 of 21 Conclusion The most important things to remember when giving presentations are: –Think about your audience –Think about your objective –Think carefully about visual aides (slides) –Speak confidently, clearly and to the audience –PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

20. 19 of 21 Questions? ?

21. 20 of 21 Presentation Assignment I would like you all to give a short presentation in class –Day Course: In the penultimate week of the course – Wednesday, 6 th December –Night Course: In the last week of the course – Wednesday, 13 th December Each presentation should be 10 minutes long including questions Feel free to use any presentation tools/aides that you like

22. 21 of 21 Presentation Assignment (cont…) The presentation can be on any topic that you like, as long as it is related to the course –How you did your assignment –Problem solving techniques from the course that you have used at work/home –Other problem solving techniques that you have come in contact with