Presentations

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Presentations
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On Visuals

• Just because we can make our slides look like a
  circus

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Doesnt mean we should!

• comprehensible
• elegant
• clear

• Never under estimate the power of slides that
  are

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Tips on Using Visuals

• Only add visuals that serve a purposethat add
  information or style to the slide.
• For example, what does the clip art on this slide
  do?

Nothing.
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A Rule of Thumb

• Heres a tip
• Add information, not pictures.
• If your audience thinks, Why is that on
  there?youve missed the mark.

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What about sounds and motion?

• If sound and motion dont add information to your
  presentation, be very careful.

Dont distract the audience from your topic.
Also, its annoying!
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Have a beginning.

• Interest us! Use
• an interesting statistic
• a rhetorical question
• an unusual fact
• an appropriate application

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Forecast and signal transitions between points.

• Begin with a forecasting statement so we can
  follow you.
• Insert transitions between every major point.

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Use the skills youve learned so far.

• A boring presentation doesnt show much
  you-attitude.
• Nor does one that is too complex or technical for
  the audience.
• Nor does one that has nothing to do with the
  audience.
• Make it obvious that youve thought about the
  needs of your audience.

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Remember, oral presentation are different than
writing.

• People cant re-listen to your speechpeople can
  reread your writing.

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Have a Finish.

• And a finish is not
• Uh. Okay. I guess thats it.
• Thats not the thing you want your listeners to
  take away.

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Answering Questions

• Sometimes youre not going to know the answer to
  a question.
• Its okay to say that you dont know. Then offer
  to look into it and email them a response.

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Final Project Slides

• What you did plus examples
• What you learned that you want your classmates to
  knowhow can they benefit from your experience?

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Answering Hostile Questions

• Sometimes people will ask you hostile questions.
• Above all, keep your cool.
• Rephrase the question so its not so negative,
  and answer it.

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Answering Unclear Questions

• If you get a vague questionand you will at some
  pointrestate it as best you can and ask, Is
  that what youre asking?
• This gives a person a chance to really figure out
  what he or she is asking.

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Taking Time with Questions

• Because you dont know every question that will
  be asked, you cant have the answers memorized.
• It is perfectly all right to think about it a
  moment before answering.
• This is much better than a half-garbled answer
  that doesnt show much thought.

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Taking Time with Questions II

• If pausing makes you uncomfortable, say,
• Let me think about that for a moment.
• Think about it. Then answer it.

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Tricky Tip

• If theres some piece of information you want to
  communicate but cant figure a way to put it in
  the presentation . .
• or
• You want to seem really really smart . . .
• Plant a friend in the audience with a
  pre-arranged question that you know the answer to.

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You can do it!

• You can do this!
• Give yourself some time, and write a presentation
  that will knock our socks off!