Effective Technical
Presentations
Mark Tew
Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering
University of Mississippi
eemdt@olemiss.edu
662 915 5384
Why focus on presentations?
 First impressions are important
 Effective presentations are an “edge”
in hiring and promotion decisions
 Lack of effective presentations limits
job assignments
 The satisfaction of a job well done
A process that yields an effective
presentation
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:
Step 5:
Step 6:
Plan
Organize
Prepare the Content
Practice
Get there
Speak to the audience
Step 1: Plan
• Who is the audience?
– Make the level of the material
appropriate to the audience
• What is the message?
– Have a clear point that you want to
convey
Step 2: Organize
• How long is the presentation?
– Present enough material to convey the
message
– Leave time for questions
• Follow the golden rule
The Golden Rule
1) Tell the audience what you’re going to tell
them
2) Convey the information
3) Tell the the audience what you’ve told them
An Introduction vs. an Outline
An outline presents a list of topics that
the presentation will cover
An outline does not give the audience a
reason to listen to you
An INTRODUCTION
 Who has done this work?
 What work has preceded this? What is
the context?
 When was the work done?
But most importantly,
 Why is this work important?
Give the audience a reason to listen!
Step 3: Prepare the Content
• Where will the presentation be given?
– How large is the room?
• Determines minimum font size
– What presentation equipment is
available?
• Use generally available technology
• Take your own equipment
Content: A presentation is NOT:
 a technical journal paper
 a final report
 a book chapter
 a medium for conveying fine details
Content:
• A presentation is effective when it uses
the visual impact to
• Convey the message
• Keep the audience’s attention
Content: Keep it simple
• A presentation is not effective when slides are
verbose and filled with lots and lots of text for
the viewer to read. This type of presentation
is better suited for publishing a paper or
journal article and is not desirable for an oral
presentation. Remember what a presentation
is and what it is not. This type of slide is a
real attention-killer and very difficult for the
audience to follow.
Content: Only 2-3 Points per slide
• Avoid clutter
• Emphasize the points you want to make
Content: Present ideas, not details
Applies to
• Text
• Equations
• Graphs, not tables
How many times have you seen this?
Content: Make it readable
12 point
18 point
32 point
24 point
44 point
Match the font size to the
presentation room
Content: Appropriate to the medium
Light letters on a dark background are best
for projected images
Dark letters
Dark
letterson
onaalight
lightbackground
background
areare
best
best
for opaque
for
images images
opaque
Technology: Color
Avoid low contrast or dark-on-dark
combinations
Dark letters on a light background are best for
opaque images
Light letters on a dark background are best
for projected images
Avoid the UM red and blue
Avoid the UM red and blue
Ideas, not details:
Equations
Natural Response of an Unforced Parallel RLC Circuit
v
“Busy” Equations
v
Natural Response of an Unforced
Parallel RLC Circuit
v
2
 1
1
1 





t
 2 RC  2 RC  LC 

A1e
2
 A2
2
 1
1
1 





t
 2 RC  2 RC  LC 

e
 1   1 
overdamped : 
 

 2RC   LC 
2
 1   1 
critically damped : 
 

2RC
LC

 

2
 1   1 
underdampe d : 
 

 2RC   LC 
v
Equations that convey ideas
Natural Response of an Unforced
Parallel RLC Circuit
v  A1e s t  A2e s t
1
2
overdamped : s1 and s2 are real and distinct
critically damped : s1 and s2 are real and equal
underdampe d : s1 and s2 are complex and distinct
2
1
 1 
 1 
s1,2  





 2 RC 
 2 RC  LC
 the RC to LC ratio determines the degree of damping
v
Conveying results
Graphs, not tables
i
V(0)=5v, i(0)=-6 mA
Critical Damping:
R= 10, L=0.4 mH, C = 1 mF
Underdamping:
R= 20, L=0.4 mH, C = 1 mF
Overdamping:
R= 5, L=0.4 mH, C = 1 mF
t*e-4
0
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
critical
5.0000
2.9008
1.4955
0.5774
-0.0018
-0.3486
-0.5384
-0.6245
-0.6442
-0.6230
-0.5784
-0.5221
-0.4617
-0.4019
-0.3456
-0.2941
-0.2483
-0.2081
-0.1734
-0.1438
under
5.0000
3.7579
2.5801
1.5198
0.6116
-0.1264
-0.6902
-1.0866
-1.3308
-1.4429
-1.4465
-1.3658
-1.2246
-1.0447
-0.8453
-0.6422
-0.4480
-0.2718
-0.1199
0.0046
over
5.0000
1.7268
0.4826
0.0167
-0.1510
-0.2050
-0.2160
-0.2111
-0.2007
-0.1888
-0.1768
-0.1652
-0.1543
-0.1441
-0.1346
-0.1256
-0.1173
-0.1095
-0.1022
-0.0954
t *e-4
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0002
0.0002
0.0002
0.0002
0.0002
0.0002
0.0002
0.0002
0.0002
0.0002
critical
-0.1187
-0.0976
-0.0800
-0.0653
-0.0532
-0.0432
-0.0350
-0.0283
-0.0229
-0.0185
-0.0148
-0.0119
-0.0096
-0.0077
-0.0061
-0.0049
-0.0039
-0.0031
-0.0025
-0.0020
under over
0.1007
0.1692
0.2125
0.2338
0.2367
0.2253
0.2035
0.1749
0.1427
0.1095
0.0776
0.0483
0.0229
0.0020
-0.0144
-0.0262
-0.0338
-0.0378
-0.0387
-0.0371
-0.0891
-0.0832
-0.0777
-0.0725
-0.0677
-0.0632
-0.0590
-0.0551
-0.0514
-0.0480
-0.0448
-0.0419
-0.0391
-0.0365
-0.0341
-0.0318
-0.0297
-0.0277
-0.0259
-0.0242
Graphs:
•Label Axes, including units
•Use color and symbol to differentiate plots
•Include a legend
Each graph should be as complete and
self-explanatory as possible
Natural Response of a Parallel RLC Circuit
v
Node Voltage (Volts)
i
Time (0.1 msec)
Step 4: PRACTICE!
Practice so that you are comfortable with
the equipment
Practice so that the timing is correct
The first time you try something is never
your best performance:
– Sports
– Music
– Speaking
PRACTICE!
Practice as if the result is important:
• Aloud
• Standing
• With the equipment
• Before a friend or colleague
• In the presentation room
Step 5: Get There
• What computer is available?
• What projection device?
• From here to there
– “Direct cable connection”
– Network (HTML?)
– Parallel port Zip drive
– CD ROM
– Notebook computer
Delivery: Computer-based
• Use current technology
• “Just-in-time” presentations
Step 6: Speak to the Audience
Three rules:
Speak to the audience
Speak Audibly
Speak Intelligibly
Summary
•
•
•
•
•
•
Follow the Golden Rule
Think visually--it’s a presentation
2-3 points per slide
Concepts, not details
Speak audibly, intelligibly, to the audience
Slides are readable
• PRACTICE!
Web-consciousness
• This presentation is also available at
www.olemiss.edu/courses/EE/ENGR695/Oralpres2000/