2 How to Give a Seminar Contents Opening

2. How to Give a Seminar Contents • Opening • Introduction • Body • Summary / Concluding Comments 01. 10. 2003 C. Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar 1

2. How to Give a Seminar Opening • Introduce yourself (and your supervisor) • Say what you are here to talk about, ie give a brief summary without giving the whole talk • Tell them what you hope they get out of this talk 01. 10. 2003 C. Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar 2

2. How to Give a Seminar Introduction • Give some background o You are the expert…we know nothing. o Give the basic background o Set yourself up for the main topic • State the objectives and tell the importance / value • Keep it brief Good rule of thumb is the 2 -2 -2 o Two sentences of background o Two sentences summarizing results o Two sentences summarizing conclusions 01. 10. 2003 C. Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar 3

2. How to Give a Seminar Body • Prefer top-down design • Avoid too much detail • Remember who the audience is and tell the specific problem being addressed • Use figures and diagrams – make sure they are large enough and visible enough to see 01. 10. 2003 C. Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar 4

2. How to Give a Seminar Summary / Concluding Comments • Wrap it all up / Restate the key points • Affirm the objectives • Restate value o What is the take home message? • Indicate completion o Thank the audience • Call for questions 01. 10. 2003 C. Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar 5

2. How to Give a Seminar Recommendations - 1 • Any effective talk must : (1) communicate your arguments and ideas, (2) persuade your audience that they are true, and (3) be interesting and entertaining • Your Presentation must : (1) Give an opening statement to familiarize the audience with your subject matter. What is your key message? Can you write it down as a single sentence? (2) Speak slowly, clearly, and loud enough to be heard by all. (3) Remember the 5 WH's: who, what, why, when, where, and how. (4) Summarize your talk at the end in a few sentences. 01. 10. 2003 C. Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar 6

2. How to Give a Seminar Recommendations - 2 • Face the audience and try not to read, but talk • Anticipate questions ahead of time (1) (2) • Maintain control of the discussion (1) (2) (3) • 01. 10. 2003 Expect general questions Prepare things that time forced you to omit Stop and think Answer succinctly (or agree to discuss later) Prevent interruption Be honest C. Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar 7

3. Technical Writing Basics • • • • 01. 10. 2003 The 3 C’s: Correct, Clear, and Concise The No. 1 problem : the logical structure & the logical link The structural principles Active vs. passive The strong verb vs. the weak verb + the abstract noun Write the way you talk: write (and read) with your ears Parallelism Conciseness The English grammar: the tenses The English grammar: the dangling modifiers/participles The ambiguity The generic vs. the specific What scientists said vs. what they meant The general components of a typical technical paper References C. Eng. 591 Graduate Seminar 8

Now it is your turn. . .