How to Give a BAD Presentation Hong Zhang

How to Give a BAD Presentation Hong Zhang, Ph. D Mechanical Engineering Rowan University Adopted from Prof. David A. Patterson of UCB

Outline, what outline? �I have 100 slides and 10 topics in an hour, why should I bother waste time give an outline? �I am so excited about my result, I can’t wait even for about one minute now! �If I can keep the audience guessing, maybe they will pay more attention.

Up To The Point �My result is the crown jewel. �Don’t mention background and goal. �I didn’t say but you should know.

Messy Is My Style �Ignore spellin, granmar and legibility. �Why wate study research time preparing slides? �Dressed in clothes you weare last weekend that you play rugby in the Who care what 50 people thinks? mud.

Messy Is My Style �Ignore spelling, grammar and legibility. �Why waste study or research time preparing slides? �Dress in the clothes you wore last weekend when you played rugby in the mud. �Who cares what 50 people think?

Economic Conscious � Economy can is so bad, we need to save slides. Then we ◦ Use less precious disk space. ◦ Use less energy to flip slides. ◦ Use less electricity by change less screen. � According to my antique calculator, we can save about $0. 0007 per slide. Just think how many talks will be given every year, I can’t wait to promote my style. Less is more. Or more is less. If all talks can be fit into 1~2 pages, then hundreds and hundreds acres of trees will be saved, � BTW, if I fill the slides with more content, people will just read by themselves. Then I can simply stand here and read the slides. Who will care about what I talk about. It’s such a good idea. I can’t wait to add more lines to my slides.

I Am A Great Writer �Who says that engineers can't write? I will always use complete sentences in my slides. Just key words will not satisfy my desire of writing. If possible, I will use whole paragraphs and read every word. BTW, it’s a great opportunity to practice my pronunciation.

I Am A Great Writer �Use full sentence. �Read slides. Or, really?

Special Effect Is the King �You need the dynamic element! �The features are available in Power. Point for a reason – to be used! �It shows that I know Power. Point! Power. Point

Eye Exam Time �Be humble especially for the important parts. �Choose a hard to see color. �Don’t label axes on graphs, and use fancy typefaces. �Important people sit in front, and will see just fine. Who cares about the riffraff that sits in the back of the room? use a small font,

Be Serious And Fair �Color indicates careless work. �It's unfair to emphasize some words over others.

No Illustration �Did Confucius say “ 1 picture = 10 k words”? �It’s too old fashioned. � 21 centaury doesn’t believe graphics.

No Practice �Why waste study or research time practicing? �Be spontaneous. �Argue with any suggestions I get even I practice �I always need more time. The longer the better.

Engineering Style Body Language �Avert eyes to show respect. �Speak softly to show manner. �Monotone voice can keep audience nodding. �Standing in front of the screen can also add mystery.

No Slide Left Behind �Every slide is important. �Too many slides? Just talk faster. �Skip summary and conclusions, if necessary.

Ten Commandments of Bad Talk I. Thou shalt not be neat. II. Thou shalt not waste space III. Thou shalt not covet brevity. IV. Thou shalt not restraint animate. V. Thou shalt not be legible. VI. Thou shalt not use color. VII. Thou shalt not illustrate. VIII. Thou shalt not make eye contact. IX. Thou shalt not skip slides in long talk. X. Thou shalt not practice.

How to Give a Not Too Bad Presentation Adopted from Dr. Joe Orlins

Outline �Goals of presentations �Elements of good presentations �Things to avoid �Tips on style

Goals of Presentations �Inform your audience ◦ Tell the world what you’ve discovered! �Compare your findings with others ◦ Especially important for new research �Show your stuff! ◦ You may be speaking to future employers ◦ Your grade may depend on how well you do

Who is more successful?

Content of a Presentation �Title / authors (1 slide) �Forecast / Abstract (0 -1 slide, optional) �Outline of presentation (0 -1 slide, optional) �Background (1 -3 slides) ◦ Motivation and problem statement (1 -2 slides) ◦ Prior knowledge (0 -2 slides) �Key findings (4 -6 slides). �Summary (1 slide) Note: Target 1 slide per minute.

Elements of Good Presentations �Clear, legible slides ◦ Use large typefaces & simple fonts ◦ Bulleted lists summarizing key points ◦ 3 -6 items per slide � 32 Point Gill Sans MT ◦ 28 Point Arial � 24 Point Times New Roman

Elements of Good Presentations �Make charts readable ◦ Label axes ◦ Include legend ◦ Use symbols & lines �Interpret for audience ◦ Describe graph ◦ Explain trends

Typical Oxygen Uptake Results Dissolved Oxygen Concentration vs. Time Measured Values and Regression Fits 8. 0 7. 0 DO (mg/L) 6. 0 5. 0 4. 0 Near Surface TKE = 4. 96 (cm/s) 2; KL = 6. 9 cm/hr 3. 0 Near Surface TKE = 2. 75 (cm/s) 2; KL = 3. 7 cm/hr 2. 0 Near Surface TKE = 0. 15 (cm/s) 2; KL = 1. 9 cm/hr 1. 0 0 240 480 720 960 1200 1440 1680 1920 2160 2400 2640 2880 3120 3360 3600 3840 Time (minutes) DO-UPW. GRF 12 DEC 97

Elements of Good Presentations �Include pictures ◦ Add emphasis ◦ Describe key points �Check file sizes ◦ Too big = slow loading ◦ Resolution OK?

Elements of Good Presentations �Good vocalization ◦ Speak to the audience ◦ Can person in last row hear you? �Pace yourself ◦ Conversational tone ◦ Don’t speed through slides

Elements of Good Presentations �Make eye contact �Don’t fidget �Use pointer wisely

Elements of Good Presentations �Rehearse your talk ◦ Use built-in timer �Add or reduce number of slides as time dictates ◦ Practice in front of real audience �Ask for constructive feedback

Things to Avoid �Cluttered slides �Messiness �Too much text on slides �Tables of raw data �Bells & whistles �Unreadable colors

Things to Avoid �Lack of illustrations �Rushing through slides to show them all �Poor posture & grooming �“Ten Commandments of Bad Talks”

Summary �Neat Slides �Clear Illustrations �Good Vocalization �Good Presence �Rehearsal !

Exercise �Topic: Your mythbuster experiment. �Content: why, how, what, etc. �Structure: 10 minutes talk + 5 minuts demo or video + 2 minutes Q&A �Presentation: Dec. 14, 2010