A Guide for Your Project Presentations

Tips for a Successful Project Oral

Presentation Objectives

1. Reduce your anxiety by establishing clear expectations for the project oral

2. Understand the features / barriers of oral communication

3. Show you how to structure and design an excellent slideshow

Presentation Outline

1. Opening remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual aids

4. Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

1. Opening Remarks

Things to know about the project oral

Communication barriers in oral presentations

Things to know about your audience

Things to know about the project oral

Total time = 30 minutes: set up, delivery, Q&A, disassembly. Larger groups will have more time.

Prepare a PowerPoint presentation

Make sure all speakers contribute equally

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4. Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

Things to know about the project oral

Try to impress us with your submerged knowledge of the topic

Try to demonstrate confidence, credibility, professionalism

Think visual presentation not oral presentation

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4. Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

Things to know about the project oral

We won’t interrogate you

Do not give us a scattered “information-dump”

Do not read slides or prepared text

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4. Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

Communication barriers in oral presentations The audience will forget 80% of a well delivered

presentation 2 minutes after it’s over

The audience will not listen if we don’t know where the presentation is going

The audience will be irritated by presentations that are disorganized

Listening is by far our WORST communication skill

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4.Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

Things to know about your audience Who is your audience? What do they expect?

Fellow students: they want you to give them background and context about your project; they also want you to show them how these projects are executed.

Jim & Patrick: We want you to present well and clearly demonstrate that you met the requirements of your project

Keith: ditto---but he will want more emphasis on the credibility of your calculations

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4.Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

2. Structure

The presentation: how to create a structurally perfect

Introduction section

Body sections

Conclusion section

Introduction section

Have these components for a perfect introduction Introduce yourself / the group Clearly state the project requirements Include a visual TOC Place a “hook” somewhere that gives the

audience an idea of what inspired you to undertake the topic, why it is relevant etc.

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4. Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

Body Sections

Have these components for perfect body sections Content: must answer these questions

What did you initially set out to do? (design evolution)

Can you show me the final prototype? (technical description; more show---less tell)

Can you prove you accomplished your project goals? (calculations)

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4.Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

Body sections

Notes on the body sections: Name the body sections exactly as you

named them in the presentation outline

Announce each new section with a mini-introduction

Have section objectives Preview the content of the section

1.Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4. Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

Body sections

Notes on the body sections: Name the subsections exactly as you

named them in the section overview

Move smoothly from point to point / section to section --- create logical transitions

Announce when the section is over; transition to new section

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4. Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

Conclusion section

Have these components for a perfect conclusion Restate and summarize the main points

Show you have met the project requirements

State any future enhancements / requirements needed to meet project requirements (if necessary)

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4.Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

Conclusion section

Have these components for a perfect conclusion (continued) State recommendations for further study

State the larger significance of the topic

Tell us it’s over---cue Q&A session

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4.Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

Conclusion section

Notes on conclusions:

Please have one….

Include an informative summary so you don’t mechanically repeat points

Relate the project objectives back to the points covered in the presentation

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4.Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

3. Visual aids

Common problems with slideshows and how to fix them

Elements of a good slideshow

Barriers

We forget

We won’t listen

We get irritated

Listening is difficult

Figure 1: An example of a poorly designed slide

Communication barriers in oral presentations The audience will forget 80% of a well delivered

presentation 2 minutes after it’s over

The audience will not listen if we don’t know where the presentation is going

The audience will be irritated by presentations that are disorganized

Listening is by far our WORST communication skill

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4. Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

Figure 2: An example of a well designed slide

Elements of a good slideshow

Use navigational cues to make sure we can’t get lost (headings, previews, and a TOC)

Avoid points / slides with too much information Maximum of 4 points a slide No long paragraphs

Avoid points / slides that do not have enough information

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4.Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

Elements of a good slideshow

Avoid points / slides that do not have enough information Each point must be a complete thought

Visuals must have A title An explanation

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4. DeliveryStyle

5. Closing Remarks

Elements of a good slideshow

Avoid uneven formatting 1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4. Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

4. Delivery Style

Tips for success

Tips for success

Project self-assurance Use normal gestures Look at the audience Smile---at least look like you are enjoying

yourself Vary your tone of voice Talk slowly DON’T READ Persuade us that you know what you are

talking about

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4. Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

5. Closing remarks

5. Closing remarks

You must overcome unique barriers in oral communication:

Structure the content so we can track the train of your thought

See the “structure section” for advice on arranging content

Take the work out of listening Design effective slides that help us understand

the content and prevent us from getting lost

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4. Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks

5. Closing remarks

Pay attention to the physical aspects of speaking Enthusiasm Voice Body language

1. Opening Remarks

2. Structure

3. Visual Aids

4. Delivery Style

5. Closing Remarks