Presentations 6

[franzh]

In my office, I am the only one to use Powerpoint for my lectures and presentations. I find them effective at communicating my message, ease of displaying photographs and charts, and shows that I am trying to keep at cutting edge. My colleagues tend to use overheads, slides, and non-stop lecture using a whiteboard and marker.
When we review our critiques, I tend to receive higher marks for keeping our students attention and making an interesting presentation.
(Note: I used the word "Powerpoint" only because that name has become synonomous with presentations, although there a couple of other equally effective tools.)
What are your success stories / horror stories with presentations? What I would like to do is to provide this forum with more effective means of demonstrating what the lecturer is trying to communicate.
Franz

eng-tips, by professional engineers for professional engineers
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

 

[Rich2001]

I have used HTML & JavaScript to put together nonlinear presentations. A well thought out HTML presentation with links and hooks to addition information on your computer works great for round robin, panel or open discussion type of meetings and presentation. The quintessential elements of any presentation are to think the topic through thoroughly, prepare and practice.

I was a computer conference where one of the presenter had developed a relational database management systems he used for everything. The system would automatically make a link to more information on his harddrive as key words were typed in. Rather than PowerPoint he used it for his interactive presentation, very cool, but not a novice tool.

I must agree with HgTX that technology, exempli gratia PowerPoint, make it that much easier for unskilled people to make lousy presentations.

 

[TheTick]

I don't think anyone here is going to disagree that the core elements of any great presentation are content and preparation.

 

[VEBill]

There are dangers associated with use of slides to communicate.

Some random links on the topic:
1) The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint

http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_pp

2) CAIB (*)

http://www.indezine.com/articles/brokenculture.html

(*The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), "...the endemic use of PowerPoint briefing slides instead of technical papers as an illustration of the problematic methods of technical communications at NASA." Quote extracted from 2nd link above.)

There are plenty of funny examples of really bad PP on the WWW.

The complaint is basically that being forced to use a large font for visual clarity leads to use of overly brief phrases that fail to clearly communicate very important information and even-more-important context. The inherent dangers of this style of (mis)communication are not always recognized.

Saying the same thing in bullets:
* PHRASES OVERLY BRIEF
* IMPORTANT INFO LEFT OUT
* CONTEXT NONEXISTENT
* BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!!
;-)

The complaint is well justified and the danger is real.

One contributing factor is that most audience members can either read the slide, or listen to the speaker, but not both at the same time. But it would be rude to include a 'LISTEN TO SPEAKER NOW' every second slide (although it would help...).

This big problem is in addition to the amazing amount of (wasted) effort expended in precision chartmanship and other non-productive activities.

Obviously PP, and the like, are just tools. But since PP is a potentially dangerous tool, perhaps it should have warning labels (kidding). At least those here present are now aware and can take some simple evasive actions around this problem of 'cognitive style'.

 

[TheTick]

I think the other half of the presentation equation also needs to be addressed: listening skills

What is the basic building block of writing? The paragraph. A paragrah is a complete idea. It usualy takes more than a single sentence to fully express an idea. Good writing is written and read in paragraphs.

How many times have you had a conversation with someone who interrupts every sentence (or more frequently) with a question that would be answered in your next sentence or two? Happens to me quite often. I've told one sales geek numerous times: "I'm speaking in paragraphs, so quit interrupting every sentence."

All the clear presentation skills one can muster are useless on wankers who can't sit still and listen. Learn to listen in paragraphs!

"Customer satisfaction, while theoretically possible, is neither guaranteed nor statistically likely.--E.L. Kersten

http://www.EsoxRepublic.com

 

[plasgears]

Power Point is OK; it's a method for making neat slides.

The practiced professional presentation is the thing. I'm referring to the Toastmaster approach. I was a member for ten years, and I recommend it highly. As a Tostmaster you learn vocal variety, using gestures, controlling your "ah's," time discipline, and other important points of good public speaking. As a polished Toastmaster you will not hesitate to moderate a political forum, work for the Amer. Cancer Society in smoker clinics, and give eulogies for deceased family members. I have done all these things.

The training is so effective that some groups have taken pledges to bring these public speaking skills to the highest endeavors. (Think back to a time when scoundrels commanded countries and citizens into diabolical directions.)

 

[TrainerBob]

Powerpoint is good. So are transparencies, flipcharts and chalkboards.
You need to use the appropriate media for the presentation. Work to its strengths. For example, powerpoint is very linear, can have some flash, allows you to control timing very well. It's very well suited for lectures. But how suited for a seminar or open discussion? Not so well, I think. Then you need to use something you can modify easily.
I like flipcharts for that-you can capture ideas, rip 'em off the easel and pop 'em on the wall so those points are still visible.
Use whatever media works best.

 

[mshimko]

This thread makes me think back...and more than a little, and there is ONE thing I’m sure of - there is no ONE answer!

I recall teaching at the Naval Academy over 15 years ago when “Harvard Graphics” came out - anyone remember that program? It had its uses.

I also recall very well giving a laptop briefing about 5 years later. The first question I was asked, BEFORE I even got started, was “who made these slides”. My answer was “Bob and I prepared these using WORDPERFECT.” The boss’s response was “GOOD, glad to see you’re not wasting time and money on fancy presentations”.

Of course 10 years and several bosses later, we were expected to have professional looking presentation with lots of colors, fancy backgrounds, etc.

Just shows the range of opinion on this topic.

A similar wide range of views also exists regarding the content of presentations. Some feel the presentation should provide nearly all required info so it can be a reliable reference in the future. Others feel a presentation should provide only highlights, forcing the viewers to pay attention to the presenter. I tend to favor this approach, with two additions: First, I often intentionally leave out something that will appear as an obvious question to the main audience. They will notice this, ask a question, to which I have a great response. This serves several purposes: it makes the presenter look good (as long as the omission isn’t too obvious), it gets the audience involved, and it may curtail the audience asking more difficult questions. Second, I often include backup information on additional slides that can be provided. These backup slides contain additional information to support the highlights on the main slides.

My final thought: I’m in the process of preparing and presenting several seminars on my area of expertise to junior engineers. I’m using powerpoint to present the basics in a short presentation. The last slide is a list of examples and/or case studies. When I reach this slide I’ll show the list and query the audience what examples they would rather see and discuss, and click on the LINK to take me to the appropriate section. For me this is “high tech”, yet still easy to use.

 

[MintJulep]

To paraphrase Daivd Byrne: "When I have nothing to say, Power Point saves the day."

Just imagine if Ross Perot had used Power Point instead of those cardboard charts. He would have won!

 

[flamby]

I have once been to listen a professional speaker Joel Orr.

He was clear, concise and used very little PowerPoints. I think his trick was very this - use less of media.

Ciao.

 

[IRstuff]

Obviously, you need to use the right tool at the right time; and to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Not everyone is blessed with sufficient charisma to hold an audience's attention by their lonesome.

Additionally, it's rather awkward and absurd to try and present graphical data verbally.

A well-rounded presentation might use PP to display some relevant data; video to show some action results; and shut off all the media to get the audience to focus on the speaker.

The key is to avoid using tools as crutches. But to totally ignore the available tools is also very foolhardy.

TTFN

 

[Ron]

I use a combination of PowerPoint, EaselBoards, and a blackboard/whiteboard if available. Actually writing on a board tends to capture the audience's attention for a little while, but gets boring pretty quickly, so I use it as emphasis.

My PowerPoint presentations are simple. Single color background, good contrast in text and, a technique I learned long ago in slide presentations, no "flashups"....that's when you have a series of slides with consistent light output, then suddenly you get a bright light slide....not good. Wakes them up, but then they can't see!

I use the PowerPoint slides as an outline to my presentation, just keeping the points up there (thus "Power" Point!), without a lot of distracting text, but an occasional emphatic graphic or photo.

I went to a conference about 25 years ago where each presenter actually read his paper to the audience. I couldn't wait to get out of there.

 

[flamby]

Not everyone is blessed with sufficient charisma to hold an audience's attention by their lonesome.

I think that such people should not be preseting it in the first place. The presentation, of anything, revolves around the presenter, and he/she becomes whole object of attention, not the subject in itself. A bad presenter will goof up the best presentation with PP, and a good presenter will be able to strike the right notes, irrestive of the contents.

The point I am advocating is simply this - a good presenter is a good presenter, whether on or not the PowerPoints.


Ciao.

 

[IRstuff]

If you're lucky enough to get away with that...

It's been my experience that many people who are the most knowledgeable in their field are the poorest presenters. You can't get your marketing guy to do a technical presentation. Even some of my college professors sucked at classwork.

TTFN

 

[franzh]

I once attended a college lecture where the professor was called away on emergency just after the beginning. He asked one of his PhD candidates to continue. This gentleman was VERY qualified in his field (Engine combustion) but was from a foreign country (as many of our students are). 5 minutes into his presentation, he lost 95% of the audience by talking softly in his native tongue, writing tiny symbols on the chalkboard, and looking at the board, not the audience. Eye contact was non-existent. Even though I was on the first couple of rows, I could barely decipher what was being presented even though it was in my field.
Now in all fairness, this gent is a friend of mine and although he is reasonably conversant in English, he is vastly more so in Chinese.
When the prof returned, I commented about the ghost lecturer (subject of a new topic?) and he commented that he forgot about the students lack of public speaking skill.
Now, as for not having your marketing folks make technical presentations? Seen WAY, WAY, to many of them! Yuchhh!
Franz


eng-tips, by professional engineers for professional engineers
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

 

[GregLocock]

One of the rules of spacecraft design:

A bad idea, presented well, lives to see another day.

A good idea, presented badly, dies that day.



Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[flamby]

In general, an engineer communicating with another engineer, whether boss, or colleagues, subordinates never uses PPTs. Technical people like detailed technical reports, maps, drawings and data for doing any kind of serious technical stuff, not a presentation.

Technical presentations make sense only when you are impressing non-tech guys like investors, buyers, clients. It _is_ a marketing presentation. And your first and last opportunity to close the sale or blow the case.

If your people are not good presenter, hire one. You will regret making the presentation with your best technical guy, if he/she is not a good presenter.

Ciao.

 

[jmw]

I make a lot of presentations and find powerpoint is a great tool.

Most important, it is flexible.
I rarely give the same presentation twice and even if presenting on the same topic the circumstances or the audience profile changes just enough to warrant changes to the presentation.

A good point given by other contributors: Don't put your dialogue on the slides and conduct kindergarten reading classes; use the "notes pages" to record your dialogue. Don't forget that even with a good presentation only about 10% will be retained. The notes are important.

If you give a handout, put your dialogue on the notes pages.
Notes pages are also useful for others to use your presentation material to give the presentation.
If I publish on the net then I convert the notes pages to a pdf file. I get really irritated by people who publish a collection of bullet points and leave you to figure out what they had to say.

A good presentation should be capable of being given by any one else - if they are prepared and not thrown in at the deep end as illustrated above.

I did have one bad experience of this. I had prepared several presentations for a sales conference and, to break up the monotony of one presenter and to test the effectiveness of the presentations as a tool for others to use, various of the sales managers were delegated to give presentations. (They were the first audience for the presentation; again good comments above: rehearse before a test audience)
Despite the time available for the presenters to familiarise themseleves with the material and even adapt it to their own style, one presenter managed to make an ass of himself.

Day two, first session and the presenter had obviously spent too long in the bar the night before and had never bothered to rehearse the presentation.
He was visibly surprised by each slide as it appeared and quite obviously at a loss as to what to say. Having no recollection of what slides followed he was obviously making up the presentation "on the fly".

I was recently at a conference and attended a training course afterwards. This was conducted by several presenters but one of them, a very knowledgable and experienced man, and very familiar with the material, he too had the morning after problem.
Too much knowledge and too much booze lead to a form of "stream of conciousness" presentation that quickly and frequently veered way off topic. Most of the audience were wondering if he would actually fall over during the morning.
He was gently and kindly substituted at the moring coffee break by the course organisers.

A great rule of presenting is to avoid distractions. The audience need to be concentrating on what you say. The slides are only an illustration.

Always advise that a complete handout will be given at the end. Don't give it out at the beginning or the audience will read it while you present and get ahead of you. Tell them there is no need to take notes. That way they give you their full attention.

These features make powerpoint a great political tool. A product manager, realising that the knives were out for him, played these features to great advantage. He was responsible for two product streams, one long established and one new and contentious.
Talking around each of his bullet points he listed a succession of different trial applications which were in trouble. As his presentation progressed, his critics in the audience got more overt and began trying to score points with the MD.
"Oh he said," at an appropriate moment, when one of his most vocal critics came out and said "well if we are having this much trouble, why don't we drop this product?" he replied "Oh, sorry, didn't i say? this isn't the new product, this is the old one. I just wanted to show that even after 40 years we are still finding new applications and we still have problems to resolve when we address them. I wanted to use this to put into context the problems we are seeing with the new technology where we don't have 40 years of experience to call on."
Game set and match.

With any presentation, never put yourself in the position of being defeated by the technology.
Make sure the pristine top sheet of the flip chart doesn't hide all the last presenters diagrams.
Always make sure the dryboard markers are dryboard and not wet, that they are there and full of ink, make sure all the equiment works and do this before the audience arrives. Set up your PC with the projector before the audience arrives. Nothing loses attention or credability so fast as ten minutes of watching the presenter being beaten by the equipment.

If you are taking your presentation on the road, you often at the mercy of unfamiliar equipment. One thing I have learned is to always have my presentation on a CD in case my laptop and the projector are not compatible or not easily set up (nothing makes you look a bigger idiot than when the technology defeates you) so I usually ask for the organisers to provide a fully set up PC and projector. Also, i use the "pack'n'go" feature i.e. the tool that includes Powerpoint presenter so you don't get defeated by a PC that has the wrong version of power point.

Like all tools, great if used well.
See if you get some training in presenting. You may think you are the bees knees as a presenter but nothing disabuses you quicker than looking at a video of yourself presenting.



JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[jmw]

PS Yes, I remember Harvard, I never used it though. Bill Gates effectively prevented us spending on it when he stuck powerpoint into office.

I used to use powerpoint for all my graphics (boy was that slow when using Windows 3.1 on an old PC) but now i compose and design in Serif PagePlus and Draw Plus. These are really good programs and as you update they don't mind if you hand them on. I've upgraded a couple of times now and several people have benefited from my previous versions (the upgrade is a complete package which doesn't require the original version for installation) which they can legitimately register.

I use PagePlus for web site design, to produce PDF files, animations etc. This makes powerpoint all the better because I create my drawings elsewhere, save as PNG/GIF or JPG and paste into powerpoint. This keeps the ppt file small (otherwise it grows and grows and saves all your editing history).


JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com