Research Methodology

Research Methodology Making presentations.

OUTLINE • Introduction • Making presentations, Put your audience first! • Speaking style, Time keeping • Using notes, Composure • Practical issues, pitfalls to avoid • Preparing the content • Tell èm, Tell èm, and Tell èm • Visual aids • What makes a good presentation? - Some guidelines • Conclusions • References

Introduction: Making presentations • The aim is good, clear communication. • Most people are afraid of public speaking. • There is no substitute for preparation. • Collect and order relevant material.

Introduction: Put your audience first! • Prepare the opening sentences carefully. • Use a non-technical opening…… but only if it’s relevant. • Avoid openings like “Thank you Mr Chairman for those kind words. It is a great pleasure to be here again in this great ……” • Throw your audience straight into the story “Is it possible to improve on the reliability of Airbus software?”

Introduction: Speaking style. • An informal, conversational style is best. • Avoid long, complicated sentences. • Vary tone of voice to give expression. • Vary the speed of delivery to provide emphasis. • But don’t speak too quickly: fast deliveries are difficult to understand.

Introduction: Time keeping. • Don’t speak for too long. • People remember up to 40% of a 15 minute talk, but only 20% after 45 minutes. • Assume a presentation rate of 100 words per minute. • Keep to time!

Introduction: Using notes. • NEVER read a script. • Write out the text. • List the key words to form your notes. • Produce notes on cards rather than paper. • Keep notes in order with a treasury tag. • Practise… in front of a mirror!

Introduction: Composure. • Hold your notes in one hand; let the other hang by your side. • Look at the audience - but not at one person! • Start slowly, having learned the first sentence. • Be aware of mannerisms and repeated gestures.

Introduction: Practical issues • Explore the layout of the lecture room BEFOREHAND. • Understand how to control the projectors, microphones, lights, video….. • Do not speak while turning away from the microphone to look at a slide. • Overhead projectors should project upwards • Do not obscure the slide projection.

Introduction: pitfalls to avoid • Never, NEVER apologies for being an inexperienced speaker. • Never say “You will have seen all this before” “You will know more about this than I do” • Audiences will be embarrassed - they are on your side. • Nervousness leads to uncertainty about your material.

Introduction: pitfalls to avoid. • Never try to be a stand up comic. • Be humorous, but humour is often at someone’s expense - make it your own. • It is easy to offend people - and lose their sympathy. • Humour depends on timing. • A joke that falls flat is embarrassing.

Preparing the content: Tell èm, Tell èm, and Tell èm • The old salesman’s adage contains a good deal of truth: Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em; Tell ‘em; Tell ‘em what you’ve just told ‘em. • Don’t pack too much information into a talk. • Start with a brain map - and then order the material into a sequence.

Preparing the content: Visual aids • OHPs can build on one another and are easy to produce. • 35mm slides are more professional, easier to manipulate but more difficult to produce. • Computer screen projection is becoming the preferred option. • Laser pointers need practice and can be dangerous.

Preparing the content: Visual aids • To point to an OHP place a pencil on the projector. • Slides should not be cluttered with information. • Use colour to emphasise a point and not for its own sake. • The minimum size font on an OHP should be 16 point.

What makes a good presentation? - Some guidelinesTell ’em 1 • Guideline 1 - Consider whom the presentation is designed for. • Think about the audience. Do they know much about the subject? • Are you using jargon or symbols that they are unfamiliar with? • If you are talking to a small number of people, then they should be able to see the computer screen without any problems. If there are a large number of people, then you will need to use a projector of some sort. • Guideline 2 - Keep the charts simple and uncluttered. • Don’t put in any more or any less than is required • Guideline 3- Make sure that the charts are legible, even from the back of the room. • If you are making a presentation using a projector, then the characters need to be a minimum of 0.5 cm high for members of the audience who are 100 metres away. For more mature people, the minimum height needs to be 1 cm. • Guideline 4 - Highlight key information • Make it easy for the audience to pick out the most important details. • Guideline 5 - Focus attention on one concept at a time • Make sure that you are not giving the audience too much to think about at any one time. • Guideline 6 - Reinforce your conclusion • Finish the presentation with a summary of the main points that you want to make sure that the audience has understood.

Good presentation guidelines: Tell ‘m 2 • Guideline 1 - Consider whom the presentation is designed for • The audience • Terminology, Jargon or symbols • Number of people

Good presentation guidelines • Guideline 2 - Keep the charts simple and uncluttered. • Don’t put in any more or any less than is required

Good presentation guidelines • Guideline 3 - Make sure that the charts are legible, even from the back of the room • If you are making a presentation using a projector, then the characters need to be a minimum of 0.5 cm high for members of the audience who are 100 metres away. For more mature people, the minimum height needs to be 1 cm.

Good presentation guidelines • Guideline 4 - Highlight key information • Make it easy for the audience to pick out the most important details

Good presentation guidelines • Guideline 5 - Focus attention on one concept at a time • Make sure that you are not giving the audience too much to think about at any one time

Good presentation guidelines • Guideline 6 - Reinforce your conclusion • Finish the presentation with a summary of the main points that you want to make sure that the audience has understood

Presentation Guidelines: Tell ‘m 3 In summary, we have Six Guidelines • Who the presentation is designed for • Keep charts simple • Charts must be legible • Highlight key information • One concept at a time • Reinforce your conclusion

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Conclusions • The aim is good, clear communication, there is no substitute for preparation. • In Preparing the content remember to • Tell èm, Tell èm, and Tell èm • Use good Visual aids • Follow good presentation guidelines • Who the presentation is designed for • Keep charts simple • Charts must be legible • Highlight key information • One concept at a time • Reinforce your conclusion

References • Campbell, J., (1990), Speak for yourself, BBC Books, London, ISBN 0563215119 • Boothe, V., (1984), Communicating in science: writing and speaking, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 052127771 X • Tufte, E., (1983), The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Graphics Press

Good luck: better still, prepare thoroughly! And Practice

Research Methodology