Effective Oral Presentations in Chemical Engineering: A Guide, Study notes of Design of Wood Structures

Download Effective Oral Presentations in Chemical Engineering: A Guide and more Study notes Design of Wood Structures in PDF only on Docsity! Rev Dec-01 West Virginia University Department of Chemical Engineering Oral Reports When presenting an oral report it is important to realize that the audience cannot digest material in the same way as they can when reading a report. There will be no time for them to reread a sentence or paragraph, or to study a table or figure. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the speaker to emphasize the important points. The recommendations that follow, though written for any type of oral presentation, are written within the context of a design presentation. All oral presentations are organized as follows: 1. tell the audience what you are going to tell them 2. make your presentation 3. remind the audience what you told them With this in mind, here is one way to organize an oral presentation. Title Page Identify the report and the presenters on a visual aid. Outline Tell the audience what you are going to tell them, and use a visual aid for reinforcement. This is usually an outline of the report. It is not sufficient to list the structure of the report, i.e., introduction, results, discussion, conclusion. You should include a few words abstracting the contents of each section. Note: this visual should not be entitled “Agenda.” Early in your talk, describe the project, flowsheet, etc., in general, before the details. Also, early in your talk, mention the “bottom-line” conclusion. Results This follows the outline of the results section of a written report described in the document entitled Written Design Reports. However, there are a few important points to remember. First, a detailed stream flow table will not be easily seen or understood by your audience. Second, what is effectively communicated in a table in a written report might be best communicated orally using a graph or pie chart. Avoid using complex tables and figures with small print. These can neither be seen in the back of the room nor digested by anyone. 2 All of the rules on figures and tables in the document entitled Written Design Report extend to oral presentations. Discussion Once again, the content is similar to that described in the written report section. The only difference is how you choose to communicate your information. Conclusions Here you remind your audience what you told them, usually as a list or outline. Remember the bottom line! Recommendations This is self-explanatory. If this section and the conclusion section are both short, they can be combined. Other Important Points When Making an Oral Presentation Overheads vs. PowerPoint Slide Show Overheads are more flexible: you can modify them in real time and easily use them out of order, but a PowerPoint slide show seems more professional and more formal. You need to decide which format makes you more comfortable, more in control. In either case, make sure that the people in the back row can read your visuals, and that you give the audience enough time to assimilate the information presented before you go on to the next visual. It is also important to remember that computers can lock-up, fail, be unable to read your file, etc. Therefore, you should consider having overheads as a back-up even if you are planning to use a PowerPoint slide show. Finally, if you are considering using fancy background templates, animation, and/or special effects, think again. They are distracting. Use them sparingly, and only if they add to the effectiveness of the presentation. Content of Visuals Do not put too much on a visual. A detailed table may not be readable in the back row. When making a visual, put yourself in the audience and ask yourself if you could learn anything from it if you only saw it for 30 seconds or a minute. Short, concise statements of a few words on the visual, with the speaker providing a more detailed explanation, are sufficient to convey your points. Use colors effectively, but do not go overboard. Test all of your visual aids in a similar sized and shaped room in advance.